There are a lot of literary prizes being awarded these days.  I tend to look at prize-winning authors and books as a filter.  I know this is a flawed method, but in a world with so many books and so little time, I have to rely on something to help me whittle down my choices.

One of the prizes I follow is the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction.  The 2015 winner will be announced June 3rd.  The short list is:

• Rachel Cusk for Outline

• Laline Paull for The Bees

• Kamila Shamsie for A God In Every Stone

• Ali Smith for How To Be Both

• Anne Tyler for A Spool of Blue Thread

• Sarah Waters for The Paying Guests

Of these books, I had difficulty getting into two of them: How to be Both, and The Bees.   In fact, I put them down after a few pages.  If one of them wins on June 3rd, I imagine I’ll pick it up again!  I have a feeling Sarah Waters is going to take the prize, but we shall see!