This week, Boston Bibliophile’s topic for the Tuesday Thingers group is about book awards:Awards. Do you follow any particular book awards? Do you ever choose books based on awards? What award-winning books do you have? (Off the top of your head only- no need to look this up- it would take all day!) What's your favorite award-winning book? LibraryThing's Common Knowledge feature tracks awards….
Well, once again we’re dealing with a LibraryThing feature I knew nothing about. It took me quite a while this morning just to find out how to get to the “Common Knowledge” feature, and I still haven’t found anything that looks like award-tracking. I’ll have to look around a little more.
As for award winning books, of course I do have some in my library. I suppose anyone with a fairly large collection is bound to have a few. Don’t know how many or what awards are represented. I usually do take note of which books win the Pulitzer and the National Book and NBCC awards every year. And the Edgar and the Hugo and the Booker and the Caldecott and Newbery awards. However, these days I rarely read the winners, and I’m not one to choose a book simply because it’s won a prize. In fact, I usually find I’m more likely to read the also-rans!
My favorite award-winning book? That would be hard to say. Especially if I include the Caldecott and Newbery books – so many of those are favorites from childhood. I suppose if I had to pick one adult favorite it would be Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry. It won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize, and I’ve loved it since I first read it back then – I guess it probably resonates a little stronger if you’re a Texan.
My other favorite award-winners are also from the Pulitzer list – Gone With the Wind (1937), To Kill a Mockingbird (1961), and A Confederacy of Dunces (1981). Hmmmm. They all seem to be set in the south, don’t they? Well, I guess that’s appropriate for a southern girl.
Added later:
OK, I found the author tracking feature. Had to click on the WikiThing link at the bottom of the page, and then Literary Awards under Member Projects. Wow, there are a huge number of awards listed. I've started going back through my library list and adding tags about the various awards. That should only take me about a year and a half to do, but it's what passes for fun when you're an obsessive-compulsive bookworm.
Oh, I love Confederacy of Dunces, too. I'm like you, I've found several book bloggers who have taste similar to mine and rely on their sites for recommendations.
ReplyDeleteGone with the Wind was on my list of to-reads this year, but I don't know if I'll actually get to it (too many ARCs lately). Mockingbird is still one of my favorites, though it's been decades since I read it. I should re-read it. Probably ought to read GWTW first, though.
ReplyDeleteI still have not read To Kill a Mockingbird or Gone with the Wind. I didn't realize Gone with the Wind won an award.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Gone With the Wind!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize Gone with the Wind won, either! I loved that book and I can see why it won.
ReplyDeleteI loved Gone With The Wind but I didn't know it won a Pulizter. And Confederacy Of Dunces too? Wow maybe I should pay closer attention to the booknews lol.
ReplyDeleteI know, another LT feature to make me OCD about! Love it.
ReplyDeleteGone with the Wind is one of my favorites, too :-)
ReplyDelete