Welcome to Litsy!

I‘m not a “hard boiled / noir” aficionado but maybe I should be, who doesn‘t love an MC walking around, shot & drunk, unwittingly solving a crime. From the description I thought Nora would be a more involved character, so that was a let down, but I was entertained.

#ChristmasCrimeChallenge

#haikuaday
#haikuhive

Chatting with @JenlovesJT47 today about Jimmy Stewart made me want to write a haiku about this dynamic duo. The book and movie are beyond outstanding. 🖤🤍🩶

#threelistthursday #tlt @dabbe

Six better than last week. This list is killing me! 🤣 For my 3 faves, I went to book noir: two Hammetts and one Chandler.
1. THE MALTESE FALCON: “And when you're slapped you'll take it and like it.”
2. THE BIG SLEEP: “You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep, and you were not bothered by things like that.“
3. THE THIN MAN: “Nora: “How do you feel?“
Nick: “Terrible. I must've gone to bed sober.”

#bibliophile
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#ProtagWPet
#thethinman
#nicknoraasta

#threelistthursday #tlt

A whopping 14/100! 🤣 Some of those posters were 😱!
Faves:
THE THIN MAN: [Nora Charles]: “Waiter, will you serve the nuts? I mean, will you serve the guests the nuts?“
DARK VICTORY: “Nothing can hurt us now. What we have can't be destroyed. That's our victory - our victory over the dark. It is a victory because we're not afraid.“
WUTHERING HEIGHTS: “I am Heathcliff!“ (I laugh at this one now).

My first read of 2025! I love the Powell/Loy movies, and I think the first film does an excellent job at adapting this book. If you are not familiar with the title, this is a well done detective novel with fun, sassy characters and an intriguing mystery. But if you've seen the movie, it doesn't really offer much additional story or insight. Still, since it has been a while since I've watched the movie, I had a blast revisiting Nick and Nora.

#TLT

3 Favorite Movie/Literary Couples:

1. No question! - Myrna Loy & William Powell
2. Tommy & Tuppence
3. This is a tough - so many choices! I do love Henry Tilney & Catherine Morland 💕

I‘m curious about what you would choose @Gissy @TheAromaofBooks @Chrissyreadit !

#TLT @dabbe
1. Nick and Nora Charles from the tagged book and film series. Great noir novel from a master of the genre, and just the most charming couple of detectives to ever light up the screen 🤩
2. Frodo and Sam from LoTR. I don't think any justification is required here! 🧑🧒
3. Well, as you took Holmes and Watson already... 🤔💭 I'll go with Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser from Fritz Leiber's Swords series of fantasy stories ⚔️

Minimalist prose with snappy dialogue and ever so many cocktails. The Thin Man is narrated from Nick's POV, so it is in some ways different to the movie, but every bit as much fun. Return of the Thin Man is literally the movie scripts for film 2&3, so it doesn't read as well. The notes on the text were interesting though.

#EasterCrime

Taking a break from the #WomensPrize to read some culturally mandated #EasterCrime

I'll probably start with the tagged book and its sequel even though they won't be much of a mystery as the movie adaptations are faves I have watched numerous times.

My #longlist reviews will recommence sometime next week.

I actually would love to crash the big New Year's Eve party that Nick and Nora throw in THE THIN MAN. Then, I'd just love to hang around with them and Asta, drinking martinis and solving 1930s capers. 🕵🏻🍸🎉

@RaeLovestoRead❣️

Enjoyable.

#Movie2BookRecs @klou
Prompt: The Maltese Falcon

Thanks for the tag @The_Penniless_Author !

1. I‘m sure there‘s a lot of very specific requirements for noir, but for me? If as I‘m visualizing the story in my head it‘s black and white? Noir. 😅
2. Tagged! Nick and Nora, my loves. 💕

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

Stray Rescue (which enriched our lives with Bell and Ted 🐶❤️) is having an art auction.

This is one of the pieces! 😍😍

“Nick, Nora & Asta too”
Artist - Maxine Thirteen

I‘m already afraid I will be outbid! 😭

https://e.givesmart.com/s/:g9XV6bOhFNH/e/qRf/i/

Everyone here was right—this movie is a gem. *This* is the pinnacle of noir & screwball comedy & perfect for the holidays since it begins on Christmas Eve & ends on NYE. Shockingly the book that it's based on pales in comparison #themoviewasbetter

William Powell & Myrna Loy are delightful, but a special shoutout to the dog that plays Asta 😆

I expected this to be the pinnacle of noir slash screwball comedy based on all the raves, but it was largely ... fine? I read it for #cloakanddaggerchristmas for the Tommy & Tuppence prompt, for a mystery featuring a great team. This was more about Nick, a former private detective, doing the detecting, & Nora, his wife, pouring out drinks & getting hit across the face when a gun was pointed at her to prevent a "feminine brainstorm" i.e. hysteria.

I've finished work for the festive season, so time to kick back with a cocktail, Nick and Nora style! 😊🍸🎄(Though, hopefully, without the murder.)

Wishing everybody the best possible of holidays 💗

Merry merry❣️🌟🎄Christmas crime novels! https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/23/top-10-christmas-stories-peter-swa...

I‘m going to tentatively give this a pick, although I didn‘t enjoy it nearly as much as I should have because I listened to the #audiobook and the narrator was awful. That‘s 2 strikes in a row listening to noirish books, but I started a new one today and am quite happy that the narrator is really good. As far as The Thin Man goes, it‘s a rare instance of the movie being better than the book. But Nick & Nora are great characters. 3.5⭐️

The verdict is in. Not as good as the movie (by far), and you have to overlook a little misogyny. However, I did enjoy the book. It was quick and had some cute banter. And, like a cozy mystery, the murder is almost beside the point.

“I was leaning against the bar in a speakeasy on Fifty-second Street, waiting for Nora to finish her Christmas shopping, when a girl got up from the table where she had been sitting with three other people and came over to me.“
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

I think life would be a lot easier if we accepted this at an early age and didn't spend so much time trying to make everyone like us. I know I'd have been better off if I had.

I'm such a mood reader. I just stared at my bookshelf and this popped out at me. I ADORE the movies. I hope the book is just as good.

I read the Thin Man about a week ago and thought it was just so-so. I went to see the movie today and I hate to say it, but I enjoyed it more than the book. I found it much funnier. (6 points) #HolidayMovie
#WinterGames #ReadNosedReindeer
@StayCurious @Clwojick

#shoptilyoudrop #festivephotochallenge

Chris and I play The Thin Man every year while we open our presents. I love everything about this movie! ❤️😍

#booktomovie #holidaytraditions #wintergames #teamFozziwig

This is considered a classic mystery. I found it just so-so. The central mystery was interesting, but I was distracted by all the alcohol being consumed and one passage I thought was racist. I guess it's a product of its time. It is set at Christmas, so I'm counting it as a #HolidayRead. I'm planning to see the movie in a couple of weeks just to compare it to the book. (21 points)
#WinterGames #ReadNosedReindeer
 @StayCurious @Clwojick

I'm starting #WinterGames with this classic. My local movie theater shows older holiday movies every December and this is included. I guess it's set around Christmas. I'm planning to se the movie later in the month. (1 point)
#ReadNosedReindeer

@StayCurious @Clwojick

#BFCR2 Week 3 check-in!
📚Books completed: 2
🏘Neighborhood walks: 2/2
🏦Walks at work: 4/4
🏋🏼‍♂️Gym workout: 1
☕️I‘ve quit sugar in my tea, but I miss it so!! I‘ve switched to herbal/fruit teas in the morning, but I long for my English Breakfast with milk & sugar.
⛪️ Spiritual practice: 3/4 but I‘ll have my 4th reflection time tonight.

Overall a good week! Next goal: courage to try weights at the gym...
#bookfitnesschallenge #BookNerdHerd

This is my library‘s book club pick this month, and I was interested to see how it compares with The Maltese Falcon (which I read with the same book club 2 years ago!). The mystery here was satisfying in the end, but too many of the characters annoyed me throughout most of the novel. While Nick & Nora‘s banter provided some levity, this still falls on the side of “hard-boiled” detective fiction. And I do prefer the cozies—Agatha Christie for me!

Kicking off week 3 of #BFCR2 with a walk in my neighborhood and a new audiobook. This one is my library book club‘s pick for July. I‘ve seen the movie, but remember very little about the mystery, so it‘ll all be new to me! 😂 #bookfitnesschallenge #booknerdherd

That's... an interesting philosophy. The knowledge that Hammett was, himself, a detective doesn't make me feel very good about it.

Sometimes you find real treasures at thrift stores!

All the conversations in this book are so *weird*. People just suddenly do things in a slightly disjointed way--the responses don't totally match up with the things they're responding to. I don't know if that's an artifact of the time period or if this is just a weird book. And I don't know if this is the best illustration of the point. It just feels odd to me.

I love all The Thin Man Movies, but I've never read the books. I love the clever banter between Nick and Nora, hearing William Powell and Myrna Loy in my head. I didn't guess the killer at the end, so it was a satisfying story all told. 4 💥💥💥💥 out of 5.

#24B42019 @Andrew65 @TheReadingMermaid

I liked the movie better than the book. #tcm #classics

Just finished this fun old-school detective novel. #1001books #audiobook

#LitsyClassics #Crime

“Nora came in with the coffee. ‘What‘s worrying you now, son?‘ she asked. ‘Things,‘ I said, ‘riddles, lies, and I‘m too old and too tired for them to be any fun. Let‘s go back to San Francisco.” - It started out odd & I‘m not sure I would have stuck with it if my friend had not insisted it was good. In the end I liked it but it is more in between pick and so so.

Just a little reading time with a great book, amazing candle, and the best hot mint chocolate ever.

No snow day on the wet coast, but with a night stand pile like this it wouldn‘t be too bad...

Midnight reading at work while the deployment continues. Fun reading the book version of this classic, even if I‘ve already seen the movie.

Taking a quick reading break with this guy #Simba #catsoflitsy

#uncannyoctober Books published in 1930s Rebecca- August 1938
Gone with the Wind - June 1936
The Thin Man- 1933
The Maltese Falcon- 1930

Nick and Nora, a retired PI and his plucky wife, solve a murder in between visits to the martini cart. Loved the witty banter in this crime classic. Thanks @jmtrivera for a most excellent Secret Santa pick! 😘

That dialogue though 😇

Been a while since I've dropped a review!

I'm still in a detective mood after finishing an Otto Penzler locked-room compendium and IQ by Joe Ide, so I finally read The Thin Man.

It's a good read. Though Hammett throws around 1930s-style casual racism/sexism and doesn't distinguish speakers well, the snappy dialogue is hard to beat. I wonder if the movie is actually better for this one though?

(Costarring Makers Mark on the rocks)

A friend and I have decided that Wednesdays are for #NoirNight. As he researched his thesis by reading Hammett and Chandler, he discovered they really beg to be read aloud. I suggested he should read one to me. For our first foray, he chose the basis for one of my all-time favorite film series. So every Wednesday I get my own private audiobook of The Thin Man. #itsallamystery #sizzlinsummerbooks

What a funny book. I really had a good time reading is and had to laugh out loud sometimes. #1001books

Finally got around to reading this. Nice. Much lighter than The Maltese Falcon. But The Thin Man has a wider range of characters.