"I read an article that men don't read novels anymore."
"An article?"
"Yeah, some chick bitching to GQ about her boyfriend reading Kim Stanley Robinson, Ursula K LeGuin, and history about CIA death squads instead of novels."
"Your girlfriend?"
"Naw. But that guy has about the same taste in books as I do."
"Weird"
"Yeah, weird."
"So this Leonard?"
"Well, I figured why not read some contemporary literary fiction, but if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it like a man. You know, terse stories about down-and-out lawmen, criminals, decent folks in a wicked world, or maybe not so decent folks in world with no illusions. Classic America."
"What did you think?"
"It's pretty good! Real snap-crack in the dialog, just like that "Guide to Dialogue" book a while back was talking about."
"Hough"
"Yeah, Hough. Anyways, these are some great stories. Definitely a little front loaded, “When the Women Come Out to Dance”, “Hanging Out at the Buena Vista”, and "Sparks" are all incredible. Apparently the other stories link into the novels, but I haven't read them. But hell, those three are worth the price of admission, and the rest are solid tales. Maybe I should read more novels."
"You think Leonard was who that chick was talking about."
"You think I give a fuck?"