It’s that time of year…

Not for shopping, but for shortlists.

The Costa shortlist is out! Last year’s winning novel, A Song for Achilles, was one the few books I loved so much that when I got to the end I went straight to the beginning and started again. Always offering an alternative approach, for the first time, two graphic novels appear among the finalists. Read more here. 

Also, the list nobody wants to appear on: The Bad Sex in Fiction Awards.Somewhat hypocritically, Fifty Shades, which will forever be associated with 2012, could not be considered because of its pornographic/erotic content!