Book a Week 2019 - BW2: Whodunit bookology - Hercule Poirot

[Robin M]

 Happy Sunday and welcome to week two in our 52 Books rambling roads reading adventure. Greetings to all our readers, welcome to all who are joining in for the first time,  and everyone following our progress. Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges, as well as the central spot to share links to your book reviews. 

Our Whodunit Bookology detective of the month is  Hercule Poirot, created by  Dame Agatha Christie. He was introduced to the world in 1920 in The Mysterious Affair at Styles. 

Poirot was an extraordinary-looking little man. He was hardly more than five feet four inches, but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military. The neatness of his attire was almost incredible, I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound. ~ Arthur Hastings, The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Poirot appears in 33 novels and numerous short stories spanning from 1920 through 1975 with his death in Curtain: Poirot's Last Case.   The Village of Ellezelles is officially registered as Poirot's place of birth on April 1, 1850. The famous detective was the only fictional character to have an obituary in the New York Times.   The detective traveled all over Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. The character appeared in many movie, television and play adaptations and has been portrayed onscreen by over 35 actors from David Suchet to Peter Ustinov to Kenneth Branagh.  

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited, to the suggestions below:  

•  ·       Read one book per letter in the character's first or last name.
• ·         Read one book per letter in the author's first or last name.
• ·         If you're feeling really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.
• ·         Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the character. 
• ·         Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.
• ·         Read a book with the first or last name of the character or author in the title
• ·         Read the first book in the series.

 

You may even want to consider comparing the books to the movies.  I'm looking forward to watching the most recent film adaptation with Kenneth Branagh.  Currently in my stacks are: Murder on the Orient Express, The Man in the Brown Suit, and Sparkling Cyanide. 

Have fun following in the footsteps of Hercule Poirot! 

What are you reading?

 Link to week one

[Robin M]

I'm currently reading Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore  with all the usual elements  - talking cats, libraries, protagonist on the road, and a strange mystery.   Instead of reading the newspaper at breakfast, I am currently sipping from Neil Gaiman's the view from the cheap seats and in the essay I read this morning, he talks about how Shadow's name came to be in America God's as well as the gender of books.  About 4 chapters in on the Benedict Option and finding it insightful and giving me much to think about.  

[Ali in OR]

My first book finished in 2019 was Susan Cooper's Silver on the Tree, which finished off her The Dark is Rising series for me. Enjoyed it. Not sure what's up next, but I'll try Smilla's Sense of Snow, a dusty I would like to read in a winter month. And I'll need something else for the treadmill because Smilla's font size is too small for that, so I'll probably get a couple books started and take several weeks to finish them. School starts up again tomorrow so I won't be keeping up with this thread during the week and I may not check in for awhile, especially if I don't get anything finished.

[Negin]

I finished Winter Solstice - 5 Stars - It’s been almost thirty years since I read anything by Rosamunde Pilcher. I remember reading most of her books during my early twenties and liking them at the time, most especially “The Shell Seekers”. I’d like to read them all again eventually, since I don’t remember them at all. 

This book was perfect for me and beautifully written. Yes, it was a bit predictable at times, but it was all part of the charm – a cozy Christmas read. The Scottish setting made me want to be there.

Although Rosamunde Pilcher has now retired, I almost wish that there was a sequel or an epilogue. I loved the characters that much. They seemed so real and ending the book felt like leaving old friends behind. 

Some of my favorite quotes:

“And the wicked thing is, that when we're really upset, we always take it out on the people who are closest and whom we love the most.”

“Life is so extraordinary. Wonderful surprises are just around the most unexpected corners.”

“The only way to make disasters bearable is to laugh about them.”

“Was she good at the piano?” 
“Not very.” 
“Was she good at lessons?” 
“Not very.” 
“What was she really good at?” 
“Living. That’s important, isn’t it?”

MY RATING SYSTEM
5 Stars
The book is fantastic. It’s not perfect, since no book is, but it’s definitely a favorite of mine. 
4 Stars
Really Good
3 Stars
Enjoyable 
2 Stars
Just Okay – nothing to write home about
1 Star
Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad. 

 

[Robin M]

On 1/1/2019 at 10:15 AM, Melissa M said:

Just showed hubby. He's doing cost analysis and measurements.  🙂😘  I need a dancing emoji.

 

[Negin]

Melissa M, again, thank you so much for sharing those photos of your gorgeous library. I can definitely dream! 

Kathy/Lady Florida, I was never a fan of the LIW books either. I didn't like them as a child and my dc didn't like them either. We loved the TV series however, and have seen most of them. I also loved Nellie Oleson's memoir that she wrote several years ago. I have heard that this book is often a bit difficult for those who are fans. Not sure when I'll get around to reading it. My reading list is so long. 

 

[Violet Crown]

Last week I read Phil Lawler's recent* book, The Smoke of Satan, which was I thought a good and accurate summary at the beginning of the minutiae of the current scandal from a conservative Catholic point of view. The rest of the book, though, in my opinion only serves to unintentionally underline the bankruptcy of conservative "John Paul II" Catholicism that the current papacy has made manifest. More thoughts on that in the Theologica Reads Club social group, if I may shill for it for a moment.

Also read, as a start on The Hollow Crown 10x10 category, King Edward the First by George Peele. This is a "retroform" -- a reconstructed play -- as the original version is lost, and Peele re-wrote it disastrously incorporating the ballad legend of Queen Elinor's unfaithfulness. Only this later version survives, and the editor of my edition removed the clumsily added material and rearranged a little for chronological consistency, but of course couldn't replace material that had been removed, making the play somewhat short with a hurried ending.

From Scene 1, the Queen Mother's speech:

Quote

 

Thus Europe rich and mighty in her kings,

Hath feared brave England dreadful in her kings:

And now to eternize Albion's Champions,

Equivalent with Trojans' ancient fame,

Comes lovely Edward from Jerusalem,

Veering before the wind, plowing the sea,

His stretched sails fill'd with the breath of men,

That through the world admires his manliness.

And Io at last, arrived in Dover road,

Longshanks your king, your glory and our son,

With troops of conquering Lords and warlike knights,

Like bloody crested Mars o'erlooks his host,

Higher then all his army by the head,

Marching along as bright as Phoebus' eyes,

And we his mother shall behold our son,

And England's Peers shall see their Sovereign.

 

Odd in so many ways when you're used to Shakespeare, but in a way familiar when you read other Elizabethan/Jacobean plays, Edward I features Welsh rebels who, defeated, go off to play Robin Hood in the Welsh greenwood. I mean literally, calling each other "Friar Tuck" and "Maid Marian" and such. Also, there are three characters named Elinor, which gets a little confusing.

Next up for this category: Marlowe's Edward II, followed by Bertolt Brecht's rewrite of Marlowe. But first, some Don't Mess With Texas cowboy reading, with Owen Wister's classic western The Virginian.

*ETA: My records indicate this is the second book I've read in the last five years that was written in the current century. Yay me!

Edited January 6, 2019 by Violet Crown

[Kareni]

Since my computer died in mid-December, I have a couple of week’s worth of reading to report:

Had I previously mentioned The Book Thief which I read for my book group? It was a very good read that generated much discussion.

Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews. Talk Sweetly to Me by Milan. Jingle Stars by Jenny Schwartz- ho hum. Another reread of Linesman by Dunstall. Two Ruined Christmas Eves by McHart – okay. Once Upon a Winter’s Eve by Dare. The non-fiction Picture This by Molly Bang. Christmas Visit by Marshall Thornton. Flame by Jo Goodman.

Summerfield’s Angel by Kim Fielding. Dangerous by Minerva Spencer. The Christmas Curse by Ruby Moone. The Other Miss Bridgerton by Quinn. Re-read Alliance by Dunstall.

Tried but did not finish – Stars Now Unclaimed. City of Broken Magic. Girl from Everywhere. Companion to Wolves. Mirror Empire.

Regards,

Kareni

[Mothersweets]

I didn't finish anything last week and can't seem to settle into anything at the moment. 

Robin, I loved the obit on Hercule Poirot. I think my overall favorite of an onscreen Poirot is David Suchet BUT I love ❤️ Peter Ustinov in Evil Under the Sun - he is just all kinds of fabulous in that one!

I read the LIW Prairie Fires book when it first came out  and I really liked it. I've been a fan of LIW for a long time and am totally ok with knowing what the real family went through, etc. 

Negin, I've never read a Rosamund Pilcher book before and it sounds like this is a good one. I put it on hold at my library!

[Alice]

I finished Lonesome Dove. It was not my cup of tea, although it’s not a bad book. Just so ultra masculine. It’s probably a fair depiction of the time and place but I really didn’t need to be immersed in that much violence for 850 pages. Almost everyone in my book group felt the same way, except for the 70+ year old woman who picked it. We decided it was partially generational, at least in that she had grown up watching cowboy shows on TV and the movies and just found that life fascinating. The rest of us weren’t entranced enough by the cowboys to want to put up with all the icky stuff. 

Not sure what is next for me. I’m reading the Iliad with my oldest for school and I need to read some other things with the kids. I have a big old stack beside my bed so trying to decide waht is next for my personal reading.

[Kareni]

A free kindle book that looks intriguing~

The Wolf And The Bear by Martyn J. Pass  

Regards,

Kareni

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KCTZKN6/ref=dbs_a_def_awm_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0

[KathyBC]

Whodunits featuring Poirot are my favourite Christie mysteries.

I *just* finished Winter Solstice, Negin! I had the same thoughts - predictable plot lines but oh such a great cozy winter read. Pilcher's ability to describe settings and create a mood is fabulous. I want to visit Creagan, Scotland now, too. I see one company offers a Winter Solstice tour, lol. And I was just thinking I would have loved an epilogue.

[KathyBC]

1 hour ago, Alice said:

I finished Lonesome Dove. It was not my cup of tea, although it’s not a bad book. Just so ultra masculine. It’s probably a fair depiction of the time and place but I really didn’t need to be immersed in that much violence for 850 pages. Almost everyone in my book group felt the same way, except for the 70+ year old woman who picked it. We decided it was partially generational, at least in that she had grown up watching cowboy shows on TV and the movies and just found that life fascinating. The rest of us weren’t entranced enough by the cowboys to want to put up with all the icky stuff. 

Not sure what is next for me. I’m reading the Iliad with my oldest for school and I need to read some other things with the kids. I have a big old stack beside my bed so trying to decide waht is next for my personal reading.

The Illiad should make a nice change from all the violence... 

[Lady Florida.]

Although I like Miss Marple, I love Poirot. The problem is that I've seen all of the series with David Suchet and much of the time I can't remember if I read the book or saw the episode. I have to actually start reading to figure out if I've read it or not (even though many of the episodes follow the books there are also changes). Thank goodness for the "Look Inside" or "Send a Sample" options on Amazon. It gives me a chance to figure out which ones I already read. I read a lot of them before I started using Goodreads so my GR list isn't helpful there.

Edited January 6, 2019 by Lady Florida.

[Lady Florida.]

Speaking of Agatha Christie, @aggieamy I've been meaning to ask you to repost your cutoff dates for her novels. I trust your judgement and don't want to be disappointed by reading some of the later not-very-good stories. I'll eventually read Curtain because I would like to know how it all ends for Poirot but I'm not so sure about any of the books leading up to that one (or the later books starring any of her other detectives).

[Alice]

1 hour ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Lonesome Dove was one of my favorite books, starting as a preppy teen girl, LOL. I read it until the covers fell off and I had to get a second copy. Lonesome Dove and GWTW were by far my two favorites into my 20’s. I haven’t read it since because I’m afraid to spoil it for myself like I did with GWTW in my 30’s.

That’s funny. In our discussion several people mentioned friends that they had who had read it as teenagers and loved it. Our theory was that people who read it as teens maybe saw it as more romantic and overlooked the more troubling parts. 

45 minutes ago, KathyBC said:

The Illiad should make a nice change from all the violence... 

Ha! 

[Critterfixer]

I finished the Vegetarian cookbook, and came up with some good options for my picky character! I followed up with reading a book on mushrooms that I picked for the outstanding watercolor paintings. I plan to show it to my art instructor this Thursday. The paintings were the best thing about it, though.

Continuing to read The Fire In Fiction this week, and starting Miserere and The Poetry Home Repair Manual. I'm also reading through Chapters 1-3 of my own novel, every draft that I have printed in preparation for adding to my first chapter some of the backstory and magic information that I took out, and now have to add back in! 

[mumto2]

Ahhhh, Agatha Christie, I am definitely a fan working my way through the perpetual challenge over on 52 books.  I have to admit in books Poirot is my least favorite of her detectives.  I like him fine when he is on the screen.  I have been listening to the Poirot's.  The Sittingford Mystery is my current Christie with none of her famous characters.  I can't remember whodidit  so am looking forward to the ending.

I am also reading A Different Kind of Evil by Andrew Wilson which is the second in a series which features Agath a Christie as a sleuth based on her life rather loosely.  The first in the series had me torn, I didn't like much about it but finished it(retelling of her famous missing 10 days) and decided to try one more.  So far I like this one but it's early.....

I am almost done with Agatha Raison and the Dead Ringer.  It's about Church Bell Ringer's  and as I have spent hours and hours in bell towers with my kids I have been reading with an extremely critical eye. 😀  It could happen but it is an incredibly best case situation for the tower back story.  Some of the things are improbable.......as in that tower must be huge for a small village.   This series does feel fresher these days.....I think it may be back to the series i loved years ago.  

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36766790-agatha-raisin-and-the-dead-ringer?from_search=true

My audiobook  is the second in a series by Matt Goldman.  I loved his first book (Gone to the Dust) and Broken Ice is enjoyable https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36692625-broken-ice but not as clever.  

[JennW in SoCal]

I've not settled back into a reading routine due to cleaning out and reorganizing drawers, closets and cabinets. What a daunting and exhausting task! It seemed the natural thing to do when putting away Christmas, but it is like the children's book When you Give a Moose a Muffin -- you start one thing and see something else that needs to be done first, then something else has to happen and another day has gone by. 

My reading is further unsettled as I'm ready to abandon my audiobook. Foundryside is a just o.k. steam punk-ish fantasy, not sure if it is meant to be YA but I'd call it a gritty YA. Anyway, I'm disappointed as I had been blown away by the author's previous work, specifically City of Stairs. This one seems rushed, there are far too many information dumps to explain the tech and the world, and the characters are standard YA trope characters. 

Lol -- I'm depressing myself with this post! I'm going dig through my stack of books and pull out a mystery to start tonight! 

[Mothersweets]

6 hours ago, Alice said:

I finished Lonesome Dove. It was not my cup of tea, although it’s not a bad book. Just so ultra masculine. It’s probably a fair depiction of the time and place but I really didn’t need to be immersed in that much violence for 850 pages. Almost everyone in my book group felt the same way, except for the 70+ year old woman who picked it. We decided it was partially generational, at least in that she had grown up watching cowboy shows on TV and the movies and just found that life fascinating. The rest of us weren’t entranced enough by the cowboys to want to put up with all the icky stuff. 

Not sure what is next for me. I’m reading the Iliad with my oldest for school and I need to read some other things with the kids. I have a big old stack beside my bed so trying to decide waht is next for my personal reading.

 I happened to catch the beginning episodes of the Lonesome Dove miniseries one day and thought it must be a great book so I didn't watch any more of it and borrowed the book from the library. I loved it - until about 3/4 of the way through when the author started killing everyone off!!😡 But as I was reading, I had Robert Duvall's voice as Augustus and it was so perfect!

[Junie]

Last week I was visiting family for the holidays and doing a lot of pre-reading for my kids.  Other than a textbook on the 1960s, I didn't really read anything more substantial than American Girl books.  😉 

I'm reading Wuthering Heights this week.  I didn't like it when I was in high school -- I much preferred her sister's Jane Eyre, which I still love -- but I decided to give WH another chance.

I'm only a few chapters in and I'm not having a lot of hope for it.

 

[Negin]

12 hours ago, Mothersweets said:

I read the LIW Prairie Fires book when it first came out  and I really liked it. I've been a fan of LIW for a long time and am totally ok with knowing what the real family went through, etc. 

Negin, I've never read a Rosamund Pilcher book before and it sounds like this is a good one. I put it on hold at my library!

I think that I'll be okay with what the LIW family went through also. Such is life and so many families go through things. 

"Winter Solstice" is lovely, but may be enjoyed more near Christmas time. I remember loving "The Shell Seekers". I remember enjoying most of her books - sweet, comforting, although predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless. 

10 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Lonesome Dove was one of my favorite books, starting as a preppy teen girl, LOL. I read it until the covers fell off and I had to get a second copy. Lonesome Dove and GWTW were by far my two favorites into my 20’s. I haven’t read it since because I’m afraid to spoil it for myself like I did with GWTW in my 30’s.

GWTW is probably among my all-time favorites. Few books can compare. I cannot wait to read "Lonesome Dove", hopefully soon. 

10 hours ago, KathyBC said:

I *just* finished Winter Solstice, Negin! I had the same thoughts - predictable plot lines but oh such a great cozy winter read. Pilcher's ability to describe settings and create a mood is fabulous. I want to visit Creagan, Scotland now, too. I see one company offers a Winter Solstice tour, lol. And I was just thinking I would have loved an epilogue.

Kathy, I saw that tour also! It sounds like a dream! 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Hello all~

I've been traveling and did not have access to internet service (the problems of visiting aging parents who refuse to connect). I made my 52 books on New Year's Eve. I was literally reading until right before midnight.

I read 31 print books and listened to 21 audiobooks. Most of the audiobooks were in Nov and Dec and used to try to catch up to get to 52. My goal this year is to only listen to 10 audiobooks and increase the number of print books.

I've already read one book - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - and have two audiobooks in progress. We listened to audiobooks while we drove on our mini vacation. The David Sedaris book (Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls) isn't as good as the previous DS book i read (Calypso). This one is more adulterated and crass. I was embarrassed to listen to it with my DD and DSIL; they didn't care for it either so turning it off was a unanimous decision. I don't know if I'll finish it or abandon it. I have an opportunity to see David in person this month and am unsure if I want to go. I was excited about the prospect after reading Calypso but not after listening to 50% of Diabetes. Although the current tour is for Calypso so it might be good.

 

[Kareni]

9 hours ago, Junie said:

 😉I'm reading Wuthering Heights this week. ...

I'm only a few chapters in and I'm not having a lot of hope for it.

I guess we'll call that Withering Hope.

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Well, drats. I wrote a post and it disappeared into the ether.

I just finished reading the graphic novel Luisa Now and Then by Carole Maurel and Mariko Tamaki. It was an intriguing read but the elder Luisa was not the most pleasant of characters.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_6?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=luisa+now+and+then&sprefix=Luisa+%2Cdigital-text%2C243&crid=2Z7R8CN5L2Q1L

 "At 32, Luisa encounters her 15-year-old self in this sensitive, bold story about self-acceptance and sexuality. Single, and having left behind her dream to become a renowned photographer, she is struggling to find out who she is and what she wants. In order to help and guide her younger self, she must finally face herself and her past. When Luisa finds herself attracted to a female neighbor, things become even more complicated... Insightful and funny, this is a feel-good coming-of-age story."

 **

I also read SK Dunstall's Confluence for the nth time. I enjoyed it yet again.

Regards,

Kareni

[Penguin]

21 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

*ETA: My records indicate this is the second book I've read in the last five years that was written in the current century. Yay me!

VC, you continue to inspire me. When I went through my 2018 stats, my only real disappointment in myself was the percentage of books that were from the current century (about 60%). Considering that I had that same thought at the end of 2017, I gave myself a talking-to, but not a stern one because this is all for my own enjoyment. Well, if you read my comments below about Latin, you can see that someday I hope to have an abundance of really, really old books to read!

@mumto2 I wanted to update you on my Latin class. I do hope I am not mis-remembering that you had asked me about the class back in early autumn. I love it! I'm not enamoured with the Cambridge books at all, but our instructor more than makes up for any deficits in the text. I signed up to take the Intro Level of the National Latin Exam in March. I am so so excited! My brain is like a sieve when it comes to mythology and history, so I am reading one of my son's books: The Original Dysfunctional Family for a mythology review. That title cracks me up.

---

I finished my first book for 2019: The Sound and The Fury. It was a reread, but my first rereading was probably 20 years ago. I'm putting this one into my top favorite books ever. Anyone want to recommend my next Faulkner to me? I know I have read two or three more at some point in my life, but I don't even remember for sure which ones I've read.

 

 

Edited January 7, 2019 by Penguin

[mumto2]

1 hour ago, Penguin said:

VC, you continue to inspire me. When I went through my 2018 stats, my only real disappointment in myself was the percentage of books that were from the current century (about 60%). Considering that I had that same thought at the end of 2017, I gave myself a talking-to, but not a stern one because this is all for my own enjoyment. Well, if you read my comments below about Latin, you can see that someday I hope to have an abundance of really, really old books to read!

@mumto2 I wanted to update you on my Latin class. I do hope I am not mis-remembering that you had asked me about the class back in early autumn. I love it! I'm not enamoured with the Cambridge books at all, but our instructor more than makes up for any deficits in the text. I signed up to take the Intro Level of the National Latin Exam in March. I am so so excited! My brain is like a sieve when it comes to mythology and history, so I am reading one of my son's books: The Original Dysfunctional Family for a mythology review. That title cracks me up.

---

I finished my first book for 2019: The Sound and The Fury. It was a reread, but my first rereading was probably 20 years ago. I'm putting this one into my top favorite books ever. Anyone want to recommend my next Faulkner to me? I know I have read two or three more at some point in my life, but I don't even remember for sure which ones I've read.

 

 

I was definitely me!  Glad you are enjoying it.  We actually have a good friend who teaches Latin and Greek at a private boys school and to my knowledge has never looked at the teacher’s guide for Cambridge.  Although he teaches from the Cambridge texts with good results.  He advised me not to bother to spend the money on the teacher’s guide, just use the online portions for answers if I needed which he believed to be very good.....he hadn’t looked at it but knew his students did.  Wheelocks is much better and the old editions are cheap.   I used to love mythology but not sure how much I would remember for a test.

i finished my Christie this morning. The Sittingford Mystery was clever overall.....The Who was in my sight I just couldn’t remember the How!  Not a bad reread but not a favorite.

[Violet Crown]

3 hours ago, Penguin said:

I finished my first book for 2019: The Sound and The Fury. It was a reread, but my first rereading was probably 20 years ago. I'm putting this one into my top favorite books ever. Anyone want to recommend my next Faulkner to me? I know I have read two or three more at some point in my life, but I don't even remember for sure which ones I've read.

Absalom, Absalom.

Latin is one of my 2019 resolutions, too! Though I'm not brave enough to sign up for the NLE.

Edited January 7, 2019 by Violet Crown

[LaughingCat]

Finished Lies Sleeping by Aaronovitch

I have mixed feelings on this one.  On the one hand, most of his books are not my normal rereads, (where the book calls to me), and yet this book has some moments that put it clearly in the 'I think this book will call to me someday in the future' category.  OTOH, the end... well, somehow it was just not very satisfactory - I will have to see if it grows on me or not.

[Robin M]

Good evening. A few finds during my internet wanderings:

Get Literary's 14 of my Favorite First Lines

Killer Books January Releases

Buzzfeed's 66 Books Coming in 2019 You'll Want to Keep on your Radar.

Tor's Classic SF Works Set on Thrilling Space Habitats.  Makes me want to pull out all my old sci fi books.

For our writers -   Freed from Copyright, Classic Works Your Free to Adapt

On the Kill Zone, a discussion about publishing houses new morality clause.  

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I began my sip read this morning, Charles Dickens His Tragedy and Triumph by Edgar Johnson. I hope I can keep to my reading plan.

I'm also beginning The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. This will be the first of Ms. Pilcher's books I have read and am so pleased that others are posting positive reviews of her work.

I also have Mindset that I ordered from the public library. It arrived yesterday and I have two weeks before it needs to be returned to interlibrary loan so I have a lot of reading to do this next two weeks.

[mom22es]

Yay -  for Hercule Poirot!  He's one of my favorite detectives and certainly my favorite Christie sleuth.  I started reading his mysteries in order just a month ago.  So, I guess it is fitting that my first completed read of the year is Poirot's Early Cases.  Now I'm on to The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

I'm still reading Dreher's How Dante Can Save Your Life and really enjoying it.  I've started a bit of the Inferno to go along with the Dreher.  I'm reading Anthony Esolen's translation this time which I am enjoying far better than Robert Pinsky's translation.

I need to catch up with the Benedict Option also by Dreher and I'm plodding along slowly with Secondhand Time.  My reading has taken off pretty slowly this year, but hopefully now that the holiday crazy is over and the Christmas Tree is put away I can get more reading time in.

[Violet Crown]

15 hours ago, Robin M said:

On the Kill Zone, a discussion about publishing houses new morality clause.  

Interesting read. It makes me want to do a little mental inventory of who would be gone from the shelves if publishers enforced a post-mortem publishing ban for private immoral behavior. Without googling ... Chaucer, Ezra Pound, Céline, Milton, Némirovsky, Wm. S. Burroughs.... Could O. Henry be published after his embezzlement conviction? Should Edmund Spenser's treatment of his hapless Irish Catholic tenants get him kicked out of the canon? The book of poems I'm currently reading is dedicated to Ezra Pound. Should that get that editor blackballed?

Edited January 8, 2019 by Violet Crown

[aggieamy]

On 1/6/2019 at 12:49 PM, Robin M said:

 

You may even want to consider comparing the books to the movies.  I'm looking forward to watching the most recent film adaptation with Kenneth Branagh.  Currently in my stacks are: Murder on the Orient Express, The Man in the Brown Suit, and Sparkling Cyanide. 

 

I just had a friend send me a link to this:

The clothing/scenery looks awesome but David Suchet has ruined anyone else for me for Poirot. Is anyone going to watch it? 

On 1/6/2019 at 1:58 PM, Violet Crown said:

*ETA: My records indicate this is the second book I've read in the last five years that was written in the current century. Yay me!

Wow. Look at you go! LOL.

On 1/6/2019 at 2:56 PM, Mothersweets said:

I didn't finish anything last week and can't seem to settle into anything at the moment. 

Robin, I loved the obit on Hercule Poirot. I think my overall favorite of an onscreen Poirot is David Suchet BUT I love ❤️ Peter Ustinov in Evil Under the Sun - he is just all kinds of fabulous in that one!

I read the LIW Prairie Fires book when it first came out  and I really liked it. I've been a fan of LIW for a long time and am totally ok with knowing what the real family went through, etc. 

Negin, I've never read a Rosamund Pilcher book before and it sounds like this is a good one. I put it on hold at my library!

Interesting. Evil Under the Sun is one of my favorite AC books. It's the first one I thought of listening to when I saw Robin's challenge. It looks like he's also in Death on the Nile ... another of my favorite AC books. I think I'll have to force my family to enjoy a movie night with me. 

On 1/6/2019 at 5:56 PM, Lady Florida. said:

Speaking of Agatha Christie, @aggieamy I've been meaning to ask you to repost your cutoff dates for her novels. I trust your judgement and don't want to be disappointed by reading some of the later not-very-good stories. I'll eventually read Curtain because I would like to know how it all ends for Poirot but I'm not so sure about any of the books leading up to that one (or the later books starring any of her other detectives).

I try not to do anything after 1952 but sometimes I'll go as late as 1955. Every time I break my personal rule I regret it. 

"You darn hippies with your long hair. Good help is so hard to find." *Insert bizarre unbelievable twist here* "And the murderer is ... someone random!"

🤔

1 hour ago, Violet Crown said:

Interesting read. It makes me want to do a little mental inventory of who would be gone from the shelves if publishers enforced a post-mortem publishing ban for private immoral behavior. Without googling ... Chaucer, Ezra Pound, Céline, Milton, Némirovsky, Wm. S. Burroughs.... Could O. Henry be published after his embezzlement conviction? Should Edmund Spenser's treatment of his hapless Irish Catholic tenants get him kicked out of the canon? The book of poems I'm currently reading is dedicated to Ezra Pound. Should that get that editor blackballed?

I want to be the type of person that can enjoy art independently from it's creator but I can't. It's real problem with watching movies because once I know that so-and-so did whatever-horrible-thing then I can't sit back and lose myself in the story. Basically these days I can only watch Tom Hanks movies. 

To some degree I can look past the racist and sexist behavior of some authors and in some books if (1) it was standard for the era and (2) if it isn't completely hateful. For instance I can ignore some sexism in a book from the 1930's but misogyny I can't. Now an author publishing a book these days that has outed themselves as a racist by their own behavior on twitter? I would deliberately avoid their books.  

[aggieamy]

Note to new friends joining us on BaW this year.

I saw a discussion the week before on people worried what happens if you don't actually read 52 books year. I believe you have been misinformed. Will you be kicked out? No. This is a welcoming place for everyone. *hugs*

We will TP your house if you don't read 52 books. 

Robin rents a big van and we meet up (it's a bit of a drive for @loesje22000 and @tuesdayschild) and pack snacks. Listen to a few audiobooks and drive around and TP the houses of members who don't meet their goals. It's great fun. 

Last year I didn't meet my goals so I'm expecting the van to show up any minute. *puts the kettle on*

(Wow. I sure hope this comes across as a joke otherwise I will be kicked out of the group.)

Edited January 8, 2019 by aggieamy

[aggieamy]

So far this year I've finished books!

A Mary Balogh novel that was okay. Only a Promise. It's a marriage of convenience story which I like because then if the story gets racy it won't offend my puritan sensibilities because they're already married. It was good but not amazing. 

If anyone has any marriage of convenience stories they love please give me some recommendations. It's one of my favorite tropes. 

Update: The Art of time in Fiction. Thanks Robin! (This is embarrassing but @Robin Mrecommended a slim writing book about time in novels and I read it and really enjoyed it. Then I returned it to the library without putting it down in Goodreads. I can't remember what it was called. It had a blue cover! Anyway ... that was a good book. *so embarrassed*)

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami. I read this for my book club. It's kind of a romance between a 70 year old man and a 30 year old woman who used to be his student. Super interesting premise but it was all tell and no show. That fell flat for me but it won a ton of awards so I wonder if it was a translation issue or if I'm just not culturally sophisticated enough to appreciate it. 

Vittoria Cottage by DE Stevenson. @mumto2 and @Mothersweets gave this such a glowing recommendation that I don't know that I can do any better. Gentle. Lovely. I listened to the audiobook and I think it added even more charm to an already sweet story. 

The Benevent Treasure by Patricia Wentworth. These are books that I can only rank as recommended or not recommended. This falls in the former category. Good mystery. Likable characters. Moves fast and there's a cool twist. @tuesdayschild - I think this is one you liked also if I remember correctly!

 

Edited January 8, 2019 by aggieamy

[Ravin]

My overall reading goals are to take in a mix of fiction and nonfiction, spiritually enriching, informative, and fun selections; to keep up with the Druid book discussion/study group I'm in, to put eyes on words not related directly to work more often than last year, and to read books that I bought ages ago and still haven't read.

My currently reading list:

The Stand (unabridged) by Stephen King (on audiobook; it's over 48 hours long, so this will definitely take me more than a week, as I listen to audiobooks on my commute and when driving for work, about 6-10 hours a week). Update: I'm now on Chapter 45, 35 hours, 34 minutes to go to finish it!

The Táin translated by Ciaran Carson (have to read this one on paper, it's not available on audiobook, more's the pity since I'd like to hear the Irish names and such pronounced correctly!) Update: I've read the introduction/foreward etc. and the first chapter.

Odin: Ecstasy, Runes & Norse Magic by Diana L. Paxson (this is one of those "bought ages ago and still haven't read" books)

My going-to-read list:

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (third book in the Broken Earth series, currently on hold from the library, the first 2 of which I listened to on audiobook last year). I'm now second in line in the library hold list.

Books I've read for the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge this year:

The Sky-Blue Wolves by S. M. Stirling Just finished it! I was a bit disappointed...like the one before it, it felt rushed, like Stirling is getting bored and was only finishing what he started because of his contract or something.

My 10x10 challenge categories:

1. humor

2. science (nonfiction)

3. fantasy & science fiction by new-to-me authors

4. LGBT

5. classic fiction

6. folklore

7. religion (nonfiction)

8. law (nonfiction)

9. modern fiction in translation (i.e., originally published in a language other than English)

10. books by women of color 

The books must of course all be separate selections, though they may fit into more than one category, they cannot be used for more than one, so that I read 10 books for it.

•  

[aggieamy]

@Lady Florida. - Did I miss your update on the Flowers of the Killer Moon book? Or am I completely confused and thinking of someone else?

[Robin M]

On my way! 

[aggieamy]

2 minutes ago, Ravin said:

 

My currently reading list:

The Stand (unabridged) by Stephen King (on audiobook; it's over 48 hours long, so this will definitely take me more than a week, as I listen to audiobooks on my commute and when driving for work, about 6-10 hours a week). Update: I'm now on Chapter 45, 35 hours, 34 minutes to go to finish it!

 

•  

Are you listening to it on audible? You can adjust the speed on there and usually 1.25 speed is not noticeable. That would knock about eight hours off it. 

[Robin M]

6 minutes ago, aggieamy said:

This is embarrassing but @Robin Mrecommended a slim writing book about time in novels and I read it and really enjoyed it. Then I returned it to the library without putting it down in Goodreads. I can't remember what it was called. It had a blue cover! Anyway ... that was a good book. *so embarrassed*

Perhaps this one.  😘

[aggieamy]

1 minute ago, Robin M said:

On my way! 

 

I love it. I'll be ready. I've got my John Denver CD and a Poirot audiobook for us to listen to!

[Ravin]

4 minutes ago, aggieamy said:

Are you listening to it on audible? You can adjust the speed on there and usually 1.25 speed is not noticeable. That would knock about eight hours off it. 

Yes, but I don't like to for fiction. I sometimes do that for nonfiction.

[marbel]

I finished my first book of the year, almost in time to make it in the first week! I was doing a mix of audio and kindle reading, and finished the last bit in the car on the way home from work last night/this morning, about 1:30am.  So when I visited Goodreads to log it, I was a book behind in my reading challenge, but all is well now.  :-)

 A Crack in the Edge of the World by Simon Winchester. About the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, mostly, but with lots of geology and visits to South Carolina, Missouri, Alaska... oddly enough, I didn't find the bits about the earthquake itself all that interesting. Maybe because I grew up in that area and while it was fun to read about places I'd been and can remember (we left the Bay Area in 1998), maybe it all all too familiar. But overall a fun and interesting book. 

I am making progress on The Benedict Option and added a daily read:  Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings. So far I am keeping up the daily readings, but, well, easy to do at the beginning of the year!

Still looking for some fiction but I'll figure it out soon.

 

 

[SKL]

Howdy.  I got off to a decent start this year while on vacation.  I finished The Kite Runner.  It was different from what I expected.  It is my 2nd book by that author.  To be honest, both books have left me disappointed at the end.  Oh well.

(Meanwhile one of my kids read about 20 books ... the other zero ....)

Not sure what is next.  While cleaning up a water drip under my sink last month, I uncovered a Condoleezza Rice book that I don't think I ever finished.  Maybe I will go back to that for now.

 

[hjffkj]

I'm working on my second book of the year, Great Expectations.  I imagine it will take me two weeks to read so I'd like to find a good easy non-fiction book to read along side of it.  Any suggestions?

[Liz CA]

I quickly jotted down the last Poirot book which I have, amazingly enough, never read since I finished volume after volume of Agatha Christie - both Poirot and Miss Marple since I have been a teen.

Fiction:

Currently I am still stuck in Coulter's books. I read the first one in late December and I am now on my third book by Coulter "Hemlock Bay." It will get predictable - I can tell since I read two others but I am still onboard with it. I will take a break though as soon as the last Poirot book becomes available on my Overdrive account.

Non-Fiction:

"The Benedict Option" by Dreher (there is a "Theologica Reads" group here that discusses this one as well)

"Lost at Sea" by Patrick Dillon. The incredible account of two crabbing boats from Anacortes WA and their story and the kind of policy / safety regulation changes that resulted in part due to incidents like these.

I am also dabbling in "Out on the Blue" edited by Leyland Fields but since I own this book, I can take my time. Every chapter is written by a different author so I am not losing cohesion if I stop for a few days.

Edited January 8, 2019 by Liz CA

[Robin M]

I finished Kafka on the Shore and now I have a book hangover.  My brain is full.  It's one for the reread shelf a few more years down the line. Maybe I'll understand more then. Or like now, it will  leave me with different questions and ideas to ponder. His stories always seem unfinished as if there's more to the story or leaves you wanting more.  I liked all the characters, except Johnnie Walker. I missing the symbolism or the metaphor on that one. Very gross part of the story. 

While dipping or sipping on Gaiman's View From the Cheap Seats and reading his essay from his 2012 Zena Sutherland Lecture on What the (very bad swearword) is a children's book anyway?  and where's the dividing line between kids books and adult books, he said something profound (as always) which equally applies to adults as well.  

"What makes a book an adult book is, sometimes, that it depicts a world that's only comprehensible if you are an adult yourself. Often the adult book is not for you, not yet, or will only for you when you're ready.  But sometimes you will read it anyway, and you will take from it whatever you can.  Then, perhaps, you will come back to it when you're older, and you will find the book has changed because you have changed as well, and the book is wiser, or more foolish, because you are wiser or more foolish than you were as a child."     

Which is quite interesting because its true. I'll read a story and have an epiphany and if I don't underline it or write it down, I won't ever find it again, because it will strike me differently the next time. You take away what you need at that moment and then the moment is gone because you've already changed.  

[Robin M]

@aggieamy  Although I love John Malkovich, I'm not getting a very good Poirot vibe from him and based on the trailer, I don't have plans to watch it.  Just totally ruins the image I have of the detective.   I think your girls however, will love Kenneth Branagh in Murder on the Orient Express. I saw it on a plane last year, which watching on a tiny little screen really didn't do it justice. Despite that, Branagh is wonderful and look forward to watching it in the next few days.  Since James has tortured me with Alien one and two, as well as Terminator one and two, it's only fair I torture him with Hercule Poirot. 😋

 

[Robin M]

3 hours ago, hjffkj said:

I'm working on my second book of the year, Great Expectations.  I imagine it will take me two weeks to read so I'd like to find a good easy non-fiction book to read along side of it.  Any suggestions?

What are you in the mood for?  Comedy - Try A.J.Jacobs. Travel book - Bill Bryson.  Memoir about great books - Tolstoy and the Purple Chair.