I will want to read this:
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On His Majesty’s Secret Service. Not sure how I completely missed that this exists, but better late than never.
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Finally got around to reading the Columbo Collection by William Link (one of the co-creators of Columbo). It is made up of 12 short stories of about 15-20 pages each. I enjoyed it quite a lot. For the most part, it stuck to the Columbo formula where the murderer is revealed up front (there was at least one where that was not done). The short story format worked very well and kept things moving at a good pace and really no filler material. There were a few times I got a feeling of deja vu in terms of the “Gotcha” but nothing outright identitical (I don’t think). It was enjoyable and I really wish there was a volume 2. I have owned this for a number of years and glad I finally got around to reading it. This was a hard book to get for a while but it looks like it’s readily available in paperback and kindle.
Below is a link to the Columbophile Review. A great blog. While new posts are rare, there is a wealth of information for Columbo fans.
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Finished On His Majesty’s Secret Service today. My thoughts:
- interesting premise to have the book set around the coronation of King Charles
- Very modern and believable villain (for the 2020s)
- It’s nice to see Charlie Higson get a crack at an adult Bond novel
- Also like that it’s a modern day Bond novel and not another period piece
- It’s definitely short (a little shorter than Casino Royale)
- Could’ve used another major set piece and another location
- Do not like the title
Having Charlie Higson write the next adult Bond novel after Horowitz was a great idea. He’s an excellent writer and does a great job immersing the reader. I’d like to see him get the chance to write another (full length) novel.
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I’m currently reading Thick Skin: Field Notes from a Sister in the Brotherhood by Hilary Peach. What prompted me to read this book was an interview I heard on CBC Radio’s Ideas in the Afternoon program:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/welder-hilary-peach-outsider-inside-trades-1.7190553
Peach worked as a welder and was very much a woman in a man’s world. Her memoir talks about how she made her way. I fully expected the men she encountered to all be against her, wanting to sabotage her at every turn. But, to my surprise, she had a good many male allies in her corner, and she is very open in acknowledging them.
I’m only halfway through the book. So far, she has just finished her first job in the States. These men had never worked with a woman before. While this was a new experience, many seemed open to the idea … or, at least, not completely closed off to it. One man did try to sabotage her before she even got started. I was fully expecting more … and I have a feeling there are more to come. But, so far, this is a refreshing view into a world I know little about.
Would I have been as interested to read it if it had been written by a man? Good question … and my answer may say something not so positive about me.
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Actually, “interview” is the wrong word. This CBC Radio program actually presented a speech Hilary Peach gave when her book won the 2023 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Nonfiction.
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One of the greatest (and biggest) books on movie history:
“David O. Selznicks’s Hollywood” by Ronald Haver
Finally got my hands on an (own) copy of this one. I first read this book when it was rather new (mid 1980s), and I was really sad when my brother took it with him when he moved out. Found one now for cheap at an antiquarian book shop…
A must read for every movie fan, as it covers not only the career of the legendary producer but also gives an insight on the history of early Hollywood and of early movie-making. The biographical details are almost the most uninteresting part of the book, as it’s more or less a making-of compilation on Selznick’s greatest movies like King Kong, David Coppefield, A Star is Born, Rebecca, or, most notably, Gone With The Wind (but also lots of smaller, lesser known movies in which he had a hand). 425 pages in a format which is bigger than the Blofeld files, wonderfully crafted and a treasure trove of pictures.
Used copies aren’t too expensive by now and you’ll find them in the usual places (but I’d recommend looking for it in a “real” shop, as shipping costs for it will cost a fortune). Oh, and it’s available in both English and German 
Some images in this current Ebay auction...
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Knowing full well that I would regret it, on my recent sail down the Tuscan coast I subjected myself to the Dan Brown (it was certainly a shade of brown) The Secret of Secrets.
I felt the need for junk food. I feel as violated as something Bond once had a go at.
It reminded me far, far too much of something I had a go at years ago, here:
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I’ve got a big month of reading coming up with The Rose Field and Batman Revolution releasing soon. I’ve also picked up copies of The Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love which I’ve been meaning to read for a while. A couple of months ago I finished Going Down Together, a book about Bonnie and Clyde, which was fascinating and well written.
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‘For the fans of Jules Verrnes and chapter 4!’
Grauniad
‘The best thriller since Men at Work’s Down Under - I couldn’t put it down!’
Lee Child
‘Woof!’
some dog
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Started re-reading Clive Cusslers Dirk Pitt series from the beginning…why this never got a proper tv or movie series eludes me
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A new book series for me to read!
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Currently reading “The Nightingale’s Song” by Robert Timberg.
Politics happens at a crossroads between places, institutions and the course of time and events. Reading on US policy of the 20th and 21st century much will revolve around the seat of power between Pennsylvania Avenue, Georgetown, Arlington and Langley. All too often though even the best reporting, even the most objective historical records neglect the fact it’s human character that shapes politics - and is shaped by politics in return.
In the unfolding and aftermath of the Iran-Contra scandal, arguably one of the gravest constitutional crises the US went through, Timberg (himself an Annapolis man) tried to trace and understand the scandal through the prism of its three main protagonists: Robert McFarlane, John Pointdexter and Oliver North; plus their fellow graduates John McCain and James Webb. As well as the institution that put its stamp on the lives of these five officers, for better or worse, the Unites States Naval Academy Annapolis, itself a near mythical place its graduates/survivors regard with an acronym that speaks for itself: IHTFP (look it up).
But if Annapolis is the not-so-secret brotherhood connecting these men and their ambition, then the other must be the war in Vietnam. A time and a place those who survived it, for better or worse, will carry with them for the rest of their lives. A test most of these young men (and since 1976 young women) expected to confront them sooner or later. And they all - well, most of them, definitely - expected to live up to.
The Nightingale’s Song is a true tale of ambition, suffering, corruption - but also of courage, dignity and human spirit. Its protagonists are neither all white nor all black. Not all the time, not most of the time. But they’re all human, and however different our circumstances may be, they share a lot with our own lives and times. There’s a red thread leading from Vietnam to Iran-Contra, to 9/11, Iraq and onwards right to the present day’s headlines.
A revelation of a book. Hugely recommended.
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Has anyone read this? If yes, any good?
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Percival Everett is a wonderful writer. The novel has little to do with Bond, but rather is a riff on/consideration of spy novels, and literary conventions. It is similar to James, which won the Pulitzer Prize this year, and is a variation on the novel Huckleberry Finn.
If you like Pynchon, are not scared of terms like “meta-” and “postmodern,” and love great prose, I would highly recommend this book.
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I love Percival Everett, having only discovered him last year through one of my book clubs. I have read James and The Trees, which is one of the few books to make me laugh out loud … though the humor is dark. Everett’s use of names in that novel is hilarious! There is a Stephen King-esque element to The Trees that I was not expecting.
In my opinion, James should be paired with Huckleberry Finn for any literature class in which Huckleberry Finn is required reading.
I will see if I can find Dr. No at my library.
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Just finished The Rose Field. I was rather enjoying myself before the last 50 odd pages. The buildup was fine - protect or destroy a red house in the desert, depending on your allegiance, and muster forces along the way. But it’s a very rushed conclusion and doesn’t explain much in a coherent or satisfying way. It just kind of ends. And for that it’s a big, big disappointment, especially as a finale.
Next up Batman Revolution.
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No Time to Die, by Ronald Kemp.
S’alright.
Next up - The World is Not Enough, by Zoe Oldenbourg.
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He Who Whispers (1946)–John Dickson Carr
Impossible crime novel by an acknowledged master, this mystery features Dr. Gideon Fell. As usual, the fair play rules are followed with some stretching/cheats included. Gets the post-WWII London atmosphere right, but its vision of female sexuality is more bizarre and outlandish the frequent talk of vampires and demons.
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My quick review of Batman Resurrection and Revolution. Both are great, and they fill out some plot holes left between 89 and Returns. It was hard to read Batman’s voice in Michael Keaton’s voice, however. I kept hearing the late Kevin Conroy. He was a bit chatty for the Keaton version. It was easy to read Commissioner Gordon, Alfred and Harvey Dent in the voices of Pat Hingle, Michael Gough, and Billy Dee Williams, though, among other voices from the movies. It’s not fan service, but they are both great reads, and I recommend them (as well as the Batman 89 graphic novel by the film’s screenwriter Sam Hamm). So, I hope that Santa leaves them for Bat-Fans under the tree at Christmas time.
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