ACRC Update - 6 July 2009

My quest to read Agatha Christie novels and short stories in the order of publication got simpler when I acquired second hand the collection on the left. Each of the hard backs contains 3 novels, so I am close to owning nearly all 80 novels.

Just recently I finished PERIL AT END HOUSE. This time I listened to an audio version. I have actually read this before, as well as seen a tv version, so I was roughly familiar with the story, but there were parts that I had forgotten.

Today I had an email telling me about Hercule Poirot titles available on iTunes.

Here are some details:
Poirot: Murder In Mesopotamia: http://www.itunes.com/movies/poirotmurderinmesopotamia [link opens in iTunes]
Poirot: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: http://www.itunes.com/movies/poirotthemurderofrogerackroyd [link opens in iTunes]

Last week I ran a poll that asked

As you can see Joan Hickson was the popular choice.
I must admit that surprised me. I expected more to choose Geraldine McEwan.

I have been wondering whether Julia McKenzie will come to regret her decision to become the next. I bet she never imagined the public analysis of her performance that has just begun.

How about this comment in the NYT: "But oddly — and disappointingly — it’s Ms. McKenzie who seems older in the role. Ms. McEwan’s Marple could come off as dotty and cloying, but that was part of a vigorous strategy to rout wrongdoers and set the world straight; she was a steel fist in a white lace glove. In Ms. McKenzie’s quieter portrayal, the character seems less fragile, but also less determined, and therefore less engaging. Where Ms. McEwan was skeptical, Ms. McKenzie is wistful; dought has turned to doubt."

So this week's poll asks you to choose among 6 contenders for the best depiction of Hercule Poirot. I discovered that there have been many actors who have played HP.
I'm sorry if I've left your favourite out. Do drop in and vote and comment.

My intent in the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge is to read her books in order, so that I can get some idea of what she is doing, problems she is attempting to solve, and her development as a writer. If you look at some of my reviews you will see that I have been able to undertake some of this reflection.

Currently I am managing about a book a month.

Up until now I have been mainly borrowing the books from my local library but with my new acquisitions, this will be cut down quite a bit.

What I've read so far

1. 1920, THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES - finished
   
2. 1922, THE SECRET ADVERSARY- finished
   
3. 1923, THE MURDER ON THE LINKS - finished
   
4. 1924, THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT - finished
   1924, POIROT INVESTIGATES (short stories: eleven in the UK, fourteen in the US) - finished
   
5. 1925, THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS - finished
6. 1926, THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD - finished
   
7. 1927, THE BIG FOUR - finished
   
8. 1928, THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE TRAIN - finished
   
9. 1929, THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY - finished
   1929 Partners in Crime (fifteen short stories; featuring Tommy and Tuppence) - now on my shelves
10. 1930, THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE - finished
    1930, The Mysterious Mr. Quin (twelve short stories; introducing Mr. Harley Quin) - finished
11. 1931, THE SITTAFORD MYSTERY (aka MURDER AT HAZELMOOR) - finished
12. 1932, PERIL AT END HOUSE - finished
    1932 The Thirteen Problems (thirteen short stories; featuring Miss Marple, also known as The Tuesday Club Murders in the US) - now on my shelves
    
13. 1933, LORD EDGEWARE DIES (aka THIRTEEN AT DINNER) - - now on my shelves
14. 1934, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (aka MURDER IN THE CALAIS COACH) - now on my shelves
15. 1934, WHY DIDN'T THEY ASK EVANS? (aka THE BOOMERANG CLUE) - now on my shelves

Check the opening blog post of the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge here.
If you'd like to join the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge click here.

I am using the list at Wikipedia of novels and collections of short stories. I will interlace the short story collections into the list where I can, but may have to read them out of order. I have decided on a method for reporting on the short stories.

Please feel free to join in my challenge, comment on my reviews etc.

I have set up a block over in the right hand column called Agatha Christie Reading Challenge (with the same logo as this post) where I am listing the books I'm currently reading and those I've finished.
The challenge is called ACRC so each review will be preceded by those letters.

If you want to follow my progress through your RSS reader, then the RSS URL is
http://www2.blogger.com/feeds/8273911883856580200/posts/default/-/Agatha%20Christie%20Challenge
Just save that in your bookmarks or RSS reader and you will be notified when I have written a new post.
Alternatively you could subscribe to the feed through FeedMyInbox. Just copy the RSS URL, click on the FeedMyInbox link and paste the URL in there.
You will need to confirm your subscription by email.

Contribute your blog postings about any Agatha Christie novels to the monthly carnival. Make an agreement with yourself that whenever you complete reading an Aggie you will write a blog posting about it and then submit the posting to the carnival.
If you are participating in the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge then write updates like this one and submit them to the Carnival. Let us know what progress you are making.