Place Your Bets! Place Your Bets!
New York magazine handicaps the 2005 National Book Award finalists:
—Veronica by Mary Gaitskill: 4 to 1
—Trance by Christopher Sorrentino: 7 to 1
—Holy Skirts by René Steinke: 9 to 1
—Europe Central by William T. Vollmann: 10 to 1
—The March by E. L. Doctorow: 5 to 2
Check out the article for not just the odds, you degenerate gamblers, but also a bit of details on the author’s baggage and cheering section for each entry.