On track

14. Cormac McCarthy "No Country for Old Men"
I haven't seen the film so please don't tell me anything about it.

I was never able to get over the lack of quotation marks. McCarthy doesn't use them. The book has a lot of dialogue. It's a pain.

The story is great. The moral ambiguity was well done. The dialogue, though difficult to read, was short and to the point. My only problem with the book is not the book's fault. Though I haven't seen the film I couldn't help think of the actor's in the film while reading the book.


13. Banana Yoshimoto, Translated by Michael Emmerich "Asleep"
This book was given to me with no description. It made the read better.

I had not read any contemporary Japanese writers until Yoshimoto. I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised.

"Asleep" is comprised of three novella length pieces. Each story uses sleep as a main facet of the story. While this sounds boring, it's not. Yoshimoto doesn't overuse the concept and never ventures into dreamscape.

It's a quick read and I plan to read the Yoshimoto catalogue.