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Costa Book Awards 2016 – Short-list

Twenty books to choose from, four in each of the five categories: Novel, First Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Books – there’s is definitely something for everybody on the Costa Book Awards short-list. And it’s a great place to start you Christmas shopping.

In the Novel category we have Sebastian Barry’s Days Without End, Maggie O’Farrell’s This Must Be the Place, Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent, which we loved, and Rose Tremain’s The Gustav Sonata which we weren’t so keen on (full reviews are in the links).

There are also some interesting debut novels to look out for: Susan Beale’s The Good Guy, Kit de Waal’s My Name is Leon, Guinevere Glasfurd’s The Words in My Hand and Francis Suppford’s Golden Hill. 

Winners in each category will be announced 3 January and the overall winner of Costa Book of the Year on the 31 January.

Costa Book Awards 2016 – Short-list

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The Gustav Sonata – Short-listed for the Costa Book Awards 2016

Lacking in depth

In post World War II Switzerland, a lonely boy and his bitter, distant mother live in a tiny flat in a nondescript town. Events in the past throw dark shadows over their lives, but what exactly has happened is a mystery to 10-year-old Gustav. The novel, divided into three parts or ‘sonatas’, takes us back to happier times before the war, to a devastating event that breaks the spell, and to Gustav’s life as an adult.

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The Essex Serpent – Short-listed for the Costa Book Awards 2016

Love and a battle of beliefs in Victorian England

There’s something alluring about Victorian England as a setting for novels, a society full of contrasts and contradictions: extreme poverty and unfathomable wealth, a prim public life and a seedy underworld, modern factories and rural communities. Sarah Perry’s sensual love story with an intellectual twist, delivered in a style that transports you back to the time, sits perfectly within this world.

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New on Bookstoker – Index search

You can now search for reviews by Author, Book Title or Reviewer. Go to Index on our main menu bar and choose from the drop-down menu. Search and enjoy!

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In praise of the loo book

World Toilet Day 2016

The parlor may have its charms, but the Japanese toilet truly is a place of spiritual repose.

In the Praise of Shadows, Junichiro Tanizaki

It seems every country has a sort of skewed and hallowed reverence for the quietest room in the house. I’ve recently discovered, however, that the ‘library in the loo’ is primarily an English occupation (sorry I can’t speak for the rest of Britain), but my Scandinavian and European friends looked at me in puzzled amusement when I recommended a book for the loo.

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Venice, An Interior

A Sliver of Venice

A heavenly combination of one of my favourite authors writing about one of my favourite cities: Javier Marías’ little essay on Venice. For reasons unknown (a failed love affair?), Marías spent a great deal of time in Venice in the 1980s. His reflections on how history and geography have shaped Venice and Venetians are captivating. ‘Venetians see life from “the view point of eternity” ‘, not surprising perhaps when you grow up in place that’s hardly changed for 500 years? The decay, the dark back alleys, the smells, the sense of doom, the colours of the water (‘blood red, yellow, white’ by day, ‘like ink’ by night) combined with dazzling beauty, Marías perfectly evokes the city’s atmosphere and hands you a delicious sliver of Venice.

Venice, An Interior is translated by Margaret Juul Costa and published by Hamish Hamilton, 64 pages.

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From book to film – without disappointment

Often we despair when a film version is made of our favourite book.  The images we’ve created in our heads don’t match up with what the film director had in mind. The locations look wrong, the casting doesn’t work. BUT occasionally, they do get it right. And what a thrill that is! Here is a list of some fabulous films that will inspire you to read these equally great books on which they were based. Do you have any to add? Let us know.

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Best audiobooks 2016

As many of will know, we here at Bookstoker are big consumers of audiobooks and we know that many of our followers are as well. There’s nothing like a good audiobook for killing time stuck in traffic, while out walking or doing housework. And with Amazon’s great invention Whispersync for Voice, you can switch seamlessly between reading on your Kindle and listening on Audible. Your Kindle or Audible will automatically pick up where you left off. Genius!

From old classics to popular new publications we’ve enjoyed these audiobooks for being brilliant books, perfectly narrated.

Our top 10 this year are…

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The Tobacconist

A lukewarm follow-up to A Whole Life

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