Reading in 2013: PEN/Hemingway Award Nominees and Winners

I'm not big about reading the winners of book awards. I figured that the winners of honors like The Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award get plenty of attention and many readers. But as I thought about a book project for 2013, I decided to peruse the different awards and see if I could find one that was a bit under the radar.

I discovered the PEN/Hemingway Award, which is given for an author's first published novel or short story collection. In looking at the list, I realized that I had read only one of the books nominated. I decided during 2013, I would attempt to read one book each month that was a nominee or winner of this award. This will be a way for me to discover some new authors and hopefully add some new favorites to my bookshelves.

First up is the 2012 award winner - Open City by Teju Cole. Upcoming possibilities are The Madonnas of Echo Park, A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True, Cutting for Stone, and The Silver Linings Playbook. If you want to find some PEN/Hemingway award winners for yourself, you can find the list here.