I still haven’t read all the Man Booker long list entries, but, for the hell of it, here are the six I’d put into the short list if I was the one making the announcement on Sept. 9 — if anyone was mad enough to  let me have a say. This isn’t a prediction — despite my misleading headline. My track record at predicting this prize could not be worse. Last year, the short list book I hated ran away with the prize.

And of course, the best book may still be among the short stack of entries I haven’t yet read. I need to quit my job and catch up with my reading.

My list, in no particular order:

The History of the Rain by Niall Williams

Us by David Nicholls

Orfeo by Richard Powers

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt