BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE FEBRUARY - CHRISTIE & DALRYMPLE

DAME AGATHA CHRISTIE

WILLIAM DALRYMPLE

CHRISTIE BOOKS

DALRYMPLE BOOKS

What I will read:

This month I turn away from literary fiction and present

CRIME a la Agatha Christie; the bestselling author of all time apparently and, whether it is Poirot or Marple or any of her other creations she paints a smile on the face of murder.

TRAVEL & HISTORY with William Dalrymple who is presently the hottest (in terms of reviews) in that particular cross over genre.

I am reading Murder on the Orient Express for Ms. Christie, but haven't made up my mind on Dalrymple yet but am edging towards Return of a King.

I am currently reading City of Djinns, which is very good so far. I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie and have read a lot of her books - Hercule Poirot is my favorite, so I'll probably pick one starring him.

I'll go for an Agatha, but I'm not sure which one yet. I need to see which ones I haven't revisited lately.

I have Crooked House up next in my Reading of Christie's works in order. I'll pick up a library copy of Return of a King tomorrow.

I grew up on Ms. Christies' books and have probably read most of them at least once. I will see what is on the shelf that doesn't look too well thumbed.

Picked up White Mughals and The A. B. C. Murders from the library today on my way home from work.

I will be reading White Mughals I think, as it's been sitting on the shelf for ever.

I'll be reading Agatha Christie's Crooked House and Dalrymple's The Age of Kali.

I'll be skipping Christie as I've read so many of them in the past and trying Dalrymple for the first time. I have his From the Holy Mountain: A Journey In The Shadow of Byzantium lined up for later in the month.

I may give The Secret Adversary a re-read and will be reading From the Holy Mountain.

I plan to re-read a Dame Agatha this month. Haven't picked which one yet.

Lord Edgeware Dies is up next in Poirot for me. Don't own any Dalrymple yet, so will be sticking with Agatha for now.

I'm not overly fond of short stories but the only Christie ROOT I have is Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories so I will have a look at that.

If I finish my planned February reads I'll slip in Christie's Evil Under the Sun. It will take another 1/2 inch off my selected reads for 2016 and it'll be nice to be a part of Paul's challenge.

I've finished my BAC for Agatha Christie. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was an immense pleasure to read!

Finished The A. B. C. Murders and have ordered Christie"s next book from the library.

I finished my Poirot-/Miss Marple-/ T&T-free Christie book Crooked House. Not my favorite, but a surprise twist I hadn't seen coming at all. I guess I already read all the really really good ones.

I have a lovely Folio Society collection of Miss Marple short stories, so I will be reading a few of those this month, I hope.

I'll be reading The Moving Finger by Dame Agatha, which our daughter loaned me.

I have seen so many movie adaptations of Christie's stories I have decided to read one I haven't 'seen' already: The Sittaford Mystery. Looks like a goodie!

>24 lkernagh: I just read that one last night, under the American title of Murder at Hazelmoor. It was my first Christie and I have to say I wasn't exactly blown away: I thought she had too many characters running around and that the solution to the mystery was kind of dull. I'll give a few more of Christie's books a try, but I don't think I'll become a devoted fan if this is what her books are generally like.

>24 lkernagh: I read Sittaford last year and liked it a lot. It was nice to read something of hers not tied into a series. Hope you enjoy it!

I just finished And Then There Were None

I picked up From the Holy Mountain: A Journey In The Shadow of Byzantium a few days ago and am completely enchanted with William Dalrymple's writing. I do believe he could get me to read up on just about any topic with his gift for blending historical facts and contemporary journalism with a particular brand of dark humour. Wonderful!

Will definitely read something by Dame Christie. Have quite a few options to go with, but perhaps will give Poirot Investigates a listen since I'm rereading the Poirot's in publishing order. Might also fit in The Secret Adversary, which would be my first Tommy & Tuppence book.

>28 Smiler69: That's on my list for this month, too. So glad to hear that you enjoyed it!

Started Christie's Cards on the Table the other day. I've never heard of this one before. It seems to involve Bridge and there are Bridge score cards at the front of the book that seem to have something to do with the murder that has just occurred. I know absolutely zip - zero - about Bridge. Hope this will not lead to complete and utter confusion....

I just finished William Dalrymple's excellent City of Djinns. Part travel book, part history of Delhi, and part oral history of Partition, it's engaging reading--and it doubled for the nonfiction challenge, too.

Just started White Mughals, seems appropriate for Valentine's day as the book opens with his discovery of a romance 'across the barricades' in colonial Hyderabad, India.

I've finished Nine Lives which was a five star reading for me. A book which I recommend highly. My thoughts can be found here.

I liked The Moving Finger even better the second time. The theme is misdirection, and she of course does a great job of misdirecting the reader. Plus there's even a fun romance.

>30 Fourpawz2: I read Cards on the Table a few years ago. Yes, it does have a lot of bridge in it, but I don't think that understanding the game of bridge is necessary to follow the plot. If you have any questions about the bridge aspects, let me know.

^ I started Murder on the Orient Express. I can not believe how much fun I am having with it. The audio is terrific. It feels like I am listening to a quality radio program, but with one talented narrator, (David Suchet). I have read very little Christie and nothing in 20-plus years. My Mother was a fan but I failed to listen to her, way back when. Hey, never to late, Ma!

> 36 I think I have read every Christie at least 3 times. I used to get excited when I would find a new title, then realize it was a previous work released with a new title.

This month would appear to be one of my most successful months BAC choices wise as there is hardly a lukewarm response to any of the books.

Yipppeeeee!

Well, Paul, I'll continue your streak for February.
I finished The Murder of Roger Ackroyd this evening and here is what I had to say about it:

After a lifetime of resisting the Queen of Crime, I am so glad to have read this delightful, clever mystery. I'm not even going to say much about it other than that I now understand her popularity across a century. I had read a couple of her other novels - And Then There Were None and a Miss Marple (The Body in the Library, perhaps?), but I can see why The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was voted "the best crime novel ever" by 600 fellow writers of the Crime Writers' Association (according to Wikipedia).

Five stars.

Nine Lives is waiting for me at the library. :-)

>40 EBT1002: Hooray :-)

I finished The Mysterious Affair at Styles last night and have to say I was underwhelmed. When Agatha Christie is called the Queen of Crime, does it really mean Queen of the I'm-going-to-point-out-seemingly-random-things-but-keep-my-thought-processes-to-myself-so-when-I-gather-everyone-together-in-the-last-chapter-to-reveal-the-murderer-I'll-look-super-smart detective?

I recently read And Then There Were None which is considered Christie's best selling novel. Ten people trapped on an island all of whom have been implicated in someone's death and all who are killed, one by one, following the events in the nursery rhyme "Ten Little Indians". We don't find the explanation of who could have done the killing until reading the epilogue. Maybe not her masterpiece, but a good mystery.

>35 LoisB: - You are right - understanding Bridge was not essential to understanding this one. guess I should have known that. Enjoyed it quite a lot. Really liked how Christie had 4 sleuths/sleuthy characters - Poirot, Inspector Battle, Col. Race and Mrs. Oliver - working together on this one.

I finished The Sittaford Mystery. While I wasn't blown away by the story, I did enjoy the fact that Christie's writing has a lovely "settle in with a cup a tea" lightness to it, even if the topic is murder.

>43 dallenbaugh: And then there were None scared the hell out of me when I was a kid, and almost put me off AC, though I since reread it a couple of times. It was my second book by her and only the wonderfulness of the first, Murder on the Orient Express, made me read on. But I stayed on safe and less scary Poirot territory for a long time. Which reminds me that some of her short stories that get onto a slightly mystical terrain are really scary as well.

>42 amanda4242: Actually I think that was a totally new and fresh concept then. And it was quite a tricky case with the British law that didn't allow someone to be accused twice for the same crime. Certainly not the best starting point for her works though.

*****
While I only read one AC novel this month, Sky Italy is showing all the David Suchet Poirot episodes, the last four are running this week, and I can watch them in English. I enjoyed most of them very much, but had completely forgotten how harshly the plot was changed in some episodes, to the point that in Cards on the Table they even exchanged the killer, and the new solution made no sense at all. The wonderful Roger Ackroyd ended with an unnecessary action scene. In Appointment with Death a character that was totally innocent in the book suddenly became the second killer and the background story was changed completely. I was also disappointed with Murder on the Orient Express. While the freezing cold inside the train during the long standstill was believable, I lost ALL my sympathy for Suchet's over-religious, self-righteous and unforgiving Poirot. No idea why DS thought it was a good idea giving him that twist.

>46 Deern: It probably was a new thing then, but it's just not something I'm particularly fond of. The US has similar "double jeopardy" laws (it's actually part of the 5th Amendment of the Constitution), but I can't help but think that if Poirot had clued someone in on his suspicions an innocent man wouldn't have been accused and they still could have convicted the guilty party.

Return of a King : The Battle for Afghanistan by William Dalrymple

William Dalrymple brings to life Afghanistan at the time preceding and immediately after the First Afghan Wars with Britain splendidly and gruesomely in this wonderfully rendered work of readable history.

It is not a period of history that I was particularly aware of but it is one I am unlikely to forget after reading this. Our narrator teases out the story and the events that lead up to the catastrophic uprising and its aftermath in a slow burning manner. When it hits full throttle though the savagery of events leads us to the conclusion of the folly of nations entering worlds they have no comprehension of.

This is a book which is remarkably prescient of our times and the struggles of the west lead by the US in Afghanistan and the region generally. The voices of observers then could just as well be speaking of 2012 as 1842:

Wade at the British intelligence department said in a note to Governor General Auckland in 1839:

"There is nothing more to be dreaded or guarded against...than the overweening confidence with which we are too often accustomed to regard the excellence of our own institutions, and the anxiety that we display to introduce them in new and untried soils. Such interference will always lead to acrimonious disputes if not to a violent reaction."
pp 187

Wade's wife incidentally divorced him in the aftermath of the uprising, marrying a jihadist against the British and helping to expose some British secrets.

Recommended.

I would agree with Amanda up to a point in that some of the more workaday Agatha Christie books can seem a little bit dated these days but, in her better works, her use of artifice to turn a story on its head and take the puzzled reader by surprise was then quite cutting edge.

Some of the early Beatles music is technically old hat these days but the excitement and melody of it still shines through and similarly Christie's better work will always delight more than it disappoints. Amanda, I think you have been a little unlucky in your choices of her work.

>49 PaulCranswick: I have Murder on the Orient Express from the library and am in the middle of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, so I haven't given up the search for something I'll enjoy yet.

I chose Agatha Christie's Parker Pyne Investigates. Less mystery, more psychological manipulation. Enjoyed.

Ms Christie got me hooked in with another good mystery. Endless Night is a standalone, no Ms. Marple or Mssr. Poirot in sight. It is a dark tale, this one, but enjoyable nonetheless.

I finished Christie's After the Funeral. Pretty predictable, but it featured Poirot.

Finished Christie's Cat Among the Pigeons, a later Poirot outing, involving Middle Eastern revolution, missing jewels and murders at a prestigious girls' school in England. Poirot himself does not get into the mix until late in the tale, and the real star of this show is a teenager. A good story, with decent clues, but of course Christie always saves a little something for the final reveal.

Just reading The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and very much enjoying being re- acquainted with Dame Agatha!

I'll be dragging my From the holy Mountain into March. I even started a TIOLI challenge this month for placing the book, but time is slipping away... and I have another that I'm racing to finish by tomorrow.

>56 avatiakh: I'm most likely carrying From the Holy Mountain into March, as ell. I'm about half way through, and doubt that I will finish today.

I finally finished The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Reading Dame Agatha has begun to feel like a chore, so I'm going to take a break from her for awhile. Maybe later in the year I'll try something other than Poirot and see if I can find something I enjoy.

Finally finished From the Holy Mountain: A Journey among the Christians of the Middle East - I started it in February but . . .

The book started off well as it describes the author's journey through outposts of Christianity in Byzantium. The middle of the book dragged a bit, but the story picked up again in the last part of the book as he covered Jerusalem, Palestine, and Egypt. The book was published in 1998, so it left me wondering about the impact of current events on sots that he covered.