Okay. I admit it. I have never actually read any of Ian Fleming’s Bond books. Don’t get me wrong – I love the movies (even the bad ones), but somehow I’ve just never gotten around to picking up any of the novels on which they’re based. For the hundredth anniversary of Fleming’s birth, however, Penguin has reissued all of the original titles in a handsome retro-redesigned hardcover set (see one image right). Penguin’s blog has all the images and the story behind their creation. Makes me want to read (or at least collect) them all.

Of course, would be much cooler to “assiduously match Bond car for car, road for road, meal for meal, drink for drink, hotel for hotel.”. The UK Guardian’s Jon Ronson tried to do just that:

“For copyright reasons,” she says, “it’s essential you make it clear you’re following in the footsteps of James Bond and you aren’t actually James Bond.”

There’s a silence. “OK… I’ll make that clear.”