The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Usual rules - one comment per person, list the ones you have read in order of preference, best first.

These are the longlisted books:

Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo
Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks
Homesick by Jennifer Croft
Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova
Stone Blind: Medusa's Story by Natalie Haynes
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The Dog of The North by Elizabeth Mckenzie
Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh
Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell
I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel
Pod by Laline Paull
Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

Final League Tables:

My adjusted weightings method:

Pos, Book, Average, Adjusted, Count, First Places, STD
1, Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, 4.60, 4.73, 15, 4, 2.23
2, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, 3.93, 5.15, 14, 4, 2.28
3, Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks, 5.36, 5.84, 11, 2, 2.59
4, I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel, 5.27, 5.91, 15, 5, 2.91
5, Homesick by Jennifer Croft, 5.86, 6.15, 14, 1, 2.48
6, The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell, 4.81, 6.16, 16, 3, 2.90
7, Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova, 6.50, 6.35, 12, 3, 2.66
8, The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff, 6.10, 6.45, 10, 1, 2.37
9, Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris, 7.25, 6.74, 8, 0, 2.23
10, Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo, 4.84, 7.14, 19, 2, 3.42
11, Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin, 5.69, 7.27, 13, 0, 2.89
12, Pod by Laline Paull, 8.71, 7.99, 7, 0, 2.43
13, Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh, 7.58, 8.78, 12, 1, 3.26
14, Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes, 8.58, 10.24, 12, 0, 3.54
15, The Dog of the North by Elizabeth McKenzie, 9.56, 10.34, 9, 0, 3.21
16, Memphis by Tara M Stringfellow, 10.33, 11.26, 9, 0, 3.35

Paul-style aggregate of comparisons

Pos, Book, Average, Relative ranking, Count, First Places
1, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, 3.93, 49, 14, 4
2, Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, 4.60, 44, 15, 4
3, Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks, 5.36, 24, 11, 2
4, The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff, 6.10, 22, 10, 1
5, The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell, 4.81, 16, 16, 3
5, Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo, 4.84, 16, 19, 2
5, Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris, 7.25, 16, 8, 0
8, Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin, 5.69, 11, 13, 0
9, I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel, 5.27, 8, 15, 5
10, Homesick by Jennifer Croft, 5.86, -3, 14, 1
11, Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova, 6.50, -7, 12, 3
12, Pod by Laline Paull, 8.71, -19, 7, 0
13, Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh, 7.58, -33, 12, 1
14, The Dog of the North by Elizabeth McKenzie, 9.56, -40, 9, 0
15, Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes, 8.58, -47, 12, 0
16, Memphis by Tara M Stringfellow, 10.33, -57, 9, 0

1 Homesick
3 Glory
6 Pod
9 I'm a Fan

I. Children of Paradise

2. Wandering Souls

1. Children of Paradise
2. I'm a Fan

Longlist:

1. I'm a Fan
2. Children of Paradise
3. Fire Rush
4. Trespasses
5. Homesick
6. Glory
7.
8.
9.
10. Wandering Souls
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

1. I’m A Fan (5*)
2. Homesick (3*)
3. Glory (3*)

1. Cursed Bread - 5*
2. Fire Rush - 4*

4. I'm a Fan - 4*




12. Trespasses - 3*

14. Glory - dnf

16. Black Butterflies - dnf

1. Trespasses (5*)
2. The Marriage Portrait (4*)


8. Memphis (3*)
9. The Dog of the North (3*)
10. The Bandit Queens (2.5*)
11. Demon Copperhead (2.5*)

I’m A Fan – 4.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Demon Copperhead – 4.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Glory – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Wandering Souls – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Fire Rush – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Trespasses – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Stone Blind – 3*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Marriage Portrait – 3*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Cursed Bread – 3*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Memphis – 3*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've read two so far:

Demon Copperhead
Glory

1. Trespasses
2. Demon Copperhead
3. Glory

1. Glory - 5*
2. Demon Copperhead - 4*
3. The Marriage Portrait - 4*
4. Wandering Souls - 4*
5. Homesick - 4*
6. Trespasses - 3*
7. The Bandit Queens - 3*
8. Stone Blind - 3*
9. The Dog of the North - 3*
10. Cursed Bread - 3*
11. Fire Rush - 3*

As usual, will edit as I go.

1. Demon Copperhead
2. Trespasses
3. The Marriage Portrait
4. The Dog of the North
5. Black Butterflies
6. Fire Rush
7. I'm a Fan
8. Homesick
9. Glory
10. Children of Paradise
11. Wandering Souls
12. The Bandit Queens
13. Cursed Bread
14. Stone Blind
15. Memphis
16. Pod

1. Demon Copperhead
2. Glory
3. The Marriage Portrait

Likely will change as I get to more of them.

1. Marriage portrait 5*
2. Wandering Souls 4.5*
3. Black Butterflies 4*
4. Trespasses 4*
5. Demon Copperhead 4*
6. I'm a Fan 3*


Stone Blind dnf

I was surprised how few of this year’s long list titles I know. Hope that means some smaller presses. So far I have only read two, so…

1. The Marriage Portrait
2. Glory

Ranking while reading:
1. Fire Rush (Evocative and 'fresh' / 4.5*)
2. Bandit Queens (loved the characters & the story & the humor / 4.5*)
3. Pod (moving and good storytelling / 4*)
4. Cursed Bread (atmospheric & loved the writing but it took an awfully long time to get to the point / 3*)
5./6. Demon Copperhead (too heavy on the message, predictable / 3*)
5./6. Marriage Portrait (well told story but as historical fiction quite a failure for me, plus the ending was annoying / 3*)
7. Stone Blind (nicely done but nothing 'new' / 3*)
8. Homesick (the second part and the ending were a bit meh / 3*)
9. Wandering Souls (good but quite predictable 3*)
10. Children of Paradise (loved the setting but it fell short story-wise / 2.5*)
11. Trespasses (important theme (The Troubles) but unconvincing execution and uninteresting story / 2*)
12. Glory (the animal-thing just didn't work for me, but can see why others are more positive / dnf)
13. Black Butterflies (cardboard characters and bad writing / 2*)
14. Dog of the North (too quirky for me but might work for others / dnf)
15. Memphis (trite / 1.5*)
16. I'm a Fan (really annoyed me / Bridget Jones on Instagram / 1*)

Shortlist predictions:
1. Demon Copperhead (oh well)
2. Fire Rush (I hope!)
3. I'm a Fan (I hope not!)
4. Trespasses
5. Marriage Portrait
6. Bandit Queens (wishful thinking... more likely: Black Butterflies)
I would also love to see Pod on the shortlist but I don't think it will happen.

1. I'm a Fan (9/10, my review)
2. Glory (9/10, my review)
3. Children of Paradise (8/10)
4.
5.
6.

1. The Bandit Queens 4.5 - my review
2. Children of Paradise 3.5 - my review
3. Trespasses 3.5 - my review
4. Black Butterflies 3 - my review
5. The Marriage Portrait 3 - my review
6. Wandering Souls 3 - my review
7. Memphis 3 - my review
8. Demon Copperhead 2.5 - my review personally didn't quite love it but the craft is impeccable
9. Glory DNF but I can see this winning the whole thing based on craft, message & revival/modernization of a literary tool
10. Pod 2.5 - my review
11. Cursed Bread 2.5 - my review
12. Fire Rush 2- my review
13. Homesick no rating my review
14. I'm a Fan DNF
15. The Dog of the North DNF
16. Stone Blind DNF

Maybe it is unfair for me to even rank the one's I DNF?
Edited 3/22 to add Cursed Bread & Black Butterflies.

Sammi wrote: "8. Glory DNF but I can see this winning the whole thing based on craft, message & revival/modernization of a literary tool."

I DNF'ed Glory with the same reaction as yours. I found myself in a unique situation (for me) - giving a rave review to a book I quit on page 50. My review.

1. I’m A Fan (5*)
2. Black Butterflies (4*)
3. The Bandit Queens (4*)
4. Wandering Souls (4*)
5. Trespasses (4*)
6. Children of Paradise (4*)
7. Glory (4*)
8. Fire Rush (3*)
9. Homesick (3*)
10. The Marriage Portrait (3*)
11. Cursed Bread (2*)

1. Glory
2. Fire Rush
3. Demon Copperhead
4. Wandering Souls (currently reading - may change place once finished!)
5. The Bandit Queens
6. Trespasses
7. Cursed Bread
8. Homesick
9. The Marriage Portrait
10. Stone Blind
11. I'm a Fan
12. Children of Paradise
13. Black Butterflies
14. Memphis
15. The Dog of the North
16. Pod

1. Fire Rush (4.5 stars)
2. I'm A Fan (4.5 stars)
3. Homesick (4 stars)
4. The Marriage Portrait (4 stars)
5. Trespasses (3.5 stars)
6. Cursed Bread (3 stars)
7. The Bandit Queens (3 stars)
8. Wandering Souls (2.5 stars)

Not planning to read anything else from the LL as I'm as confident as I can be that I won't get along with the other titles - will see if I add anything more after the SL is announced.

1. Children of paradise
2. Homesick
3. I'm a Fan
4. Glory
5. Demon Copperhead
6. Cursed Bread
7. Stone Blind (DNF)

1. Homesick
2. Pod
3. Fire Rush
4. Cursed Bread
5. Stone Blind
6. Memphis
7. Marriage Portrait
8. Wandering Souls

1. Trespasses
2. Wandering Souls
3. Marriage Portrait
4. Stone Blind
5. Glory
6. Demon Copperfield
7. Memphis
8. Dog of the North

I really liked Stone Blind - I thought it was funny, creative, and lively. I feel very much in the minority here.

Rest of the list to come - not everything available in US yet.

I won't get through everything, but since I've read a few and have a few more on my tbr, I might as well make a list.

1) The Marriage Portrait
2)
3) Wandering Souls
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10) Stone Blind
11)
12)
13) Children of Paradise
14)
15)
16) Cursed Bread (dnf)

I haven't finished the longlist yet. This is my ranking so far:

1) Demon Copperhead
2) Glory
3) The Bandit Queens
4) Stone Blind
5) The Dog of the North
6) The Marriage Portrait
7) Memphis
8) Cursed Bread
9) Fire Rush

Currently reading:
Trespasses (which is fantastic)
Homesick