Any Ian Fleming Fans?

I love his writing in that book: "But, but, and again, but!"

I can still hear my dad reading that book to me in about 1965. He read about the "black beetle sedans" and I asked "What are those?" and he whispered "Volkswagens". I said "Why are you whispering?" and he whispered "So the Volkswagen people won't hear us." He was great at reading aloud :-)
 
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I hated that movie so intensely as a child, I'm saving the book for after I'm done with all the Bonds!

The Bond books are fun, very English, lots of gorgeous escapist detail ala Tolkien (although obviously directed at other things!). Talented guy. Too bad he died so early.

I believe CCBB was his favorite of all his books & the one he was most proud of.
I love his writing in that book: "But, but, and again, but!"

I can still hear my dad reading that book to me in about 1965. He read about the "black beetle sedans" and I asked "What are those?" and he whispered "Volkswagens". I said "Why are you whispering?" and he whispered "So the Volkswagen people won't hear us." He was great at reading aloud :-)
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and remember enjoying them very much. However, I haven't gone back to re-read them since. I think I would probably find them dated now, but for a first time reader, no problem.
 
I thought the same thing. I'd read them as a teen. But they don't feel dated in a bad way at all. The writing still stands up & the stories pull you right in and hold your attention.
and remember enjoying them very much. However, I haven't gone back to re-read them since. I think I would probably find them dated now, but for a first time reader, no problem.
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The book is incomparably better, and has very little in common with the movie. Hope you enjoy it! I'll have to try James Bond sometime. I really did love his writing style in CCBB. It was a great read-aloud book; and it had a great fudge recipe at the end!
 
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I love novels with recipes, although I'm not a good enough cook to try them!

I just finished Doctor No, which was really wonderful, and not as, um, in-your-face retro-sexist as some of the others! If that kind of thing bothers you.

I figured the movie was probably not very faithful to the book. I remember seeing it in rerelease at a drive-in. All I wanted was to see the damn car fly. And there's all this slow moving nonsense with songs & comical spies & Dick Van ****. I was going crazy, "Just make the car fly already!!" The film is an intolerable 2 and a half hours long, and I kept falling asleep - every time I woke up, my brothers would tease me by saying, "You just missed the car flying! It got into a dog fight with some jet planes!" I'd get all excited, then fall asleep again. Oh well.
 
love the movies (minus Timothy Dalton era), read a few of the books but not nearly enough. I like Ian Fleming although I find I must be in the mood for a Fleming read. Haven't read any of them in probably 15 years?
 
Oh yes! I have read all the books, and seen all the movies (no matter how painful) up to Goldeneye.

In the books, James Bond is a bit of a b*****d. I know it was written in a different era, so to speak ... but still ... having him rudely shove a woman aside because "this is man's business" is a little bit annoying to me, as a Modern Woman. :)

Dr. No is (movie and book) awesome. No help from Q Branch. It's all James. But still, Honeychile Rider is portrayed as somewhat of a weak woman, despite her having no parents and surviving pretty much on her own as a white girl in Jamaica - not an easy task!
 
Ah, a fellow Bondian (does that work?). You have to look at Casino Royale some day, it is very good. I like the two that Brosnan made after Goldeneye - but the fourth (Die Another Day) is appalling! Dr. No remains my favorite of the films, and I love the novel. Yeah, Honeychile is very much a 1950's male fantasy and Fleming treats her like an anomaly that needs to get fixed ASAP - her broken nose, her social skills, her wardrobe etc. I think Louis Stevenson or Walter Scott would have left her as she first appears - Mervyn Peake would have her covered in mud & twigs and would have made Bond fall in love at first sight!

Nice to "meet you". You appear to lead a very interesting life. I am envious - my life is a tedious bore. Perhaps why I escape into books like Bond & LotRs...?
Oh yes! I have read all the books, and seen all the movies (no matter how painful) up to Goldeneye.

In the books, James Bond is a bit of a b*****d. I know it was written in a different era, so to speak ... but still ... having him rudely shove a woman aside because "this is man's business" is a little bit annoying to me, as a Modern Woman. :)

Dr. No is (movie and book) awesome. No help from Q Branch. It's all James. But still, Honeychile Rider is portrayed as somewhat of a weak woman, despite her having no parents and surviving pretty much on her own as a white girl in Jamaica - not an easy task!
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