“Even when it comes to inexact sciences — beauty pageants, presidential elections — creating odds for the Booker Prize is screwier than most.” In fact, the most well-known handicappers for the UK-based literary award freely admit that they don’t even read the books before setting the odds, a neat trick which allows them to post odds mere moments after the shortlist is announced. Betting on one of the world’s most infamously persnickety book prizes may seem like a losing proposition anyway, but it hasn’t stopped the gambling-happy Britons from making it a popular pasttime.