Quick bibs: Booker bedlam. (Collection Development).(reviews of Booker prize winners)(Last Orders)(True History of the Kelly Gang)(Disgrace)(Amsterdam)(Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha)(Book Review)

The recent flap over whether Canadian author Yann Martel stole the idea for his 2002 Booker Prize--winning Life of Pi is just one more example of why the British Booker Prize is so much more interesting than the National Book Awards. One might think a British book award would be stuffier, more elitist, than an American counterpart, but, in fact, the very opposite is true. Yanks tend to nominate obscure, not particularly accessible novels; the Brits tend to nominate the best work of the leading names in British fiction. An even more telling comparison: In Britain, where you can bet on anything, bookies place odds on the Booker. I can't think of anything more fun than waltzing …