https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Listerdale_Mystery
As a bit of trivia, in Agatha Christie's The Listerdale Mystery ( a selection of
short stories) in The Rajah's Emmeral she has a character called James Bond.
I realise this is a fairly well known oddity, just in case someone doesn't.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Just this second put down "Some Kind of Hero", going to start "Trigger Mortis" this afternoon.
Really enjoyed Some Kind of Hero. Found it such an interesting read. I guess it depends how much you know going into it but I certainly learnt a lot. I'd definitely recommend it to everyone.
"You are about to wake when you dream that you are dreaming"
Just this second put down "Some Kind of Hero", going to start "Trigger Mortis" this afternoon.
Really enjoyed Some Kind of Hero. Found it such an interesting read. I guess it depends how much you know going into it but I certainly learnt a lot. I'd definitely recommend it to everyone.
I started trigger mortis last night, so far so good!
Just back from hols where I managed to read two Bond-related books (dedication, eh ).
I posted a short review of Fleming's The Diamond Smugglers in the "what are you currently reading?" thread as it's not strictly Bond, but the other one is, so if no objections I'll post a review here.
FOR BOND LOVERS ONLY is a collection of articles published in August 1965 at the height of Bondmania. It's a collection of eleven articles, some of which I suspect were previously published in magazines or newspapers, with contributions by Ian Fleming himself, alongside Sean Connery, Georges Simenon, Allen Dulles, Raymond Chandler and others. Of particular interest is the first full account of Geoffrey Boothroyd's correspondence with Fleming, which is very funny; and a detailed account of real-life spy training in the USSR by J. Bernard Hutton. The exchanges with Deighton, Chandler and Simenon as fellow authors are also very revealing. The paperback is also illustrated with photos of Bond's guns and leading ladies from the first four films.
In the end, a couple of things stayed with me. The first is this quote from Connery:
"I don't want to only be known as Sean Connery, the man who plays James Bond. I want to be known as Sean Connery, the actor. Don't think this is because I don't like James Bond. I love him. The character has been wonderful to me.... In fact, I'm looking forward to the next James Bond pictures I make".
The second is this: that everyone interviewed about Fleming spoke so warmly of him. From Allen Dulles:
"I knew Fleming well and I liked him. If you were an extrovert you could hardly help liking him and if you didn't bore him he'd probably like you too. He was no snob, but he couldn't stand bores and hypocrites. Everything for him had to be exciting...he felt society owed him an interesting life and he went about to get it".
Thanks for the review C&D -{
I knew nothing about this book, but luckily as a teen. I found it in a schools book sale
I must re-read some of these wonderful old reference books again.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Just to try and rekindle a little interest in the Books, I thought starting in September
( If there is some enthusiasm for it ) to start reading the wonderful Fleming books
Again.
This could be the excuse needed for anyone, who hasn't read these brilliant espionage
Stories before, to give them a go. Even if you can't read them all, or only want to try one.
This is the perfect excuse.
It's always interesting to read the source material, getting into the atmosphere of the
Times. To learn about Bond the man, with all his faults and inner demons, who knows we
Might even see a little of ourselves in him ?
Believe me this is not an Intellectual exercise, just hopefully a few fans enjoying some
Great adventure stories. -{
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,852MI6 Agent
Yes, I'd be all for that. I need to reread them all again anyway. -{
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Perhaps of interest to all spy fans and writers, John Le Carre is on BBC radio 4 all next week
Talking about his life, mi5 and his books 9:45 am, although it will be available on BBC radio
Player, to listen to anytime.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Just to try and rekindle a little interest in the Books, I thought starting in September
( If there is some enthusiasm for it ) to start reading the wonderful Fleming books
Again.
This could be the excuse needed for anyone, who hasn't read these brilliant espionage
Stories before, to give them a go. Even if you can't read them all, or only want to try one.
This is the perfect excuse.
It's always interesting to read the source material, getting into the atmosphere of the
Times. To learn about Bond the man, with all his faults and inner demons, who knows we
Might even see a little of ourselves in him ?
Believe me this is not an Intellectual exercise, just hopefully a few fans enjoying some
Great adventure stories. -{
A wonderful idea TP, in fact and purely coincidentally I've just started Dr No, Its been a good many years since I read it last, Im interested to see if I get anything new from it now I'm older and more mature.
Having listened to the BBC radio version of Thunderball, I
Really do think that the novels were so much more romantic
Than the films. In TB when a frail Bond struggles to the bedside
Of Domino. -{
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Having listened to the BBC radio version of Thunderball, I
Really do think that the novels were so much more romantic
Than the films. In TB when a frail Bond struggles to the bedside
Of Domino. -{
No wonder he recovered so well
Going back a few posts I assume you have read Matthew Parker's biography on Ian Fleming. In your opinion how does this compare with Pearson's?
I've only read Matthew Parkers biography but I found it brilliant. Very interesting reading about Jamaica in the 50's and 60's and the rise and fall of Ian Fleming. I got the impression Fleming was a person you either loved or hated.
"Everyone knows rock n' roll attained perfection in 1974; It's a scientific fact". - Homer J Simpson
Visiting " Another place" where there is a thread called " Worst Fleming Bond Novel " 8-)
I have only posted twice, in defence of Mr Fleming, but sadly the attacks keep coming.
With some very odd examples of " Worst Book " as several mentioned regularly top the
list of Favourite Bond novels. )
I have pointed out that perhaps some aren't ready for Fleming just yet, as he writes for
adults with some experience of life, maybe something more along the lines of J K Rowling
or E L James might suit them better.
Sorry for the Rant, but I get angry when the fantastic source material for everything Bond is
unfairly criticised .
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
I expect that's true, for example someone said that Fleming used to churn them out ! and didn't like
Dr No as the giant Squid bit sermed tagged on at the last minute.
I won't bore anyone here with the well known ( if anyone had any interest in the history of the novels ) story
Of how Dr No came to be written, and the research behind it.
Anyhow, I did my bit and left them to their " slagg-a-thon " . I wonder how successful the books would have
Been if Fleming had have listened to some of their advice. )
" His eyes had the glazed look of the very rich or the dead " not the exact quote from Goldfinger, but I've
Always loved it. -{
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
This is a question i ask of my ajb friends. I wonder if you could recomend any James Bond books that would be easy for some one who is not good with the written english language? I tried to read casino royal but I could not understand and apprectiate it. I would like to read a James Bond book.
You could try youtube, they have several audiobooks to listen to, which could help. The
audio books can be bought on ebay quite cheaply.
for youtube type in the search function " James Bond audio books "
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
You could try youtube, they have several audiobooks to listen to, which could help. The
audio books can be bought on ebay quite cheaply.
for youtube type in the search function " James Bond audio books "
This is a good idea I think. It will allow me to listen to someone as if they are reading the books then I can enjoy. Thank you.
Even through my insane 50 year love of Fleming's Bond novels I can admit that some are better than others* (which is true of any author)- perhaps titling the thread "Weakest" rather than "Worst" would have been less confrontational?
* reading them in order, I think most would agree that DAF is weaker than its immediate successor FRWL, for example.
This is a question i ask of my ajb friends. I wonder if you could recomend any James Bond books that would be easy for some one who is not good with the written english language? I tried to read casino royal but I could not understand and apprectiate it. I would like to read a James Bond book.
I tend to recommend Moonraker, as it's fairly short and quite a straightforward adventure story, plus you get to learn the rules of Bridge!
-{ Good choice ( and what a card game it is )
The Books were written in a different time, so they're not
PC by today's standards. Infact the use of the 'N' word
In some of the Books ( LALD, DAF for example )
Makes me cringe.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Comments
ahead of when I was told. {[]
I look forward to your thoughts on it -{
It will be a while before I get through " Some kind of hero" it's a huge book !
As a bit of trivia, in Agatha Christie's The Listerdale Mystery ( a selection of
short stories) in The Rajah's Emmeral she has a character called James Bond.
I realise this is a fairly well known oddity, just in case someone doesn't.
these days.
Really enjoyed Some Kind of Hero. Found it such an interesting read. I guess it depends how much you know going into it but I certainly learnt a lot. I'd definitely recommend it to everyone.
I posted a short review of Fleming's The Diamond Smugglers in the "what are you currently reading?" thread as it's not strictly Bond, but the other one is, so if no objections I'll post a review here.
FOR BOND LOVERS ONLY is a collection of articles published in August 1965 at the height of Bondmania. It's a collection of eleven articles, some of which I suspect were previously published in magazines or newspapers, with contributions by Ian Fleming himself, alongside Sean Connery, Georges Simenon, Allen Dulles, Raymond Chandler and others. Of particular interest is the first full account of Geoffrey Boothroyd's correspondence with Fleming, which is very funny; and a detailed account of real-life spy training in the USSR by J. Bernard Hutton. The exchanges with Deighton, Chandler and Simenon as fellow authors are also very revealing. The paperback is also illustrated with photos of Bond's guns and leading ladies from the first four films.
In the end, a couple of things stayed with me. The first is this quote from Connery:
"I don't want to only be known as Sean Connery, the man who plays James Bond. I want to be known as Sean Connery, the actor. Don't think this is because I don't like James Bond. I love him. The character has been wonderful to me.... In fact, I'm looking forward to the next James Bond pictures I make".
The second is this: that everyone interviewed about Fleming spoke so warmly of him. From Allen Dulles:
"I knew Fleming well and I liked him. If you were an extrovert you could hardly help liking him and if you didn't bore him he'd probably like you too. He was no snob, but he couldn't stand bores and hypocrites. Everything for him had to be exciting...he felt society owed him an interesting life and he went about to get it".
Well worth a read -{
I knew nothing about this book, but luckily as a teen. I found it in a schools book sale
I must re-read some of these wonderful old reference books again.
( If there is some enthusiasm for it ) to start reading the wonderful Fleming books
Again.
This could be the excuse needed for anyone, who hasn't read these brilliant espionage
Stories before, to give them a go. Even if you can't read them all, or only want to try one.
This is the perfect excuse.
It's always interesting to read the source material, getting into the atmosphere of the
Times. To learn about Bond the man, with all his faults and inner demons, who knows we
Might even see a little of ourselves in him ?
Believe me this is not an Intellectual exercise, just hopefully a few fans enjoying some
Great adventure stories. -{
Talking about his life, mi5 and his books 9:45 am, although it will be available on BBC radio
Player, to listen to anytime.
Is that a stealth pun there, TP?
either spelling errors or a mistake !
Really do think that the novels were so much more romantic
Than the films. In TB when a frail Bond struggles to the bedside
Of Domino. -{
No wonder he recovered so well
Going back a few posts I assume you have read Matthew Parker's biography on Ian Fleming. In your opinion how does this compare with Pearson's?
I've only read Matthew Parkers biography but I found it brilliant. Very interesting reading about Jamaica in the 50's and 60's and the rise and fall of Ian Fleming. I got the impression Fleming was a person you either loved or hated.
Actually wrote it
I have only posted twice, in defence of Mr Fleming, but sadly the attacks keep coming.
With some very odd examples of " Worst Book " as several mentioned regularly top the
list of Favourite Bond novels.
I have pointed out that perhaps some aren't ready for Fleming just yet, as he writes for
adults with some experience of life, maybe something more along the lines of J K Rowling
or E L James might suit them better.
Sorry for the Rant, but I get angry when the fantastic source material for everything Bond is
unfairly criticised .
Dr No as the giant Squid bit sermed tagged on at the last minute.
I won't bore anyone here with the well known ( if anyone had any interest in the history of the novels ) story
Of how Dr No came to be written, and the research behind it.
Anyhow, I did my bit and left them to their " slagg-a-thon " . I wonder how successful the books would have
Been if Fleming had have listened to some of their advice.
" His eyes had the glazed look of the very rich or the dead " not the exact quote from Goldfinger, but I've
Always loved it. -{
audio books can be bought on ebay quite cheaply.
for youtube type in the search function " James Bond audio books "
This is a good idea I think. It will allow me to listen to someone as if they are reading the books then I can enjoy. Thank you.
Even through my insane 50 year love of Fleming's Bond novels I can admit that some are better than others* (which is true of any author)- perhaps titling the thread "Weakest" rather than "Worst" would have been less confrontational?
* reading them in order, I think most would agree that DAF is weaker than its immediate successor FRWL, for example.
Positive description. -{
I tend to recommend Moonraker, as it's fairly short and quite a straightforward adventure story, plus you get to learn the rules of Bridge!
The Books were written in a different time, so they're not
PC by today's standards. Infact the use of the 'N' word
In some of the Books ( LALD, DAF for example )
Makes me cringe.