No, I mostly read at home. But it is a nice book store.

Edit I also read in coffee shops

I am from México, specifically from Sonora (which is close to Ciudad Juárez = Santa Teresa), so I'm extremely familiar with the horrible violence the book talks about so probably this has a lot to do with my understanding of it. It is a hard book to read with some boring parts but it's an amazing reflection on violence and the results that it has on the society that endures it every day. I would encourage you to keep going until you get through the second part, it is very much worth it, but let me also mention that Los Detectives Salvajes is an amazing book that was way more accesible (at least to me it was) and a better entry point to Bolaño.

Read it. Liked it. Rated it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ on Goodreads.

“Keep my wife’s name out your goddamn mouth” -Will Smith

Whats a tbr

I prefer using my library. They usually have new releases that would be pretty expensive to buy and me utilizing their services helps the library to stay open and receive funding.

If I really enjoy a book I’ve read, I will add it to my buy list. I reread book that I enjoy often, so I only want to purchase books that I know I want to reread.

I actually do prefer buying most nonfiction books though, especially anything not a memoir or biography. I like to annotate and refer back.

Bring your books with you to the bookstore? Or a Cafe.

Do you make it a point to get to the bookstore everyday to do your reading?

The Part About The Crimes is the most intense and relentless writing I’ve ever encountered. It’s more hardcore than Blood Meridian.

But yes, if you’ve only gotten through the first two parts you’ve basically had your dinner roll and salad, the main course is incoming.

The first time I read a book, it's generally from the library. If I like it enough to read it a second time, then I'll buy it

I felt that book so viscerally. Bolano numbs your senses so thoroughly with the dry descriptions of the murders. It’s such an effective demonstration of how we (society) can view catastrophe with such apathy.

I have a minishelf behind me and I enjoy swapping out the books. Sometimes they will be themed or I’ll just grab a bunch of the same color.

And I’m not going to blame people for displaying their own books—it’s probably part of their job and who knows the next time so many eyes will be on your book at once.

It’s a shame because that isn’t what the book is about.

I rarely do my zoom calls in the same place I work. It’s private and the lighting on me is not the best anyway. So yeah, I usually will just take a little table and drop it in front of my bookshelf. It feels like the most control k could have over my background as I also choose what books will be behind me.

Buying, it’s mine! My precious!!!!

Huh, I never really connected the dots like that regarding La barbie and his privileged early life. Super interesting to think about, how some privileged Chicano football player ends up as a key figure in mexicos drug cartels. Probably made the right choice not to send him a letter though 😂 very interesting read though, thanks for sharing!

Ah that’s a tough one too. I’d love to but man I struggle finding people to read with (or who read at all) in my day to day life. I agree though that sounds much more rewarding!

I studied English literature at university and I used to have this same issue and I think it was largely caused by the pressure of feeling like I had to complete and understand the text in a short time. I would treat books like a puzzle, I’d be half writing the essay in my head as I read it, would focus on key words without reading the sentences.

The best advice I could give you is to step back and give yourself plenty of time. Read the text like a book and try and divorce it from being a ‘school assignment’ if, by the end, you can’t make sense of it in the context of the essay you have to write/questions you have to answer you can go back an reread sections or the whole thing. You’ll find it easier for having already known the story, plot and charactersz

Meh, I have something like 900 unread books. I think.

>It's more about the relationship between the murders and the broader society.

100%. I think it’s a really masterful way of looking at crime - although a lot of time is spent on the individual victims and (potential) perpetrators of the crimes, the real focus is on the global economic, cultural and political systems which create the environment for these crimes to occur.

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If I had the money, space, and ideal book shelf, I’d perhaps buy books as I like to support the authors and local/small bookstores although I love reading on my Kobo Clara. I can read in any lighting situation and can easily take notes, look up and add words to my notes, and don’t have to worry about late returns. Most of the stuff I read I get free from Libby and can get just about any classic for Free and there’s plenty of storage for tons of books. For art books and zines I like to own but don’t collect those as much these days. There are tons of art and photo books I’d love to own but I’m happy with my Kobo for now. I do also take my son to play at the library and we leave with a stack of books. Let’s me browse all the new stuff as well and will sometimes grab one for myself.

Buying, simply because I hate paying for stuff I have to give back at some point.

I loved it, but I definitely get how it can feel like a struggle bus, especially the heavier sections. The second chapter is probably the weakest and I wish it had either been cut entirely or he had been able to flesh it out more.

I read it for the first time because I saw a stage production of it 7-8 years ago (5.5 hours long, funded by a monk who won Powerball, weirdly enough) so that admittedly helped me get through the book. Totally agree on it not feeling completely finished, but I'm not even sure how one would truly finish a story like that, tbh. The open-endedness kinda reflects on how the situation never really went away. I was really enamored by the first and fifth chapters, so I think it's worth sticking with unless you're hating every second. Chapter four is a struggle for a different reason, but also so satisfying watching/reading everything/everyone come together and make sense, like tying the perfect knot in your shoelaces.

Oh man I loved it.

I hadn't heard of the comparison with Marquez - Bolano seems much heavier to my eye, though I suppose their stories unfold in very similar ways.

Yes, I suppose it meanders a bit. I would call it a character driven, rather than plot driven, book. I found it to be very rich in the sense that there is a lot going on between the lines that isn't explicitly stated in the text. I think the part about the critics, and their strange, complicated relationship, is the part that stuck with me. Equally, the part about the murders really stuck with me, though it was extremely fatiguing to read. They aren't simply murders, instead they're a symptom of something else. The story portrays them somewhat as systatic, but as the details come to light it is revealed that they are random, without thought.

Have you read any of Bolano's other books? I thought that it was a culmination of themes that he has written about throughout his life: love (what is it? I think he's critical of it); and the institution of art (despite being an artist). I think understanding something about where he's coming from would enhance your reading.