Grant S > Recent Status Updates

Not as good as it’s 2 predecessors at this stage. Still good but not so good I can’t put it down . That said it’s been a tough few weeks and I’m not focussed or content.

Tough going - book meanders along and not much happens , not the classic I was hoping for at least not at this stage. In fact if I wrote a novel based on my own and at times troublesome existence it’d would have a bit more to it and that’s a very low bar.

At this stage I am incredulous this book changed Bob Dylan’s life as in his words it changed everyone else’s.

A lesson at the moment in perseverance.

Slowly getting into it. Have a map of route 6 its towns & states , it’s helping me understand & add context to the journey. It’s very autobiographical but with names replaced with fictional names and some embellishments I guess. It’s been a dodgy start but at the stage of picking it up to read at free moments which I haven’t been doing. Start of chapter 4 and feels like all my reticence is about to change.

Off and running, literally.

It’s a tough read due to the dialect and some of the old American words which need to be Googled despite getting the gist I like to know the reason. Although, that said I am really enjoying the book, the imagery it brilliantly conjures and the injustice, hardness and sadness of the times and the experiences on the people. It feels good to get into Steinbecks classic as the family start to ‘motor west’.

Just about to start. Well ahead of my 2025 reading challenge I thought it was time I read something a bit more out of my comfort zone and an acknowledged masterpiece. Looking forward to hopefully getting some quality time to do it justice.

Been a busy and knackering week so only started reading it this evening. Started to feel sleepy after the first two short chapters but typically Coe has already peaked my curiosity and dragged me in. Looking forward to a bit of calm next week so I can get stuck in.

I’ve stuck with this book and I can say with some conviction that Pacino is probably one of the most narcissistic person I have ever had the displeasure of reading. He actually denies being a narcissist and says it just self-interest but he seems to be confusing it with gross self-importance and feigned magnanimity.

Oh dear, this is hard going , I will finish it but disliking Pacino more with every turning of the page. Coming across as pretentious, conceited and false & having difficulty believing his struggles with isolation are to do with the intensity of a character and impact on himself but more of a result of people deserting him due to his overbearing self-importance. I also question if his alcohol/drug use is overblown.

Can’t say I’m enjoying it but not struggling with it either. The problem is Pacino’s description of his attitude to events which doesn’t warm you to him in fact you question his truth. He could probably eat himself if it was possible. Thankfully, there is a interesting insight to growing up in the Bronx and his friends in the industry in his early years as a theatre actor.

Finished the introduction - picks up on the harrowing theme of Rory Stewart’s book -The Rest is Politics’ where our country is run by amateurs, with no regard for any expertise in a minister’s portfolio. It’s very hard not to compare with how vast majority of private companies are run and how ruinous it would be if a CEO ran his company as a Minister of State runs their Department. I’m hooked in.

Hooked! Started yesterday and reading this at a pace way beyond my PB.

Hooked! Started yesterday and for me I’m fair rattling through the pages.