I picked up a few more Flexibound books from Barnes and Noble. I have 9 of them now, and there's a few more I'd like to get. I've talked about these in this thread before, but they really have to be seen in person to fully appreciate. They are just so lovely to look at, and so comfortable to hold. If you find yourself in a Barnes and Noble, definitely take a look at them. In my local store, they can be found together on a table. One of those tables they keep more in the middle of the store.
Here's a list of Flexibound B&N exclusives:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/bn-fle ... /N-2vtiZ15B&N also has other nice exclusives, larger books that are hardcovers. They are nice too, but sometimes too big to read at anything other than a desk. And some get more pricey. The Flexibound are cheap, all $15 I think. I'm too lazy to check, but they might all be public domain.
Anyways, here's one of the ones that I picked up...
The Picture of Dorian Gray
It's funny that 130 years ago, people had a lot of negative things to say about this book. If someone from that decade could time travel to the middle of Time Square right now, they would probably drop dead from shock. But I don't want to digress into any social commentary.
I'm always a bit nervous to start reading a book that is so old, but then I'm always so surprised to enjoy it. Books that are held in this high regard, there's a reason why. I guess I'm just worried that the language used, the patterns of speech, will be so outdated that I will not be able to relate. Or it will be boring. Or any number of things. But a good story is a good story. Well written characters will always be interesting. And witty dialog will always be witty. If anything, my fears are completely baseless. I should be more afraid of reading something contemporary than something that has held the test of time for over 100 years.
I've only read the first two chapters of Dorian Gray so far, in which you really only meet two characters and then eventually Dorian Gray himself. They are just sitting in a room conversing, for the most part, and you would think that would be boring but it isn't. The characters have a certain level of sophistication and education that is totally lacking in most modern characters. They're just talking about their lives and feelings, but in a way that seems so much more profound than the way I do with my friends. There's a certain philosophical quality to their thoughts. Again, I'm not trying to make any social commentary. Just that my point is, a book that is 130 years old can still be a good read. I find that to be an awesome thing.
I hit the pause button on Dorian Gray for now. I'll pick it back up, but a couple of other things took my interest.
Long Island Noir
I finally made got the time to stop by my local library. They have these themed sections, half height shelves that have book that meet a theme. Like summer time reads, lots of stuff to do with beaches. There was one I spotted that had something to do with USA history, although I don't quite understand the exact theme they were going for. But I did spot this one book, Long Island Noir. And then I noticed it's a collection of short stories. I've said a few times in this thread, I love short stories for the lack of commitment you need for them. So I decided to check it out.
This kind of took my by surprise... It takes place in the present. When I hear "noir" my mind goes to that classic noir in the 40s or 50s perhaps. That's what I was expecting this to be. But I suppose "noir" simply means some kind of crime story, and not a place in time. So I was a little disappointment, but not deterred. I've read the first two stories so far, and they were both great. I'm looking forward to reading more of this.
So this book is actually part of a series, where each book is a different location that all of the stories take place in. There's many locations in the USA, like Detroit Noir for example. As well as other countries like Rome Noir or Havana Noir. The book has a "also in this series" page and there's dozens of them. Each short story in LI Noir is a different author. I'm not sure if all of the books are like that, or if any authors have short stories in some of the other books. But after I finish LI, if the rest of the stories are as good as the first two I read, I'll definitely want to check out more in the series!
The Hunter
Payback is one of my favorite movies. During the opening credits, it's stated that the movie was based off of the book The Hunter by Richard Stark. So I always wanted to check out the book. I'm actually surprised how much of the book is in the movie, even the exact dialog. Being that I've seen the movie first, it's almost like reading a novelization of the movie LOL. But the book does have it's difference, of course. For one thing, the movie had the tag line "get ready to root for the bad guy" or something like that. But they definitely made the main character more likeable than in the book. In the book he REALLY is a bad guy, and not just a bad guy in a Hollywood movie. In fact, pretty much everyone in the book is a bad guy and the main characters do things that are just deplorable. That is one complaint I've heard about this character and book, that the main character is just an awful person. Well, people like to read about Al Capone and Mafiosos that have done awful things. At least the characters in The Hunter are fictional.
The Hunter is book 1 in a series of books with the character Parker. I wanted to check out book 2 and 3 from my library, but sadly they don't seem to have them.