Same. Books I want to keep and reread in the future or just want in my collection? I'll buy them. Otherwise borrow from the library.

It’s interesting that this is your last Bolaño book. It was my first. I feel in love from here and then even more so from Savage Detectives. Interesting journey to get here and then flame out though. Good luck.

I used to do the same and over the years I acquired hundreds of books that I never read. I don't want to think about the money I spent. When we decided to move and downsize our house I decided to address my books, I decided to only pack what I thought I would realistically read in the next 2 years and anything I needed for work. I only packed 2 boxes of books. Which left me with about 800-1000 books to deal with. I sold, gave away, and donated them all. I had at least 4 large bookshelves that I also got rid of.

Now my rule is to not outgrow my single small bookshelf. It's been 3 years since my move and this year I'm committed to reading the last of the books I brought with me.

A few things that have helped me not overbuy books since the move are: I decided that buying/collecting books is a separate hobby from reading and it was not a hobby I want to participate in. I know myself well enough to accept that I like "fresh" books, I lose interest in books once I've owned them for a while, there is always something more interesting to catch my eye. I'm a sucker for a cover or a display, so I don't spend much time in bookstores.

I get most of my books from the library these days. I'm retired and have a lot of time to read and between physical books, ebooks, and audiobooks the library keeps me very well supplied.

I read this in a Zoom book club with two good friends; I probably would not have finished it on my own. I do remember feeling as you describe at the end of Book 2. Book 4 was tough to read; we split it into 2 parts, and I think we did the same with Book 5.

After finishing it, I have to say the journey was rewarded, and the discussion it prompted made it what it was for me. I would try to find others to read the book with you. In the end, Bolano finds a good deal to say about so many themes: the banality of evil, what humans owe each other, misogyny, literature, and much more.

If you're reading physical books you can use your bookmark too. That's what I do if I start to jump sentences.

I agree that the book doesn't quite feel finished, though the publisher says otherwise.

If I were going to analyze "The Part about the Crimes", I would compare it to a season of The Wire, rather than any literary tropes.

Audible and also library.

I'm might be the wrong person to answer, since I think 2666 is a masterpiece, but:

The second part is the least memorable. For the third and fourth parts, you can't really say "nothing ever happens".

I wouldn't say it's about "a mysterious serial killer". While the murders are central to the story, it's not a murder mystery. It's more about the relationship between the murders and the broader society.

Depends on the book and/author! If I think that it is a future winner in every sense, I would probably buy so that I can go back to it again and again…

I am absolutely 100% for the library.

For one, the time limit encourages me to not just put it on a shelf and look at the pretty cover for 5 years and actually read it.

Secondarily, if you're limited on space, it is a fantastic resource.

You also can often read it before you buy it.

Another note too if if you end up having to purchase a book, and you don't intend to keep it, many libraries have little "friends of the library" stores where you can donate them and then they will sell them to help fund things for the local library. Some little coffee shops I notice here recently have began making a little shelf of books people just allow whoever to take or read while they are there too, you could see if one of yours is doing that!

Buying. Some days I have a lot of time to read and some days I have no time to read. I like to read at my own pace without feeling pressured

There's a classic book called "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer Adler (written in 1972), which describes the various types of reading and how to get good at each type. I've found it interesting and helpful in both my academic studies and my regular life.

Here's a blog about it: https://fs.blog/how-to-read-a-book/

And here's a PDF of it: https://textbookequity.org/Textbooks/HowtoReadABook.pdf

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Yeah, I found it really tough to get though. So much that it too me long enough to read that I basically lost the thread. Very little of it stuck with me except the eventually numbing descriptions of many many murders. I thought the Savage Detectives was decent, at least parts of it, but it also meandered a bit. However, I was able to follow the thread a little better. I have found Bolano's short stories to be good, but not earth-shattering for me.

My understanding is that the Savage Detectives is the more renowned Bolano book though again I think there's a lot of inside baseball there that references the Latin American literary scene of the second half of the 20th century that was mostly lost on me.

Loved it, it but don’t blame you for feeling otherwise.

I remember a few years ago sitting on a back porch with several literary-minded friends, hardcore readers and writers, all of whom were (it seemed to me) pretending to like 2666; by the end of the conversation they’d begun, in stride, to dryly rationalize the Part about the Crimes (if i remember the section titles correctly) in terms of various tropes and literary devices even though it was obvious, by then, that they hadn’t actually read the whole thing and had no desire to do so. I felt alone, suddenly, as if this book that spoke to my heart and I were alone and abandoned. I was aware that I was being ridiculous.

For me — a former academic person who fled from a doctoral program — the depiction of the Archimboldeans in the beginning made me laugh and felt like real catharsis. From there on I never stopped digging the book, which remains top 5 for me. I enjoy the characters; his descriptions (one in a German castle for example) are f-ing gorgeous; and for me there are subtle threads running through the book that I haven’t seen anyone else address in a story.

But I wouldn’t feel bad about disliking it. I think there are many readers & writers like you. It’s a super odd book. Plus if I have the back story right (I may not at all) I think that Bolaño wanted to edit it more and may have changed it around a good deal before he ran out of life.

Maybe you’ll like it later. Or maybe its arguably subtle/arguably clunky maximalist approach is just not the thing right now.

Agatha Christie is amazing!

I read 2666 back when it was published in Dutch translation in 2010, so I can’t recall much of its narrative (apart from the macabre Part of the Killings), but I did thoroughly enjoy it. You’re right in that it can be a dense novel without a clear narrative, but it’s a very impressive novel. It does change in tone and style in each Part, so you might land of a part yet that you enjoy more?

And yes, people comparing it to Márquez is very misleading, haha. It’s nothing like it. But somehow each time a Latin American author gets big accolades, people tend to mention Márquez, regardless of style or substance.

While I don't always follow it, I will typically rent the book first in case I don't like it. I type notes either on my phone or on my laptop so I don't have to write on the book. If I like it, then I'll buy it. However, if there are really good reviews/recommendations on the book, I'll just go buy it. I decided to buy Kerri Maniscalco's Kingdom of the Feared series box set from B&N. They are so pretty and I loved the story. I also bought The Love Hypothesis and it turns out I really didn't like it as much as I thought I would, based off the reviews and recommendations. Big disappointment.

In short. The dude was upper middle class. American. Well off family. Star athlete etc. He doesn't fit the general idea of who people join "gangs" or organized crime.

Usually it will fall into subculture theory, meaning, in short, that your peers and the authority people around you don't acknowledge or respect you(for example cause they lack skills in school) and you basically don't live up to the standard norm and value systems of society. Instead you form a subculture with like minded people where norm systems and values are of a whole different category(in this case the more violent you are and the better you are at crime, the more your peers value and respect you).

Another idea would be that of anomy and strain theory. Again, in short, everybody has an idea of what "the good life is" or the "American dream" if you will. However, some people are blocked from getting this through legitimate means. Either cause of societal structures or cause they lack the neccesarily skills(often referred to as capital). This causes strain on their lives, so they seek to eliminate that strain and have "what we have" through other means(crime).

The guy lacked neither. He was perfectly tracked towards a normal life with well off parents. You could argue he did it for sneaky thrills(though that's most common when related to petty crime like shoplifting) or that he is simply a complete sociopath.

Think about all the other cartel figures. They usually came from literally nothing(or it becomes a generational thing where the sons carry on the enterprise). But that guy, he simply doesn't fit The bill.

I almost wrote him a letter angling for an interview, to base my masters thesis on him. But my academic advisor thought it to be a bad idea to potentially put myself in danger, however minor the chance would be(my advisors wife is Mexican, so he had some insight)

If I have more than one or two TBRs at home, I won't buy or check out another book until I've read them. Around the holidays I always get tons of books as gifts, so during the first part of the year my TBR pile can be pretty big. I won't step foot into a bookstore until I've finished the books I have at home. I totally get the pull to do so though, so I understand how you have a large TBR pile. I love roaming Barnes and Noble, but I don't have the space for books, so I'm usually able to curb my desire to buy too many books outright.

Since your TBR pile is so big, I would recommend working through it before buying more books. You could maybe let yourself buy one more book for every five books you read from the TBR pile, or something like that. You could also try reading in coffee shops, since you like browsing for books with a coffee, maybe you'll enjoy reading with a coffee.

Do you mind elaborating a bit on criminology theories and narco polo?

I read primarily on a kindle and it's awesome! You can borrow from your library system and get a Kindle Unlimited subscription which works as a $10/month library. There are tons of free book promotions. Or you can buy ebooks if you really enjoy them.

It saves me a lot of money, especially because I live too far from my local library to utilize it properly (24 miles away is not convenient or a reasonable use of gasoline and time).

I've come to realise that I actually read books only on the second read. The first time around, I just read to know what happens in the end. Only the second time do I actually read it, carefully going over every line and enjoying it. Only some books make the cut for a second read, though...

I always buy my books. So far my new home library needs books to fill it. I carefully consider reviews before buying books. For example, I passed on "Artemis" by Andy Weir even though I loved "The Martian" because it got bad reviews. The reviews for "Project Hail Mary" were strong so I bought it and loved it. I am very glad to have it in case I want to read it again. So far I have passed on "Ready Player Two" even though I love and own "Ready Player One." It messes with my collector mentality so I am coming to grips with it. I may borrow RP2 from the library though. I saw that my library has it.

Checking books out from the library is usually preferable. If your library doesn’t have a specific book on their shelves, most libraries offer free interlibrary loan services. If you can’t figure out how to use ILL through your library’s website, just ask a librarian for help. That’s what they love to do.

I use ILL regularly at my library. I read a lot of obscure books that had small printings 40+ years ago, so the books are really expensive to buy and few libraries have a copy. I’m compiling some bibliographic info for a few authors, so I really need specific editions of books. But libraries do interlibrary loans for all kinds of books, not just special/rare books. And the service is usually FREE. I’ve never paid a fee for the 20+ books I’ve gotten through ILL.

EDIT: When I buy books, I tend to buy used books from local bookstores. All three in my town have websites, so i can search their stores from home and read the description of the book’s condition.