Commander Swanson's cabin was bigger than a telephone booth, I'll say that for it, but not all that much bigger to shout about. A built-in bunk, a folding washbasin, a small writing-bureau and chair, a folding camp-stool, a locker, some calibrated repeater instrument dials above the bunk and that was about it. If you'd tried to perform the twist in there you'd have fractured yourself in a dozen places without ever moving your feet from the centre of the floor.
-- Alistair MacLean, Ice Station Zebra.

Today I'm loving the smarts of Mr David B. Coe (davidbcoe), as he lets us in on a few secrets in the repertoire of the repeat-novelist.

Also loving Friday's Forgotten Books over at pattinase (now with lj feed: pattinase_rss).

This week, Alistair MacLean & Iain Banks -- both unexpected authorial entries. But it's all about the forgotten books, not the forgotten book-writers. Having just commenced MacLean's Ice Station Zebra two days back & instantly fallen back in love with his style, I'm now hanging to find a copy of HMS Ulysses, MacLean's first novel (circa 1955).