Each summer I try to read something challenging along with a few other books on my list and a few I pick up for fun. This summer I chose Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. It is set in the 1840’s during our expansion into the west. The Kid is the central character who joins up with a group of bounty hunters supposedly out to make the Southwest safer by killing Indians and collecting the scalps as proof. Along the way they kill plenty but it is clear there is no reason for much of it. This book is violent, scary and difficult reading for me but I can’t stop. Every single character is interesting and you never know what will happen next because the characters are capable of some unbelievable things. The scenery around them is beautiful. I am reading it on the Kindle reader because there are lots of words and references to look up along the way and I can bookmark many sections to re-read – I find myself re-reading a lot. I alternate with a couple of other books to help relax a little between chapters but while I am reading those I find I think about the Kid and another character known as the Judge. I remember All the Pretty Horses and thinking that I wanted to read more Cormac McCarthy but I had no idea I would end up with this book. Blood Meridian is not the same as that but it is amazing.