I like myself some reading projects, and with the Little Black Classics finished, and the Little Mint Classics waiting for next year, I felt I was up for another regular reading project. It was at that time that I got an invitation to the Agatha Christie Centenary Celebration over on GoodReads. It is hosted by Christine (many thanks), but many old friends from BL as well as new friends have already joined – myself included. The goal is to read all full length novels by Agatha Christie in publication order, starting in October with The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which was first published in October 1920. It is also the first Poirot book and – I am afraid to confess – my very first Agatha Christie novel!
So why do I want to commit to a 5.5 year project when I haven’t read any of the Agatha Christie books yet?
For me, the answer is clearly that I have seen so many people have so much fun reading Christie together, that I really wanted to join in. When BL was still a thing, I used to come across a lot of these posts and not being able to join in on that particular conversation was something I always thought was a shame. So her books were put on my list, but I needed a little extra push to get started. So, when I got the invitation to the group I thought – This is exactly what I need! I already scored some Kindle books for the first couple of books. And it is only one book a month, so I should be able to keep up with the discussion.
I did read some short Miss Marple stories, but I think it was a rather bad translation at the time, and short stories usually don’t work quite as well for me as full length novels. I also saw the recent Murder on the Orient Express movie, and was able to guess the solution based on the movie, so I hope I will be able to solve some of the other murders as well.
It will only start in October but I decided to put this post up a little early, in case anyone else would like to join. There is already some group reads of Christie’s short stories, but I really want to start with the longer works first. I have seen some people on WordPress posting recently about Christie’s books so I think there might be people interested in this.
In October we will start by reading the 1920 novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles (it will also count for me towards the genre – mystery square of the Halloween bingo) :
Synopsis:
Who poisoned the wealthy Emily Inglethorp and how did the murderer penetrate and escape from her locked bedroom? Suspects abound in the quaint village of Styles St. Mary—from the heiress’s fawning new husband to her two stepsons, her volatile housekeeper, and a pretty nurse who works in a hospital dispensary.
With impeccable timing, and making his unforgettable debut, the brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is on the case.
Reading schedule for the rest of 2020:
October: 1920 The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Poirot #1)
November: 1922 The Secret Adversary (Tommy and Tuppence #1)
December: 1923 Murder on the Links (Poirot #2)
Have you read Agatha Christie? Which one is your favorite? – Please let me know in the comments!
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