The Booker Prize longlist is almost two weeks old now, so I thought I’d provide some early thoughts on the list in today’s deep dive. But first, the roundup.
Roundup
Music
Last week was all about too highly anticipated new albums, by Shaboozey and Ariana Grande. And I think they both delivered what their fans will like. As someone who is on the periphery with both of them, I thought they were good but there wasn’t much to pull me in. Highlights for me were “High Noon” from Shaboozey and “big feelings” from Ari. This week was pretty quiet, but I really enjoyed the new album from Role Model, who continues to demonstrate his ability to straddle Americana and pop in an accessible and ‘root-for-able’ way. In terms of non-album or pre-release singles, I really enjoyed Niko Rubio’s “tokyo” and Cameron Whitcomb’s “Want for Nothing.” And “Still Crying” by Sara Bareilles is adding to my suspicion that her upcoming album (scheduled for August 28) is going to be something special (and devastating).
Albums
- The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales (Shaboozey)
- petal (Ariana Grande)
- Chuck Timely & the Hourglass (Role Model)
Songs
- “Want for Nothing” (Cameron Whitcomb)
- “tokyo” (Niko Rubio)
- “High Noon” (Shaboozey)
- “bad feelings” (Ariana Grande)
- “Still Crying” (Sara Bareilles)
- “The Wedding” (Role Model)
Reading
- The Gate of the Feral Gods (Matt Dinniman, 2021)
- Black Bag (Luke Kennard, 2026)
- All Them Dogs (Djamel White, 2026)
- The Palm House (Gwendoline Riley, 2026)
- Every Story Is a Call to Action (David A. Robertson, 2026 🇨🇦.)
- A History of the World in 10½ Chapters (Julian Barnes, 1989)
- The Things We Never Say (Elizabeth Strout, 2026)
- The Fire Next Time (James Baldwin, 1963)
- The Princess Bride (William Goldman, 1973)
Focus on: Early Thoughts on the Booker Prize Longlist
Last time in this space I listed a few books I hoped would find their way on the Booker Prize Longlist. Only one of the six ended up on the list, which isn’t surprising considering the Prize’s reputation for picking off-the-beaten-track books. I will say that I’m surprised that neither Departure(s) by Julian Barnes nor Transcription by Ben Lerner being on the list was a surprise. And I’d have absolutely loved Floodlines (Saleem Haddad) and Astronaut! (Oana Aristide) to have been there.
But as for what’s on the list, here are some early thoughts:
Books I’ve read:
- John of John (Douglas Stuart): This is the only book of the thirteen that I’d read before the list was announced, and it was on my wishlist. It’s a really beautiful story about family, identity, and the cost of belonging. If you haven’t enjoyed Stuart’s previous work (I’m in that camp), don’t let that scare you away from this one.
- Black Bag (Luke Kennard): This wasn’t on my radar before the list was announced, but I was fascinated by the premise so it was my first intentional Booker read of the year. I really loved it. It’s funny, smart, and offers insightful commentary on the current state of masculinity, identity, and our present moment.
- The Things We Never Say (Elizabeth Strout): This is Strout at her best and worst for me. On the positive side, we see her patented spare but solid writing style and her way of putting the spotlight on the big dramas of everyday lives. But, on the negative, the political and social commentary felt very ‘on the nose’, with a ‘ripped from the headlines’ sensibility that seems more about indulging anxieties than speaking to them.
- The Palm House (Gwendoline Riley): I enjoyed all of the parts of this, but wasn’t entirely sure it held together, or paid off emotionally.
- All Them Dogs (Djamel White, 2026): This is a book about Irish gangs, and gang books don’t work for me. It’s really well done, though, especially in the contrasts between violence and tenderness.
I find the common threads that emerge in the Booker list every year to be interesting. This year, at least so far in my reading, the crisis of masculinity seems to be a big theme. All five of the books I’ve read so far touched on this in big ways, and from the looks of it, a few more will too. Other themes I expect to see from the premises are memory and how we know what is real.
Books I’m excited to read (ranked in order of my personal excitement):
- May We Feed the King (Rebecca Perry): A curator, tasked with decorating a medieval palace, becomes obsessed with the life of the king who once lived there. (Something about the premise here really excites me.)
- Helen of Nowhere (Makenna Goodman): A realtor shows a disgraced professor around a home in the country whose history may offer him a second chance at life (I’ve heard great things!)
- Switzy (Emma Cline): A story about man whose past and present crash together while on a final trip to Zurich. (This won’t be released until early September, but is getting a lot of pre-release buzz.)
Books I hope to read:
- The Vivisectors (Missouri Williams): A campus scandal grips an already crumbling institution and town
- The Shadow of the Object (Chloe Aridjis): A woman’s perception of reality is altered after meeting an elderly woman in a Mexican hospital
- The Renovation (Kenan Orhan): A surrealist story about memory, trauma, and the long reach of the past
- The End of Everything (M. John Harrison): A strange, post-apocalyptic tale about a strange artifact that washes up on the shore.
Books I may not end up reading:
- The Disappearers (Marlon James): An act of violence sets the lives of a group of queer men in Jamaica in different directions. (I found James’ Booker-winning A Brief History of Seven Killings to be a tough read. I don’t love violent stories, and homophobia stories hit a bit too close to home. I’m sure it’s great; I’m just not sure if it’ll be ‘for me’)
Matthew Root 