Second Quarter Faves | Top Picks at the HALFWAY POINT!

How is it possible that we are already HALFWAY through our 2016 Agatha Christie adventure!? We have been having such a blast not only reading so much Queen of Crime, but also connecting with other Agatha Christie fans here on the blog and on social media - it's made this year twice as fun! We wanted to take a minute to go through and pick our top three favorite reads (for each of us) since our "first quarter faves" post. EMILY'S TOP THREE FAVES...

Everybody In: The Regatta Mystery | 1939

Image from here "I wonder if you'll ever commit a crime, Poirot?" said Stillingfleet. "I bet you could get away with it all right. As a matter of fact, it would be too easy for you -- I mean the thing would be off as definitely too unsporting."  "That," said Poirot, "is a typically English idea." -The Dream, p. 161 The Sum of It This set of short stories contains tales featuring three of Agatha's best known detectives: Poirot, Parker...

A Series of Unfortunate Events: Taken at the Flood | 1948

(image from here) "The unexpected has happened, eh?" "On the contrary," Poirot corrected him. "It is the expected that has happened — which in itself is sufficiently remarkable." -Taken at the Flood, p. 170 The Sum of It: This week's first read, Taken at the Flood (also called There is a Tide) begins with Hercule Poirot spending an air raid in The Coronation Club listening to a story. A Major Porter, described as the club bore, is droning...

When You Want to Learn More About Agatha: Supplemental Read Recommendations!

(image from here) "If she [Agatha Christie] is read by miners, shop assistants, and old age pensioners, equally she is read…by academics, politicians, scientists and artists. They would feel ashamed to sit on a train reading a Tarzan book; they would hide a James Bond inside a copy of the Guardian; but they wouldn't think twice about opening up a Christie." -A Talent to Deceive, p. 4 Happy Thursday, dear readers! One of our readers, NYC...

Stranded and Afraid: And Then There Were None | 1939

(image from here) "But what you don't seem to realize is that [no spoilers!] is mad! And a madman has all the advantages on his side. He's twice as cunning as any one sane can be."  And Then There Were None, p. 213 The Sum of It: We were so happy to see so many of our Instagram friends are huge fans of our latest read, And Then There Were None. Our summary this week will be fairly brief, because, to be quite honest, you really have to...

I Saw Three Sons Come Sailing In: Hercule Poirot's Christmas | 1938

(image from here) "Mon cher, everyone lies — in parts like the egg of the English curate. It is profitable to separate the harmless lies from the vital ones." -Hercule Poirot, Hercule Poirot's Christmas, p. 89 The Sum of It: This week we read, quite out of season, Hercule Poirot's Christmas. Though most of the story takes place on the usually-merry Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day, this story focuses on the all-but-happy Lee Family...

Bonus Read: Christopher Bollen's Orient | 2015

(Grab a copy of Orient at your local bookstore, or Amazon!) "What else can I tell you that you won't believe? That I saw the killer's face the night I left? I did. I held a flare into the darkness and saw a face so familiar that anyone might pass it on the sidewalk and not blink an eye. They might even say hello." -Orient, p. 6 Clearly we are in the zone this year, reading a book a week in order to meet the goals of our project. Being bookish,...

Poirot's Three Hour Tour: Death on the Nile | 1937

(image from here) "Do not open your heart to evil." Her lips fell apart; a look of bewilderment came into her eyes. Poirot went on gravely: "Because — if you do — evil will come…Yes, very surely evil will come…It will enter in and make its home within you, and after a little while it will no longer be possible to drive it out." [#thenightisdarkandfullofterrors] -Death on the Nile, p. 64 The Sum of It: Papa Poirot is on vacay again, this...

#YOAreadalong Discussion 3: And Then There Were None

(image from agathachristie.com) Hello everyone! We are hard at work finishing this week's read Death on the Nile (spoiler alert: IT'S A GOOD ONE), but wanted to let everyone know that we will be reading Dame Agatha's supreme classic, And Then There Were None in just a few short weeks and would like to invite one and all to read along with us! To that end, we've gone ahead and put some thought into discussion ideas for the upcoming #YOAreadalong. Per...