Thank you...

... for taking the time to stop by. I hope some of these ponderings will resonate with you.

Leave a comment if you want to - your contributions are more than welcome.



(Unless stated otherwise, all text & pictures are © Lee Labuschagne, all rights reserved.)


Showing posts with label thrillers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thrillers. Show all posts

Monday, September 13, 2010

1+1+1 for 365, day 14: "The best spy novel ever"?

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"If you wish another to keep your secret, first keep it to yourself." - Seneca (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)

TODAY'S BOOK:
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - John le Carré

When the Berlin Wall came down, the spy novel was suddenly under threat - because most of the best spy novels had their roots in the cold war between East and West.   The authors that specialise in that genre have meanwhile found new material in new conflicts,  but the classic Spy v Spy novel has undergone a shift towards a kind of international intrigue that is somewhat different in scope and focus.

If ever there was a single name that stands out among the writers of spy novels, it is that of John le Carré.  And if ever one book became the symbol of the genre, it is The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.   Graham Greene, who had written the screenplay for that most iconic of spy films, The Third Man, called it "The best spy story I have ever read."  

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

1+1+1 for 365 day 9: Imagining things

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” - Mark Twain

BOOK OF THE DAY:
Second Glance, by Jodi Picault

I don't believe in ghosts. But nevertheless, I enjoyed Second Glance, first published in 2003 and one of the first two Picault novels I acquired (I also bought the more recent House Rules, but have not read it yet).

So this is the first book I'm mentioning in the "bestseller", popular genre.  There is no particular reason for it other than it is the most recent of that kind of novel that I've read.