The Man Booker Prize contest will probably never again be as close-to-home for Oregonians as it was last year, when Canadian-turned-Portlander Patrick DeWitt was shortlisted for his great The Sisters Brothers. (Only writers from the Commonwealth, Ireland, and Zimbabwe are eligible for the prize.) But the Booker nominees make a solid reading list, regardless, and a great way to check in with books the rest of the world is reading that might not have gotten as much attention here.