Books 3 and 4. Only 100 to go!!

No Country For Old Men
Cormac McCarthy is quite capable of frustrating the casual reader with his tendency to let his stories finish on their own terms without a traditional resolution and the lack of speech marks throughout. Luckily this doesn't bother me as I find McCarthy a fascinating writer who has a great skill in crafting some of the best dialogue I've ever read in a book....on the downside, some of this doesn't work. With every character sounding like they're written by a genius, you get the sense that everyone in McCarthy's world is too intelligent for their own good, and I was craving some more basic conversations to balance the poetic beauty of some of the more interesting exchanges (there are two dialogues in particular which are spellbounding). Also the book shuffles between three main characters, but only of one these people really stuck with me: the menacing Chigurgh who is one of the most brillaint literary bad guys in recent times. I had a great time with this fast paced thriller and will continue to seek out more of McCarthy's work.

The Alchemist
There is not much to say on this book other than I loved every page of it. The Alchemist can be read in a couple of hours, and probably will be, as you get sucked into this charming tale. The message is not original and you could accuse this book of being over sentimental and too preachy, but I didn't care. It was a delight and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a little inspiration in their lives.