Queer · and · Loathing · in · America

I overslept this morning.

Not really a big deal--I have to meet Jean at the gym and go to the grocery store; other than that all I really have to do is write, write, write.

Sigh. It's amazing how hard it is to get me to start writing, isn't it?

Yesterday I spent most of the day cleaning and organizing--there's always more to do, of course, but what can you do? It was also Leg Day, the St. Patrick's Day parade, and over all, the kind of day where I was better off doing nothing creative. I do need those days periodically.

I did finish reading The Man With the Golden Gun yesterday, as well as the Bond short story "From a View to a Kill" from For Your Eyes Only. Ironically, The Man With the Golden Gun was probably the biggest best seller of the entire original series--it was Number One on the hardcover bestseller lists for over four months; it may have even been the first Bond to hit Number One on the list. But it seemed rather choppy and short to me; the big climactic gun battle between Bond and the villain, Scaramanga, was almost anti-climactic. And while Bond was always licensed to kill, this one was a bit different; Bond was actually sent to kill Scaramanga, rather than try to foil an evil plan. So, after reading it, I went hunting around for information on the Internet, and discovered Fleming had only written a first draft which he wasn't terribly pleased with before he died suddenly; his publisher read it and decided it was 'good enough' and then went all out with the 'LAST BOND NOVEL' marketing, which of course turned it into a huge seller. For me, it seemed like an unfortunate send-off for one of the most successful (and best) writers of secret agent thrillers of the twentieth century. But it alway comes down to filthy lucre, doesn't it?



I decided to go ahead and read For Your Eyes Only next, since it's really just a collection of Bond short stories--four or five, I believe. (For the record, the only thing "From a View to a Kill" has in common with the film is it is set in France.)



I think after I finish this I will reread The Spy Who Loved Me for reasons I will explain later when I talk about it, and then I am going to take a Bond break for a while--many others books have been piling up while I've been taking this Bond break, and they demand a reading. ;)

Okay, back to the spice mines.