Giller prize 2006

The Giller prize long list has been announced for this year's prize: Canadian novels and short stories. Check it out at www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca/home.htm
They include links to the book publishers, for book details.

Sadly, I don't have any of these yet. The short list coming out on October 3rd, and the prize will be awarded on November 7th.

Douglas Couplandmust have improved since his Generation X and Shampoo Planet which I don't enjoy very much, and so didn't read anything more recent by him. He is nominated for jPod which has 10 LT reviews, including an interesting detailed one by StoneJunction. I'm still not convinced to buy it, but I might try it from our public library.

Have you read any of the Giller nominees, and what did you think?

Honestly, the only prize I pay much attention to is the Nobel for Lit, because it's given to proven authors, who have produced excellent work not once, but again and again.

I will try to add touchstones for the rest of the list.
The Giller nominees are:

David Adams Richards for his novel The Friends of Meager Fortune.

Caroline Adderson for her short story collection Pleased to Meet You.

Todd Babiak for his novel The Garneau Block.

Randy Boyagoda for his novel Governor of the Northern Province.

Douglas Coupland for his novel jPod.

Alan Cumyn for his novel The Famished Lover.

Rawi Hage for his novel De Niro's Game.

Kenneth J. Harvey for his novel Inside. Sorry I can't get the novel's touchstone, the title is such a common word!

Wayne Johnston for his novel The Custodian of Paradise.

Vincent Lam for his short story collection Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures.

Annette Lapointe for her novel Stolen. (same problem).

Pascale Quiviger for her novel The Perfect Circle.

Gaetan Soucy for his novel The Immaculate Conception.

Russell Wangersky for his short story collection The Hour of Bad Decisions.

Carol Windley for her short story collection Home Schooling.

Well, that's a lot to read - I must go to the library!

Finished Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures about a week or two ago, and truly loved it. Despite some grumblings over bad editing (yes, there are a few that jump off the page and distract you), it truly is a stellar work, and I am personally glad Mr. Lam was honoured this year.

I just read Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures and enjoyed it very much. I added a brief LibraryThing review. I will definitely return to re-read this one in future. Right now it's going on my husband's to-be-read pile. I'm going on to some mysteries, and some Atwood.

By the way, I have joined another LT group called Canadian Bookworms, which has quite a few active discussion threads. Readers there enjoy a wide range of genres, and discuss books from other countries as well as Canada.