Tournament of Books 11: The shortlist arrives

Have at it:

Jesse Ball, SILENCE ONCE BEGUN
Will Chancellor, A BRAVE MAN SEVEN STOREYS TALL
Anthony Doerr, ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE
Elena Ferrante, THOSE WHO LEAVE AND THOSE WHO STAY **3rd book in a series
Roxane Gay, AN UNTAMED STATE (I've read and reviewed this)
Lars Iyer, WITTGENSTEIN JR
Marlon James, A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS
Phil Klay, REDEPLOYMENT
Emily St. John Mandel, STATION ELEVEN (I've read this)
David Mitchell, THE BONE CLOCKS (I've read part of this)
Celeste Ng, EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU
Jenny Offill, DEPT OF SPECULATION
Ariel Schrag, ADAM
Sarah Waters, THE PAYING GUESTS
Jeff VanderMeer, ANNIHILATION **trilogy
Evie Wyld, ALL THE BIRDS, SINGING

I was 8/16 in my predictions, which is as expected. Also, there's no round-robin for a spot, which I did not get correctly.

How is the housing crisis playing out in fiction? According to this incredible write-up by i09, by showing the "scary underside" of "real-estate fetishism." I wouldn't have thought to put Sarah Waters' Booker-nominated THE LITTLE STRANGER in that category, but since it concerns a family on the verge of losing its potentially haunted house, it's not too much of a stretch.

Man Booker Shortlist Announced

Pick the winner if you dare:

A.S. Byatt, THE CHILDREN'S BOOK
J.M. Coetzee, SUMMERTIME
Adam Foulds, THE QUICKENING MAZE
Hilary Mantel, WOLF HALL
Simon Mawer, THE GLASS ROOM
Sarah Waters, THE LITTLE STRANGER

I'm one for six (the Waters; liked it, didn't love it). Coetzee has already won it twice, Byatt once; Adam Foulds is the youngest nominee at 34. According to the Guardian, bets placed on the list heavily favor Mantel; I know it's illegal, but I really wish America had more of a cultural-gambling culture.