Finished up these 3 in the last two weeks

How are the McCarthy novels?

Both great books tbh. The Passenger is this kind of mystery novel but with a very loose plot and a lot of long interesting dialogues. Stella Maris is basically one long dialogue, one that hits hard after having read The Passenger (and by his own death). I've seen people say that Stella Maris is also kind of an info dump by McCarthy about things he was interested in over his last years, which is kind of true but I personally I love info dumps so it was no problem to me.

Thanks, sounds interesting.
Wasn't a fan of The Road but might give one of these novels a try.

These were the first McCarthy novels i read in full, read the first 100 pages of Blood Meridian but it’s somewhere in the closet atm. Need to finish it soon. Thought his writing style was a lot more straightforward in these books than from what I’ve read from Blood Meridian

blood meridan prose is hard to follow along with until u remember he’s describing desert plains for the 50th time but still a great novel only McCarthy work i read tho need to pick up his other works

Finished 3 Thomas Bernhard books in the last 2 weeks.
What an amazing writer he is.

His prose is so rhythmical, like music. The flow is crazy and it's basically one big interior monologue. His world view is so pessimistic and nihilistic. Pretty much in every work there is suicide and it gets talked about almost on every page.

You can really feel the disgust and resentment from Bernhard in his writing.

Got this for $2 from the library bookstore. I love Pete Souza's photography of that era.

2666 by Roberto Bolaño

took me like 2 months but I finally finished this behemoth and it's the longest book I've read in Spanish. I had read a lot of Bolaños work before and was very excited to get to this and although it was good, I gotta say I was a bit let down. maybe because my hopes were so high but I just kind of lost interest around the middle (especially in the first half of the detailed femicides book) and it felt like a bit of a slog. especially when it would go on random tangents about secondary characters that didn't seem to have anything to do with the general story.

not to mention I didn't feel like any of the stories had much closure. idk this just didn't seem to work for me as much as it does for others. still love Bolaño's prose and consider him one of my favorite authors, but I thought The Savage Detectives was much better and should be considered in higher regard than 2666

8/10

Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan

Really nice short novel. Written well, engaging throughout. Maybe just felt like there could've been more? I don't know if I'm fully satisfied with it but I would read it again.

I don't read much non fiction but I do love a book about a f***ed up addict regardless of genre. This book told a fascinating story of the world in the interwar period of the 20th century. Harry Crosby was something of a hanger-on to the Western canon scene in Paris in the 30s. He hung out with James Joyce, Hemingway, Edith Wharton, so many famous people, and reading about their culture was awesome. It's an interesting portrait of the scars war leaves on those who see it. The entire time reading it I just kept thinking about how insane it would be to experience the worst event in human history (at that point WWI) and then come home and just have to go back to regular life. Unfathomable.

Reread from a while ago, but of course one of the best in the series (it's a toss up between this and God Emperor for me). Love a book with great scheming going on in the background. The writing is strong, the characters are fully imagined. This is really Frank Herbert at the point of his highest talent and lowest insanity. And a great complement to the first book, rounds out the story of the Jihad in a satisfying way.

One of the most gorgeous books I've ever read. Semi-autobiographical story of a journalist that goes to report on the real-life plight of the Kurds who in the 1980s were forced out of Iraq into Turkey by ethnic cleansing, then forced back into Iraq when the Turkish government grew tired of supporting them. Written in alternating prose and poem, it's some of the most beautiful writing I've ever read about one of the darkest acts in recent human history. Obviously has lots of parallels to what is happening in Gaza today. It's also a sort of love letter to the author's vision of Turkey, he writes about the country's south-eastern mountains like they're truly god's country. I would urge anyone and everyone to read this book, it's once in a lifetime stuff

Remains of the Day has been on my TBR list for a while. I’ll probably pick it up in the new year.

Got some books I’ve recently read since my last update. Will drop my mini reviews soon

It's a good book for sure, hope you like it like I did

My last books for the year:

Goodbye to Berlin – Christopher Isherwood

The version of this novel I hold encloses a succinctly apt review on the back from The Guardian stating: “Reading this novel is much like overhearing anecdotes in a crowded bar while history knocks impatiently at the windows”.

The basic premise is Mr Isherwood arrives in Berlin toward the nadir of the Weimar Republic and it chronicles a collection of people living their lives of hedonism and satisfaction all whilst the Nazi regime is slowly starting to rise to power.

The novel is largely anecdotal and it really comes through in the writing – my girlfriend who has the polar opposite in book taste to me read the first page and was instantly enamoured by how genuine it felt.

4/5

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Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami

I thought I’d give Murakami another try. Unfortunately, Norwegian Wood reaffirmed what opinions I already held. Intricate trance-like writing marred with unbelievable and quite frankly grossly sexualised female characters. I also found the protagonist of the novel to be a little dull.

I can see why he is so revered, his writing quality is high level and easy to get lost in; I just can’t get past that massive stumbling block in his works.

Light 3/5.

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Fictions – Jorge Luis Borges

Not much to say other than you should read it. So good, man. The Lottery of Babylon might be my favourite short story of all time.

5/5.

So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by Claire Keegan

enjoyed Small Things Like These so wanted to give this a try. I like Keegan's prose and these stories were darker than what I expected, but it's a "collection" of short stories that's really only three stories lol. because of that this felt like a cash grab from a popular author, and generally forgettable

6/10

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

really loved her book Salvage The Bones but this one didn't resonate with me as much. maybe I just wasn't in the mood for a harrowing novel about slavery. it mixed some supernatural elements in the storytelling but the characters lacked depth and the story was fairly generic

6/10

Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem

thread classic. I enjoyed this, but probably not as much as others did. love a good detective novel and Lethem followed the guidelines closely with witty one liners and conflicted characters. feel like the interesting parts of the future could've been fleshed out more and the case the story revolved around wasn't all that engaging. like the whole setting had more potential but was held back by a standard PI procedural. still a good read, might check out his other novels

7/10

4/5

Everything you would want from Flannery. Southern gothic bliss, religious symbolism, cunning characters, and a deeper depth than meets the eye.

3/5

Decent short two/three day read. Adapt or die in the era of w****s, s***s, and single mothers.

what did you gain from this

Nothing new for the most part.

Staying single while still living in America is still the safest move.

Also you have to be sniffing that coke from the 80s to still want to get married in America.

Her Loss out now

True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey

3.5/5

This is considered Peter Carey's best work and it centers around Ned Kelly, an outlaw who became a legend in Australian folklore. The gang doesn't come into focus until the last third of the book, and the story is mostly concerned with the upbringing conditions of the Kelly's family during the 19th century.

The voice of Ned is very distinct and for the first half of the book I was very much engaged. I'm not sure that one should take a break while reading this book or maybe it got repetitive, but there was an itch to get it over with after crossing the halfway mark, and I had taken a short break from the book. Do I still recommend it? Sure. It's not my favorite book or anything but I don't regret picking it up.

I’ve been binging the Sun Eater book series by Christopher Ruocchio. Finished Empire in Silence, and Howling Dark in a week.

I’ve already started on Demon in White. This is… like Dune, Star Wars, Gladiator, Hyperion, Mobile Suit Gundam (U.C) and more

Each book expands the lore, the world building it’s satiated a thirst I’ve had for a long time now. This might be my new Star Wars