This week's Musing Mondays asks:
Do you feel compelled to read prize-winning (Giller/Booker/Pulitzer etc) books? Why, or why not? Is there, perhaps, one particular award that you favour? (question courtesy of MizB)
'Compelled', no. 'Inclined', yes.
There are way too many books out there, and try as I might, I'm never going to read all of them, which is quite depressing. So, resorting to an old cliche, life's too short to read bad books. More oft' than not, a prize-winner is not going to be 'bad', so, it's relatively safe.
That said, if I like the look of a book, award-winning or not, I will pick it up. I don't need to see Sunday Times Best Seller or, Costa Book Awards Winner on the cover to convince me. Sometimes, these will disappoint, and sometimes they'll be fantastic, and that's something I've made my peace with. It's not that I've enjoyed all the prize-winners (case in point: The Gathering) I've read. In fact, I tend to feel more let down when I don't enjoy a prize-winner, than when I don't enjoy just another book off the shelf.
I think I lean more towards the winners of the Booker Prize, but I don't quite know why. It's almost done subconsciously... However, last couple of years, I've been picking up books by authors who have won the Nobel Prize, and so far, I haven't had a bad experience. (There you go, I've probably jinxed it now!)
How about you? Do you have a favorite prize? Or, a favorite prize-winner?