The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Once again, the rankings will work best if you rank all the ones you have read - I appreciate that this will be time-consuming but anything else penalises anything you leave at the bottom of an incomplete list unfairly. I strongly encourage numbering them 1,2,3,...,number of books read - if you omit the numbers I will assume that this is what you want. Please post one list per person and use edit where necessary. I will keep this open until at least the end of the year.

Please do not post general chat here - it may be deleted to keep this tidy!

These are the 60 nominated books (please do not vote for anything else!):

Animalia by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo (2017/2019, Tommi)
Insurrecto by Gina Apostol (2018, Nadine)
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (2018, Michele, Kathy)
Milkman by Anna Burns (2018, Nadine)
Little by Edward Carey (2018, Lili)
El Hacho by Luis Carrasco (2018, Michele)
The Old Slave and the Mastiff by Patrick Chamoiseau (1999/2018, Val)
The Innocents by Michael Crummey (2019, Jen)
Lala by Jacek Dehnal (2006/2018, Antonomasia)
Vernon Subutex 2 by Virginie Despentes (2015/2018, Antonomasia)
Disoriental by Négar Djavadi (2016/2018, Wendy)
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann (2019, Hugh, Neil, Wendy, Barbara)
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi (2018, Nadine)
The Years by Annie Ernaux (2008/2018, Antonomasia, Barbara)
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo (2019, Ella)
Nobber by Oisín Fagan (2019, Nadine)
The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse (2019, Tommi)
Optic Nerve by María Gainza (2014/2019, Val)
Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman (1954/2019, Hugh)
The Eighth Life (For Brilka) by Nino Haratischwili (2014/2019, Barbara)
Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession (2019, Robert)
Memories of the Future by Siri Hustvedt (2019, Neil)
The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James (2018, Gumble's Yard)
Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson (1970/2018, Ang)
Zed by Joanna Kavenna (2019, Hugh)
Death is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa (2016/2019, Sam)
Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming by László Krasznahorkai (2016/2019, Paul)
The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy (2019, Neil, Tracy, Vesna)
Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li (2019, Gumble's Yard)
Patience by Toby Litt (2019, Wendy, Gumbles Yard)
Loop by Brenda Lozano (2014/2019, Robert)
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli (2019, Karen Michele, C I N D L E)
Underland by Robert Macfarlane (2019, Sam)
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai (2018, Karen Michele)
Bunny by Mona Awad (2019, Lili)
Glassing the Organchine by David Marusek (2019, Michele)
Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden (2018, Jen)
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss (2018, Jen, Lili)
Becoming by Michelle Obama (2018, C I N D L E)
Inland by Téa Obreht (2019, Sara)
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa (1994/2019, Sara)
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (2019, Vesna)
Lucia by Alex Pheby (2018, Pink)
Lanny by Max Porter (2019, Kathy)
The Overstory by Richard Powers (2018, Kathy, C I N D L E)
We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin (2019, Ella)
A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum (2019, Ella)
Quichotte by Salman Rushdie (2019, Sam)
The Woman of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell (2019, Karen Michele)
The Book of M by Peng Shepherd (2018, Sara)
Codex 1962 by Sjón (2016/2018, Val)
Spring by Ali Smith (2019, Tracy)
The Faculty Of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg (2006/2019, Paul)
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (2019, Tracy, Ang)
Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (2009/2018, Vesna)
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (2019, Debra)
We Are Made of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner (2019, Paul)
Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson (2019, Pink)
The Paper Lovers by Gerard Woodward (2018, Ang)
Love in the New Millenium by Can Xue (2013/2018, Tommi)

League Tables

My adjusted weightings method:

Pos, Book, Average, Adjusted, Count, First Places
1, Memories of the Future by Siri Hustvedt, 5.8, 17.6, 5, 0
2, Milkman by Anna Burns, 5.3, 23.8, 20, 8
3, Patience by Toby Litt, 7.7, 23.8, 7, 0
4, Spring by Ali Smith, 5.8, 26.4, 17, 2
5, Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout, 6.8, 31.6, 6, 1
6, Animalia by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, 10.2, 33.0, 5, 1
7, Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming by László Krasznahorkai, 8.5, 33.4, 4, 0
8, The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy, 8.5, 34.0, 19, 2
9, The Faculty Of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg, 10.1, 35.2, 8, 0
10, The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, 7.6, 36.0, 5, 2
11, Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman, 5.5, 37.2, 4, 0
12, Inland by Téa Obreht, 10.6, 37.6, 5, 1
13, The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse, 7.0, 40.1, 3, 0
14, The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, 8.8, 41.6, 4, 0
15, El Hacho by Luis Carrasco, 8.9, 41.9, 7, 0
16, The Old Slave and the Mastiff by Patrick Chamoiseau, 11.3, 44.3, 7, 0
17, Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli, 8.9, 45.0, 23, 2
18, Lanny by Max Porter, 7.8, 45.0, 26, 1
19, The Overstory by Richard Powers, 9.9, 45.1, 16, 2
20, The Years by Annie Ernaux, 11.8, 46.7, 13, 0
21, Quichotte by Salman Rushdie, 11.8, 46.8, 13, 0
22, Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, 9.8, 47.6, 15, 0
23, The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James, 12.8, 49.0, 9, 0
24, Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson, 9.8, 50.1, 4, 1
25, Lucia by Alex Pheby, 12.9, 50.3, 9, 0
26, Glassing the Organchine by David Marusek, 2.0, 51.0, 1, 0
27, Codex 1962 by Sjón, 16.8, 51.4, 6, 0
28, Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann, 13.1, 51.6, 15, 2
29, Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, 12.2, 51.9, 14, 0
30, Death is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa, 12.0, 53.8, 3, 0
31, Underland by Robert Macfarlane, 4.5, 54.3, 2, 1
32, Insurrecto by Gina Apostol, 17.7, 56.1, 7, 0
33, We Are Made of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner, 14.4, 56.3, 9, 1
34, The Woman of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell, 5.3, 56.6, 3, 0
35, Disoriental by Négar Djavadi, 17.1, 59.3, 9, 0
36, The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa, 15.4, 59.6, 7, 0
37, Optic Nerve by María Gainza, 10.5, 60.6, 4, 0
38, The Innocents by Michael Crummey, 4.0, 61.6, 1, 0
39, Zed by Joanna Kavenna, 7.0, 62.3, 1, 0
40, Vernon Subutex 2 by Virginie Despentes, 13.0, 62.3, 3, 1
41, Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi, 13.8, 62.7, 17, 0
42, Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson, 14.8, 65.0, 17, 0
43, Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li, 18.8, 67.0, 5, 0
44, Loop by Brenda Lozano, 18.3, 68.7, 4, 0
45, Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss, 16.5, 70.2, 16, 1
46, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, 16.5, 70.4, 14, 0
47, My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, 14.7, 70.7, 22, 0
48, Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden, 13.9, 70.8, 11, 0
49, The Paper Lovers by Gerard Woodward, 6.0, 72.4, 1, 0
50, Love in the New Millenium by Can Xue, 23.7, 74.0, 6, 0
51, The Book of M by Peng Shepherd, 5.0, 78.8, 1, 0
52, Lala by Jacek Dehnal, 10.0, 81.5, 2, 0
53, Becoming by Michelle Obama, 15.8, 83.0, 4, 0
54, A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum, 12.3, 85.3, 3, 0
55, We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, 12.0, 87.5, 2, 0
56, Little by Edward Carey, 33.0, 135.2, 1, 0

Paul-style aggregate of comparisons

Pos, Book, Average, Relative ranking, Count, First Places
1, Milkman by Anna Burns, 5.25, 173, 20, 8
2, Spring by Ali Smith, 5.82, 149, 17, 2
3, Memories of the Future by Siri Hustvedt, 5.80, 92, 5, 0
3, Patience by Toby Litt, 7.71, 92, 7, 0
3, The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy, 8.53, 92, 19, 2
6, Lanny by Max Porter, 7.77, 69, 26, 1
7, Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming by László Krasznahorkai, 8.50, 58, 4, 0
8, The Faculty Of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg, 10.13, 56, 8, 0
9, The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse, 7.00, 53, 3, 0
10, The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, 7.60, 49, 5, 2
11, Animalia by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, 10.20, 48, 5, 1
11, Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout, 6.83, 48, 6, 1
13, Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, 9.80, 45, 15, 0
14, Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli, 8.91, 43, 23, 2
15, Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman, 5.50, 41, 4, 0
16, The Overstory by Richard Powers, 9.88, 30, 16, 2
17, El Hacho by Luis Carrasco, 8.86, 28, 7, 0
18, Death is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa, 12.00, 27, 3, 0
18, The Woman of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell, 5.33, 27, 3, 0
20, Underland by Robert Macfarlane, 4.50, 25, 2, 1
21, The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, 8.75, 22, 4, 0
22, The Old Slave and the Mastiff by Patrick Chamoiseau, 11.29, 15, 7, 0
23, Zed by Joanna Kavenna, 7.00, 14, 1, 0
24, Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson, 9.75, 11, 4, 1
25, Glassing the Organchine by David Marusek, 2.00, 9, 1, 0
25, Quichotte by Salman Rushdie, 11.77, 9, 13, 0
27, The Innocents by Michael Crummey, 4.00, 8, 1, 0
28, We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, 12.00, 6, 2, 0
28, The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James, 12.78, 6, 9, 0
30, The Paper Lovers by Gerard Woodward, 6.00, 5, 1, 0
30, Optic Nerve by María Gainza, 10.50, 5, 4, 0
32, Inland by Téa Obreht, 10.60, 3, 5, 1
33, The Book of M by Peng Shepherd, 5.00, 2, 1, 0
34, Codex 1962 by Sjón, 16.83, 0, 6, 0
35, A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum, 12.33, -2, 3, 0
36, Lucia by Alex Pheby, 12.89, -3, 9, 0
36, The Years by Annie Ernaux, 11.85, -3, 13, 0
38, Lala by Jacek Dehnal, 10.00, -4, 2, 0
39, Vernon Subutex 2 by Virginie Despentes, 13.00, -8, 3, 1
40, We Are Made of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner, 14.44, -17, 9, 1
41, Loop by Brenda Lozano, 18.25, -22, 4, 0
42, Insurrecto by Gina Apostol, 17.71, -31, 7, 0
43, Little by Edward Carey, 33.00, -32, 1, 0
44, Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, 12.21, -36, 14, 0
45, Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann, 13.13, -43, 15, 2
46, Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li, 18.80, -44, 5, 0
47, Becoming by Michelle Obama, 15.75, -50, 4, 0
48, The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa, 15.43, -52, 7, 0
49, Disoriental by Négar Djavadi, 17.11, -55, 9, 0
50, Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden, 13.91, -84, 11, 0
51, Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi, 13.82, -97, 17, 0
52, Love in the New Millenium by Can Xue, 23.67, -98, 6, 0
53, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, 16.50, -135, 14, 0
54, Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson, 14.82, -141, 17, 0
55, Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss, 16.50, -171, 16, 1
56, My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, 14.68, -213, 22, 0

No rankings:

Nobber by Oisín Fagan
The Eighth Life (For Brilka) by Nino Haratischwili
Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession
Bunny by Mona Awad

Tables excluding 2018 nominations

I have only read 25 of the 60, and liked almost all of these!


Milkman
Ducks, Newburyport
Spring
Stalingrad
El Hacho
Memories of the Future
Zed
The Faculty Of Dreams
Patience
Lanny
Lucia
Lost Children Archive
Freshwater
Girl, Woman, Other
Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead
Lala
Frankissstein: A Love Story
The Man Who Saw Everything
We Are Made of Diamond Stuff
Vernon Subutex 2
Quichotte
The Overstory
Insurrecto
The Years
Disoriental
Ghost Wall
My Sister, the Serial Killer

First pass at the 33 I have read. They will come out in a very different order if I do it again tomorrow. I need to think about it, but here's the first attempt:

1. The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
2. Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
3. Memories of the Future by Siri Hustvedt
4. Spring by Ali Smith
5. The Overstory by Richard Powers
6. Insurrecto by Gina Apostol
7. The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse
8. El Hacho by Luis Carrasco
9. Patience by Toby Litt
10. The Years by Annie Ernaux
11. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
12. The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James
13. Animalia by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo
14. Loop by Brenda Lozano
15. Codex 1962 by Sjón
16. We Are Made of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner
17. Milkman by Anna Burns
18. Vernon Subutex 2 by Virginie Despentes
19. The Faculty Of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg
20. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
21. Lucia by Alex Pheby
22. Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
23. Disoriental by Négar Djavadi
24. Love in the New Millenium by Can Xue
25. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
26. Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson
27. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
28. Lanny by Max Porter
29. Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
30. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
31. Quichotte by Salman Rushdie
32. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
33. Little by Edward Carey

These are all I’ve read. Fortuitously I liked all of them besides the bottom two. I seem to advocate translations.

1. Animalia by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo
2. Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming by László Krasznahorkai (reading atm)
3. Love in the New Millenium by Can Xue
4. Insurrecto by Gina Apostol
5. Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
6. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
7. The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse 
8. The Years by Annie Ernaux
9. Lucia by Alex Pheby
10. The Overstory by Richard Powers
11. The Faculty Of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg
12. Lanny by Max Porter
13. Milkman by Anna Burns
14. Codex 1962 by Sjón
15. Disoriental by Négar Djavadi
16. We Are Made of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner
17. The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
18. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
19. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
20. Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
21. Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li
22. Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
23. Loop by Brenda Lozano
24. Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson
25. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
26. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

For me the top 10 could all vie for 1st, next 10 are strong, and there is a massive gap between all of the rest and book 33.

1 We Are Made of Diamond Stuff
2 Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming
3 The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas
4 Animalia
5 Lost Children Archive
6 The Faculty Of Dreams
7 The Other Name: Septology I-II
8 Lanny
9 Milkman
10 Spring
11 The Years
12 Insurrecto
13 Codex 1962
14 Lucia
15 Patience
16 Quichotte
17 Disoriental
18 Girl, Woman, Other
19 Loop
20 The Man Who Saw Everything
21 The Old Slave and the Mastiff
22 The Memory Police
23 Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead
24 Death is Hard Work
25 Freshwater
26 On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
27 Love in the New Millennium
28 The Overstory
29 My Sister, the Serial Killer
30 Frankissstein: A Love Story
31 Ghost Wall
32 Where Reasons End
33 Ducks, Newburyport

1 Ducks, Newburyport
2 Milkman
3 The Memory Police
4 Inland
5 Book of M
6 Lost Children Archive
7 My Sister, the Serial Killer
8 Freshwater
9 Lanny
10 The Overstory
11 Praise Song for the Butterflies

1 Milkman 
2 Spring
3 The Man Who Saw Everything 
4 The Innocents 
5 The Old Slave and the Mastiff 
6 Ghost Wall 
7 My Sister, the Serial Killer 
8 The Memory Police 
9 Disoriental 
10 Lost Children Archive
11 Lanny 
12 Praise Song for the Butterflies
13 Freshwater
14 On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous 
15 We Cast a Shadow 

1. Milkman
2. Girl, Woman, Other
3. Lanny
4. Spring
5. The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas
6. Patience
7. Quichotte
8. Lost Children Archive
9. Lucia
10. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
11. The Man Who Saw Everything
12. Where Reasons End
13. Memories of The Future
14. Ducks, Newburyport
15. Olive Again
16. Ghost Wall
17. Loop
18. Animalia
19. Praise Song for the Butterflies
20. El Hacho
21. Frankisssstein
22. We Are Made of Diamond Stuff
23. Insurrecto
24. My Sister, The Serial Killer
25. Freshwater
26. The Overstory
27. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
28. The Years.

1. 'Lost Children Archive'
2. 'Becoming'
3. 'The Overstory'

This was tough, but here's my best effort:

1. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
2. The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
3. Spring by Ali Smith
4. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
5. The Woman of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell
6. Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
7. Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
8. Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson
9. Quichotte by Salman Rushdie
10. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
11. Lanny by Max Porter
12. The Overstory by Richard Powers
13. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
14. Milkman by Anna Burns
15. The Old Slave and the Mastiff by Patrick Chamoiseau
16. Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
17. Becoming by Michelle Obama
18. Inland by Téa Obreht
19. Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden
20. The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
21. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
22. A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
23. The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James

1. Ducks, Newburyport
2. The Man Who Saw Everything
3. Milkman
4. Lanny
5. The Overstory
6. Spring
7. Freshwater
8. The Memory Police
9. Frankissstein: A Love Story
10. Girl, Woman, Other
11. Lost Children Archive
12. My Sister, The Serial Killer

1. The Overstory
2. Lanny
3. My Sister, The Serial Killer

-Vernon Subutex 2 by Virginie Despentes
-The Years by Annie Ernaux
-The Faculty Of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg
-Lala by Jacek Dehnal
-Milkman by Anna Burns
-Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
-Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss (I really need to amend this review but I don't have enough time and energy to get round everything else as it is.)

I enjoyed all of these except the last one.

Milkman
Spring
Lanny
Frankissstein
My sister the serial killer
Freshwater
Ghost Wall

UPDATED as of 14th December 9:45PM (UK Time - I think)


The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Milkman by Anna Burns
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Memories of the Future by Siri Hustvedt
A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
Death is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa
Patience by Toby Litt
We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Lanny by Max Porter
Quichotte by Salman Rushdie
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
The Old Slave and the Mastiff by Patrick Chamoiseau
Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li
Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
The Faculty Of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
Disoriental by Négar Djavadi
Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming by László Krasznahorkai
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
The Years by Annie Ernaux
Spring by Ali Smith
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
We Are Made of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Inland by Téa Obreht
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden
Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson (Book 1 alone would be top 5)
Insurrecto by Gina Apostol
The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James
Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson
Codex 1962 by Sjón
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Love in the New Millenium by Can Xue

Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson
Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
The Paper Lovers by Gerard Woodward
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
The Years by Annie Ernaux
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
El Hacho by Luis Carrasco
Lanny by Max Porter
Lucia by Alex Pheby
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Spring by Ali Smith
We Are Made of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner

1. Milkman by Anna Burns
2. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
3. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
4. Stalingrad by Vasily Grosman
5. Lanny by Max Porter
6. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
7. The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
8. The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
9. Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson
10. Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson

1) Lanny by Max Porter
2) We Are Made of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner
3) The Old Slave and the Mastiff by Patrick Chamoiseau
4) Codex 1962 by Sjón
5) Optic Nerve by María Gainza
6) Spring by Ali Smith
7) The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
8) Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman
9) Disoriental by Négar Djavadi
10) El Hacho by Luis Carrasco
11) My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
12) The Faculty Of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg
13) Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
14) Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden
15) The Years by Annie Ernaux
16) Quichotte by Salman Rushdie
17) On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
18) Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson
19) Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
20) Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
21) Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
22) Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

to be added
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

My rankings:
1. The Overstory by Richard Powers (10/10), though this is more of a 2018 read for me
2. Patience by Toby Litt (10/10)
3. Lanny by Max Porter (10/10)
4. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli (9.5/10)
5. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo (8.5/10)
6. Spring by Ali Smith (8.5/10)
7. The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy (8.5/10)
8. Underland by Robert Macfarlane (current read, may adjust ranking)
9. Milkman by Anna Burns (7.5/10)
10. The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James (current read, may adjust ranking)
11. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss (6/10)
12. Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson (6/10)
13. Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann (5/10)
14. Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li (5/10)
15. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (5/10)

UPDATED on December 23 (Ernaux and Carrasco added):

1. The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
2. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
3. The Years by Annie Ernaux
4. Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
5. El Hacho by Luis Carrasco
6. Lanny by Max Porter
7. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

1. Milkman by Anna Burns
2. The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
3. Spring by Ali Smith
4. Lanny by Max Porter
5. Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
6. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
7. Quichotte by Salman Rushdie
8. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
9. Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
10. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
11. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
12. We Are Made of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner


I hope to finish Lucia and/or The Unauthorized Biography of Ezra Maas this year. If so, I will update the list accordingly!

1. Inland by Téa Obreht
2. Quichotte by Salman Rushdie
3. Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson
4. The Overstory by Richard Powers
5. Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
6. Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
7. The Woman of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell
8. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Milkman by Anna Burns
Glassing the Organchine by David Marusek
El Hacho by Luis Carrasco
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Spring by Ali Smith
Lucia by Alex Pheby
The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden
The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James
Lanny by Max Porter
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
Optic Nerve

1/ Milkman
2/ Lost children archive
3/ My sister the serial killer
4/ Ducks Newburyport
5/ Lanny
6/ Freshwater
7/ The great believers
8/ Becoming
9/ A woman is no man

I am wondering whether we need another set of league tables excluding the books published in 2018. I am a big fan of Milkman too, but it seems a bit odd to have it heading a list of 2019 books when it topped our 2018 poll...

Hugh wrote: "I am wondering whether we need another set of league tables excluding the books published in 2018. I am a big fan of Milkman too, but it seems a bit odd to have in heading a list of 2019 books when..."

That is why I wanted to leave out the books I read in 2018. That is another way of doing it which makes more sense to me, since we have allowed books published in 2018.

If the spreadsheet has a column for publication date it must be pretty straightforward to produce 2 sets of final rankings.

I think I did gently point out this might happen on the original thread when some of last year’s top books were nominated.

I read Milkman again in 2019 so was delighted to see it top the rankings, but would be happy if my Guardian Book of the Year choice was top of the rankings instead.

Antonomasia wrote: "If the spreadsheet has a column for publication date it must be pretty straightforward to produce 2 sets of final rankings."
It can be done but it is a little messy because the spreadsheet already has multiple worksheets! It also feels a little harsh to exclude books published very late in 2018. I will give it more thought!

As was mentioned in the nominations thread, books published towards the end of the year tended to miss out. Probably not as practical as years, but using October 2018 (i.e. Booker cut off date)- Dec 2019 would solve that.

Insurrecto, published in the uk in 2019 but aug 2018 in the US, has seemed very much a 2019 book on gr and other social media. it would be a shame for that to miss out.

Milkman was 2018 publication on both sides of the Atlantic. But looks like Dec 2018 in the US so kind of tricky if we are to allow for late 2018 and both UK / US. Or we could just exclude previous winners?

Another option would be to disqualify the ones that were nominated for best of 2018. Unfortunately I didn't record the exact publication dates on the spreadsheet, so I'd have to go through and check again to use anything other than the year as a selection criterion.

Excluding the books that were on last year's list, or which had more than a certain number of nominations may be the fairest way for examples like (e.g. if just one or two people read them last year but lots read them this year, maybe those are okay)

examples like Insurrecto, that was meant to say

I agree with Antonomasia's suggestion -- eliminating ones that were above a certain threshold of votes on last year's list.

I am in the US and read Milkman in January 2019, but it still mentally feels like an older book to me because I heard so much discussion about it in 2018.

OK, These are the tables excluding the books that were nominated last year (i.e. Milkman, Lucia, The Overstory, Vernon Subutex 2,Anniversaries, Freshwater and Ghost Wall):

My adjusted weightings method:

Pos, Book, Average, Adjusted, Count, First Places
1, Memories of the Future by Siri Hustvedt, 4.8, 18.0, 5, 0
2, Patience by Toby Litt, 6.4, 23.6, 7, 1
3, Spring by Ali Smith, 4.8, 24.7, 17, 4
4, Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout, 6.0, 32.4, 6, 1
5, Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming by László Krasznahorkai, 7.3, 33.3, 4, 0
6, The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy, 7.2, 33.8, 19, 3
7, The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, 6.4, 35.3, 5, 2
8, Animalia by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, 9.2, 35.7, 5, 1
9, Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman, 4.8, 36.6, 4, 0
10, The Faculty Of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg, 8.9, 36.8, 8, 0
11, Inland by Téa Obreht, 9.0, 37.3, 5, 1
12, El Hacho by Luis Carrasco, 7.6, 41.4, 7, 0
13, The Old Slave and the Mastiff by Patrick Chamoiseau, 9.6, 43.3, 7, 0
14, The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse, 6.7, 43.4, 3, 0
15, Glassing the Organchine by David Marusek, 1.0, 43.6, 1, 1
16, Lanny by Max Porter, 6.4, 44.0, 26, 2
17, The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, 8.0, 44.1, 4, 0
18, Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli, 7.6, 45.2, 23, 3
19, The Years by Annie Ernaux, 10.2, 47.1, 13, 1
20, Quichotte by Salman Rushdie, 10.1, 47.5, 13, 0
21, The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James, 10.7, 48.0, 9, 0
22, Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, 8.5, 48.0, 15, 1
23, Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann, 11.0, 51.0, 15, 3
24, Codex 1962 by Sjón, 14.3, 51.6, 6, 0
25, Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, 10.6, 53.0, 14, 1
26, Death is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa, 10.3, 54.2, 3, 0
27, The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa, 12.6, 55.9, 7, 0
28, The Woman of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell, 4.7, 56.4, 3, 0
29, Underland by Robert Macfarlane, 4.0, 56.6, 2, 1
30, Insurrecto by Gina Apostol, 14.9, 56.9, 7, 0
31, We Are Made of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner, 12.3, 57.7, 9, 1
32, The Innocents by Michael Crummey, 3.0, 59.1, 1, 0
33, Disoriental by Négar Djavadi, 14.3, 59.6, 9, 0
34, Optic Nerve by María Gainza, 8.8, 60.0, 4, 0
35, Zed by Joanna Kavenna, 6.0, 64.4, 1, 0
36, Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li, 15.4, 65.7, 5, 0
37, Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson, 12.5, 65.9, 17, 1
38, The Paper Lovers by Gerard Woodward, 4.0, 67.3, 1, 0
39, My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, 12.1, 69.5, 22, 1
40, Loop by Brenda Lozano, 15.5, 69.9, 4, 0
41, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, 14.0, 70.2, 14, 0
42, Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden, 12.2, 71.2, 11, 0
43, Love in the New Millenium by Can Xue, 20.2, 74.9, 6, 0
44, The Book of M by Peng Shepherd, 4.0, 81.6, 1, 0
45, A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum, 10.0, 83.2, 3, 0
46, We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, 9.5, 85.8, 2, 0
47, Becoming by Michelle Obama, 13.3, 86.8, 4, 0
48, Lala by Jacek Dehnal, 8.0, 88.7, 2, 0
49, Little by Edward Carey, 27.0, 134.9, 1, 0

Paul-style aggregate of comparisons

Pos, Book, Average, Relative ranking, Count, First Places
1, Spring by Ali Smith, 4.82, 128, 17, 4
2, The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy, 7.16, 78, 19, 3
3, Memories of the Future by Siri Hustvedt, 4.80, 75, 5, 0
3, Patience by Toby Litt, 6.43, 75, 7, 1
5, Lanny by Max Porter, 6.42, 60, 26, 2
6, Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming by László Krasznahorkai, 7.25, 48, 4, 0
7, The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, 6.40, 42, 5, 2
8, The Faculty Of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg, 8.88, 41, 8, 0
9, The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse, 6.67, 39, 3, 0
10, Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout, 6.00, 36, 6, 1
11, Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman, 4.75, 33, 4, 0
11, Animalia by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, 9.20, 33, 5, 1
11, Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli, 7.57, 33, 23, 3
14, Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, 8.47, 32, 15, 1
15, Death is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa, 10.33, 22, 3, 0
15, The Woman of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell, 4.67, 22, 3, 0
15, El Hacho by Luis Carrasco, 7.57, 22, 7, 0
18, Underland by Robert Macfarlane, 4.00, 19, 2, 1
19, The Old Slave and the Mastiff by Patrick Chamoiseau, 9.57, 17, 7, 0
20, The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, 8.00, 15, 4, 0
21, Zed by Joanna Kavenna, 6.00, 10, 1, 0
22, Glassing the Organchine by David Marusek, 1.00, 9, 1, 1
23, We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, 9.50, 8, 2, 0
24, The Innocents by Michael Crummey, 3.00, 7, 1, 0
24, Optic Nerve by María Gainza, 8.75, 7, 4, 0
26, The Paper Lovers by Gerard Woodward, 4.00, 5, 1, 0
26, The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James, 10.67, 5, 9, 0
26, Quichotte by Salman Rushdie, 10.08, 5, 13, 0
29, A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum, 10.00, 2, 3, 0
29, Inland by Téa Obreht, 9.00, 2, 5, 1
31, The Book of M by Peng Shepherd, 4.00, 1, 1, 0
32, Codex 1962 by Sjón, 14.33, 0, 6, 0
33, Lala by Jacek Dehnal, 8.00, -5, 2, 0
34, The Years by Annie Ernaux, 10.15, -9, 13, 1
35, We Are Made of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner, 12.33, -17, 9, 1
36, Loop by Brenda Lozano, 15.50, -21, 4, 0
37, Little by Edward Carey, 27.00, -26, 1, 0
38, Insurrecto by Gina Apostol, 14.86, -28, 7, 0
39, Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li, 15.40, -33, 5, 0
40, Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, 10.57, -37, 14, 1
41, Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann, 11.00, -38, 15, 3
42, The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa, 12.57, -39, 7, 0
43, Becoming by Michelle Obama, 13.25, -41, 4, 0
44, Disoriental by Négar Djavadi, 14.33, -45, 9, 0
45, Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden, 12.18, -77, 11, 0
46, Love in the New Millenium by Can Xue, 20.17, -86, 6, 0
47, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, 14.00, -113, 14, 0
48, Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson, 12.53, -125, 17, 1
49, My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, 12.14, -175, 22, 1

Wasn't Drive Your Plow in last year's list?

Thanks for doing all this extra work BTW

Antonomasia wrote: "Wasn't Drive Your Plow in last year's list?"
No, nobody nominated it, perhaps because most preferred Flights

I'm ecstatic to see Patience ranking so highly. It's a phenomenal book.

1 Lanny
2 The Old Slave and the Mastiff
3 Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
4 Death is Hard Work
5 On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
6 Where Reasons End
7 Memory Police

Hugh wrote: "WndyJW wrote: "In descending order of when I read them:

1. Lion Cross Point by Masatugu Ono from Two Lines
2. Disoriental by Négar Djavadi from Europa
3. Patience by Toby Litt from Galley Beggar
4..."

Oops. I deleted my post.

1.Underland
2. Anniversaries*
3. Quichotte
4. The Years
5.Death is Hard Work
6.The Man Who Saw Everything.
7. Stalingrad
8. Overstory
9. Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming
10. The Great Believers
11. Freshwater
12. Lanny
13. Ghost Wall
14. The Old Slave and the Mastiff
15. Lost Children Archives
16. Milkman
17. The Unauthorized Biography of Ezra Maas
18. The Memory Police
19. Optic Nerve
20. Codex 1962
21. My Sister the Serial Killer
22. Disoriental
23. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
24. Insurrecto
25. Ducks, Newburyport
26. Love in the New Millenium

* I am still reading this but it has given me more challenge and pleasure than any other on the list.
I noticed Underland has not been read by many voting. I do think it would appeal to some of you.

1. Lost Children Archive
2. Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead
3. Lanny
4. Spring
5. The Years
6. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
7. The Old Slave and the Mastiff
8. Girl, Woman, Other
9. My Sister, the Serial Killer
10. Praise Song for the Butterflies

1. Spring by Ali Smith
2. The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
3. Lanny by Max Porter
4. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
5. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
6. Quichotte by Salman Rushdie
7. Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson
8. Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L.

Sam wrote: "1.Underland
2. Anniversaries*
3. Quichotte
4. The Years
5.Death is Hard Work
6.The Man Who Saw Everything.
7. Stalingrad
8. Overstory
9. Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming
10. The Great Believers
11. ..."

I have read everything else McFarlane has written and will buy this one when it appears in paperback (unless somebody buys it for me for Christmas!)

1, Spring by Ali Smith
2, Memories of the Future by Siri Hustvedt
3, The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James
4, Milkman by Anna Burns,
5, Patience by Toby Litt,
6, Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden,
7, Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout,
8, Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo,
9, The Overstory by Richard Powers,
10, Lucia by Alex Pheby
11, Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson
12, Quichotte by Salman Rushdie,
13, The Years by Annie Ernaux,
14, Lanny by Max Porter
15, Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann,
16, Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi,
17, My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite,
18, Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
19, Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss,
20, The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy

1. Ghost Wall
2. Milkman
3. My sister the serial killer
4. Lanny

1. Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout 5
2. Inland by Téa Obreht 5
3. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett 5
4. The Woman of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell 5
5. The Faculty Of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg 5
6. Optic Nerve by María Gainza 5
7. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong 5
8. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli 5
9. Lanny by Max Porter 5
10. The Overstory by Richard Powers 5
11. Quichotte by Salman Rushdie 5
12. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo 5
13. The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy 5
14. Disoriental by Négar Djavadi 5

15. Animalia by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo 4
16. Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden 4
17. Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi 4
18. Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk 4
19. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai 4
20. Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson 4
21. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (2018, Michele, Kathy) 4
22. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss 4

23. Lucia by Alex Pheby 3
24. Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann 2 Abandoned when between a third and a half through
25. Love in the New Millenium by Can Xue 2 Abandoned when 1/3 through