3/7/18 Tales Of Ordinary Madness? (Book)

    I know I have fallen behind, but at least I am reading again.  I meant to read at least twelve books, which would be about one a month, and it being March, it is going to get harder to do as time marches along.  Anyway, probably six months ago, we went to Half Price Books and I was lucky enough to find about four books of the great Charles Bukowski, a German American poet who I have been following for at least three years.  I love the way he writes, dirty and natural.  From his point of view he does no wrong, just takes care of his animal cravings.  From the perspective of the women around him, he is kind of a rapist, and he would have a  hard time fitting in to the modern era with its #MeToo movement and other assorted challenges for a confirmed "Dirty Old Man."
    This book, again, like the last one, is a collection of stories that seem to be about him, more or less, being told maybe out of order, but I believe he is simply writing about his life.  There are too many stories about horse racing to not be the case.  He still likes being called Chinaski, as he is referred to in one of the small stories.  This was a fake name he carried all the way through his Post Office book.  The ones that catch my attention is when he basically "rapes" any woman he meets.  In one of the stories, he is hanging with a friend and asks him if he knows any women.  The friend says yes, they go over and Bukowski slithers his was way over to the girl and with other people sitting in the living room, he is already sticking his mouth under her skirt.  She finds this behavior intriguing, runs off the other companions, but then Bukowski has a change of mind and decides he would rather drink.  While trying to get drunker, he tells her he is going to go in the back door, which offends her.
    A lot of the stories are get togethers with other poets and discussing who is the best of their time.  It is interesting that Hemingway and others come up, but within his small circle, he is usually labeled the genius of the group.  This book started out slow, but then at a certain point, I took off and was able to get through it in less than a week.  Some of the stuff he writes about might be frowned upon in modern society, I just find it interesting that this man does not seem to mind discussing taboo stuff
    It has been really hard to find time to read, with the phone always having new pictures on Snapchat, or new words to spell on WWF, but I think in the long run, reading will be more beneficial as it is a form of inputting thoughts in my head.  I have to go home and pick out a new book to start reading.