Just finished "my wicked wicked ways" by errol flynn,very funny in parts, but also I've read elsewhere that by the time he wrote this book his mind was a bit confused with certain events.But it's still worth a read,after all it's flynn!
"Yes,dammit,I said "was".The bitch is dead now."
"It's not difficult to get a double 0 number if your prepared to kill people"
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand was a good book with some interesting ideas but was too long. Ms. Rand could have put forth her philosophy in a book half the size. The idea in a nutshell is that man should live for himself, that the society/government takes from the productive and gives to the unproductive (the “looters”), and that it is immoral to facilitate this process. The book explores the idea of what would happen if the most brilliant and productive members of society were to quit working. You understand the theme or underlying ideas very early on and they are intriguing unfortunately the story that goes along with it was not as compelling. I felt like giving up on the book about halfway through but forced myself to finish.
"A blunt instrument wielded by a Government department. Hard, ruthless, sardonic, fatalistic. He likes gambling, golf, fast motor cars. All his movements are relaxed and economical". Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming’s Secret War by Craig Cabell. I enjoyed reading this book even though there was very little new information about Ian Fleming. I would say that there is not really enough known about Fleming’s wartime activities to make up a whole book. The author’s real interest seems to lie in the exploits of 30 Assault Unit, which was conceived by Fleming, and in Patrick Dalzel-Job an officer in 30 AU. In fact at times I thought I was reading a book about Dalzel-Job rather than Fleming. Craig Cabell has a book coming that is going to be about 30 AU and it will probably be a good one. The reader would have been better served had Cabell just included a condensed version of Ian Fleming’s Secret War as a chapter or two in his upcoming novel about 30 Assault Unit rather than as a separate book.
"A blunt instrument wielded by a Government department. Hard, ruthless, sardonic, fatalistic. He likes gambling, golf, fast motor cars. All his movements are relaxed and economical". Ian Fleming
It's taken me over three years to finish this, not being too bothered about it either way. It's a short novel, but boy it goes slow and never really picks up the pace, a bit like a Marc Forster film, and it's worthy but a bit dull.
I was a bit uneasy with it because it came across a bit like a preacher or cult leader's spiel; sort of slow moving so you have to go at his pace and get taken in. It's about a young lad in the desert lands who has a dream about how he should go to the Pyramids where he will find his treasure. Off he goes, and has plenty of experiences along the way. But much of it leads towards the 'follow your destiny' and 'listen to your heart' route which is all very well... but some people don't even have a destiny, y'know? And if they do, events don't always conspire to help them... and what if you're not much cop? Ultimately it's like a self-help tape.
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
edited May 2009
Master and Commander, by Patrick O'Brian
The first in a series of 20 1/2 novels (Mr. O'Brian sadly passed away whilst in the middle of the 21st) featuring Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin---an historically detailed and highly entertaining look at life in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Era.
This first novel, set in 1801, really deals with Aubrey's first command, the HMS Sophie, a two-masted sloop of war, and her colourful actions whilst cruising the Mediterranean. It also details how Aubrey and Maturin met, and how the latter became his ship's doctor. The prose is absolutely beautiful, and rendered in 'period' terms---thankfully, there's a picture of a fully rigged sailing ship at the beginning of the book, so that landlubbers like myself can follow along with terms like 'main staysail,' 'foresail' and 'mizzen-mast' B-) It's really quite subversive in the way it draws a reader into this most fascinating world, where the Articles of War are read out loud on a regular basis and the entire crew form on deck to witness 'punishment'---flogging at the hands of the bosn's mate The slowly-unfolding drama of chases at sea, and their strategic choreography of sail fabric, and the whims of the wind...the explosiveness of the Sophie's fourteen eight-pounders as she unleashes a rolling broadside against Spanish or French foes... B-) Wow.
I was always a big fan of the film, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, but now realize that that picture was really a composite of the literary series as a whole. The novel The Far Side of the World comes later in the book series and apparently features a Pacific duel with an American Frigate in the War of 1812, rather than the more politically correct French foes of the Napoleonic Wars in the film. I can't wait to read it B-)
I'd always intended to look into these books; now that I have, I am a complete fan. I've picked up the 2nd and 3rd books, Post-Captain and HMS Surprise, and will probably alternate my enjoyment of them with my ongoing love affair with John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee mysteries. Two more divergently entertaining master writers one could not hope to enjoy.
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Goldfinger:
Seeing as I have a hour and a half commute to and from work each day I usually end up slipping back into the Fleming books every couple of months (it normaly takes me 2 to 3 three days to finish a book) plus my library card is in meltdown, but after Loeffelholz's review of Master and Commander I might check them out. I love the Sharp books so these should siut me down to the ground
I can't give Master and Commander the same level of praise as Loeff. While O'Brian's prose and knowledge are definitely beyond measure, I felt he was weak in engaging the reader. After having read C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels, I found the Aubrey/Maturin series as being very dry. I enjoyed the movie, however even the filmmakers recognized the fact that the first novel didn't have enough to 'bouy' (pun intended) a feature length film.
By no means let me dissuade you from experiencing O'Brian for yourself, but if you're a fan of Fleming and Bernard Cornwell, and are looking for some high-seas adventure, then you may also wish to give Forester's Hornblower novels a look-see.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
edited May 2009
I won't deny that M & C takes a bit of acclimation---besides the nautical terminology, there's the fact that the narrative style itself is very period authentic, and this can be daunting, at least at first. So DH's criticism of O'Brian being weak in engaging the reader may be true at the beginning---it took me a while to acquire the rhythm and nuance---but I built momentum as the read progressed, and quickly became fully engaged with the well-rendered main characters. Aubrey, in particular, is a flawed and fascinating man---a brilliant seaman and tactician, but strangely ill at ease and socially inept on dry land, with political enemies and rivals in his own navy...some of his own making, since
he has the poor judgment to be sleeping with the wife of a superior officer...
Dr. Maturin, also an espionage agent and naturalist, is a quirky and razor-sharp counterpart to Aubrey; in some ways the two characters make one complete person
It's not the comparatively easy casual reading that some might expect or want, but IMO it does richly reward those who stick with it. Also of note is that all of the naval engagements described, although not chonologically accurate, are based on officers' documented accounts. As O'Brian points out in his foreword, it's nearly impossible to improve on the truth...
Agent M, you probably won't read Master and Commander in two or three days like a Fleming, and it isn't the sort of novel that can be done justice with a 'skim read.' But if you're interested in history---naval history in particular---I think you'll enjoy it. But don't judge it after one chapter. Give it at least three chapters, and if you're like me, it'll draw you in B-)
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
don't worry the last time I put a book down without reading to the end was Twilight, (I just couldn't get on with all the emo) and my speed reading's pretty fast, I usually have a couple of books on the go one for at home, one for tthe tube ride and one for breaks at work so I should realy start on the Hornblower books as well seeing as I'm a big Trek fan
SO CLOSE to being done with a book I picked up only this afternoon. It's called GHOST HUNTING by none other than the Ghost Hunters themselves, Mr. Jason Hawes and Mr. Grant Wilson. It's just written accounts of some of their more memorable investigations, but I can't seem to put it down. If anyone here is a fan of their show, this is a most highly recommended read. It's really interesting because I'm getting more of an insight to what THEY feel during investigations, versus what they show on screen.
Other than that, I'm halfway through DIGITAL FORTRESS by Dan Brown. I might have to take it to Field School with me if I ever want to finish it...it's good, but it's not a sensational page turner like some of his other work...but I've GOT to finish it...
I love these books, fast, easy to read, almost believable, with our Bond Like protagonist, Jack Reacher (ex military cop who lives his life with no baggage - or place of residence, but independently wealthy to fund his adventures) who manages to find himself helping someone in distress. This time we catch up with him on an innocent ride in the subway of NY, and spots what he firstly assumes is a suicide bomber, but which turns out to be a woman running for her life, before trying to save her brother from being murdered.
Lee Child never fails to disappoint, but usually I read them far too quickly, and have to wait another full year before the next one is published. Highly recommended.
She's worth whatever chaos she brings to the table and you know it. ~ Mark Anthony
What's the first book called Lexi? Should I start chronolically?
yes you should - and the first book is called 'Killing Floor'. Oh how I envy you - all of those books to enjoy
According to wikepedia, it's the biggest selling series in the world. I had actually thought that Twilight was the world's biggest selling, which shows that I should clearly start moving with the times.
It's been such a long time since I've finished a book; I've started numerous, but I'm yet to finish any of them. I'm currently rereading A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which is of course a masterpiece; I'm reading a Jeffrey Archer novel, Birth of a Prisoner which is a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo set in modern times; I've just began Twilight which I'm hoping gets better as the first couple of chapters are a little slow; and I'm also reading a novel by David Morrell, a superb Canadian thriller writer who is best known for First Blood, which was arguably among the finest thrillers ever written.
I'm not as disciplined as I once was. Which in some ways is not such a bad thing as I've been reading short stories more in recent times, and a great collection of short stories is IMO as good as a terrific novel, although I would still choose the latter.
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
Nearly finished the afgan by fredrick forsyth,cracking good read,then I'll start american psyco closely followed by new sherlock holmes adventures,26 unrecorded cases solved by the great man himself,also got 10 patrick o'brian books to get though,and 1 more harlan coben called deal breaker,and 9 other f forsyth novels including the day of the jackal.
All in all alot of reading to be done over the next few months,me thinks,no doubt some other book will catch my eye.
By the way the jack reacher novels are fantastic,have read and got all of em,highly recommended.
"Yes,dammit,I said "was".The bitch is dead now."
"It's not difficult to get a double 0 number if your prepared to kill people"
Of the ones that you mentioned, other than Sherlock Holmes of which I've only read Conan Doyle, American Psycho is fantastic, although be warned as it's quite graphic, and The Day of the Jackal is magnificent; easily IMO Forsyth's best novel. Enjoy.
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
Of the ones that you mentioned, other than Sherlock Holmes of which I've only read Conan Doyle, American Psycho is fantastic, although be warned as it's quite graphic, and The Day of the Jackal is magnificent; easily IMO Forsyth's best novel. Enjoy.
Cheers,I will do my best to enjoy TDOTJ,love the film,edward fox is cool as the jackal,so the charecter should be the same in the book .... I hope.
Anyway thanks again.-{
"Yes,dammit,I said "was".The bitch is dead now."
"It's not difficult to get a double 0 number if your prepared to kill people"
Tie-in with his recent TV series. I started a thread once on this site about the US States and the best movies to tie in with each one, ashamed to say I haven't picked up on it. ;% But am trying to learn the 50 states, it's hard work. Was gonna learn the capitals too, but maybe I won't because they don't necessarily have much to offer. It's not like Europe where a London or a Paris will have internationally known landmarks like Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower. Not sure Augusta, Maine has anything to recommend it...
Fry is a jovial companian but I was alarmed to find, picking it up two weeks or so after I left it, that three or four states I had totally forgotten reading... A few more pics of the landscape rather than Fry in the foreground of some shop or something would not have gone amiss. Fry is a Yankphile (if that's the right word) so that is good, he's looking for the best in people.
Carry On Jeeves
By some autosuggestion I picked this up at the libary too. Some may recall that Stephen Fry played Jeeves opposite Hugh House Lawrie's Bertie Wooster in a TV series. I didn't bother with it because they seemed to be both playing to type, but now I may rewatch a few episodes.
This PG Wodehouse book is great fun although it runs to a formula; one of Bertie's chums gets into a spot of bother with a gruff, scornful old uncle, or a no-nonsense dragon of an auntie, or a shrill, mind-improving paramour turned fiancee, and Bertie turns to Jeeves to extricate them from the situation. Generally it's a laugh, although early on it sometimes seems there's something homoerotic between the master and his valet, you don't have to have watched Joseph Losey's The Servant to see this. It's like there's some issue of control going on. Some wonderfully mysognistic moments too, I know the words 'wonderfully' and 'mysogynistic' shouldn't go together but still:
"Honoria, you see, is one of those robust, dynamic girls with the muscles of a welterweight and a laugh like a squadron of cavalry charging over a tin bridge. A beastly thing to have to face over the breakfast table. Brainy, moreover..."
And an old bag from Boston:
"She looked at me in a rather rummy way. It was a nasty look. It made me feel as if I were something the dog had brought in and intended to bury later on, when he had time...
"I don't understand a word you say. You're English, aren't you?"
I admitted it. She didn't say a word. And she did it in a way that made it worse than if she had spoken for hours. Somehow it was brought home to me that she didn't like Englishmen, and that if she had to meet and Englishman I was the one she'd have chosen last."
I am also reading Taki's short stories, much from the same cloth though of greater range. It predates Jeeves and Wooster I fancy. Okay in small doses.
I love these books, easy to read, somewhat comforting (they all follow the same protagonist, Lindsay Millhone, a sassy independent self employed twice divorced detective, who's in her late 30's) as I feel I really know her. Her book titles follow the alphabet, with her first novel being 'A for Alibi', and each follow in chronological order too - but she always gets herself embroiled with some innocent looking case, which in turn usually turns into something much more sinister.
I always finish these books too quickly, and sigh at the fact I have to wait another year for the next one.....oh well - Hello Richard Montanari
She's worth whatever chaos she brings to the table and you know it. ~ Mark Anthony
Some may recall that Stephen Fry played Jeeves opposite Hugh House Lawrie's Bertie Wooster in a TV series. I didn't bother with it because they seemed to be both playing to type, but now I may rewatch a few episodes.
Well my flatmate had the boxed set so I watched the first episode last night. Maybe I should have been wary to go straight from the book to the screen like that. I felt a bit how the Ian Fleming fan must have felt watching Dr No for the first time. Incidents you would savour on the page are peremptorily dealt with, other scenes are eked out.
The main problem is that Bertie Wooster is a prize chump, a fool, a wastrel but we are insulated against the full force of this in the books, because he is the main storyteller. We see events through his eyes; he is our entertainer and a jolly good sort. Moreover, there are those wonderful phrases he comes out with (examples in my previous post) that are of course Wodehouse and really beyond a chump like Bertie, but make us laugh out loud.
But under the mercilessly objective eye of the camera lens, Bertie is just a chump with scarcely any redeeming qualities. What's more, his nemeses - pompous old men, dragon-lie aunties, ghastly self-improving women - here seem toned down a bit. If anything, we can only too readily share their view of the idle toff. Laurie is fine casting, but I don't really want to go along with him on his yarns, while his pals just aren't as endearing as in the stories. Fry does what he can with Jeeves, a character who is very sketchily drawn in the stories and only infrequently shows up. But there's something missing here, if the first episode is anything to go by.
EDIT: Watched Episode 2 last night and it's vastly improved. Laurie's Bertie is far more personable and appealing and his friends and relatives are more appropriately ghastly or chummy as applicable. Genuinely funny too.
I just finished DRACULA . I've seen various movies, and finally read the book . It definetly deserves some praise. I think it is and always be the greatest vampire story of all time.
I recently finished Berlin Game by Len Deighton, a great cold war spy novel from the eighties. Its the first book in a trilogy. I don't know how I missed reading his books earlier but I'm glad I found them. If you like spy novels I would definitely give them a try. I have already started the second novel, Mexico Set and am really enjoying it.
"A blunt instrument wielded by a Government department. Hard, ruthless, sardonic, fatalistic. He likes gambling, golf, fast motor cars. All his movements are relaxed and economical". Ian Fleming
Some may recall that Stephen Fry played Jeeves opposite Hugh House Lawrie's Bertie Wooster in a TV series. I didn't bother with it because they seemed to be both playing to type, but now I may rewatch a few episodes.
Well my flatmate had the boxed set so I watched the first episode last night. Maybe I should have been wary to go straight from the book to the screen like that. I felt a bit how the Ian Fleming fan must have felt watching Dr No for the first time. Incidents you would savour on the page are peremptorily dealt with, other scenes are eked out.
The main problem is that Bertie Wooster is a prize chump, a fool, a wastrel but we are insulated against the full force of this in the books, because he is the main storyteller. We see events through his eyes; he is our entertainer and a jolly good sort. Moreover, there are those wonderful phrases he comes out with (examples in my previous post) that are of course Wodehouse and really beyond a chump like Bertie, but make us laugh out loud.
But under the mercilessly objective eye of the camera lens, Bertie is just a chump with scarcely any redeeming qualities. What's more, his nemeses - pompous old men, dragon-lie aunties, ghastly self-improving women - here seem toned down a bit. If anything, we can only too readily share their view of the idle toff. Laurie is fine casting, but I don't really want to go along with him on his yarns, while his pals just aren't as endearing as in the stories. Fry does what he can with Jeeves, a character who is very sketchily drawn in the stories and only infrequently shows up. But there's something missing here, if the first episode is anything to go by.
EDIT: Watched Episode 2 last night and it's vastly improved. Laurie's Bertie is far more personable and appealing and his friends and relatives are more appropriately ghastly or chummy as applicable. Genuinely funny too.
I've got the boxed sets as well. they're some of my most prized possessions lol. Bertie's such a silly arse. always good for a laugh when I'm feeling down.
I just finished re-reading both Harry Potter 6 & 7. I had forgotten what good books they are. I swear, if Potter 7 (being made in two parts, thank goodness) leaves out ANYTHING, there will be a hoard of angry fans on the screenwriters so fast...
I just finished re-reading both Harry Potter 6 & 7. I had forgotten what good books they are. I swear, if Potter 7 (being made in two parts, thank goodness) leaves out ANYTHING, there will be a hoard of angry fans on the screenwriters so fast...
I know what you mean, I have just watched all the films again after watching the new one and i'm currently re-reading the books, i'm part way through OOP. There is such a rich world created in the books and a lot of it is missing from the films. I realise that they cant include absolutely everything from the books but it seems there are some very important things left out, some of Riddles memories for example from the new film that are important to the next part of the story. I think the only way to do a truly faithful adaptation would be on tv in series form, maybe animated.
That said, I love the films. I just see them as a seperate entity to the books entirely and love the nods to the books that are included. I do wish some of the characters from the books had not been left out; Ludo Bagman, Bill and Charlie Weasley and Rufus Scrimgeour in particular (although he will be in the next films, played by Bill Nighy)
1- On Her Majesty's Secret Service 2- Casino Royale 3- Licence To Kill 4- Goldeneye 5- From Russia With Love
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
Bright Orange for the Shroud, by John D. MacDonald
Travis McGee again; the sixth book in the series. I love these; there's nothing like watching a master craftsman at work B-)
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
That said, I love the films. I just see them as a seperate entity to the books entirely and love the nods to the books that are included. I do wish some of the characters from the books had not been left out; Ludo Bagman, Bill and Charlie Weasley and Rufus Scrimgeour in particular (although he will be in the next films, played by Bill Nighy)
that's how I look at them too. the earlier ones were more faithful, but they've dropped considerably after the 6th movie. Can't believe they left Peeves out. they made SUCH a mistake there. and OMFG BILL NIGHY!? PERFECT! maybe I'll actually like Scimgeour then...that character is on the list of one's I'm not too fond of...
Geoffrey Household's 1939 thriller, Rogue Male. Sort of an interesting hybrid of John Buchan and H. Rider Haggard, as an unnamed hunter tramping around a similarly unnamed central European country decides to see if he can get close enough to the country house of an unnamed dictator (I wonder who that can be. . .) to realistically take a shot. The bulk of the novel is concerned with the hunter's escape and attempt to hide from the Naz--err, foreign agents who are trying to kill him. Good stuff, with Household's snarky observations about politics and society making a refreshing change from the usual rah-rah attitude you'd expect from the period.
Comments
"It's not difficult to get a double 0 number if your prepared to kill people"
The Alchemist.
It's taken me over three years to finish this, not being too bothered about it either way. It's a short novel, but boy it goes slow and never really picks up the pace, a bit like a Marc Forster film, and it's worthy but a bit dull.
I was a bit uneasy with it because it came across a bit like a preacher or cult leader's spiel; sort of slow moving so you have to go at his pace and get taken in. It's about a young lad in the desert lands who has a dream about how he should go to the Pyramids where he will find his treasure. Off he goes, and has plenty of experiences along the way. But much of it leads towards the 'follow your destiny' and 'listen to your heart' route which is all very well... but some people don't even have a destiny, y'know? And if they do, events don't always conspire to help them... and what if you're not much cop? Ultimately it's like a self-help tape.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
The first in a series of 20 1/2 novels (Mr. O'Brian sadly passed away whilst in the middle of the 21st) featuring Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin---an historically detailed and highly entertaining look at life in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Era.
This first novel, set in 1801, really deals with Aubrey's first command, the HMS Sophie, a two-masted sloop of war, and her colourful actions whilst cruising the Mediterranean. It also details how Aubrey and Maturin met, and how the latter became his ship's doctor. The prose is absolutely beautiful, and rendered in 'period' terms---thankfully, there's a picture of a fully rigged sailing ship at the beginning of the book, so that landlubbers like myself can follow along with terms like 'main staysail,' 'foresail' and 'mizzen-mast' B-) It's really quite subversive in the way it draws a reader into this most fascinating world, where the Articles of War are read out loud on a regular basis and the entire crew form on deck to witness 'punishment'---flogging at the hands of the bosn's mate
I was always a big fan of the film, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, but now realize that that picture was really a composite of the literary series as a whole. The novel The Far Side of the World comes later in the book series and apparently features a Pacific duel with an American Frigate in the War of 1812, rather than the more politically correct French foes of the Napoleonic Wars in the film. I can't wait to read it B-)
I'd always intended to look into these books; now that I have, I am a complete fan. I've picked up the 2nd and 3rd books, Post-Captain and HMS Surprise, and will probably alternate my enjoyment of them with my ongoing love affair with John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee mysteries. Two more divergently entertaining master writers one could not hope to enjoy.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Seeing as I have a hour and a half commute to and from work each day I usually end up slipping back into the Fleming books every couple of months (it normaly takes me 2 to 3 three days to finish a book) plus my library card is in meltdown, but after Loeffelholz's review of Master and Commander I might check them out. I love the Sharp books so these should siut me down to the ground
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
I can't give Master and Commander the same level of praise as Loeff. While O'Brian's prose and knowledge are definitely beyond measure, I felt he was weak in engaging the reader. After having read C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels, I found the Aubrey/Maturin series as being very dry. I enjoyed the movie, however even the filmmakers recognized the fact that the first novel didn't have enough to 'bouy' (pun intended) a feature length film.
By no means let me dissuade you from experiencing O'Brian for yourself, but if you're a fan of Fleming and Bernard Cornwell, and are looking for some high-seas adventure, then you may also wish to give Forester's Hornblower novels a look-see.
It's not the comparatively easy casual reading that some might expect or want, but IMO it does richly reward those who stick with it. Also of note is that all of the naval engagements described, although not chonologically accurate, are based on officers' documented accounts. As O'Brian points out in his foreword, it's nearly impossible to improve on the truth...
Agent M, you probably won't read Master and Commander in two or three days like a Fleming, and it isn't the sort of novel that can be done justice with a 'skim read.' But if you're interested in history---naval history in particular---I think you'll enjoy it. But don't judge it after one chapter. Give it at least three chapters, and if you're like me, it'll draw you in B-)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
Other than that, I'm halfway through DIGITAL FORTRESS by Dan Brown. I might have to take it to Field School with me if I ever want to finish it...it's good, but it's not a sensational page turner like some of his other work...but I've GOT to finish it...
mountainburdphotography.wordpress.com
I love these books, fast, easy to read, almost believable, with our Bond Like protagonist, Jack Reacher (ex military cop who lives his life with no baggage - or place of residence, but independently wealthy to fund his adventures) who manages to find himself helping someone in distress. This time we catch up with him on an innocent ride in the subway of NY, and spots what he firstly assumes is a suicide bomber, but which turns out to be a woman running for her life, before trying to save her brother from being murdered.
Lee Child never fails to disappoint, but usually I read them far too quickly, and have to wait another full year before the next one is published. Highly recommended.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
yes you should - and the first book is called 'Killing Floor'. Oh how I envy you - all of those books to enjoy
It's been such a long time since I've finished a book; I've started numerous, but I'm yet to finish any of them.
I'm not as disciplined as I once was. Which in some ways is not such a bad thing as I've been reading short stories more in recent times, and a great collection of short stories is IMO as good as a terrific novel, although I would still choose the latter.
All in all alot of reading to be done over the next few months,me thinks,no doubt some other book will catch my eye.
By the way the jack reacher novels are fantastic,have read and got all of em,highly recommended.
"It's not difficult to get a double 0 number if your prepared to kill people"
"It's not difficult to get a double 0 number if your prepared to kill people"
Cheers,I will do my best to enjoy TDOTJ,love the film,edward fox is cool as the jackal,so the charecter should be the same in the book .... I hope.
Anyway thanks again.-{
"It's not difficult to get a double 0 number if your prepared to kill people"
Stephen Fry in America
Tie-in with his recent TV series. I started a thread once on this site about the US States and the best movies to tie in with each one, ashamed to say I haven't picked up on it. ;% But am trying to learn the 50 states, it's hard work. Was gonna learn the capitals too, but maybe I won't because they don't necessarily have much to offer. It's not like Europe where a London or a Paris will have internationally known landmarks like Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower. Not sure Augusta, Maine has anything to recommend it...
Fry is a jovial companian but I was alarmed to find, picking it up two weeks or so after I left it, that three or four states I had totally forgotten reading... A few more pics of the landscape rather than Fry in the foreground of some shop or something would not have gone amiss. Fry is a Yankphile (if that's the right word) so that is good, he's looking for the best in people.
Carry On Jeeves
By some autosuggestion I picked this up at the libary too. Some may recall that Stephen Fry played Jeeves opposite Hugh House Lawrie's Bertie Wooster in a TV series. I didn't bother with it because they seemed to be both playing to type, but now I may rewatch a few episodes.
This PG Wodehouse book is great fun although it runs to a formula; one of Bertie's chums gets into a spot of bother with a gruff, scornful old uncle, or a no-nonsense dragon of an auntie, or a shrill, mind-improving paramour turned fiancee, and Bertie turns to Jeeves to extricate them from the situation. Generally it's a laugh, although early on it sometimes seems there's something homoerotic between the master and his valet, you don't have to have watched Joseph Losey's The Servant to see this. It's like there's some issue of control going on. Some wonderfully mysognistic moments too, I know the words 'wonderfully' and 'mysogynistic' shouldn't go together but still:
"Honoria, you see, is one of those robust, dynamic girls with the muscles of a welterweight and a laugh like a squadron of cavalry charging over a tin bridge. A beastly thing to have to face over the breakfast table. Brainy, moreover..."
And an old bag from Boston:
"She looked at me in a rather rummy way. It was a nasty look. It made me feel as if I were something the dog had brought in and intended to bury later on, when he had time...
"I don't understand a word you say. You're English, aren't you?"
I admitted it. She didn't say a word. And she did it in a way that made it worse than if she had spoken for hours. Somehow it was brought home to me that she didn't like Englishmen, and that if she had to meet and Englishman I was the one she'd have chosen last."
I am also reading Taki's short stories, much from the same cloth though of greater range. It predates Jeeves and Wooster I fancy. Okay in small doses.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I love these books, easy to read, somewhat comforting (they all follow the same protagonist, Lindsay Millhone, a sassy independent self employed twice divorced detective, who's in her late 30's) as I feel I really know her. Her book titles follow the alphabet, with her first novel being 'A for Alibi', and each follow in chronological order too - but she always gets herself embroiled with some innocent looking case, which in turn usually turns into something much more sinister.
I always finish these books too quickly, and sigh at the fact I have to wait another year for the next one.....oh well - Hello Richard Montanari
Well my flatmate had the boxed set so I watched the first episode last night. Maybe I should have been wary to go straight from the book to the screen like that. I felt a bit how the Ian Fleming fan must have felt watching Dr No for the first time. Incidents you would savour on the page are peremptorily dealt with, other scenes are eked out.
The main problem is that Bertie Wooster is a prize chump, a fool, a wastrel but we are insulated against the full force of this in the books, because he is the main storyteller. We see events through his eyes; he is our entertainer and a jolly good sort. Moreover, there are those wonderful phrases he comes out with (examples in my previous post) that are of course Wodehouse and really beyond a chump like Bertie, but make us laugh out loud.
But under the mercilessly objective eye of the camera lens, Bertie is just a chump with scarcely any redeeming qualities. What's more, his nemeses - pompous old men, dragon-lie aunties, ghastly self-improving women - here seem toned down a bit. If anything, we can only too readily share their view of the idle toff. Laurie is fine casting, but I don't really want to go along with him on his yarns, while his pals just aren't as endearing as in the stories. Fry does what he can with Jeeves, a character who is very sketchily drawn in the stories and only infrequently shows up. But there's something missing here, if the first episode is anything to go by.
EDIT: Watched Episode 2 last night and it's vastly improved. Laurie's Bertie is far more personable and appealing and his friends and relatives are more appropriately ghastly or chummy as applicable. Genuinely funny too.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I've got the boxed sets as well. they're some of my most prized possessions lol. Bertie's such a silly arse. always good for a laugh when I'm feeling down.
I just finished re-reading both Harry Potter 6 & 7. I had forgotten what good books they are. I swear, if Potter 7 (being made in two parts, thank goodness) leaves out ANYTHING, there will be a hoard of angry fans on the screenwriters so fast...
mountainburdphotography.wordpress.com
I know what you mean, I have just watched all the films again after watching the new one and i'm currently re-reading the books, i'm part way through OOP. There is such a rich world created in the books and a lot of it is missing from the films. I realise that they cant include absolutely everything from the books but it seems there are some very important things left out, some of Riddles memories for example from the new film that are important to the next part of the story. I think the only way to do a truly faithful adaptation would be on tv in series form, maybe animated.
That said, I love the films. I just see them as a seperate entity to the books entirely and love the nods to the books that are included. I do wish some of the characters from the books had not been left out; Ludo Bagman, Bill and Charlie Weasley and Rufus Scrimgeour in particular (although he will be in the next films, played by Bill Nighy)
Travis McGee again; the sixth book in the series. I love these; there's nothing like watching a master craftsman at work B-)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
ooh! I agree. Full justice needs to be done to these marvelous books.
that's how I look at them too. the earlier ones were more faithful, but they've dropped considerably after the 6th movie. Can't believe they left Peeves out. they made SUCH a mistake there. and OMFG BILL NIGHY!? PERFECT! maybe I'll actually like Scimgeour then...that character is on the list of one's I'm not too fond of...
mountainburdphotography.wordpress.com
Roger Moore 1927-2017