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MI6 Community Novel Bondathon - Reborn!

Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
edited December 2018 in Literary 007 Posts: 40,976
Welcome everyone! Given the fun that some of us had in the forum-wide Bondathon we ran for a few months, it was only a matter of time before we got around to doing something like this, which the Originals thread has also managed to run successfully before. To keep it short and simple, starting this Thursday, June 1st, we'll be reading each book in the series, allotting a two week period for each novel. So, once Thursday starts and we begin, you can read CR at your own leisure and begin participating in the discussions whenever you'd like. @Birdleson was kind enough to type up the proper order of the books (based on print release), so this is the order in which we will be reading them:

Casino Royale
Live and Let Die
Moonraker
Diamonds Are Forever
From Russia with Love
Doctor No
Goldfinger
Quantum of Solace
Risico
The Hildebrand Rarity
From a View to a Kill
For Your Eyes Only
Octopussy
The Living Daylights
The Property of a Lady
Thunderball
Agent 007 in New York
The Spy Who Loved Me
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
You Only Live Twice
The Man with the Golden Gun

To anyone participating, I give thanks - enjoy, ladies and gentlemen! Looking forward to kicking things off on Thursday.
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Comments

  • JamesBondKenyaJamesBondKenya Danny Boyle laughs to himself
    Posts: 2,730
    It's taken me 2 years to get to dr no
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    I'd like to participate in this as it's been years since I've read some of the novels. Looking forward to rediscovering them all over again.
  • JohnHammond73JohnHammond73 Lancashire, UK
    Posts: 4,151
    I've been thinking about this and I really wanted to participate in this, however, I don't think I could dedicate myself to one book every two weeks, even though I've never actually read the Fleming novels, much to my embarrassment. I am not really a reader of novels, more biographies and reference books (as well as comic books).

    Anyway, due to the time constraints, long work days etc. I just don't think I can give that time to it, I'm afraid. I'm gutted, as it is something I really want to do but I know I'd not be able to keep up with you all. Plus, not being a reader of novels, I'm not sure what I could add to the discussion.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    You don't need to be a frequent reader of novels to provide your own thoughts on them, @Shark_0f_Largo. I'm sure there will be varying degrees of commentary from everyone. We're not going to expect some in-depth literary analysis of you! ;)

    Reading the Flemings would definitely enrich your Bond experience. And it would be great to have input from someone experiencing them for the first time. Would you be able to commit to one book every three weeks if everyone agreed to that? Roughly 100 pages per week?
  • JohnHammond73JohnHammond73 Lancashire, UK
    Posts: 4,151
    Possibly, but I don't want to come in and change what has already been arranged. If ok with everyone, I may just get started with you guys and, if/when I fall behind I will update as and when I can rather than be restricted to timescales. I definitely want to read them so this would probably be the best way for me.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    Well, maybe we can play it by ear then. Give it a go. The novels start out on the shorter side at least.
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,176
    I'm going on holiday next week. Perfect excuse to include Bond in the book pile!
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Shark_0f_Largo wrote: »
    Possibly, but I don't want to come in and change what has already been arranged. If ok with everyone, I may just get started with you guys and, if/when I fall behind I will update as and when I can rather than be restricted to timescales. I definitely want to read them so this would probably be the best way for me.

    Join in whenever you can and you'd like! There's no real rule set for this, past reading a novel every two weeks and discussing it. You can always read one or two when the time comes and discuss accordingly, or whatever works best for you.
  • vzokvzok
    Posts: 4,044
    Audio books are a help when pushed for time.
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,176
    vzok wrote: »
    Audio books are a help when pushed for time.

    I'm not a big audiobook listener (I read way faster than anyone can talk) but I really rate the Bonds for the brilliant narrators.

    A couple of years ago I had an overnight flight, and I don't sleep very well on planes (mostly because I'm too excited about being on a plane). Luckily, the seatback entertainment system included David Tennant reading OHMSS, which was a great way to kill eight hours with my eyes shut.
  • MilovyMilovy
    edited May 2017 Posts: 676
    I won't be joining in on this, at least not regularly - have lots of other things in my reading pile, and I'm a slow reader - but I'm really looking forward to reading what people have to say about the books.

    Perhaps I will read and review one of the books I've only read once, could stand a re-read. Or I may even try an audio book, they did assemble a great collection of narrators for that one series.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Like some others here, this all comes at a very busy time for me. A lot of personal commitments, I'm looking for employment right now, am taking some commissions for artwork and doing my own art and writing, so I'm a bit scatterbrained at the moment and not sure if I could saddle myself to another project. I would ideally love to participate in something like this, as it's the kick in the ass I'd need to finally run through all of the Fleming books, as I've only read the first few and stopped in high school when I got off to college and became too busy with coursework to focus on anything else long-term.

    I'm also engaged in a personal project to run through the Bond films and do reviews for them all, something I'd like to keep up with, but I don't know if I could find a balance between all those commitments.

    I'll test the waters with Casino Royale, and that'll dictate if I just cut my losses or try to continue with everyone else. I'll be reading everything after Moonraker for the first time, so I don't think I'd have much to add to discussions and I don't know if I'll have the context or knowledge to do reviews of the books after I finish them as I was originally planning. I feel I'll just be able to provide impressions, as I don't know where the books go in the grand scheme and wouldn't be able to comment on how Bond in the early books foreshadows his later development.

    I do want to give it my best shot, however, as reading the original books is the last thing I need to complete to consider myself a worthy Bond fan. It's just something that you have to do, I feel, and that's why I bought as many of the books as I could years back when I knew such a time would come. I am still missing Goldfinger and the short stories, so I need to find nice copies of them soon.

    Can any fans who collect the novels recommend me some nice versions of Goldfinger and the short stories that would be ideal for me to pick up? I don't know if there are any prints out there that collection all of Fleming's short stories in one comprehensive volume, but if there is that would be most ideal for me. I think for Goldfinger I'll try to track down a used copy of one from the Penguin Centenary editions that were printed to celebrate Fleming's 100th birthday, as the quality and style of those prints were impressive to me and most of my Bond literary collection are from that set (as I purchased most of the books around 2008-2009 when I became obsessed with the films).
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 , there is an edition that collects all the short stories, called Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories by Ian Fleming. I think it was released around the time of QOS the film (naturally)
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    @Thunderfinger, thanks. I'll be surfing Amazon today seeing what they have to order. The 100th anniversary Penguin prints of the novels are understandably hard to find, as they were treated as limited items with nearly ten years since their initial release.

    I'm sure the collection of all Fleming's stories that you mention is out of print too, if it did release around 2008.
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    edited June 2017 Posts: 3,176
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 , there is an edition that collects all the short stories, called Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories by Ian Fleming. I think it was released around the time of QOS the film (naturally)

    I was going to recommend that one, too. Nice crisp print, handy size. (Got mine in a charity shop, as with most of my collection.)

    UK Amazon has plenty of copies for 1p + postage; not sure what the situation in the US is.

    (Incidentally, I am always happy to act as a UK address facilitator if anyone is having delivery issues with something they want.)
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Keep an eye on eBay, too, @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7. I had a lucky run over a matter of months picking up the proper edition of each novel I needed for around $4-7 a piece; most of them were used but in terrific condition, sans one. I'm sure you could find them for even cheaper, but I wanted all of them to be from the same publisher (these Penguin editions, or whatever they're called).

    Sitting around bored and just now realized it's Thursday, time to open up CR finally!

    So there are a few of us that are going to partake in this, correct? As long as four or five of us are in to some extent, that's better than nothing. Figured this wouldn't be as populated as the Bondathon was, since that's much easier to handle.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    @Creasy47, you have these?

    https://literary007.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/book-covers-09.jpg

    They're my personal favorites. The covers capture the sex, escapism and style of the books in a very adult way, whereas most Bond book covers these days barely have anything but the title on them. How boring.

    I remember taking Live & Let Die to school during high school to read in my downtime, and I'm sure the cover drew some eyes.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    edited June 2017 Posts: 40,976
    Those are the ones, Brady; they're my personal favorites, too. The new minimalist covers are terrible and uninspired, in my opinion, and since I owned three or four novels of that edition for years, my OCD wasn't going to let me mix them up all of a sudden. Was both surprised and happy I managed to get them all after all this time.

    There's also this one they did for the short story collections found in QoS (ignore the random shot from the film):

    http://alanngai.com/web_interactive/sites/007mobile/jamesbond007/imgs_bond/films/Qsolace.png
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Those are the ones, Brady; they're my personal favorites, too. The new minimalist covers are terrible and uninspired, in my opinion, and since I owned three or four novels of that edition for years, my OCD wasn't going to let me mix them up all of a sudden. Was both surprised and happy I managed to get them all after all this time.

    I have all Penguin editions, except that the copy of FRWL I have is another Penguin cover in a different style and I have TB, OHMSS and YOLT in one whole collection called The Blofeld Trilogy, with a skull on the cover. I don't know if I should get each of those 3 separate, though it would make it easier to read them, since the collection is about 700 pages and big to lug around.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Would probably make it easier for numerous reasons if you got the standalone versions of each, provided you could find them in great condition for a reasonable price. As I mentioned earlier, keep an eye out on eBay every now and then, was surprised to pick some of those up for $4 or $5 in pristine quality.
  • BeatlesSansEarmuffsBeatlesSansEarmuffs
    Posts: 3,566
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote: »
    @Creasy47, you have these?

    https://literary007.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/book-covers-09.jpg

    They're my personal favorites. The covers capture the sex, escapism and style of the books in a very adult way, whereas most Bond book covers these days barely have anything but the title on them. How boring.

    I remember taking Live & Let Die to school during high school to read in my downtime, and I'm sure the cover drew some eyes.

    Those are my own favorite editions as well. Just a few months ago I found a copy of Quantum of Solace in this format at a used book store in Berkeley CA. Just one of the many benefits of hanging around in librul Berkeley....
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Penguin really went all out for Fleming's anniversary, that much is certain. They are the perfect mix of pulp art transferred to a modern age. I'm beyond pleased they didn't feel pressured to censor or restrict the art as so many publishers do these days.
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Would probably make it easier for numerous reasons if you got the standalone versions of each, provided you could find them in great condition for a reasonable price. As I mentioned earlier, keep an eye out on eBay every now and then, was surprised to pick some of those up for $4 or $5 in pristine quality.

    @Creasy47, I'll have to see. The collector side of me wouldn't mind having these wonderful editions in their solo forms for TB, OHMSS and YOLT, so I may jump on it. Looking on Amazon all the books they have ready to order are used copies at or below $5, so I should jump on the chance as it's a steal.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Not only that, but you never know when the day may come where these editions are suddenly deemed a collector's item and go for $100 a pop or something.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    I'd love to get some of the hardbacks, too, if they weren't so damn expensive. Some real nice editions to be found with those.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Not only that, but you never know when the day may come where these editions are suddenly deemed a collector's item and go for $100 a pop or something.

    Some time back, I managed to get the complete set of those beautiful Penguins off eBay for a very good price (less than each book's list price anyway). I'm trying to keep them in as perfect condition as I can, though my DAF has some slight wear at the corners from reading now. I'm actually trying to read out of these books as little as possible. Sounds a bit silly: having books and not wanting to read from them!

    And yes, tonight we begin with Casino Royale!

  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Some_Kind_Of_Hero wrote: »
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Not only that, but you never know when the day may come where these editions are suddenly deemed a collector's item and go for $100 a pop or something.

    Some time back, I managed to get the complete set of those beautiful Penguins off eBay for a very good price (less than each book's list price anyway). I'm trying to keep them in as perfect condition as I can, though my DAF has some slight wear at the corners from reading now. I'm actually trying to read out of these books as little as possible. Sounds a bit silly: having books and not wanting to read from them!

    And yes, tonight we begin with Casino Royale!

    I definitely get where you're coming from. Some of the copies I got were "used" but look like they were just finished being printed, so I'm going to handle them as carefully as possible.

    CR it is tonight! Looking forward to it.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Not only that, but you never know when the day may come where these editions are suddenly deemed a collector's item and go for $100 a pop or something.

    I guess that'd be an incentive for some, but I love books too much to keep them on the shelf. I think the best love you could show to a book is taking it out and giving it your attention. There's a lot of books in my collection, my proudest being beautiful Wordsworth paperbacks of all the Sherlock Holmes stories, that have a bit of wear on them from the days where I took them everywhere I could.

    I'd never sell any of my books anyway, so keeping them perfect has never been a worry. I don't mishandle them or mindlessly use them roughly, but I also don't turn each page delicately, if that makes sense. ;)
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I tend to favor the Signet paperbacks, as those are what I collect din my youth. I bought a bunch of used ones on eBay dirt cheap. I plan on (soon) getting a nice hardcover set, but the old Signets are fun to handle, smell and read.

    @Birdleson, my favorite old designs for the books I've seen are the Jove covers from 1983, where 8 of the books were reprinted:

    http://www.toysofbond.co.uk/Images/paperback_jove_us.jpg

    If I were alive at the time, I would've loved to pick them up, as they have a great look to them.

    The old Great Pan covers were great too, for their pulpy look:

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jy3dhlc5ugc/TxxKsluQA4I/AAAAAAAAFhc/9o6QlikRXHc/s1600/fleming2.jpeg

    I hold that the Penguin covers are the best we've had in the past twenty or so years. I don't think I could ever get them in hardback, as they are such a trial to pick up and read in an enjoyable way. I only get hardbacks when I have no other options.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    These are the covers I'm not a fan of, particularly GF and TMWTGG:

    https://www.abebooks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Thomas-Mercer-James-Bond-1.jpg
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    @Creasy47, those are the worst I've ever seen, actually, and they're sadly the most readily available now out of all the prints I've seen ready to order. The definition of generic, the result of what you'd get if you threw copy paper at kids with ink pens and asked them to scribble. You couldn't tell what cover belonged to what book, first off, giving them no identity or appeal to them at all with zero vibrancy.
  • MilovyMilovy
    Posts: 676
    These were the ones the library had when I was a kid, and they're now the ones I seek out in used bookstores:

    Ian-Fleming-Pan-series.jpg
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