Books
Now pay attention, 007
27/02/08 21:00
If you're looking for something to read, and I invariably am, then here's a recommendation: pick up the 007 novels. Now, before you scoff, let me make it very clear: I'm a fan of the 007 films, but the novels are something so very different. As a brat, I sat there wondering why on earth John F Kennedy chose 'From Russia with Love' as an all-time favourite -- the film, whilst good, didn't seem to deserve the presidential nomination. As a child, I read 'The Man with the Golden Gun' and thoroughly enjoyed it -- particularly after the truly-dismal film version, yet never got round to reading the other 007 novels until Christmas.
On the odd occasion, there's presents from family (in this case, my parents) that take you completely and utterly by surprise -- they're arguably some of the best you can receive. This year I was given a fantastic box set of all fourteen of Ian Fleming's 007 novels (and collections of short stories). Since then, I've read nothing else. Why? Very simply, there's a humanity in the books that you could never fit into a film. There's also the small matter of the plots. Take a favourite movie of mine, The Spy Who Loved Me. The movie merely uses the title. But the book itself is written (uniquely for the series) in the first person view of the heroine.
If you've not read the 007 novels, then I'd highly recommend you do. They're a fascinating read, incredibly well written (for the most part) and not so long that you'll never finish them. Oh, and I promise there's far less yawns than any Pierce Brosnan 007 film.
On the odd occasion, there's presents from family (in this case, my parents) that take you completely and utterly by surprise -- they're arguably some of the best you can receive. This year I was given a fantastic box set of all fourteen of Ian Fleming's 007 novels (and collections of short stories). Since then, I've read nothing else. Why? Very simply, there's a humanity in the books that you could never fit into a film. There's also the small matter of the plots. Take a favourite movie of mine, The Spy Who Loved Me. The movie merely uses the title. But the book itself is written (uniquely for the series) in the first person view of the heroine.
If you've not read the 007 novels, then I'd highly recommend you do. They're a fascinating read, incredibly well written (for the most part) and not so long that you'll never finish them. Oh, and I promise there's far less yawns than any Pierce Brosnan 007 film.
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