The Booker Long List

The Guardian has the long list for the Booker and here they are:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie   Purple Hibiscus Nadeem Aslam   Maps for Lost Lovers Nicola Barker   Clear: A Transparent Novel John Bemrose   The Island Walkers Ronan Bennett   Havoc, in its Third Year Susanna Clarke   Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Neil Cross   Always the Sun Achmat Dangor   Bitter Fruit Louise Dean   Becoming Strangers Lewis Desoto   A Blade of Grass Sarah Hall   The Electric Michelangelo James Hamilton-Paterson   Cooking with Fernet Branca Justin Haythe   The Honeymoon Shirley Hazzard   The Great Fire Alan Hollinghurst   The Line of Beauty Gail Jones   Sixty Lights David Mitchell   Cloud Atlas Sam North   The Unnumbered Nicholas Shakespeare   Snowleg Matt Thorne   Cherry Colm Tóibín   The Master Gerard Woodward   I'll go to Bed at Noon

I am sad to say I haven't read a single one of them. Or maybe I should be sad that not one of the books I've read in the last year are on the list. Outrage! These people wouldn't know good literature if it bit them in the ass. Just kidding! I have heard that Purple Hibiscus and Cloud Atlas are very good. The real question about this list of books is: is Shakespeare Nicholas' real last name?