100 Must-Read Almost-Prize-Winning Books
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I had this problem a few years ago where I accidentally read and loved a few Pulitzer Prize-winning novels (Empire Falls and Middlesex) and then, because I’m a little bit stupid, I decided that if two of them were good then they must all be good. And if they were all good then I should read them all!
So I did read them all but, surprise!, they were not all good. In fact, some of them were very ungood and the process was painful and tedious and aggravating. So many white men! I mean, like, LOTS of white men!
When I finally finished the challenge I thought to myself, “Whew, great job, here’s some cookies and ice cream, now never do anything like that again!” and I assured myself I would never do anything like that again, obviously.
But a few weeks later I read this book called Birdy and I loved it and it turned out it had been shortlisted for the Pulitzer and lost out to The Executioner’s Song, which was a pretty good book but was really more creative nonfiction than a novel, so what the hell was it winning the Fiction category for, you know? And then I thought, “Damn, self, this book was a lot better than the winner. What if all the shortlisted books are better than the winners? You should probably read them all to find out.”
And then I did. Like I said, I’m a little bit stupid.
The good news is that many of them were very, very good and now I get to pretend that I’m some sort of expert on Pulitzer-winning/almost-winning novels but in real life I’m just a person who’s a little bit stupid and likes to create aggravating reading goals for herself.
The other good news is that I’ve compiled a list of books that almost won major awards so you can create your own aggravating reading goal! You’re welcome! I included the Man Booker, National Book Award, Pulitzer Prize, and Lambda Literary Awards. And then a few other random selections because they’re great and I like it when people read great things.
- A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize
- A Five-Year Sentence by Bernice Rubens shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize
- American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell shortlited for the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award
- American Woman by Susan Choi shortlisted for the Pulitzer
- An Insular Possession by Timothy Mo shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize
- An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine shortlisted for the National Book Award
- Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize
- Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize
- Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart by Joyce Carol Oates shortlisted for the National Book Award
- Beyond Deserving by Sandra Scofield shortlisted for the National Book Award
