FF: Better Short or Long?

Mei-Ling Reads about Lucy Locket

The edition of The Complete Miss Marple I’m listening to includes a short piece by Agatha Christie in which she muses how, although Miss Marple was featured in several novels, she always felt that her talents were best suited to short stories, while Poirot (who was certainly featured in many short stories) needed a novel to show off his particular talents.  Very interesting indeed, and this awareness of how character shapes the tale is probably why Agatha Christie could excel at both long and short form.

For those of you unfamiliar with this column, the Friday Fragments lists what I’ve read over the past week.  Most of the time I don’t include details of either short fiction (unless part of a book-length collection) or magazines.  The Fragments are not meant to be a recommendation list.  If you’re interested in a not-at-all-inclusive recommendation list, you can look on my website under Neat Stuff.

Once again, this is not a book review column.  It’s just a list with, maybe, a bit of description or a few opinions tossed in.  And it’s also a great place to tell me what you’re reading. 

Completed:

The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas by Jeff Smith.  About two-thirds anecdotes both about Christmas holiday traditions and Jeff Smith’s family traditions.  The other third is, unsurprisingly, recipes. 

Last Curtain by Ngaio Marsh.  Audiobook.  Painter Agatha Troy can’t resist the lure of a commission to paint a larger-than-life actor at his home, surrounded by his family, who seem eager to try and top each other as the most peculiar.

Black As He’s Painted by Ngaio Marsh.  Audiobook.  Politically-charged diplomatic murder, with prowl-bys by Lucy Locket, a former stray who finds a home with a retired diplomat. 

In Progress:

Into the Vortex by Charles E. Gannon.  ARC.  Sequel to This Broken World.  Part epic fantasy, part mystery.  Secrets lead only, as is so often the chase, to greater mysteries. 

The Complete Miss Marple.  Audiobook.  I have listened to some of these short stories, but it’s interesting to hear how the choices made by a different reader cause subtle changes in interpretation.  And, yes, I’ve read all the stories many times. 

Also:

Still reading the latest issue of Smithsonian.