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The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
The Big Sleep is Raymond Chandler's most famous and popular novel of allLos Angeles PI Philip Marlowe is working for the Sternwood family. Old man Sternwood, crippled and wheelchair-bound, is being given the squeeze by a blackmailer and he wants Marlowe to make the problem go away. But with Sternwood's two wild, devil-may-care daughters prowling LA's seedy backstreets, Marlowe's got his work cut out - and that's before he stumbles over the first corpse . . . 'Anything Chandler writes about grips the mind from the first sentence' Daily Telegraph 'One of the greatest crime writers, who set standards others still try to attain' Sunday Times'Chandler is an original stylist, creator of a character as immortal as Sherlock Holmes' Anthony BurgessBest-known as the creator of the original private eye, Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago in 1888 and died in 1959. Many of his books have been adapted for the screen, and he is widely regarded as one of the very greatest writers of detective fiction. His books include The Big Sleep, The Little Sister, Farewell, My Lovely, The Long Good-bye, The Lady in the Lake, Playback, Killer in the Rain, The High Window and Trouble is My Business.
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JenlovesJT47
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Time for #ThreeListThursday !

My favorites from this first 100 are:

1. Back To The Future.
2. The Big Sleep.
3. Charade.

Thanks for sharing @dabbe #TLT

https://www.listchallenges.com/litsy-afis-100-years-100-thrills-up-to-2001

dabbe Fab choices! Thanks for playing and sharing! 🖤🎃🖤 1mo
TorieStorieS These are all fun ones!! 😊 1mo
33 likes2 comments
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Susanita
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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1. Philip Marlowe is a HARD BOILED detective. 🤩
2. I ask my husband to make them for me.
3. Egg roll wrappers are dipped in eggs to make them crispy when fried. This may or may not account for the name. #deviledeggday

Ruthiella Very creative #1 answer! 😂 12mo
dabbe Love #1! I'm going to do Sam Spade! 🤩🤩🤩 12mo
35 likes2 comments
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dabbe
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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#BookBinge
#SmokeOnCover
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I think “smoke“, I think of Bogie in three movies that were originally books: THE MALTESE FALCON, TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, and this one: THE BIG SLEEP.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🖤💨🤍 1y
Eggs Well done 👍🏼💨🩶 1y
51 likes3 comments
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Onioons
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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My big sleeper & favourite work colleague 🐈‍⬛

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The_Penniless_Author
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

1. Crime fiction with a more cynical, fatalistic (I would say "realistic") worldview. Usually features a morally ambiguous protagonist that spends as much time fighting against institutional power (the police, city hall, etc.) as they do fighting crime.
2. Tagged. Raymond Chandler is one of my favorite writers of any genre.

Tag @RaeLovesToRead @IuliaC @ozma.of.oz @julesG

BookmarkTavern Thanks for the tag! 💖 2y
TheSpineView Good choice! Thanks for playing! 2y
julesG Thanks for the tag! 2y
31 likes3 comments
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rajithr
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Don‘t you think the sisters in these two books have much in common 🥸 #sisters

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GatheringBooks
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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35 likes1 stack add
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Blueberry
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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I love Raymond Chandler quotes. 😆

#body #QuotsyJun21 @TK-421

NataliePatalie Yikes 😬 3y
41 likes2 comments
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mollyrotondo
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I love the movie The Big Sleep with Humphrey Bogart but it is confusing. So I thought reading the book would clear some things up. Well the book has just as many twists and turns and I loved every minute of it 😂 Was it confusing at times? Sure. But it was wonderful! I cannot wait to go back and watch the movie because there are some differences. This was my #bookspinbingo No. 18 pick.

TheAromaofBooks I read this series a while back and while I didn't exactly love them, I did find them quite entertaining haha 4y
mollyrotondo @TheAromaofBooks I just love how convoluted it is and I love the quick wit of Philip Marlowe and the brutishness of his character. I cannot wait to read Farewell my Lovely but Chandler said that that is his best work 4y
36 likes2 comments
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charl08
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler

"Meet Mr Larry Cobb,' Vivian said. 'Mister Cobb - Mister Marlowe.'

I grunted.

"Mr Cobb was my escort,' she said. Such a nice escort, Mr Cobb. So attentive. You should see him sober. I should see him sober. Somebody should see him sober. I mean, just for the record. So it could become a part of history, that brief flashing moment, soon buried in time, but never forgotten when Larry Cobb was sober.'

33 likes1 stack add
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JenlovesJT47
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Mehso-so

I love The Big Sleep with Bogie & Bacall, so I had high hopes for this. Unfortunately, the narrator was mostly atrocious and it really detracted from my enjoyment of the story. Perhaps I‘ll try it again one day in book format. 3⭐️

#audiobook
#classic

Butterfinger There were too many women being slapped for me to like the book. 4y
60 likes1 comment
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Butterfinger
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Panpan

My first hard-boiled crime and probably my last. Too many women being slapped around. All the different "rackets" were trying to outdo each other and it became very confusing. I guess I could see the appeal during the Depression. The wealthy criminals were finally getting their due from amoral private investigators. Just not for me, but I appreciate @jenniferw88 bringing the genre to my attention. #jennyis30

#ReadwithMrBook @MrBook debut novel

MrBook Sweeeet!!! 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 4y
40 likes1 comment
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Butterfinger
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler

About orchids...

"They are nasty things. Their flesh is too much like the flesh of men. And their perfume has the rotten sweetness of a prostitute."

Um, one man's opinion.

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keepingupwiththepenguins
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Mehso-so

Everyone comes to The Big Sleep for Chandler‘s descriptions of Los Angeles, and he was certainly an evocative place writer, but I personally loved his characterisations most of all. I got a lot of smirks out of descriptions like: “He sounded like a man who had slept well and didn‘t owe too much money” = brilliant! Full review here: http://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-big-sleep-raymond-chandler/

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Icshank
Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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wanderinglynn
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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#quotsyoct19 | day 2

I‘m a couple days behind as usual. But I liked this quote.

TK-421 Good one! 👏👏👏 5y
64 likes1 comment
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Libby1
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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“The air was thick, wet, steamy and larded with the cloying smell of tropical orchids in bloom. The glass walls and roof were heavily misted and big drops of moisture splashed down on the plants. The light had an unreal greenish colour, like light filtered through an aquarium tank. The plants filled the place, a forest of them, with nasty meaty leaves and stalks like the newly washed fingers of dead men.”

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Libby1
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Pickpick

Rightly an iconic book, and a template for the genre of crime fiction. Incredibly smart and snappy dialogue.

I would gather that author Raymond Chandler didn‘t like women or gay people very much, which was sadly typical of the time it was written.

Women especially seem to be described as beasts. They do a lot of hissing when angry. 😾

REPollock I love noir, but I struggle with the inherent misogyny of midcentury pulp. Writing comebacks in the margins helps. 5y
shanaqui He also had a lot of problems with black people. I love his style so much, but this stuff makes it really awkward to like! 5y
75 likes2 comments
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BooknerdsLife
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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#MayScavengerHunt
✅By an author who shares your birthday
This one is a tough one! Never thought I'd be able to find any author who was born on 23rd of July but here he is!!! #RaymondChandler and Not only I've found the author, I've also by chance found out I actually have a copy of his book! I got this from a second hand bookstore many years ago cause I collect this edition. Now I feel that I'm destined to read this!
#penguinclassics #bibliophile

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madamereadsalot1
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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📚 - The Big Sleep

🎬 - Dreamcatcher

🎵- Sleep Well Beast, The National

#manicmonday @JoScho

JoScho 😴💜😴 6y
vivastory I love The National. I had tickets to see them last October, but it was pouring rain at the outside venue the day of the show. 6y
madamereadsalot1 @vivastory they put on an amazing show! I'd love the opportunity to see them again. My absolute hands down favorite song of ever, from anyone, is Fake Empire! 6y
vivastory That's a fantastic song. Although I love all of their albums, Boxer is a favorite 6y
madamereadsalot1 @vivastory same! That's also my favorite. 6y
22 likes5 comments
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madamereadsalot1
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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The book I'm currently packing around with me, in physical copy, is this classic detective noir, in my handy dandy book sleeve from @Kayla.Adriena ! (I'm also packing The Song of Achilles in e-book! Which is wonderful by the way!)

#packingpages @WhiskeyMistress @ErinSueGreads

vivastory Both books are fantastic 👌 6y
madamereadsalot1 @vivastory I'm about to finish Achilles, and it is just beautiful! I adore it. I'm pretty early into The Big Sleep. I love detective noir, but this is my first experience with Chandler, I'm pretty stoked about it. 6y
vivastory This is the only Chandler I have read. I bought several more as soon as I finished it because I loved it so much. Might read one this weekend 🤔 6y
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madamereadsalot1 @vivastory my goal for the year is to knock out some of the classic noirs I've not read. So there's at least one more of his that I'm planning to get to in 2019. 6y
rretzler That was a good book, and I loved the movie too! Have you seen it? 6y
madamereadsalot1 @rretzler I haven't seen it. I'm one of those weird people who 90% of movies I'm asked about, I probably haven't seen. 😅 6y
rretzler Strangely, The Big Sleep is one of the very few movies that I have seen prior to reading the book. It was made back in the day when movies actually had plots and starred Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. 6y
madamereadsalot1 @rretzler oh I love Bogart! I'm gonna have to find and watch it when I finish the book! 6y
25 likes8 comments
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madamereadsalot1
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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This description and exchange made me LOL!

One, is being called durable looking a compliment? Two, my son is 6'5", he hates how often people comment on his height. So this response was funny. I need to suggest it to Dylan. ?

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Mindyrecycles
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Mehso-so

This book actually contains the line, “Hold me, you beast!” and I don‘t think it‘s meant to be funny. #awkwardreads #literaryluck

Ruthiella I‘ve only read The Big Sleep but the dialogue was incredible. Snappy but yeah, I‘m not sure anyone ever really spoke like that.😀 6y
BookBelle84 The movie is a classic! Love it! 6y
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davidhasalife
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
Pickpick

“I was neat, clean, shaved and sober—and I didn‘t care who knew it”🎙

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writerlibrarian
Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Two games I'll follow tonight while finishing « Hold Me » which is quite good. My latest acquisition is an art print from the Disney princess noir remix series from Astor Alexander. They are all amazing.

https://society6.com/astoralexander

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julesG
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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I fell asleep and forgot to switch off the stopwatch. 😴

I'm actually only 19 hours into the #24B4Monday #readathon.

@TheReadingMermaid

Andrew65 19 hours is a stupendous total! 🙌🙌🙌 6y
julesG @Andrew65 The day's not over yet. 😉 6y
Crazeedi Whoohooo! You go girl! I have church before I can start again. But I'll do my best 6y
BeansPage That's so awesome!!! 🎉🎉🎉 6y
83 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Leftcoastzen
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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#septemberdanes I‘d say the big sleep is the ultimate #deepsleep but there is no coming back from that.Love this book and the classic Bogart/Bacall film, can‘t recall if I ever saw the 1970s remake with Robert Mitchum playing Marlowe.

Kalalalatja 👏👏👏 6y
Bookwomble Mitchum's portrayal was his trademark laconic, half- asleep delivery, which I love in other films (Night of the Hunter; Cape Fear), but didn't quite work for me as Marlowe. Bogart nailed it! On the other hand, Mitchum: name-checked by three Velvet Underground and a whole song of humorous affection from Julian Cope: https://youtu.be/gkfRRIWGsr8 6y
Reviewsbylola That cover! 6y
Leftcoastzen @Bookwomble Night of the Hunter rocked my world! I saw it pretty young and I was riveted!Love the Cope! 6y
39 likes4 comments
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YouBookMe
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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“I was neat, clean, shaved, and sober, and I didn‘t care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars.”

One paragraph in and I‘m already loving this!

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Dallyboy
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler

Made me want to become an alcoholic dick. If you ask any of my friends though I‘m already both of those things.

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shanaqui
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
Pickpick

There's something about Chandler's prose that is just stunning. His metaphors are just... wow. A favourite description was talking about heavy rain falling like one of those crystal beaded curtains.

I first read this for my crime fiction course in uni, and it's one of the only books from that course I thought was really great.

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Bamazin
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Under the thinning fog the surf curled and creamed, almost without sound, like a thought trying to form itself on the edge of consciousness.

#beachreads #fog #breakfast #coffee #books #ocean

4 likes1 comment
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CBuss
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
Mehso-so

A fun summer read. But, MAN, does Chandler not hold up in 2018. You slapped her? Seriously? And, "she didn't mind the slap?" That seems unlikely. Yeah, I realize that the historical-critical method is a tough application here, but wow.

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bunneeboy
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Pickpick

All over the map…but what a map.
My first Chandler!

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TheWellAccompaniedBook
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Mehso-so

It was ok. Some great writing but I did really struggle with the way the women were portrayed and treated. Sign of the times it was written in, I know, but it still grated. I did enjoy the old detective feel of it though and will watch the 1945 movie version with Humphrey Bogart. Been a long time since I‘ve watched an old old movie.

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TheWellAccompaniedBook
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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The second audiobook I‘ve picked for the weekend. I‘ll have to ignore my family a lot over the next 48 hours. Sounds good to me! ☺️

rubyslippersreads I just rewatched this movie not too long ago, but I've never read the book. The movie has a great bookstore scene. 😄 7y
44 likes1 comment
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writerlibrarian
Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Pickpick

Written in 1939, this is one of the novel that defines LA in the 30-40 for me. Along side The Black Dahlia, LA Confidential, I felt oddly comfortable in this bleak, noirish universe Chandler described. Marlowe is a sleek, tough private eye, we follow him trying to tie up the loose ends of a somewhat horrid family secret. I loved the plot, I loved the fact that you don't know anything more about Marlowe at the end of the book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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writerlibrarian
Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Hump day, it gets better after mid-week. What miracle a good night sleep is. Much better day today by a mile. #happinessisresistance

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AshleyHoss820
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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#FavoriteDetectiveAgent

I have a LOT of Detectives that I love. But if you want a true, gritty, hard-boiled gumshoe, I have to go with Phillip Marlowe. Chandler‘s writing is fast, zippy and absolutely what you think of when you think of noir. Marlowe‘s one-liners could only be pulled off by a man like Bogey. ❤️
#MarchMadness

somebooksaround What a legend! Love this!! Thank you for sharing your fav! 😃🕵️‍♂️ 7y
AshleyHoss820 @josteele YES! Definitely a legend!! 😊😊❤️ 7y
43 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Sweettartlaura
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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diovival You've made great progress. 👍 7y
Sweettartlaura Thanks, @diovival 😊. I‘m trying to decide if I should go all in and finish it this year, or pace myself. 7y
31 likes2 comments
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Sweettartlaura
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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I‘m loving listening to noir classics. They work great as audiobooks. Any recommendations?

EllanaRose I'm not familiar with the genre but it sounds interesting! 7y
diovival That does sound like a good time. 7y
54 likes2 comments
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Eugeniavb
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Mehso-so

I was very surprised to have a bit of a hard time with this one. I looove the movie (big Bogey fan) and had always wanted to read it. But a lot of implied things (I‘m guessing because of censure at the time), slang and just the attitude and portrayal of women like cardboard cutouts just meant for deception and sex, were hard on me. Great noir phrases and ambience, but I think I‘ll stick with the movie.

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PiratesAndPixieDust
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Pickpick

Look! Look! My first completed novel of 2018! I've never read a noir crime book before, but this was so fun! I listened to the BBC audiodrama of this one too, and I highly recommend it! This book was 3.5 stars from me

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Eugeniavb
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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“It was about eleven o‘clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills...” #firstlines

19 likes1 stack add
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Fang88
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Sick in bed. Enjoying some Chandler...

Jas16 Hope you feel better soon 7y
Scurvygirl Feel better! 7y
aprilpohren Take care and feel better! 7y
See All 16 Comments
cobwebmoth Feel better soon! 7y
BeezleMcfly May the powers of the penguin be with you. 7y
VinceReads Hope you feel better! 7y
DivineDiana Sorry to hear you are “under the weather”, but glad you have a good Book!📚 7y
hanseatic Hope you feel better soon, really liked that book! 7y
Redwritinghood Everyone seems to be getting sick lately! Feel better soon. 7y
Betty Rest well. Beat that bug. 7y
Velvetfur Get well soon xxx 7y
tpixie Hope you are feeling better!! 7y
Jess_Read_This As soon as I saw a green Penguin pic... I said “Absolutely we must become Litten friends!” I hope you are feeling better! 7y
Lesliereads I hope you‘re feeling better🤒 7y
MemoirsForMe Feel better! 🌼 7y
109 likes4 stack adds16 comments
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TheWellAccompaniedBook
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Bedside Drawer #tbr

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BlueMonday42
The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler
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Pickpick

One of the best old-school noir-style fictional detectives out there is Raymond Chandler‘s legendary Philip Marlowe. His stories have a vague “it was a dark and stormy night” vibe running through them. Chandler‘s popularity for these stories, and especially for creating a character like Marlowe, can only be matched by writers and characters like Dashiel Hammett‘s Sam Spade. Want a real detective novel? This is a good place to start.