My Favorite Things: Books!

I love books. What I also love is having time to read them. I refuse to buy any sort of technological, tablet nonsense because they don't look as good on a bookshelf and no one has figured out how to make them smell like ink and paper, combined. Now I love trees and I understand that its better in that aspect...but COME ON. Books are magnificent. 


I really enjoy reading classic literature (Gone with the Wind, Pride and Prejudice, The Awakening...). I sometimes find good travel/adventure books (A Walk in the Woods and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, mainly) but what I must admit I enjoy the most are good, old fashion mystery novels. More specifically: Agatha Christie. 

I briefly mentioned in my first blog, Let Me Reintroduce Myself, that I grew up watching T.V. shows with my Gam. I can remember bits and pieces of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" on BBC. As an adult I am a bit obsessed. Perhaps because of the time period they were written in, definitely because they are mysteries and most importantly, because of my love for a certain Belgian detective. 


Dame Agatha Christie has many different detectives with their own sets of books and/or short stories. Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are her most famous. I'll tell you now that I do not read all of her books. I have no doubt that the ones I don't read are brilliant, I am just loyal to her little foreign sleuth, Hercule Poirot (Her-kyulle Pwa-row) and his perfectly trimmed moustache.  I even named my handsome gray tabby cat, Captain Arthur Hastings, who is, to Monsieur Poirot, what Dr. Watson is to Sherlock Holmes. The original T.V. show frequently featured his sidekick, as well as his secretary, Miss Lemon and Inspector James Japp of Scotland Yard (even though they were not actually in each story, they were written in and extremely well received by viewers). This is a picture of the wonderful foursome. I keep it as my wallpaper on my laptop. Oh so incredibly nerdy.

Inspector James Japp, Monsieur Hercule Poirot, Captain Arthur Hasting, and Miss Felicity Lemon

I have lovingly watched every episode of Poirot and I eagerly wait for the last 5 books to be made into movies. After watching them all (over and over) I started buying the books. The first one I purchased was Murder on the Orient Express. I read it in 10 minutes. Okay, okay, I exaggerated, but I'm not far off. For me it's been fun comparing the movies to the books. 


All of her stories are so clever; so smart. The wonderful thing about her books are how easy they are to read. It's also fun trying to figure out whodunit. 

I just finished her Poirot Mystery "Five Little Pigs". It's about a girl that seeks out Poirot in hopes that he can look into a case that is 16 years old. Her father was poisoned and her mother was found guilty of committing the crime and hanged. So the story is set in flashbacks and Poirot must conclude whether she truly was guilty or innocent. I watched the movie 3 times before reading the book and most of it is exactly the same. I definitely recommend this book AND movie. It is, undoubtedly, one of her saddest stories and that sadness is terrifically transferred to the screen. This is one I was able to watch on YouTube. (Most Poirot episodes are hard to find on YouTube because of copyright issues and so the titles have been cleverly altered just a bit.)


Agatha Christie is brilliant and her books are a joy to read. So, get a move on! Rush to your nearest bookstore or open up a new tab and start buying! Some other favourites of mine include:
Halloween Party
After the Funeral
Death on the Nile




C.