Some bookish chatter - VABOOK, a movie trailer and the Orange Prize long list

So who's going to or already attending the Virginia Festival of the Book? The VABOOK started yesterday at Charlottesville, which is just an hour from my place. I can't however head there during weekdays, so Saturday is probably the first day that I can make it. Unfortunately I'm not decided yet. Since I'm also missing BEA, I want to not miss this one at least, considering the proximity to my place. But there's a lot going on this weekend at home, so I'll probably decide only at the eleventh hour.

Did you hear about the movie adaptation of Lisa See's book Snow Flower and the Secret Fan? I read this book last year and loved it so much, so I'm really excited about it. Here's the trailer if you're interested in it. It looks good, doesn't it? I'm confused by the modernity that I see in it. Maybe that's reflective of the present, in which the protagonist, Lily is narrating the story, but this story is set in the 19th century and even when Lily is 80 years old, it can't have been the late 20th century, right? Unless China advanced pretty early.



Did you see the Orange Prize long list? There are few titles there that I'm really excited about.

1. Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela
2. Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch
3. Room by Emma Donoghue
4. The Pleasure Seekers by Tishani Doshi
5. Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty
6. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
7. The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna
8. The London Train by Tessa Hadley
9. Grace Williams Says it Loud by Emma Henderson
10. The Seas by Samantha Hunt
11. The Birth of Love by Joanna Kavenna
12. Great House by Nicole Krauss
13. The Road to Wanting by Wendy Law-Yone
14. The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht
15. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
16. Repeat it Today with Tears by Anne Peile
17. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
18. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin
19. The Swimmer by Roma Tearne
20. Annabel by Kathleen Winter

I've only read Room by Emma Donoghue, and it's not really the best piece of fiction that I've read lately. I'm however most excited about The London Train, Annabel, The Tiger's Wife, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives and The Invisible Bridge. I plan to read these titles before the shortlist is announced. I know I can't do the whole list in time so I'm not even going to entertain any such thoughts. So which books are you excited about?

I know some of you read books on the long and short lists in anticipation of the awards, so I'd like to hear if you are considering it? I can probably live vicariously through you.