What we're reading in Crime/Thriller/Spy/etc

FINALLY starting the Smiley novels! I'm jumping in at The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, which is excellent so far. And then I've got The Looking Glass War and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy on the shelves, and then I'll be all prepared for the movie of "Tinker, Tailor"! Phew!

i am toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

YAY! YAY! These are the best books ever. EVER. ALL CAPS EVER!!!

I absolutely love Smiley and everything about him and his books.

Well, there's not much Smiley in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold! I was quite surprised. He's in the background somewhere, he's been mentioned a couple of times (possibly minor spoilers for the first two books in the series), but it's not really about him. I think. Hard to tell with spy novels, I'm suspecting everyone is a spy and no one is who they seem to be! :)

I've got Stephen Fry in my mind for Control, thinking of the accent and the Englishness of him, but I see they've cast John Hurt in the upcoming movie. That works for me, too!

I had a hard time at first figuring out what the different kinds of spy jobs meant - lamplighter, pavement artist, etc. The jargon is difficult, but fun.

I think Smiley has a much bigger part in the Karla trilogy books, especially Smiley's People. John Hurt was brilliant as Control in TTSS. I tried to picture Stephen Fry as Control, but that didn't work for me since Stephen Fry is Jeeves.

Physically, Stephen Fry does not fit. But the accent is spot-on, IMO. But, then again, so many British actors can sound very upper class, especially to the ear of this Australian colonial. ;)

I've just finished (stayed up late!) The Looking Glass War, the next Smiley book. Another good one, although less my cup of tea, I kept on wanting to slap sense into people.