Are they any good? And how do they differ from the movie plots?

I've never read any but was showing my son all the Bond movies in order (we're on Thunderball) and just wondered if I should read one of the books sometime. I have read that a lot of Bond fans say the Timothy Dalton Bond is the closest to what the book version is. So are the books good and if I just read one, which one should I read?

I read From Russia With Love.
Very close to the movie, short and fun. Nothing too serious.

I have read all of the Ian Fleming ones. John Gardner wrote a series of them that were pretty good as well.
They do not go in the order in which the movies came out. There is a lot of difference between the movies and the books, with The Spy Who Loved Me being the biggest departure from what Fleming wrote.

I've read a few. They are fun easy reads.

I've read quite a few of them, and I've enjoyed all that I've read. Most of them are drastically different than the movies. Some of them it seems like the only things in common are the character names and title. Bond is more like the Daniel Craig Bond in Casino Royale. He's definitely nothing like Roger Moore's Bond.

I've read them all and enjoyed them. They are good summer books, pretty light reading. They are way different than the movies. More realistic, and more set in that time period (early 50's). Bond is no superhero and there aren't many gadgets. It's been a while since I read them, but I remember it seemed he usually needs some outside help or some deus ex machina to get out of a situation.

One thing I kind of enjoyed, but may irritate some, is that Fleming is obsessed with brand names (what kind of watch he's wearing, or what brand of whisky and cigarette does he prefer.) I think it adds to the period detail.

Read 'em all, including Gardner's. The movie plots all deviated from the books to some degree. The spectrum runs from "minor changes" to "we used the book title only". I would suggest reading the Fleming novels in order. Note that the movies were not always produced in the same order.

This is a decent article to use as a guide: https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2021/09/james-bond-books-best-order-ian-fleming

The Gardener books are what I grew up reading. Raymond Bensons run was good as well if you want a more Brosnan like Bond. Have not read any of the new stuff by Anthony Horowitz, but they're signed off on by the Fleming estate.

I just found this post, so sorry for the late reply. Last year Kindle had a sale on the original 14 Fleming novels; $1.00 per book. It was too good to pass up. I had only started to read Moonraker previously and had not finished it. As suggested, read them in order. I'm currently up to Goldfinger, as these are fillers in between other books. If you are a fan of James Bond, I do recommend reading them.

Oh wow what a deal! I'd have bought that! Thanks for the info!

I was able to get the first 4 books on kindle together for only $1.50 for all 4 together lol so I'll check them out.

Excellent work. I think you'll enjoy them.