Reading the Detectives discussion
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Agatha Christie
Group Challenges
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2021 Challenge - Assorted Christies!
I am! I have never read much of her work because my grandmother (source of most of my GA mysteries) hated her, so it’s well past time I gave her a shot.
I´ll be in, though I do a Poirot and a Miss Marple challenge atm, but would be especially interested in the Tommy and Tuppence mysteries or some other lesser known. Great idea! :)
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Oh yes, Christie is so much fun, I'm in!
Me, too, I missed the first year of Poirot, and have tremendously enjoyed rereading the later Poirots. I don’t know if I’ve even read Tommy and Tuppence and the other lesser known detectives.
I'll look forward to seeing which titles are chosen!
That should be fun. I'm a big fan of hers, and some of the stand alones are my favorites.
An interesting challenge. I have never enjoyed her non-Poirot, non-Marple books (except for Mr. Quin). So, time for one more try!
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I'm in-I've really been enjoying the Poirot read so was hoping there would be something to replace it next year! (or complement it if we haven't finished by then!)
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Looking forward to this. I have so many gaps in my Agatha Christie reading to fill in!
Sounds interesting. I read (and/or reread) a number of Christie's every year so I'll be keen to see how this goes.
Considering some of her most popular (And Then There Were None) and some of her favorite books (Towards Zero) would fall into this category, there should definitely be some winners here!
I'm really looking forward to seeing which books you'll include in this challenge! Have you decided already and, if so, will you be announcing the list in advance or just one at a time each month as the next one comes up?
I will certainly be in, having done Marple and Poirot with this group (for 4 years almost), and as some people know, I have a full set of Agatha Christie courtesy of my late mother (and as some of you will also know this has not always turned out to be quite true) 😊Good to see so many like minded detective loving people interested. Thanks Judy and Susan for thinking of this.
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As usual, I will set up the challenge later in the year - but Judy will probably announce the book list when it is ready.
Remember, we have lots of P D James to enjoy first though :)
Susan wrote: "We will announce the list once we have all decided on the choice of books, and the order. We are hoping to include some lesser known novels. As usual, I will set up the challenge later in the yea..."
I'm not loving PD James as much as I love Christie (I don't know that she can ever be toppled), but I love that this group has provided the challenge to read an author that I might never otherwise explore. So many of these authors get lumped into one big bucket, but their work is so different and give a unique experience to readers.
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Susan wrote: "P D James was certainly very critical of Christie, but I am in your camp, Tara. I like both, but Christie is, in my opinion, difficult to beat."I have to agree with you Susan.
I didn't join in with the PD James read as apart from continuing with Poirot, I'm also reading Simenon's Maigret and (a non detective) the Discworld novels, so despite enjoying PDJ many years ago, I decided I would give them a miss.
This sounds great. I'd love to join in.
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In other words, if you look down the list and a favourite title is not included, then perhaps suggest it as a buddy read, rather than just feeling disappointed. If you think a title shouldn't be included, then at least know we gave these a lot of thought! We look forward to you joining in with all, or some, of the books below in 2021:
Our Assorted Christies! challenge will be as follows:
Jan: Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1935)
Feb: The Secret Adversary (1922)
March: Ordeal by Innocence (1958)
April: The Man in the Brown Suit (1924)
May: Death Comes as the End (1944)
June: The Secret of Chimneys (1925)
July: Sparkling Cyanide (1944)
August: They Came to Baghdad (1951)
Sept: Crooked House (1949)
Oct: Endless Night (1967)
Nov: Destination Unknown (1954)
Dec: The Sittaford Mystery (1931)
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As Susan says, we have spent a while discussing the list and hope you will like it.
I have become a PD James fan and finding Christie sort of meh. I'm sure that "meh" will change back eventually.
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Oddly, I just started the next in the series, A Taste for Death, and the Wiki page said it was given the Silver Dagger and been nominated for the Booker... That didn't seem quite right, much as I admire her, so I looked up the year and she was one of the judges.
Made me wonder how many internet mistakes pass me by every day...
Thank you for all the work you put into this! Looking forward to it!
Awards for A Taste for Death are:Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel (1987)
Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for Romans étrangers (tie) (1988)
CWA Silver Dagger for Fiction (1986)
Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel (1987)
Palle Rosenkrantz Prisen (1987)
Susan wrote: "Before we post our decided challenge books, can I just say that your moderator's have spent much time picking, arguing (in a friendly way!) and debating over which Christie's to choose and which or..."These look great, a delightful selection of various Christie books! I’ve read a few, but it’s been years, and other titles I have not gotten around to reading, so I’m looking forward to reading and rereading these titles! Nice to have something to look forward to next year, 2020 so far has been rather a stinker (not the group, or our books, of course, just national and world events!) Thanks so much for all the time and effort you’ve put in!
Looks like a good selection. I’ll have to see which ones I have and which I need to acquire
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Elizabeth, thank you for posting the list of awards for A Taste for Death - I'm looking forward to that one.
Yes, great list, and it must have been difficult whittling it down and getting a range of titles. I'm delighted to see some of my favourites: Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, Secret of Chimneys, and Sparkling Cyanide.
Judy wrote: "Elizabeth, thank you for posting the list of awards for A Taste for Death - I'm looking forward to that one."I just copied/pasted from the listing on the GR book page. That section rarely has errors, although there may be some omissions for the more obscure awards.
Susan wrote: "Good reaction so far. Will be interested to hear if there are any particular titles people are looking forward to."Honestly, I’m looking forward to them all, because I either have not read or it’s been years. I was a Poirot/Marple fan girl when I first read Christie decades ago, and barely read any of her other books, so I look forward to all of these books.
Had to edit my answer, for some reason I always mix up The Secret of Chimneys with The Mysterious Affair at Styles, one of my favorites- but I read the blurb, and realized I don’t remember Chimneys, so I look forward to that one, too!
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There are three I haven't read before, I think.
Thanks for the list! I only remember two of those, but I might have forgotten about others. Always good to re-read Christie! :)
Susan wrote: "The Mysterious Affair at Styles is wonderful, isn't it? However, Poirot does not feature in this list and neither does Miss Marple. There are three I haven't read before, I think."
It is! It’s fun to see Poirot and Hastings work together, a reminder that Poirot was a retired police detective when he arrived in Britain, so already not a kid! He had quite a lengthy career- and makes our later Poirot mysteries all the more poignant, as he misses Hastings, or realizes he’s not as much of a celebrity anymore. Plus, it’s just a fun classic country house murder mystery, a look at WWI era Britain, and fun to see this first outing of what would become one of a handful of the definitive Golden Age private detective.
Exciting! I'll read as many as I can get hold of - other than anything with Tommy & Tuppence & I have read Crooked House & Endless Night since I joined Goodreads.
I'm pleased this is a healthy mix of books I've read and others I have not, although I plan on (re)reading all of them. Eventually I hope to read all of her books, including the Mary Westmacotts and her autobiography, so these challenges keep me on track.
Susan wrote: "Before we post our decided challenge books, can I just say that your moderator's have spent much time picking, arguing (in a friendly way!) and debating over which Christie's to choose and which or..."What a wonderful list. I think of Endless Night as one of the most spine chilling and disturbing Christies I have read. I have really enjoyed so many of the others on this list and am looking forward to joining the challenge in 2021. Thank you for such a varied and smart selection.
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Thank you for organising this. Very excitingly, all 12 are new reads to me.Out of curiosity, how did you pick the order? As I note they are not in date published. Is it random, or are there themes?
Reading the Detectives
Books mentioned in this topic
Death Comes as the End (other topics)Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (other topics)
Curtain (other topics)
Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (other topics)
The Sittaford Mystery (other topics)
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We are planning to read 12 books which will be a mix of standalone titles and some of her lesser-known detectives. It should be an exciting ride! This will also give us more Christie to enjoy after the Poirot buddy reads which Jessica is currently leading come to an end.
It's early days, but who is looking forward to more Christie next year?