Talking, with commas

Reading Chandler for the first time, I know, I know, I don't know why I waited. I certainly understand how he reached his icon status. The Long Goodbye, (some say his best), is wonderfully paced and beautifully written, and I am barely a third of the way through - but this is a book to savour.

I would have loved to find the cover as shown to the left - delightfully surreal. (As are, for some reason, my use of adverbs in this post.)

Anyway, here is a just a few gems, and a reason for reading slow:

"I was as hollow and empty as the spaces between stars."

"One would think a writer would be happy here -- if a writer is every happy anywhere."

"He was a guy who talked with commas, like a heavy novel. Over the phone anyway."

I've known guys that talk with commas.

And I have a feeling that my next novel is going to have some heavy Chandler influences.