Tips for Tikay

[tikay]

I know Fred likes an odd one every now and then.

The Man Booker Prize shortlist was announced earlier this month and the winner is named on 16 October. Here’s my best TightEnd impression:

Last year, there was a pretty divisive row between those who believed that the award had become a stuffy, self-congratulatory exercise in longest-wordism and those who believed books are supposed to be accessible and should be capable of being read, enjoyed and discussed by a higher percentage of the population. The chair of the judges last year was former MI5 head, Dame Stella Rimmington, who was very much in the latter camp. She spoke out against books that were too lofty and argued that (he paraphrases) page-turners didn’t have to be chick-lit.

This year could not be more different. The head judge is the editor of the Times Literary Supplement, Sir Peter Stothard and he has been clear from the outset that “readability” is a dirty word.

We are not looking for a book that you or I would be desperate to read. This is a Turner Prize year; a rebellion against mainstream society.

The unlikelies

Although there are six books in the shortlist, we can probably discount Deborah Levy’s ‘Swimming Home’ and Jeet Thayil’s ‘Nacropolis’. Neither stands out particularly against the competition and there isn’t a critic out there – at least that I can find – who is arguing that they should be the ones taking the prize, however wonderful the reads would undoubtedly be.

The possibles

Tan Twan Eng’s book ‘The Garden of Evening Mists’ is probably the slowest paced book ever to be deemed a triumph. Even supporters say so. The phrase ‘slowly crashing icebergs’ was used by one of the judges. The story is the meeting and relationship between a retired female Supreme Court Justice from Kuala Lumpur and an exiled Japanese gardener. She becomes his apprentice. It is a well-executed still-life painting: nice to look at, but staring at it for more than a few minutes is either boring or weird. 7-1 best price with Paddy Power.

Alison Moore’s ‘The Lighthouse’ is probably the easiest read of the shortlist. The plot is a bit hard to understand and it keeps going backwards but critics are calling it the page-turner. I suspect that this is the girl in a group of quite ugly women that, when faced with the prospect of the last waltz alone, you grit your teeth and go for.  She’s 6-1 with Stan James.

The big two

Will Self is such a divisive writer that marmite is referred to as a Will Self yeast-based product. Anyone who has picked up one of his novels (probably Great Apes being the best known) will have an idea why: he barely ever writes for his audience. He has no interest in dumbing down or explaining his narrative; his language is an arrogant and petulant assault on people who say “less” when they mean “fewer”. ‘Umbrella’ is, ironically, less full of Selfisms than some of his other books, but not by much. It is a single paragraph. The whole thing is one paragraph. 397 pages of block text, long words, confusing sentences, thesaurus-clutching and three parallel plots from different medical environments. This wouldn’t be a “two fingers” to last year’s panel. It would be a Temuri Ketsbia goal celebration. He is as big as 11/4 (Ladbrokes), but some bookies have him as favourite (Betfair 11/10).

The general favourite would be a headline maker. Hilary Mantel has won the prize before and ‘Bring up the Bodies’ is the second part of the trilogy that gave us Wolf Hall. The panel has commented that it is a more developed and technically proficient novel than the first, which is a clear indication that a short price is justified. She would be the first ever Briton to win the prize twice (two overseas novelists have won it twice) and, to be completely honest, I question whether that would be a bit of an injustice, given that she isn’t likely to be regarded as one of the all-time greats in years to come. She is 9/4 with Ladbrokes, best price.

My view

First things first, I assume that there is money to be made by betting with one bookie and laying with another – the difference between 11/10 and 11/4 is absurd. I appreciate the lay price isn’t the same as the bet price.

As for where I think the value is, I’m by no means a betting price expert. I would think Will Self the most likely winner – for the judges to combine a well-known person (this is a former captain on Shooting Stars, lest we forget!) with an intense, haunting, challenging read would seem a logical choice. If Hilary Mantel wins for the first two books of her trilogy, the panel for the third one is set a gargantuan dilemma. Self is a Guardian man, but I would doubt that matters.

Self quotes James Joyce at the outset of his novel and the comparison is an easy one. ‘Ulysses’ is the book most people lie about having read to the end.


Recommend [insert figure] on Will Self to win the Man Booker Prize 2012 with Ladbrokes at 11/4

Thanks Spurs Bloke.

No idea if this is "value" or not, but it has to be done, if only for the prestige & the craic. (Jeez, everytime I see "craic" spelt" "crack" it does my head in. End mini rant....).

We have a measly but meaningful £20 @ 11/4 with Ladbrokes, Will Self to win the Booker Prize.

ON

Selection11/4 - Will Self

Event2012 Man Booker Prize Booker Prize

MarketPrize winner
 
Your bets (1)
 Single - Will Self
1 line at £20.00 per line
Total stake for this bet: £20.00
Potential Return: £75.00
Time: 22/09/12 13:02
Receipt No: O/142640973/0000134

[Tal]

Wow, a bet on the Booker Prize! Proper posh that.

In addition, I love Will Self, though more his spoken word than his writtten offerings, the latter is a bit deep for me.

We are of like minds, sir.

QED

[tikay]

That Booker Prize bet may even attract some of the more erudite Luton lurkers to Post - I'm thinking nirvana, China Mug, Chompy, those pseudo-posh sorts.

[Tonji]

@Tal

Love a book battle. Are the other members of the judging panel likely to oppose the head judge? Can we expect some literary skirmishes?

[tikay]

The Shop will be shut until around 4.30pm for the purpose of bet-placement.

[AceHighSuited]

Sunderland @ 3/1 away to West Ham looks pretty big to me.  And defo one I'm having today. 

I also like a few of the away teams in The Championship today. 

[LeedsRhodesy]

Sunderland @ 3/1 away to West Ham looks pretty big to me.  And defo one I'm having today. 

I also like a few of the away teams in The Championship today. 

West ham are unbeaten at home this season, beat fulham 3-0 and have not let in a goal at home,

[The Camel]

I know Fred likes an odd one every now and then.

The Man Booker Prize shortlist was announced earlier this month and the winner is named on 16 October. Here’s my best TightEnd impression:

Last year, there was a pretty divisive row between those who believed that the award had become a stuffy, self-congratulatory exercise in longest-wordism and those who believed books are supposed to be accessible and should be capable of being read, enjoyed and discussed by a higher percentage of the population. The chair of the judges last year was former MI5 head, Dame Stella Rimmington, who was very much in the latter camp. She spoke out against books that were too lofty and argued that (he paraphrases) page-turners didn’t have to be chick-lit.

This year could not be more different. The head judge is the editor of the Times Literary Supplement, Sir Peter Stothard and he has been clear from the outset that “readability” is a dirty word.

We are not looking for a book that you or I would be desperate to read. This is a Turner Prize year; a rebellion against mainstream society.

The unlikelies

Although there are six books in the shortlist, we can probably discount Deborah Levy’s ‘Swimming Home’ and Jeet Thayil’s ‘Nacropolis’. Neither stands out particularly against the competition and there isn’t a critic out there – at least that I can find – who is arguing that they should be the ones taking the prize, however wonderful the reads would undoubtedly be.

The possibles

Tan Twan Eng’s book ‘The Garden of Evening Mists’ is probably the slowest paced book ever to be deemed a triumph. Even supporters say so. The phrase ‘slowly crashing icebergs’ was used by one of the judges. The story is the meeting and relationship between a retired female Supreme Court Justice from Kuala Lumpur and an exiled Japanese gardener. She becomes his apprentice. It is a well-executed still-life painting: nice to look at, but staring at it for more than a few minutes is either boring or weird. 7-1 best price with Paddy Power.

Alison Moore’s ‘The Lighthouse’ is probably the easiest read of the shortlist. The plot is a bit hard to understand and it keeps going backwards but critics are calling it the page-turner. I suspect that this is the girl in a group of quite ugly women that, when faced with the prospect of the last waltz alone, you grit your teeth and go for.  She’s 6-1 with Stan James.

The big two

Will Self is such a divisive writer that marmite is referred to as a Will Self yeast-based product. Anyone who has picked up one of his novels (probably Great Apes being the best known) will have an idea why: he barely ever writes for his audience. He has no interest in dumbing down or explaining his narrative; his language is an arrogant and petulant assault on people who say “less” when they mean “fewer”. ‘Umbrella’ is, ironically, less full of Selfisms than some of his other books, but not by much. It is a single paragraph. The whole thing is one paragraph. 397 pages of block text, long words, confusing sentences, thesaurus-clutching and three parallel plots from different medical environments. This wouldn’t be a “two fingers” to last year’s panel. It would be a Temuri Ketsbia goal celebration. He is as big as 11/4 (Ladbrokes), but some bookies have him as favourite (Betfair 11/10).

The general favourite would be a headline maker. Hilary Mantel has won the prize before and ‘Bring up the Bodies’ is the second part of the trilogy that gave us Wolf Hall. The panel has commented that it is a more developed and technically proficient novel than the first, which is a clear indication that a short price is justified. She would be the first ever Briton to win the prize twice (two overseas novelists have won it twice) and, to be completely honest, I question whether that would be a bit of an injustice, given that she isn’t likely to be regarded as one of the all-time greats in years to come. She is 9/4 with Ladbrokes, best price.

My view

First things first, I assume that there is money to be made by betting with one bookie and laying with another – the difference between 11/10 and 11/4 is absurd. I appreciate the lay price isn’t the same as the bet price.

As for where I think the value is, I’m by no means a betting price expert. I would think Will Self the most likely winner – for the judges to combine a well-known person (this is a former captain on Shooting Stars, lest we forget!) with an intense, haunting, challenging read would seem a logical choice. If Hilary Mantel wins for the first two books of her trilogy, the panel for the third one is set a gargantuan dilemma. Self is a Guardian man, but I would doubt that matters.

Self quotes James Joyce at the outset of his novel and the comparison is an easy one. ‘Ulysses’ is the book most people lie about having read to the end.


Recommend [insert figure] on Will Self to win the Man Booker Prize 2012 with Ladbrokes at 11/4

Great post.

I've got a mate (brag obv) who is massively successful in this market. He has backed the winner something like 9 of the last 10 years with some tasty prices.

His system is not to read the books (he thinks ths clouds objective judgement) but purely the reviews in the press.

I'll find out what he has backed this year.

[The Camel]

Couple of swimming against the tide football selections:

Leeds to beat Forest and Peterboro to beat Wolves (Sorry Chompy)

Market just moved too much in both cases imo.

Also like Sunderland a bit, probably on the Asain Hcaps rather than straight up though.

gl everyone today.

[Tal]

@Tal

Love a book battle. Are the other members of the judging panel likely to oppose the head judge? Can we expect some literary skirmishes?

There will always be heated debate in these things. The shortlist was chosen by the same panel from a longlist, which suggests that, given that the novels are tough reads, there is a consensus about the overall message from this year's selections. It's obviously second-guessing from the little info we have, but there will surely be a difference of opinion in the room before a decision is made. Last year's panel apparently took just 31 minutes to reach agreement, which is pretty clear as a message.

The panel has already drawn criticism from some pretty prominent people for being pretentious in its selections (alliiteration unintended). I would be surprised if, having chosen that six, they then decided to bow to pressure and pick the easiest to read.

[Tal]

Jeez, Camel, don't come back with a different name! I've just had my first tip accepted by Fred!

[Snowball]

Need to be quick but Newton most 180's at 8/11 with Sporting, should be closer to on.

[aaron1867]

Couple of swimming against the tide football selections:

Leeds to beat Forest and Peterboro to beat Wolves (Sorry Chompy)

Market just moved too much in both cases imo.

Also like Sunderland a bit, probably on the Asain Hcaps rather than straight up though.

gl everyone today.

According to local news here, Leeds are down to bare bones for this game, so would avoid for sure. Hard to get on Forest too, not going to be much in game though.

[Chompy]

Couple of swimming against the tide football selections:

Leeds to beat Forest and Peterboro to beat Wolves (Sorry Chompy)

Market just moved too much in both cases imo.

Also like Sunderland a bit, probably on the Asain Hcaps rather than straight up though.

gl everyone today.

Gl Mr Camel, I wish you well backing Posh. Boydy dropped and in comes Joe Newell, who has less chance of making it at this level than me.

[The Camel]

Couple of swimming against the tide football selections:

Leeds to beat Forest and Peterboro to beat Wolves (Sorry Chompy)

Market just moved too much in both cases imo.

Also like Sunderland a bit, probably on the Asain Hcaps rather than straight up though.

gl everyone today.

Gl Mr Camel, I wish you well backing Posh. Boydy dropped and in comes Joe Newell, who has less chance of making it at this level than me.

Think Wolves are priced up like a top 4 team now.

I would be very surprised if this team makes the playoffs.

Very average all over the pitch with the exception of Kevin Doyle.

5/4ish looks right to me.