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Monday, July 10, 2023

TTT: (Freebie) Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists I "think" I want to read



Top Ten Tuesday: Next Pulitzer Prize Fiction winners I "think" I want to read.

I am almost finished reading my first batch of Pulitzer Prize winners, with only two titles left to go (43 down, over 60 to go.) Now I am turning my attention to other titles I think I want to read. This is not a hard and fast list, just me trying to decide IF I should extend my list to include more books. Any advice from you would be great. Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Do you recommend others? My first batch of novels included ALL the winners from the 21st Century. See my list here, if curious what I've already read.




Title / Author

Year winner/finalist

Why

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson

2013 winner

This is one of the last two 21st century winners I haven’t read yet.

Train Dreams by Denis Johnson

2012 finalist

In 2012 no winner was announced. Many think this novella deserved it.

The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich

2009 finalist

I am a devoted Erdrich fan.

The Known World by Edward Jones

2004 winner

This is one of the last two 21st century winners I haven’t read yet.

American Pastoral by Philip Roth

1998 winner

I’ve read a few books by Roth before and know he is a good writer. Included on Paste Magazine’s top 30 Pulitzer Prize winners list.

Humbolt’s Gift by Saul Bellow

1976 winner

One blogging friend mentioned that she liked this book, though she thought it was a bit plodding. I just want to read something by Saul Bellow and might as well cross off another Pulitzer book while I’m at it. Pretty thin rationale, I realize.

Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

1975 winner

A friend used to rave about all of Shaara’s book (father and son both). It was the first novel on the Shortform list of best Pulitzers that I hadn’t already read, coming in at #30.

House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday

1969 winner

Momaday was the first Native American to win the award.

The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk

1952 winner

It made it onto the Shortform’s list, but only at spot #44

All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren

1947 winner

This title pretty much shows up on all lists of best Pulitzers.

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

1942 finalist

“Finalist” wasn’t a thing in 1942. The Pulitzer committee didn’t list the finalists each year until 1980. But no award was given in 1942 due to “politics.” One member of the committee that year vetoed this book.

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

1932 re-read winner

I read The Good Earth when I was in junior high school. I loved it. Now I want to reread it as an adult and see if it is as good as I remember it.

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thorton Wilder

1928 winner

I’ve placed this book on and off my Pulitzer reading list several times. It made it onto the top 30 Paste Magazine list. Back onto my list it goes.

One additional book I'm adding: Love in Infant Monkeys by Lydia Millet. It was a finalist in 2010, the year that Tinkers won the prize. I hated Tinkers so I decided to read the other finalists that year to see if the committee didn't have much to pick from or what happened.

-Anne

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