With the Booker Prize announced yesterday, and the Nobel Prize for Literature being awarded tomorrow, I thought it might be a good opportunity to ask everyone how much attention you pay to literary awards.
Do the books and names shortlisted or awarded in any way influence your reading habits? Do you rush to buy the award winning novels, or do you perhaps just make a mental note about them? Do you buy a book more probably if the cover reads "Winner of ..."? How many literary awards are you aware of?
I am of course interested in all this also because I am running a website dedicated to literary awards (see here). While I myself am obviously quite interested in award-winning novels and authors, I don't actually personally rush to buy them. I make a note of the names and titles, and if I stumble upon them in the right circumstances, I buy them. But I see literary awards as a good way of keeping up with what names are emerging and worth remebering in the world of literature.