The BoOkSCARS

2014

Booker of the Year (Best Book) 
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Blooper of the Year (Worst Book) 
Memories of my Melancholy Whores

Best Discussion
Gate of Angels

Most Disappointing Book of Promise
Westwood & Memories of my Melancholy Whores

Biggest Improver
Shantaram

Most Apt Venue of the Year
Lowndes Bar & Kitchen at the Jumeirah Lowndes (Westwood)

Best Venue of the Year (Food)
Shantaram (Roti Chai)

Best Moment (Yay!)
Northern Lights (Polar bears in armour and witch romances!)

Best Moment (Eek!)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane (A witch burrowing into foot!)

Best Nice Character (Male)
Iorek Byrnison (Northern Lights)

Best Nice Character (Female)
The Hempstock Women (The Ocean at the End of the Lane)

Best Bad Character (Male) 
Gerard Challis (Westwood)

Best Bad Character (Female)
Mrs. Coulter (Northern Lights)

Worst Food
B Bar (The Ocean at the End of the Lane)

Dishonourable Mention (Blooper of Bloopers)
Spring Snow (Still)

Honourable Mention (Booker of Bookers)
To be decided

2013 - The Year of Ties

Book of the Year: 
Sense of an Ending and Bring Up the Bodies.  

Blooper of the Year:
MR James Collected Ghost Stories

Most Disappointing Book: 
MR James Collected Ghost Stories and Tender is the Night

Best debate: 
How to be a Woman

Best Sommelier: 
Code of the Woosters (Sartoria)

Worst Hangover: 
Code of the Woosters (Sartoria)

Most Apt Venue: 
Bring up The Bodies (The Perkin Reveller at the Tower of London) and MR James Collected Ghost Stories (The Grenadier)

Least Apt Venue: 
City of Thieves (Yauatcha to discuss the siege of Leningrad)

Favourite Character: 
Jeeves (nicest); Van Helsing (sexiest)

Least Favourite Character: 
Dick, Laurent and Nicole (a popular category this year)

2012 - The Results

Book of the Year:
Great Expectations

Blooper of the Year:
Naked

Best (nicest) character:
Joe, Great Expectations

Best (worst) character:
Ignatious, A Confederacy of Dunces

Most Shocking Moment:
Magwitch in the graveyard with Pip, Great Expectations

Most Disappointing Book of Promise:
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher

Best Improver:
Giovanni's Room

Best (most apt) venue:
The Clarence, Suspicions of Mr Whicher

Best venue (other):
Aldwych, Great Expectations (for unlimited Prosecco)

Best Members:
Gill and Nic - the "turning up" award

Honourable mention:
"Proud to have finished" - Great Expectations and Titus Groan (not a lot of people can say that)

Dishonourable mention:
"Still the worst book of all time" - Spring Snow

2011 - The Highs and Lows
(recorded with help of contemporaneous notes but still voted for in a slightly drunken haze)

Book of the Year:
City and the City

Blooper of the Year:
The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Blue Bear

Most Shocking Moment:
The skinning alive, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Best (Good) Character:
(Female) The Aunt, Travels With My Aunt (the only unanimous decision of the night)
(Male) Lt. Mamiya, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Best (Bad) Character:
Mr Stoll, Don't Look Now and Other Stories

Most Haunting Moment:
The death of John at the hands of the dwarf, Don't Look Now

Most Disappointing Book of Promise:
Kiss of the Spider Woman

Most Apt Venue:
The Criterion, The City and The City

Best Meal:
Brindisa, Kiss of the Spider Woman

2010 - The Big Winners and Losers
As voted for by us after a big Christmas meal and a few drinks (and remembered hazily after Jen lost the list)

Book of the Year:
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things

Runner Up:
The Little Stranger

Blooper of the Year:
Vinny Got Blown Away

Most Shocking Moment:
Emma's death, One Day

Best (Nasty) Character:
Lyon Burke, Valley of the Dolls

Best (Good) Character:
Dolores Price, She's Come Undone

Most Thrilling Moment:
The Doctor seeing himself in the window, Little Stranger

Most Apt Venue:
Christophers, The Great Gatsby

Best Meal:
Cigala, For Whom the Bell Tolls
(Other awards lost in the mists of time and alcohol.)