Books - What are you reading?

Petition to call swimming in pools "captive swimming" instead.

Have you read much else by Cormac McCarthy? I've not read Cities of The Plain but have read the other 2 books in the Border Trilogy and enjoyed them for similar to reasons to why you seems to enjoy that.

I find Roger Deakin books most enjoyable, along with his pal, McFarlane, which then led me to Nan Shepherd, and not quite as well written, but still interesting, John Lewis Stempel.
Keep meaning to read some fiction, but struggle to find anything, always end up in the natural history/travel sections of book shops.

Excluding the Border Trilogy I've read Blood Meridian which I enjoyed a lot and I've just ordered The Road so that'll be next for me - my favourite so far though has been The Crossing. Any reason in particular you've not completed the Border Trilogy?

On the Cormac McCarthy topic I've only read Blood Meridian. Equally bleak, astounding, revolting and beautiful.
One battlefield scene description where cannonballs fly through the fields and are described as something like "miniature suns hot and white scything through the corn." I've just butchered his prose through my falacious paraphrasing but that always stuck with me.

Did I mention that the book was bleak as fuck?

No particular reason, just haven't got round to it yet! I really liked No Country For Old Men by him as well, slightly different feel to the Border Trilogy. The Road is great as well, just ridiculously bleak and unpleasant, in a similar vein of bleakness and unpleasantness as Blood Meridian.

I'll get around to reading No Country For Old Men eventually. The consensus I've heard from many is that the movie adaptation is better, do you think that too?

I've heard the same of The Road, I don't expect much goodness from it but im still going to dive into it!

Yea I had to really take my time with that book because of his style of writing (my first CM book). I loved The Judge character though...what a cold figure of doom he is.

The Road was reasonably short from what I remember. I thought it was OK but a bit repetitive (possibly intentionally).

I’ve read the road, blood meridian, no country’ , all the pretty horses

All impressive and all better than the films made. 2 of those films are good though

Yeah, he was something else. Hope to read No Country soon.

I don't know if I agree that the films are better, No Country For Old Men is great though. Really captures the tone of the book. I haven't seen The Road in a long time but remember being a bit underwhelmed!

A Confederacy a of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole. Really good book

Haven't read that in years. Really enjoyed it at the time though! Might need to give it another go soon.

It's really kept my attention. And its really funny. One thing I can't figure out, when you read the main character's mother and her acquaintances they are talking in southern black dialect, but on the cover the main character is white, I can't decide who's who

The Road Novel, is way better than the film. A very quick read too in comparison to some of his other stuff.

The Crossing is super intense too. A Brilliant book. Liked all the pretty horses, loved the crossing.

Currently on "Orange Sunshine: The Brotherhood of Love and its quest to spread peace, love and acid to the world" by Nicholas Shou.

Am I right in remembering that it's based in New Orleans? Maybe it's meant to come across as more of a geographical dialect than an ethnic one. Like I said, it's been a while since I read it so could be way off!

Finally finished The Farewell Party by Milan Kundera. I'd highly recommend it, I've no idea why it took me weeks to finish it, it's only 180 pages.

I started reading 'Unbearable Lightness...' when I was fairly young and found it a bit too stylised and clever. I may well have been wrong though.
Where should I start if I want to give Kundera another go?

I've only read The Farewell Party and The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. I probably enjoyed the latter more but it was definitely far more stylised so if you're wanting to avoid that then The Farewell Party is probably the one to go for. It reminded me a fair bit of Bohumil Hrabal, a sort of weird, melancholic, understated style of writing.

Currently reading My friend the Mercenary, half way though and gripping and horrific in equal measure. Is a memoir about a british journalist trying to be the first to break the war in Liberia by becoming embedded with the rebels while the rest of the world is oblivious to it even happening.

Anyone else set themselves a reading challenge this year? Been keeping track of mine on Goodreads. Currently halfway through my 34th book of the year with my target being 3o, which is making me want to be more anti social and make it a round 35 if I can.

I know it seems dumb to set a challenge like that but it's made me more conscious of just taking the time to sit down and read so has definitely been a positive thing. Will be setting another arbitrary figure next year, maybe with a list of books I've been wanting to read but not got round to for whatever reason as another target.

I set a challenge of 52. Got slightly behind reading a thousand page book in the past few weeks but that's finished and I'm halfway through number 50 so should hopefully just manage.