A gumshoe, a Maltese Falcon, and a National Read A Book Day...

The other day was September 6th. 

It was a Thursday.

It was cool and damp and cloudy. 

And it was National Read A Book Day 2018. Or, to give it its more hip title:  #nationalreadabookday

Perfect for slipping between the covers of something warm and literary. Indoors or outdoors. 

For me it was indoors. 

Of course it wasn’t about reading a whole book. Or even half a book. It was more about reading any part of any book. Print or ebook.

The point wasn’t about finishing. It was about starting. Or continuing from wherever you left off the last time you picked it up. 

The object was to enjoy words. No matter their size. No matter their meaning. No matter what other words they were in the company of.

As long as they said what they meant and you liked what they said, then that was all that mattered. 

Naturally I joined in on the day by re-reading (for the umpteenth time) the first chapter of a book that has, over the years, become a firm favourite of mine. 

You might not recognise the author. His name is Dashiell Hammett. 

You might not even recognise the book (although the movie might ring a bell). Its name is The Maltese Falcon. 

It’s a detective story.

The protagonist is a hard-boiled gumshoe called Sam Spade. Think Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe. 

Only better. 

Think Humphrey Bogart. Although his version of the movie didn’t come until  11 years after the book was published in 1930.

It has 213 pages. And every one is enjoyment on steroids. Although I’m sure many literary purists would disagree. 

They can sod right off. 

I suppose you could say it’s old school. A bit like me. Although I’m also a bit new school. 

My tastes are eclectic. And electric. Sometimes eccentric. Definitely artistic.

I first read The Maltese Falcon shortly after I first saw the movie. 

Probably the wrong way around, but what the Hell. 

It introduced me to Hammett…a big plus. 

I already knew Bogart. 

There isn’t a minus attached to that…