I finished Blood Meridian a few days ago. That is a dense book. There are layers to peel back that I only sometimes understood. While I was reading (and rereading some parts), I thought about a quote from Christopher Nolan on Tenet, where he implores the audience not to try to understand but to just feel it. Choosing not to think too hard and instead feel the rhythm of Cormac McCarthy’s writing made the reading experience more enjoyable.

The book gave me the same feeling as listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Godspeed’s music paints a landscape and lets you imagine the suffering inside of it. Blood Meridian does not give you the chance to imagine violence, it shoves it in your face at every opportunity.

Baking my bread in a loaf tin instead of shaping them as boules has made them much easier to eat. Boules end up with awkward edge pieces that are perfect for eating with soup or as a snack, but not much else. The loaf shape has me eating more bread now.

Increasing the whole wheat flour percentage I use will make me feel a bit less bad about the absurd volume of sandwiches I’m eating.

Le Creuset didn’t provide a discounted replacement after I broke my dutch oven. Understandable given it was my fault, but I feel a bit sour that others have had replacements for similar damage.

I’m curious how the significantly cheaper Cuisinart I ordered as a replacement will compare. Allegedly it’s heavier + less resistant to chipping on the edge. Seems like a fair tradeoff for costing a third of a comparable Le Creuset.