Journal Entry 1 by crimson-tide from Balingup, Western Australia Australia on Monday, April 16, 2007

Journal Entry 2 by crimson-tide from Balingup, Western Australia Australia on Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Journal Entry 3 by crimson-tide from Balingup, Western Australia Australia on Sunday, February 03, 2008

Yes, I know - I'm slack! I gathered that everyone was pretty bookringed out atm, especially with 1001 books, so there was no harm in waiting. As I now have another book to send to jubby, there is no better time to get this one on the road and travelling. 

Journal Entry 4 by jubby from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Monday, February 11, 2008

Yay, this bookring book arrived in the post today, along with a lovely RABCK.

And yes, Crimson-Tide, you were right, I at least had lots of other bookrings, and was not at all put out by the timing of bookring arriving.

Will read in the not too distant future.

Thank you Crimson-Tide. 

Journal Entry 5 by jubby from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, March 04, 2008

I still can't get over how much I enjoyed this book.

It was cliched, but with lots of old school detective jargon (it took me a while to figure out what a 'blackjack' was), and all the subsidiary characters kept dying once they had served their purpose - and I couldn't put it down.

One of my favourite passages is from page 78:

She looked as if she were telling the truth, though with women, especially blue-eyed women, that doesn't always mean anything.

He, he, he!

Yes, this was a quick and fun little read. I can't see myself going out to hunt down other Dashiell Hammett books (well, maybe just 'The Maltese falcon'), and I wouldn't be surprised if they were written to a formula, but as a once off read, for historical reference this was an entertaining little read.

Thank you for sharing it with me. 

Journal Entry 6 by jubby at Bookring in Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Released 4 yrs ago (3/4/2008 UTC) at Bookring in Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to CaterineAnna. 

Journal Entry 7 by Caterinaanna from Coventry, West Midlands United Kingdom on Saturday, March 08, 2008

Arrived at some point earlier today.
I'm having one of those periods where ring and ray books are impersonating buses and all arriving at once, so this is to be preceeded by a couple of others. However, I'm babysitting a docile niece this evening so plenty of reading time. 

Journal Entry 8 by Caterinaanna from Coventry, West Midlands United Kingdom on Sunday, March 30, 2008

Actually, I didn't get to it for a while after that and read most of it on a train.

With chapter titles like The Swell Spoon, A Tip on Kid Cooper and Whisper's Joint it doesn't take much to imagine the style of writing in this. Think of all those black and white gangster movies with tough-talking blokes and brittle women who are murdered soon after they reveal their heart of gold and you can imagine the outlines of the plot too. There are lots of twists and turns for such a little book, so it kept me entertained. I'll read others by this chap that I come across or that are on the list, but probably won't search for others.

I've PM'd shnedwards ... 

Journal Entry 9 by Caterinaanna at Bookring in to another bookcrosser, By Post -- Controlled Releases on Sunday, April 06, 2008

Released 4 yrs ago (4/3/2008 UTC) at Bookring in to another bookcrosser, By Post -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

On its way at last. Apologies for the delay. 

Journal Entry 10 by shnedwards from Birmingham, West Midlands United Kingdom on Monday, April 07, 2008

It's here! Thanks very much CaterinaAnna for sending this on and crimson-tide for sharing.
I have a couple of other bookring books ahead of this one but will get to it soon. 

Journal Entry 11 by shnedwards from Birmingham, West Midlands United Kingdom on Friday, May 23, 2008

Well, it was fun to read the original noir that inspired all those imitations and spoofs. I had a bit of trouble working out what was going on with the slang, though, dopey old me.

PMing the Klondike Kid now...

On its way as of 7th June 2008 

Journal Entry 12 by GateGypsy from Whitehorse, Yukon Canada on Thursday, July 10, 2008

I'm the Klondike Kid now? **giggle** This book is here and safe. It's further down my list of prioritized reads, but I'll get to it! Thanks for sharing! 

Journal Entry 13 by GateGypsy from Whitehorse, Yukon Canada on Sunday, July 12, 2009

I have tqd's addy! This book will be in the mail by the end of next week.
My sincerest apologies for the delay. I hope that you enjoy it, tqd! 

Journal Entry 14 by tqd from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Friday, July 24, 2009

Book turned up this week, safe and sound. Thanks GateGypsy! Onto Mt TBR it goes... 

Journal Entry 15 by tqd from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The first of the Continental Op series by Dashiell Hammett who single-handedly invented hard-boiled crime, if Wikipedia is to be believed. Red Harvest is set during the prohibition era in a small mining town, Personville - more commonly known as Poisonville - which is riddled with corruption. The (unnamed) Continental Op is called in to solve the murder of the town's founding father and source of all its corruption. You see, some years before, Daddy brought in some hard men to break the Union. The hard men did that, then looked around, liked what they saw, and settled in. With corruption going all the way to the top, it's every man for himself.

Our hero solves the murder by about page 60, which was a bit of a surprise to me. But then turns his sights on cleaning up the corruption of Personville. However, it proves to be far too easy to slide into corruption himself in his quest to clean up...

I loved the atmosphere of this book. There were beautiful tough dames, ugly tough men, gunfights in the middle of the town on what seemed to be a daily schedule at one stage, tight dialogue, touches of dry humour, and gripping action. But most of all, it's not a clear-cut book, it is filled with moral ambiguities with our hero's actions being most un-heroic, even when done for the best of intentions.

'Look. I sat at Willsson's table tonight and played them like you'd play trout, and got just as much fun out of it. I looked at Noonan and knew he hadn't a chance in a thousand of living another day because of what I had done to him, and laughed, and felt warm and happy inside. That's not me. I've got hard skin all over what's left of my soul, and after twenty years of messing around with crime I can look at any sort of a murder without seeing anything in it but my bread and butter, the day's work. But this getting a rear out of planning deaths is not natural to me. It's what this place has done to me.'

"Poisonville" is a very apt name for the town, poisoning everyone's lives.

I have FreePages' address already, but will hold off posting it until I finish another book I owe her. Thanks for the great read, crimson-tide! 

Journal Entry 16 by tqd at Balmain, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, January 10, 2010

Released 2 yrs ago (1/10/2010 UTC) at Balmain, New South Wales Australia

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

In the post to FreePages today.

Happy reading! 

Journal Entry 17 by FreePages from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Red Harvest is here.

Another little book from the 1001 list. I hope it is easier to read then one other little novel from the 1001 list that I've been trying to read!

Onto Mount Toobie it goes.

Thanks for sending it on tqd :-)
 

Journal Entry 18 by FreePages from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Wednesday, March 10, 2010

This was a good little novel to start on, while waiting for my eldest son to have his broken collarbone pinned.
It did take me a few days after that to finish it.

I thought it was a bit cliched until I realised that this is the original goods!
All it need was Bogart as the lead and it would have been complete :-)
Mobsters galore!
Thanks for the opportunity to read it, crimson-tide. Now I've realised that I've never read his other works, The Maltese Falcon & The Thin Man, I'll have to fix that at some stage.

I'll send this one home along with Silas Maner as soon as I get to him. That might take a while. Hope your not in any rush?

Hubby is keen to read this one now too.
 

Journal Entry 19 by crimson-tide at Balingup, Western Australia Australia on Tuesday, August 24, 2010

This little book arrived home safely today after wandering the world for a couple of years. Thanks FreePages, and also thanks very much to you all.