What I'm reading

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, which is actually really cool. I like how very detectivey this book is. You know, tough but good P.I. wrapped up in some crazy plot, dealing with the slimy denizens of whatever city, people get punched, guns go off, and booze is consumed. I read a little bit of this book previously, but I didn't finish it because I was reading Zoe's Tale or something at that time. I did read enough of it that I was totally against the portion of the movie by the same title starring Robert Mitchum. In the movie the whole thing is set in England, which tainted the whole thing for me since L.A. is practically a character in the book. A subtle character, but a main character none the less. It rains in the book, I'm not sure it rains in L.A.; it's always raining in England. Maybe it had to do with the accents and the general englishness of it all. Anyway the book is badass. It feels like reading Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, wait I can explain... There are so many derivatives in this style, many of which aren't good, but since this is the source it totally nails it.