All the Pretty Horses | 
“Every dumb thing I ever done in my life there was a decision I made before that got me into it. It was never the dumb thing. It was always some choice I'd made before it. You understand what I'm saying?
...Meanin' this is it. This is our last chance. Right now.“
I am revisiting some of the books that I read during my 1352-day sojourn in the woods. It's been a year since I left so I feel like I'm in a better place to revisit what it all meant. I liked McCarthy's “The Road“. But I don't think horses are all that pretty so westerns don't really speak to me. I did identify with the feeling of dread when they met Jimmy. Sometimes you know that there's nothing you can do to stop your world from falling apart.
so-soI tried so hard to like this book. Some of it was fun to read but most of it was difficult for me to get through. I‘m shocked at the amount of good reviews I‘ve read about this book. Maybe I just don‘t relate to it; not that McCarthy has made this book about anything a woman can relate to. Idk- sorry!
Been reading this one for a minute now. It isn‘t that I don‘t like it, but I think his writing style/cadence bores me a little. Which is wild because people seemingly love it. Also, I learned a new word: Polysyndeton. Which is what McCarthy‘s writing style is. Anyways, these cowboys are pretty funny and I am liking them.
If anyone wants to join the book club discussion of All the Pretty Horses next week (IJTP's final book club discussion of 2023), please RSVP at (so you get the Zoom link): https://meetu.ps/e/Mnp65/zxXbQ/i
pick28-30 Aug 23 (audiobook)
McCarthy‘s prose is sparse but beautiful. And the narration was well matched.
This was certainly a great book but I did not love it as I do The Road. I expected the brutality and harshness. My main criticism is that I found the age of the boys difficult to believe. Perhaps that comes from having my own, rather pampered (almost) 15 year old. Maybe it was just a different time and place.
Still enjoyable.
I could not pick a favorite novel by #CormacMcCarthy. But these had more post-it notes and underlined passages than my copies of other books he wrote. So, I will go with these. RIP, Cormac. Thank you for persevering…
Rest in Peace, Cormac. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/13/books/cormac-mccarthy-dead.html
pickCormac McCarthy is one of those writers I‘ve always heard great things, but just didn‘t think the settings of his books would fit my taste. I figured it was finally time to find out. I didn‘t know what to expect. I simply read the description and started listening. I loved this book and McCarthy‘s storytelling. All The Pretty Horses is a beautiful piece of work. 🐎🤎
Full review https://abookandadog.com
pickJanuary Reviews
My husband has a list of books he is always nudging me to pick up so he was pleased that I finally got to this one. I saw the movie years ago, but I was completely sucked into the story and loved it. #Bookspin #husbandslist
Also, the start of a trilogy so now #SeriesLove2023 as I want to read the other two books as well.
Episode 114 "Some of the Ugly Horses" is out now! We discuss the difficulties inherent in reading out loud, the difficulties inherent in reading Cormac McCarthy, serious literature and many other bookish things. Tune in and enjoy!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Vpp6yh7yyxZ8oxnoeVZJQ?si=FoNJd1KPTDmvfz-wlM7bd...
so-soI found the characters to be rather dull and uninteresting in this one.
As for the plot, it was rather plain and straightforward but i guess some stories are.
Amazing descriptions of the landscapes which surround the characters; i can almost feel the breeze of the plains.
I did like this book, i found it wonderfully atmospheric; it's just not the best one of his I've read.
pickThis tale of two young friends who set off to Mexico to be cowboys is less bleak and more approachable than some of McCarthy's other novels, though it's hardly a chucklefest. Beautifully written with some unforgettable moments.
so-soMcCarthy‘s writing oscillates between stark and poetic, which can be incredibly effective, but I found this book a bit of a slog and just too depressing at times...
pickThis book was beautifully written. However some of the subject matter was difficult to read. The characters were awesome and the plot was good though disturbing at times. My favorite part was the descriptive prose. 4⭐
Starting my first book by Cormac McCarthy! 📖
1. I have read many good books in June. At this moment, I think my favorite is All the Pretty Horses.
2. #BookSpinBingo and finish #jennyis30 bingo.
#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView
Care to play @hes7 @Blueberry @charl08
pickWild horses are the same as young men - wild, stubborn, and independent. I didn't appreciate this novel the first time I read, but now it may be one of my favorites. I love John Grady Cole, Rawlins, an Blevins. So many sad moments, but without those sad moments in life, are young men and wild horses ever truly trained?
#PopSugar20 western
I hope The Crossing is just as well written.
pickHaven‘t read McCarthy in four years. Will be reading a lot more soon.
#ItsASmallWorld Day 30: #Coco
#Disney #Epcot
In Epcot, at Mexico, they perform some sings from Coco.
The tagged book takes place in Mexico. I tried reading it before, but was disappointed in the beginning pages when it wasn‘t really about horses.
Here's one of those lines from All The Pretty Horses that strikes you with its eloquence after a few paragraphs of bare prose. The bare prose doesn't bother me. It suits the story and is an experience in itself. Not even a quotation mark to let you know someone's speaking. You're supposed to just stay in the rhythm of the story like a cowboy in a saddle and then you come to one of these poetic breaks like stopping at a pond to dismount,
My brother in law is a big McCarthy fan. This is his all-time favorite. It's my first McCarthy novel, and I'm enjoying the tension between the sparseness of the language and his occasional flourishes of poetic prose.
An impulse buy. Lost Children Archive had the characters hear the first line of The Road again and again every time the mom's phone connected to the car's sound system and it reminded me what a beautiful stylist McCarthy is so I picked up this one to enjoy more of his prose. I've read The Road and Blood Meridian and loved the writing in both but I hope this one is not so bleak.
pickIt took me a while to adjust to McCarthy‘s writing style, and for that reason I‘m glad to have been able to immerse myself instead of reading a few pages at a time. This story has a truly stark and western feel to me. The description of the setting and the travel through it is really what made the book for me. As for the plot, it seemed a quest with no real destination.
#DeweysReadathon #ReverseReadathon
#1001books #Reading1001 #TBRTakedown
“Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real. The events that cause them can never be forgotten, can they?”
#1001books #quote
It‘s taken me a bit to get used to the punctuation (or lack thereof) and style of this book, but I‘m enjoying it now. It absolutely conveys a feeling of the setting. Also, late night reading calls for ice cream.
#readathon #DeweysReadathon #ReverseReadathon
#1001books #Reading1001 #TBRTakedown August 2019
Bookish Song Nr. 1: Old Town Road by Lil Nas X
When I first heard this song I thought of this guy from Black Mirror (Have you seen this shirtless guy riding a horse?), but when I started to listen closely suddenly I saw three horses making their way through the desert. On their backs three boys on their way to find their freedom.
#music #musicandbooks
June Wrap Up
Read: 31
Audio Books: 1
Adding just some of my favourites of this month. Tagged “All the Pretty Horses“ because it got a 5 star rating, just as Pessoa did.
#JuneStats #JuneWrapUp
#WanderingJune #DownInMexico
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kahp_kmOFzQ
This book takes place at the Texas/Mexico border, with the protagonist feeling the lure of Mexico calling to him to step foot there.
I tried reading this, but couldn‘t get into it. Probably the wrong time for me to read it.
I keep this quote in my planner - just sharing in case other people might need it, too.
I've determined that I can't follow along enough with fiction audiobooks. I went for a long walk today and listened to the beginning of All the Pretty Horses. But my mind wanders and then when I come back to the plot I have no idea what's going on. Non-fiction audio is fine though. The narrator's voice for this one was fabulous and such a good fit for the story.
In South San Jose there's this great trail that passes a horse ranch, it's so nice.
Yay for Fopp's 2 for £5 deal and for a rainy day off, which forces me to sit inside drinking coffee 😂
Dark and cold and no wind and a thin gray reef beginning along the eastern rim of the world. He walked out on the prairie and stood holding his hat like some supplicant to the darkness over them all and he stood there for a long time. As he turned to go he heard the train. He stopped and waited for it. He could feel it under his feet...
I agree with the Guardian - for me one of the best books of my life.
pickI never warmed to McCarthy, and I now realise it was because I hadn‘t read this—the master key to his work
pickI admire McCarthy‘s ability to build cadence and rhythm that reflects the rolling plains of Texas and Mexico.
bailedI LOVE Cormac MaCarthy but this one really falls short of the legend. The description and dialogue is wonderful but the story is just dull, uninteresting and lacks any kind of depth. I‘m going to chalk this up as just a one-off but I was really disappointed not to enjoy it like I‘ve enjoyed his other stuff.
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#writersofinstagram #writing #writer #authorsofinstagram #author #authorlife #book #bookstagram #bookshelves #bookquotes #scifi #scifi
pickAt first, I wasn‘t sure about this book. But then I relaxed and got used to the author‘s voice and I started to get lost in the book as well. This book doesn‘t go at all like you think it will. John Grady Cole And his friend, Rawlins, run away from Texas to Mexico. John Grady knows horses but he‘s just learning about life and he‘ll learn some deadly hard truths. 148/1,001 #1001Books #RoryGilmoreChallenge
I didn‘t know much about this book before I started reading other than it‘s considered one of the western “classics” and a National Book Award Winner. I‘m nearly finished now but it‘s not at all what I expected. And I‘m on the fence...
In short: When circumstances prompt a 16(!) year old Texan cowboy and his friend to build a new life in 1950s Mexico, hardships and heartbreak abound.
