What Are You Reading

[Matt Crunk]

Lately I've been reading through several collections of pulp and hard-boiled crime shorts from the 20's to the 60's.

 

[Inusuit]

This week...

A Stillness at Appomattox and Grant Takes Command, both by Bruce Catton

 

[Barbigirl]

Finished and almost finished

I finished reading Les Miserable which took an exorbitant amount of time to reading a few weeks ago and I am almost done with Hiroshima.

 

[AmateisGal]

A Stillness at Appomattox and Grant Takes Command, both by Bruce Catton

Bruce Catton is terrific.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I've just finished "The Young Man's Guide" by William A. Alcott (1833)

A good read, which I read quickly. I can't say that I agree with all of his advice. (Is bathing everyday really an extravagance in the 21st Century). But aside from a few quirks it has aged rather well.

Highlights for me: Chapter II and IV.

Anyone else read this?

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Ian Fleming's Dr. No.

Superb, there is a cracking recipe for a Gin & Tonic in there.

Of the Fleming books that you have read, which do you like best?

I'm a "Casino Royale" fan whereas my wife favours "From Russia With Love".

 

[Lady Jessica]

Right now I'm reading Peter Pan. The book isn't with me, so I don't know the author's name, sorry. The original, though.

And The Books of Ember the first three books of Ember bound into one big one. It was a birthday present from my friend. I bought the first one way before the movie came out, but it's a misprint. I have the ending twice, but no beginning. So she bought me the big book. I like them, they're easy to read and really entertaining. I like to read kids books.

 

[JennyLou]

I wish I was currently reading a good book but I jutsw can't make up my mind what to read.

 

[AmateisGal]

Superb, there is a cracking recipe for a Gin & Tonic in there.

Of the Fleming books that you have read, which do you like best?

I'm a "Casino Royale" fan whereas my wife favours "From Russia With Love".

For the Fleming novels, I've read Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Casino Royale. Goldfinger is up next. Out of the first three, I'd have to say I liked Dr. No the best - the action just moved a lot faster. I did like From Russia with Love, but I think Fleming spends the first 1/4 of the book describing the Russians and SPECTRE, the background of their assasin, etc. Bond didn't even make an appearance until chapter four or so, which I found odd. Plus as a writer, I couldn't figure out the reasoning for so much backstory at the beginning. It detracted from the power of the novel.

 

[Diamondback]

Personally, I've only read Thunderball and The Man With The Golden Gun--the latter was quite possibly the worst of the Close Encounters With Fleming's Id... frankly, even today I'm inclined to mark it as "borderline porn".

Trust me, on that one, even with Roger Moore playing it for laughs, the movie was a huge improvement.

 

[Joie DeVive]

I recently borrowed 'Tis Herself, the Maureen O'Hara Autobiography. It's a really interesting read!!

 

[Ethan Bentley]

For the Fleming novels, I've read Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Casino Royale. Goldfinger is up next. Out of the first three, I'd have to say I liked Dr. No the best - the action just moved a lot faster. I did like From Russia with Love, but I think Fleming spends the first 1/4 of the book describing the Russians and SPECTRE, the background of their assasin, etc. Bond didn't even make an appearance until chapter four or so, which I found odd. Plus as a writer, I couldn't figure out the reasoning for so much backstory at the beginning. It detracted from the power of the novel.

I know what you mean about the pace of From Russia With Love, I found that as I read more and more of his work I noticed how he experimented with style; just wait until you get to "The Spy Who Loved Me".

I quite enjoyed Goldfinger, especially the cards & golf.
"Contemplations over a Double Bourbon" I think, is a great chapter title and is what got me into drinking Bourbon, believe it or not.

I would say, generally, that his earlier books are better than his later ones and there is some advantage in reading them in order but it's not essential.

A few other early ones of note.
Live and Let Die - 2nd book.
Moonraker - 3rd book, this has pretty much nothing to do with the film. It's not set in space, there are no laser guns or Venetian glass. The one major similarity is the character Hugo Drax.
Diamonds Are Forever - 4th book, predominantly set in Saratoga, Las Vegas, The Mafia.

I agree The Man with The Golden Gun is not a patch on the rest of the stuff, it was released posthumously SPOILER ON and was effectively a follow-up once Fleming had already "killed-off" Bond. Sadly not the recipe for a classic tale. SPOILER OFF

 

[BinkieBaumont]

#1
Lulu-in-Ny
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Clifton Park, New York
Posts: 431
Esquire Magazine
I was directed to this article due to the fact that it talks about the very real possibility of Borders Books disappearing by 2010. (I work for Barnes & Noble.) However, it also mentions that Esquire will most likely be gone by then as well. What a shame. Perhaps they should have gone the Maxim route and dropped some half-naked women on their covers...
__________________
"I have a gift for enraging people- but if I ever bore you, it will be with a knife..."

Sorry i cut and copied this

Seems that the Global shakedown is a result of McDonnalds and Borders along with Starbuck's having delusions of grandeur rather like Adolph Hitler, trying to take over!

i went to borders once, after charging me $180.00 for a lovely book they wanted 10 cents for a plastic bag for it, (which i use for garbage) I asked for a refund and went elsewhere!

 

[AmateisGal]

I recently borrowed 'Tis Herself, the Maureen O'Hara Autobiography. It's a really interesting read!!

I loved this autobiography!

 

[Feraud]

Currently reading- American-Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR Put the Nation to Work

 

[Guttersnipe]

Just finnished . . .

. . . Young Stalin, by Simon S. Montefiore's. It's quite good, one can tell that the author is just as horrified/intrigued by by the subject as the reader. Montefiore is also the author of Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar. In both these works he relies heavily on newly uncovered/declassified documents from archives in Georgia and elsewhere to debunk a lot of myths that were built up as part of the cult of personality. He also fills a lot of gaps in Stalin's life that were missing from previous biographies.

 

[Inusuit]

Bruce Catton is terrific.

Yes, probably the best of the Civil War authors I've read. He makes the people come to life. What other books of his would you recommend? I've been looking for his Centennial Trilogy, but our library doesn't have it.

 

["Skeet" McD]

Yes, probably the best of the Civil War authors I've read. He makes the people come to life. What other books of his would you recommend?

Honestly, you can't go wrong. Any that come your way, read; you won't be disappointed. Like one: like 'em all.

"Skeet"
Late Lt., Co. "A", 5th N-H Vols.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

"Black Friday" by David Goodis.

 

[Lillemor]

I've decided to begin to read the Bible. I'm being serious. I got one for my 18th birthday with reading plans in. I read the two week plan last Fall. I began on the 1 year plan but put it off because I was ill so often during the winter but I'll pick up again.