lukewarmwater

I've read noir and detective stories and watched ''elmore leonard" based movies, but never read a book of his.

Where should I start? Is there a diffenitive elmore leonard novel? Are his books as funny as the films?

thanks

djmont

You've probably seen Get Shorty, right? Read the book -- it's even better than the movie. (It's very funny, although not all of his books are humorous.)

Leonard has written a lot of books, some of which are very good and some of which aren't. But most of them are at least pretty good. You might just check to see if any of the plots grabs you.

In addition to Get Shorty, I liked Swag, Unknown Man #89, Stick, Glitz, Maximum Bob, Rum Punch... Really, a lot of 'em are damn good. Although I wasn't as wild about the last couple.

Hope that helps!

Geofferson

I've only read his book on Western short stories. I liked it a lot and will eventually dive into his other stuff at some point.

OwlAtHome

I recommend The Moonshine War or Mr. Majestyk. They're both very quick but enjoyable reads.

Sean O'Hara

The nice thing about Leonard is that even when he writes a dud (which isn't often), it's a quick read -- no more than one weekend, and usually just a single afternoon.

I suggest finding a used bookstore and buying five or six of his novels at random -- shouldn't cost more than ten bucks. Leonard's one of those writers who should be read in a beat-up, dog-eared old paperback from the '70s.

Tommy_Harn

Don't start with Tishimingo Blues. Not particularly engaging.

Mr. Salty

Killshot is good, so is Pagan Babies. The Hot Kid is good and a little different for him. Out of Sight is great, and I like Stick a lot.

story

Tishomingo Blues is one of my favorites. The film trio are accessible, funny, and well-written - Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Jackie Brown (Rum Punch). I like Maximum Bob a lot, Cuba Libre is excellent, and Stick is fun. I just finished The Hot Kid and I really dug it.

Steve Buscemi reads Pagan Babies and it's worth your time, if you like audio books (Robert Forster reads Mr. Paradise and does a good job, too).

PalmerJoss

I started out with Get Shorty and loved it. Since then I've enjoyed Glitz, Maximum Bob, Rum Punch, Out of Sight, and Be Cool. All of those are easy to jump into and enjoy and aren't a difficult read.