I need help from Elmore Leonard fans!

Okay, so I want to get into Elmore Leonard, but don’t know where to start. I’ve read Get Shorty and Out of Sight just because I saw the movies.

So now there are so many more to choose from I don’t know where to begin! Could you please recommend your favorite book by Elmore Leonard? Or better yet, your top three!

I absolutely love his style of writing and am anxious to hear from you all, thanks!

I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a fan, but I do like him. I actually didn’t much like the one’s that were turned into films. I do however like his more western themed books.

Elmore Leonard’s Western Roundup , Voulmes 1, 2, & 3 are good. particularly Volume 3 which includes the two novellas Valdez is Comming and Hombre which are my two favorite works by Leonard. Both feature atypical western heros (one a Latino the other an American Indian).

On this note another genre-busting work by Leonard which is up there (though definately inferior) is Cuba Libre , which is by best aproximation a western that takes place in Cuba. Or at least a story of the Cuban revolution/Spanish-American War in which an American cowboy features.

I imagine many Leonard fans will disagree because I dont think these are amongst his most popular, but as I said I’m not really a fanm in spite of the fact that I do live these. I would suggest though, that he is extraordinarily prolific and part of the fun for his founds is pouring through all if his stuff.

Riding the Rap was fun, if slight.

Just go to a second hand bookstore and grab three or four. The man has only written one bad book.

Whistlepig

I’ve never read any of the Westerns, but I have yet to read a bad crime-type novel of his, although some are better than others. I actually can’t think of any titles, but, like whistlepig says, go grab a handful or go to the library.

OK, whistlepig, I’ll bite. What’s the bad one?

I have read ALL of his stuff, most of it twice, some of it multiple times.

You can’t go wrong. Just start reading titles you don’t recognize, and by the time you’ve worked your way through them, you’ll have forgotten the titles you read first, and you can start on your second round.

I really envy you: I wish I could discover him anew again.

If you liked Get Shorty and Out of Sight, try reading Rum Punch and then see the movie version, Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. Michael Keaton even plays the same character he was in Out of Sight, if I remember correctly.

He’s one of my favorites. The characters are always just this side of sleezy - certainly not glamourous and always a little down on their luck.

Tishomingo Blues was the last one I read.

As has been pointed out, just pick one up and read it. If he grabs you, just keep on going.

Fer the luvah Pete, nobody’s mentioned

STICK?!
Getit. Readit. Luvit.

Elmore Leonard is The Man. The Dean of American Crime fiction. “Dutch” to his friends. I am fortunate to have a bunch of signed first editions of his.

I would strongly recommend starting with his early crime fiction from the mid 70’s:

  • Fifty-two Pickup
  • Unknown Man No. 89
  • Swag
  • City Primevil (High Noon in Detroit)
  • Stick
  • LaBrava

All incredibly satisfying with the best dialogue ever. Beyond that, he does go through a bit of a fallow period, where his books are only amazing. Rum Punch, Maximum Bob and Freaky Deaky are a bit too “hey, aren’t I a funny writer?” for me. He is much better (and funnier) when he seems to be targeting a straighter delivery of the narrative…but Get Shorty really works, and he has had a great return to form with Out of Sight and Tishimingo Blues…

I haven’t read anything by him I didn’t like. I’d recommend reading The Switch before Rum Punch, since several of the characters were introduced in the former. Both books are really entertaining.

I also second reading the westerns.

I’ve probably read about 10 of Leonard’s books and have enjoyed them all, though I thought Tishomingo Blues was somewhat mediocre. I started with Maximum Bob. Loved it and highly recommend it. After that I did what others in this thread have advised: gone to 2nd hand book stores and just started picking up whatever they had.