Whenever the short list for a literary prize is announced, I always take a quick look through the novels selected. Usually, I find I haven't read any of them, nor any of the books previously written by the chosen authors. (All right, Hilary Mantel is the exception.)
Is this because I have low literary tastes? Possibly. But I honestly don't think so.
It is, I think, because I'm a story man. I don't care how brilliantly written a novel is, if it doesn't keep me interested in the characters and plot I know I won't finish it - probably won't even start it.
This, I'm sure, would have been so obvious to Charles Dickens or the Brontes it wouldn't have needed to be said. But it would seem that in the 20th century form became more important than content, especially in the UK. And that, to my way of thinking, has to be a back to front way of appreciating fiction.