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A friend gave me Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy last year. I read about 50 pages of it and lost interest.
Part of the problem is I was reading it and another book, and I would usually read the Cormac book before bed.
My point is I was willing to take the blame on this one and give it another try. This time I’m trying to whiz through it and not give myself the chance to lose interest.
It’s a tough read, because while there isn’t much going on outside of the physical action and McCarthy can be tricky with his descriptions. He doesn’t use proper English. The narrator is 3rd person and omniscient but written in what I’d presume to be the language of the time. Reminds me of Faulkner.

This is the sort of book that scholars, critics and writers alike love to rub their sex on in order to say something about themselves and/or their own intellect. There are multiple possible interpretations, and it’s based on events that only a historian local to the area would know about. The fact that McCarthy doesn’t do interviews just adds fuel to the fire.
Frankly, in my opinion, the violence here is a bit masturbatory. I also dislike the untranslated Spanish and the sometimes impenetrable vocabulary from a time I have no experience or knowledge of.
However, at the end of the day I have to say I really like the mood of the book. Bone dark, hopeless, vile. The people of this time were neanderthals.

I was a little surprised to find Ray Bradbury has a book called “Zen in the Art of Writing.” I would never have guessed Bradbury, who is a relic in the truest sense both in term of style and age, would have anything to do with Zen.
I’ve read a few of his books over the years…The Martian Chronicles in high school, Fahrenheit 451 after I watched the Truffaut adaptation on film, and a short story book. I don’t remember the title. He’s extremely prolific and claims to have written about 1000 words a day since he was 12.

But it wasn’t until I interviewed him on the phone for a newspaper article that I appreciated him at all. As I said above, I had some knowledge of his work, but this guy is a living legend, so I felt a little ashamed to be cranking out 1 of my weekly 4 or 5 stories about him, not having the time or the inclination to research him or his work.
But he was a class act all the way, very well spoken and never gave the impression he didn’t enjoy the interview or questioned why he was talking to someone unfamiliar with his legacy. You’d be surprised how many others do talk like that, or, act like they have a legacy when they don’t.
The “Zen Writing” book is a nice read. Mostly insights into his creative process and his passion for the craft of writing. Cheers to Ray.

Just finished The Stranger by Camus.
I was thinking of rereading The Trial, and then remem’d that I had this on the shelf. I guess I could have guessed they’d be fairly similar.

I love the way the book builds, until the end when he’s grabbing and screaming at the chaplain.
I’ll refrain from saying much here, since I’m sure people regularly write disertations on the book. I did find it interesting to read that aside from The Cure song, that the creator of Howard the Duck names Camus as a major influence on his work.