Create your own shortlist of the shortlisted titles -- and then a winner

I got this idea when Jill was asking about favorite shortlist titles. Of the shortlisted titles you've read, create a 6 item shortlist and then a winner from those 6. If you've read less than 6, just list the ones you've read.

Feel free to update your list as you read new shortlist titles that bump off other works.

Unless by Carol Shields -- Winner
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (very close 2nd)
Purple Hibiscus by Adichie (3rd)
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Room by Emma Donoghue

Ooh, fun idea!

My shortlist from the shortlist:

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Observations by Jane Harris
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Winner

I picked Wolf Hall as the winner but it could easily have gone to The Poisonwood Bible or The Blind Assassin

Edited because apparently I couldn't read the instructions about creating a 6 book shortlist - sigh.

Fun! I've read 12 from the shortlist and I can't decide. I'll have to think about it . . .

I've read a longlist (14) worth of shortlisted books, so I feel like a real judge picking my short list.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Unless by Carol Shields
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Annabel by Kathleen Winter
Room by Emma Donoghue
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

My winner is Unless by Carol Shields

It's been a few years since I've read Alias Grace or The Poisonwood Bible, but I do remember really liking them.

I haven't been participating in Orange January/July, but I've read 17 short-listed titles over the years, and here's my short list from the short list. I'm afraid this mostly includes books I've read in the past several years, as my memories of books I read longer ago, like the Margaret Atwoods is a little hazy, although I remember I enjoyed them.

Great House by Nicole Krauss WINNER
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The Siege by Helen Dunmore
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
Horse Heaven by Jane Smiley

Have to ponder - I will be back! Love this idea!

Great idea! Here's my shortlist:

White Teeth by Zadie Smith
The White Family by Maggie Gee
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna

And the winner is...envelope please...Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel!

Ok, I have collected my thoughts. Thank goodness for my "Favorites" collection!

My six books:

Room by Emma Donoghue
Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman
The Observations by Jane Harris
The Outcast by Sadie Jones
Homestead by Rosina Lippi
The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett

And my winner would be...The Outcast by Sadie Jones. I still think about those characters.

I love looking at everyone's lists -- I'll definitely know where to start after I get all the winners read!

Edited and updated on June 5, 2013

Winner
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (2013 SL)
Shortlist
Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan (2012 SL)
The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey (2010 SL)
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (2006 SL)
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (2001 SL)
The Accidental by Ali Smith (2006 SL)

This was difficult, but I came up with:

Alias Grace
The Poisonwood Bible
Unless
Accidental
The Blind Assassin

and the winner is: Lullabies for Little Criminals.

But ask me tomorrow, and I may swap in another winner. And the next day a different one yet. These six are all excellent.

I've read exactly 6 short-listed Oranges so that part was easy - picking a winner was not!

The Poisonwood Bible
The Blind Assassin
Room
Fingersmith
The History of Love

And the winner is . . . Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

I liked all of those books, but The Poisonwood Bible and The Blind Assassin came the closest to supplanting Wolf Hall for the win.

Fun thread!

Having read these lists, it seems that The Poisonwood Bible and The Blind Assassin should have been winners!

I've read 7 short-listed novels, with these six being the best:

Room - Emma Donoghue
Burnt Shadows - Kamila Shamsie
The Outcast - Sadie Jones
The Night Watch - Sarah Waters
The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood

All of them are excellent, but I'd say my winner would be The Blind Assassin.

Reviving this thread because my shortlist has changed.

Unless by Carol Shields -- Winner
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (very close 2nd)
Purple Hibiscus by Adichie (3rd)

not in order:
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Room by Emma Donoghue
Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick

Going to keep track of the winners.

Wolf Hall (3) -- kidzdoc, souloftherose, japaul22
Unless (2) -- raidergirl3, 1morechapter
Outcast (1) -- mrstreme
Great House (1) -- rebeccanyc
Blind Assassin (1) -- cait86
Lullabies for Little Criminals (1) -- nickelini
The White Woman on the Green Bicycle (1) -- HRO

Of these winners, I still need to read Unless and Lullabies for Little Criminals.

And if we were to do this with longlisted books, you all know Gillespie and I would make my list. =)

>18 mrstreme: We did!!
http://www.librarything.com/topic/131722

Mine hasn't changed yet but I'm pretty sure I'll like Gillespie so it might then.

Good lord, I forgot. This is what happens now that I am 40! LOL!

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett--winner
Room by Emma Donoghue
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey
Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

(And were I to include longlisted titles, American Wife would win!)

Miss Carrie, Did you mean to include Bel Canto? It did win the Orange Prize. ;)

Yes:-) Bel Canto wouldn't win my shortlist, but I considered both winners and shortlist titles--was that against the spirit of the shortlist? Otherwise, I'd have to dip into my 4.5 star reads, and there are lots of those on shortlists!

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (winner)
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie
Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding

(Favorite 6 out of 22 read)

>23 nomadreader:, Hmm, now that's a good question. I interpreted it as the short listed books that didn't win. LOL! I probably messed that up!

Yeah, I meant just shortlisted books -- not winners.

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Mammoth Cheese by Sheri Holman (It really tied with Old Filth by Jane Gardam, but I think you won't allow me 7.)
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna
The Outcast by Sadie Jones
Paradise by Toni Morrison
*The Poisonwood Bible* - by Barbara Kingsolver The Winner!

.

I had so much fun doing this with the Booker List that I decided to "play" here as well.

My favorite shortlisted Orange Prize books:

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - 1999
The Siege by Helen Dunmore - 2002
The History of Love by Nicole Krause - 2006
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel - 2010
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna - 2011
Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding - 2012

And..."my" winner is: The Poisonwood Bible!

Oh what fun and how very, very difficult this will be.

Out of the 37 short listed Orange books I have read thus far my
6 favorites, in no particular order, would have to be:

1) A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore; 1996
2) Great House by Nicole Krauss; 2011
3) Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan; 2012
4) State of Wonder by Ann Patchett; 2012
5) The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna; 2011
6) We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver; 2005

And THE WINNER I CHOOSE TODAY IS:

The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna

Thank you for this challenge. It did indeed turn out to be as difficult
as I feared.

I've only read 8 shortlisted books, so the top 6 weren't too hard to choose:

One Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Paradise by Toni Morrison
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
The Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Guo Xiaolu

I think I'll go with Amy Tan's One Hundred Secret Senses -- though all were very good.

I've read far more of the shortlisted books than the (non shortlisted) long list ones - 15 in all so far.

Of these my top 5 were easy to pick, the sixth was a hard choice between many good options:

The Poisonwood Bible Kingsolver
The Blind Assassin Atwood
The Siege Dunmore
Unless Shields
Wolf Hall Mantel
Burnt Shadows Shamsie (the eventual sixth choice).

And of these six, the winner is... also very hard to narrow down.... can't I have a tie, or a three-way split (Mantel, Shields, Kingsolver...)?

If I really have to choose, I'd say The Poisonwood Bible - but if you asked me again tomorrow I'd probably go for one of the others instead.

I am always a bit fearful when I see Atwood and Kingsolver on these lists. I know that generally one or the other will win. They are just that good! And it doesn't seem to matter what you read by them.

My top are:

**The Blind Assassin (2001) by Margaret Atwood**
Wolf Hall (2010) by Hilary Mantel
Fingersmith (2002) by Sarah Waters
The Outcast (2008) by Sadie Jones
Alias Grace (1997) by Margaret Atwood
Fault Lines (2008) by Nancy Huston

hee hee; I rest my case...........

True, and I would add Mantel to those two now.

Difficult! I've read 16 shortlisted oranges, not including this years entries.

Here is my best shot

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - winner
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
The Siege by Helen Dunmore
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie
Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill
Small Island by Andrea Levy