I am reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy and have about 50 pages left. First of all, it's written in a larger print and has thick pages, which is always nice. I'm reading at an incredible rate! But second of all, I really can't put it down. I like books like this. I don't like, say, trying to read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and feeling like I have to force myself to read more of it. I like to be excited that I have time to read, not feeling like "I really should be reading my book. Ho hum." (Did you like the ho hum part? I'm trying to bring it back.)
I haven't read Cormac McCarthy before, although R just finished the Border trilogy and liked it. I think I'd like to read No Country For Old Men, since I have no intention of seeing the film adaptation and to have nightmares for the rest of my life. (R saw the film with his brother and said it was one of the freakiest ones he's ever seen.) Plus, if it's anything like reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote then I will be sufficiently freaked out without the help of visuals.
I would like recommendations for other books that are in the can't-put-it-down category. I don't always need that specific breed, but I'm having a phase people. Thank you, the end.
9 comments:
I loved The Road!!! It's so good. It makes we want to amp up my food storage. I could't put it down either, which is odd considering how dark it is.
I've been trying to think of something to recommend, and I keep coming up blank, especially in the can't-put-it-down category. This is all I have to offer:
Democracy by Joan Didion was my favorite from last semester. Interesting, but no In Cold Blood.
Norman Mailer's Armies of the Night is supposed to be a non-fiction novel in the vein of ICB, but Capote's is a lot more fun to read (although Mailer won a Pulitzer for his, and it is good, just tedious sometimes).
Have you read Julia Alvarez's In the Time of the Butterflies? What about Jonathan Safran Foer? How about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time?
Yeah. I'm suggesting things that I'm 90% sure you've read. I've got nothing.
Hi Kendahl, long time no messaging. I read The Road - and I have to say I liked it not loved it. Brought me down a bit. I hesitate in mentioning that I loved Water for Elephants by Sara - something...I forget. I hesitate because it did have a racy part or two. Skip them and read on. The book made me crazy curious about the history of circus'. I finally started a blog. Check it out - theradrollins.blogspot.com.
So I wrote you a little note and then continued to puruse your site and found myself laughing out loud! I miss your humor in person. By the way, It seems you know of our site and I'm a litle bummed Ben and I don't have a fun little nick name! Is that all you could come up with for us? :)
I have not read Democracy by Joan Didion or Norman Mailer's Armies of the Night or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, but now will add them to my wish list.
On the other hand, I have read In The Time of the Butterflies, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. But I haven't read Everything is Illuminated. Perhaps I shall...
Maybe I will also read Water for Elephants. What a wonderful list I have now thanks to you folks!
And thanks for validating my need to increase my food storage Kristen, I thought I was a little crazy after finishing The Road!
kendahl -
I read the kite runner (who hasn't, it seems) and couldn't put it down. Did I ever tell you to read The Glass Castle? If not - DO. It is ah-mazing.
Looks like you got some good recommendations. The only one I can think of right now is the Wednesday Letters, don't remember the author. (Our book club follows Deseret Book TOFW most of the time, which has its good and bad points). I'd say it was one of those books that is more for entertainment than anything else, but it did have the can't-put-it-down quality, for me anyway.
I didn't really like "The Road." I listened to it on CD, and I thought it was pretty boring and monotonous. But, that's just me.
really? I thought it was chilling. Maybe I was just freaked out, but I liked it. It wasn't really a happy book though, was it?
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