Paid Members Bus Surfer Posted June 25 Paid Members Posted June 25 (edited) Through Audible, I fell down a Cormac McCarthy hole recently that I hope I never find my way out of. I struggle to sit and just read, so Audiobooks usually do the job, but I've had to buy much of McCarthy's physical work because this shit is captivating me. I massively enjoyed my listens of All the Pretty Horses, The Road and No Country and now I'm on my third listen of Blood Meridian but I'm reading through alongside this time. Richard Poe's narration really helps me to follow some of the elongated sentences and gives me (I believe) the intended reading rhythm needed. I intend to do the same with the Border Trilogy The Road and No Country also before diving into the unknowns of Suttree. As with most things, I'm always late to the party, but I'm thankful I finally did get there. What an incredible Author. The bleakness is constant but he somehow makes it beautiful. Edited June 25 by Bus Surfer Quote
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted June 25 Awards Moderator Posted June 25 Really enjoying Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard* at the moment. It was the inspiration for the excellent Death By Lightning miniseries that was one of my favourite shows of last year, and it’s brilliantly written. You get the story of near-forgotten President James Garfield, and Charles Guiteau, the man who decided it was God’s mission that he assassinate him. With various other stories weaving in and out, if you like a compelling narrative history book I recommend it very much. *no relation.** **I assume. Very few nob jokes in the book Quote
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted June 25 Paid Members Posted June 25 4 hours ago, Bus Surfer said: Through Audible, I fell down a Cormac McCarthy hole recently that I hope I never find my way out of. I struggle to sit and just read, so Audiobooks usually do the job, but I've had to buy much of McCarthy's physical work because this shit is captivating me. I massively enjoyed my listens of All the Pretty Horses, The Road and No Country and now I'm on my third listen of Blood Meridian but I'm reading through alongside this time. Richard Poe's narration really helps me to follow some of the elongated sentences and gives me (I believe) the intended reading rhythm needed. I intend to do the same with the Border Trilogy The Road and No Country also before diving into the unknowns of Suttree. As with most things, I'm always late to the party, but I'm thankful I finally did get there. What an incredible Author. The bleakness is constant but he somehow makes it beautiful. McCarthy is probably my favourite author. Sometimes I'll read a sentence and just have to put the book down to appreciate for a moment. Suttree is probably his best work in my opinion. I haven't read his two most recent releases as I've heard mostly bad things and don't want to spoil his perfect record (in my mind). You can't go wrong with any of his stuff. Child of God and Outer Dark are often overlooked but very much worth your time. Quote
Paid Members Lorne Malvo Posted June 25 Paid Members Posted June 25 I feel like I should like McCarthy a lot more than I should. His stuff should be right up my street, and I do like some of his novels to an extent, but I've never fully emotionally engaged with one of his books. Honestly I think it's the lack of punctuation marks. I know a lot of people get over this really early but I’m the kind of simpleton who struggles with it all the way through. Speech marks wouldn't kill you! Quote
Paid Members Carbomb Posted June 25 Paid Members Posted June 25 IIRC, @d-d-d-dAz is a fan also? Quote
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted June 25 Moderators Posted June 25 1 hour ago, Lorne Malvo said: I feel like I should like McCarthy a lot more than I should. His stuff should be right up my street, and I do like some of his novels to an extent, but I've never fully emotionally engaged with one of his books. Honestly I think it's the lack of punctuation marks. I know a lot of people get over this really early but I’m the kind of simpleton who struggles with it all the way through. Speech marks wouldn't kill you! I hate the lack of punctuation marks too, so maybe I'll try one of the audio books like @Bus Surfer did to see if I get on with that... Quote
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted June 25 Awards Moderator Posted June 25 I thought the lack of punctuation was especially effective in The Road. I remember reaching about the halfway point and suddenly I was completely absorbed, read the rest of the book in one sitting and it felt like I hadn’t exhaled the entire time. Very few books have had that effect on me. Quote
Paid Members Bus Surfer Posted June 25 Paid Members Posted June 25 I can't multi-quote because idiocy, but for anyone who struggles with McCarthy's written work, absolutely try out the Audiobooks on their own, or as a companion piece. It's helped me so much to enjoy. I tend to read quickly which isn't a great approach for this stuff, but the narration forces you to slow down and adds some necessary pacing and cadance, for me anyways. Quote
TheHighlightReel Posted June 26 Posted June 26 16 hours ago, LaGoosh said: McCarthy is probably my favourite author. Sometimes I'll read a sentence and just have to put the book down to appreciate for a moment. Suttree is probably his best work in my opinion. I haven't read his two most recent releases as I've heard mostly bad things and don't want to spoil his perfect record (in my mind). You can't go wrong with any of his stuff. Child of God and Outer Dark are often overlooked but very much worth your time. Yeah the last couple are pretty terrible to be honest. Blood Meridian is probably one of the most brutal books I’ve ever read not just in content but also as a challenging read but well worth the effort. Quote
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted June 26 Paid Members Posted June 26 I like the lack of punctuation. It adds to the stark, brutal style of his books. The only thing that bothers me is when he has characters speaking in Spanish but doesn't translate so you just have to roughly guess what they are talking about. Blood Meridian is a book I've read several times and always get something new out of. A masterpiece. The Judge is one of the greatest characters ever written. Quote
Paid Members Weezenal Posted June 26 Paid Members Posted June 26 My New Year’s resolution was to read at least 12 books. Last week I finished the first one in 2 days. Hopefully I can get it all out of the way within a month and get on with my life. Quote
DavidB6937 Posted June 26 Posted June 26 2 minutes ago, Weezenal said: My New Year’s resolution was to read at least 12 books. Last week I finished the first one in 2 days. Hopefully I can get it all out of the way within a month and get on with my life. I feel like I've tried that every year for about the last 10 or so. I'm half way through one so far this year. I like the idea of reading. I like buying books. My brain rarely concentrates enough to get through them. Quote
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted June 26 Paid Members Posted June 26 I usually get through about 20 a year but even that doesn't feel like enough. My pile to get through is huge. Quote
Paid Members Weezenal Posted June 26 Paid Members Posted June 26 The one I read was about 120 pages (Grief Is the Thing with Feathers) next one is too. Hoping reading ones on the shorter side will help me get back into it. Quote
Tamura Posted June 28 Posted June 28 Currently reading The Corridor of Uncertainy: My Life Beyond Cricket by Geoffrey Boycott. I knew it was going to be spectacularly hilarious and lacking in self-awareness when in the introduction he bemoans the cricket committee at Yorkshire for not telling the public 1986 was going to be his last season, having the brass neck to say "True to form, they gave no thought for anyone else". Obviously Boycott's batting career is replete with selfless acts and putting the team before his average... Quote
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