The Booker Prize Podcast

A Booker Prize 2023 Shortlist Reaction + The Best Shortlist Ever

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Following the Booker Prize 2023 shortlist announcement, Jo and James share a hot off the press reaction to this year's six finalists before heading onto the topic at hand: which year saw the best ever Booker Prize shortlist? To help Jo and James along the way, they're joined by Bob Jackson – a man who has read every single book ever shortlisted for the award. That's over 300 books, spanning from the Booker's inception in 1969 up to the present day. So, listen in and find out which shortlist gets crowned as the best one ever.


In this episode Jo and James:

  • Ask Bob to reveal his favourite (and least favourite) books from the Booker archive
  • Hear how Bob approached his quest to reading every Booker-shortlisted book
  • Discuss their contenders for which year's shortlist is best
  • Argue it out until just one shortlist is crowned the winner


    • Reading list:

    • Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein
    • If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
    • This Other Eden by Paul Harding
    • Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
    • Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
    • The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
    • The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
    • How late it was, how late by James Kelman
    • A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
    • The Bone People by Keri Hulme
    • The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing
    • Last Letters from Hav by Jan Morris
    • The Good Apprentice by Iris Murdoch
    • The Battle of Pollocks Crossing by J.L. Carr
    • Illywhacker by Peter Carey
    • A Disaffection by James Kelman
    • Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
    • Restoration by Rose Tremain
    • The Book of Evidence by John Banville
    • Jigsaw by Sybille Bedford
    • The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
    • Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes
    • Small World by David Lodge
    • Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard
    • Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
    • In Custody by Anita Desai
    • According to Mark by Penelope Lively
    • The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
    • The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi
    • The Keepers of Truth by Michael Collins
    • When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
    • English Passengers by Matthew Kneale
    • The Deposition of Father McGreevy by Brian O'Doherty
    • Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
    • Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
    • Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
    • All That Man Is by David Szalay
    • His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
    • The Sellout by Paul Beatty
    • The Sea by John Banville
    • Arthur & George by Julian Barnes
    • Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
    • On Beauty by Zadie Smith
    • A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry
    • The Accidental by Ali Smith


      • Join the Booker Prize Book Club to connect with readers from across the world about all things Booker Prize 2023 and beyond.


      A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.


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