Man Booker Prize Longlist

This year's Man Booker Prize longlist has been announced, and -- surprise! -- Hilary Mantel did not write a single contender. Not that I've been particularly good about reading books from lists of prize contenders, but I still find them incredibly interesting, so here's this year's list (links go to the book's profile on the Man Booker site):

A Tale for the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki

Five Star Billionaire, by Tash Aw

Almost English, by Charlotte Mendelson

The Kills, by Richard House

The Lowland, by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Luminaries, by Eleanor Catton

Harvest, by Jim Crace

The Marrying of Chani Kaufman, by Eve Harris

The Spinning Heart, by Donal Ryan

The Testament of Mary, by Colm Tóibín

We Need New Names, by NoViolet Bulawayo

Unexploded, by Alison MacLeod

TransAtlantic, by Colum McCann

Of these, I've read exactly 0, though I do currently have A Tale for the Time Being checked out from the library per Nathan Dunbar's recommendation. As admitted above, I don't generally get around to reading as many award contenders as I'd like, though the longlists do open my eyes to books I'd otherwise not have known; The Harvest, above, looks particularly interesting and is one I'd never seen before, and Almost English is on my ever-growing to-read list as well.

Does anyone try to read award contenders? Any particular award you'll read the whole longlist for? I find this endlessly fascinating, so please share!