For Your Eyes Only, by Ian Fleming

This is a collection of five short stories featuring Bond, from which I can deduce that upcoming entries in the film series will be titled "Risico" and "The Hildebrand Rarity", since the other three titles have already been used. Combine a superspy, a small matter to be disposed of, and a hot girl (either as an associate, femme fatale, or victim), and you've got the Bond formula. But Fleming still manages to pack a fair amount of verve and interesting psychological introspection into his Bond. "Quantum of Solace" is perhaps the most unusual story, in that it is basically a proper English club story, with Bond as the listener.