New now reading

[Jimbo]

Sorry for the blow up. But so far this is a pretty good sea yarn. Kind of a who dun it British navy style. The author knows his stuff - or just enough to keep me interested.

[Minnie the Minx]

I've reached the halfway point through kath's excellent gift of Faulkner's assorted short stories (a joy) to start reading some of the Cormac McCarthy pile I got for Xmas/birthday. Am halfway through "Blood Meridian" a book so great that my hands are almost shaking reading it.

[Minnie the Minx]

I'm reading Cormac McCarthy's "The Crossing" which was started minutes after finishing "Blood Meridian."

I tend to come late to these apparently well known books, and it's possible that I heard about them years ago but just didn't have any interest in reading them. There was certainly a point in my life where I would have picked up those books, seen the Westerny covers and had no interest. I don't remember them at all, anyway.

Blood Meridian was an amazing ride (pardon the pun.) If you haven't read it yet, stop reading this post now and go and read it. There was one passage which after reading, I put the book down and had to sit up in bed and just take a fucking minute. It was one of the most magical things I had ever read - I know now from a bit of reading around the book that this passage is "legendary" or whatever you want to call it. I don't know if he planned it that way, put a bit of extra fairy dust in it but...ach. Amazing.

I didn't feel any resolution or happy ending was necessary or likely. Which is a good job. I think I would have probably been happier with a greater understanding of the significance of the end of the book, but I don't think anyone can attach any meaning or interpretation to that final chapter. I mean, you just can't.

I have since read around all the unsuccessful attempts at getting this on the screen. I am sort of glad. But yes, what a book. What a fucking book. An absolute belter.

[Minnie the Minx]

I’d add that now understanding the landscapes of New Mexico, California and Texas makes the reading of these books an even greater pleasure.

[Minnie the Minx]

I finished the Border Trilogy yesterday with finishing "Cities of the Plain," and am really happy that I bumped into McCarthy by accident. What an extraordinary ride those books are, and a genuine universe left imprinted on the brain.

[Six String]

Yes, I think I’ve already sung my praise for the trilogy but have to say it again. I get your need for stopping in your tracks while reading. It happened to me many times with those books. They certainly aren’t feel good books but they are so honest imo of documenting the life of that part of the world during that time. I thought of them frequently on our road trip in 2019, especially around Big Bend. There’s a PBS show on Big Bend currently playing here that is fascinating.

[Minnie the Minx]

We’ve watched that documentary! It’s wonderful. I didn’t know bears could climb that high!

[John_K]

Having a re-read of this



The joy of record shop browsing/idling/buying...a distant memory

On my bedside locker too, next week marks one year since I’ve been to a record shop, when I got to spend some dollars in The Record Stop on John Street in Charleston South Carolina.

Little did we know what was ahead, I would have doubled my spend...

[Jimbo]

Though written in 1925 it is modernistic enough to be a pretty zippy ride.

[Jock]

[Jock]

Having a re-read of this



The joy of record shop browsing/idling/buying...a distant memory

Any good??

[Minnie the Minx]

I finished ‘White Line Fever’ - the updated version since Lemmy’s death. I had no idea that he died just 17 days after his diagnosis. Probably the way he wanted it too! And not long after his last gig.

Now onto ‘Georgia O Keeffe and Her Houses’ which is about - well, exactly that!

[Six String]

I went inside my local library for the frist time in a year to pick up a book on hold for me. Mask and distancing required of course and hardly anybody in there at the time. I just picked up my copy of Jimmy Webb’s Memoir The Cake And The Rain and left. Should be a good read.

[Jimbo]

Only halfway through American Tragedy and the main character is already in such deep and depressing straits I am not sure if I care to see how he fares. It doesn't look good. I am reminded, however, of how well and how deeply an author can delve into a person's thoughts, putting me dab in the middle of a character's brain.

That's why I am happy to have found this in my collection and man it is good to be reminded of how great the Aubry - Maturin books are.

[Minnie the Minx]

Still working my way through the Faulkner compilation kath sent me for Xmas, and still enjoying every word.
Also reading McCarthy's " The Orchard Keeper" in my quest to see how many bodies one person can find in an arroyo on any given day.
AND someone has got me a subscription to the Paris Review- no idea who, but the writing in there is sensational. The poetry in particular is dazzling. One Canadian woman who I am ashamed to say I have forgotten the name of already has written some great stuff about the diaspora from the Baltics which got me right in the feels.

[Darkness_Fish]

A proper doorstop of a novel, and given how much my reading has slowed down since lockdown, I suspect it'll take me a few weeks to get through. Such a detailed, convincing read so far though, even if I have a slight suspicion that it's a kind of highbrow misery-lit version of Friends.

[Minnie the Minx]

How come your reading slowed, DF?

[Darkness_Fish]

How come your reading slowed, DF?

I think it's just that lockdown coincided with an increase workload, combined with being fed up of being stuck permanently in the same four walls. Coming home after work used to feel like somewhere to relax. Now I want to get out of the place, I just feel hemmed-in. Last thing I want to do after spending all day working at home is sit down in the same space.

[Minnie the Minx]

Gotcha.

[Jimbo]

It is only slightly better than this cover. It is, nonetheless, a lot of fun and I will carry on with the others in this series.