If the Booker Longlist feels just too long then why not try our shortlist? We’ve put together a selection of our favourite reads. From generational epics to interpersonal thrillers – there should be something for everyone in this selection. We were delighted that two of our ‘Best of New’ choices for subscriptions – ‘Universality’ by Natasha Brown and ‘The Land in Winter’ by Andrew Miller – were nominated for the longlist. 

• ‘Audition’ is a taut, unsettling novel about whether we can ever truly know those we love. Two people meet for lunch in Manhattan. Who are they to each other? Their narratives compete and coalesce in this elusive, hypnotic novel.
• In ‘Seascraper’, Thomas, a shanker in Longferry, secretly dreams of becoming a folk musician. A stranger appears with the promise of Hollywood, and offers Thomas a vision of the future, will he find creative fulfilment? We found this beautiful and searching.
• ‘Flashlight’ is a multi-generational epic spanning from Japan to America to North Korea across the twentieth century. The story glows with questions of family, identity and memory.
• ‘Love Forms’ is a heart-aching story about a woman who reconnects with her daughter after putting her up for adoption forty years prior. It's a moving story in hushed tones that stays with you.
• ‘The South’ by Tash Aw is a radiant novel about family, what we inherit, and the longing that blooms between two boys over the course of one summer.

This bundle includes copies of: 

• ‘Audition’ by Katie Kitamura
• ‘Seascraper’ by Benjamin Wood
• ‘Flashlight’, by Susan Choi
• ‘Love Forms’ by Claire Adams
• ‘The South' by Tash Aw