Here’s What I Read in July 1. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy It took me nearly all of July to read Blood Meridian. This was not my first experience with McCarthy; back in 2009 I read three of his books (The Road, Child of God, and No Country For Old Men) consecutively. After finishing Old Men, […]
When I realized I had to read Of Mice and Men again this summer, I wondered how quickly I could do it. I assigned this novel for summer reading for my incoming 9th and 10th graders, and it recently occurred to me that that meant I would have to read it myself. The last time I […]
Otis Redding once said, “Don’t ever do a song as you heard somebody else do it.” Here’s a look at his version of the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night,” which he performed without paying much attention to what the song was about. I always understood the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” […]
Here are eleven words you’ll need to know in order to understand pages 60-65 of Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. “He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” -William Faulkner, on Ernest Hemingway “Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?” -Ernest Hemingway, […]
I had the chance to see the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates play the Chicago Cubs this week. Above is the line on the game, which the Pirates won to put them 21(!) games over .500. Francisco Liriano pitched a complete game for the Buccos, and we saw three triples from Pirate batters. It was a beautiful […]
Here’s what I read in June. The image above is the June illustration from the Tres Riches Heures manuscript, depicting the peasants out mowing hay in front of the Hotel de Nesle. I’ve been using illustrations from this book every month for my “What I Read This Month” posts, and this is the last one. […]