I definitely second "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie. I'm currently reading through all her books, in roughly chornological by publication date (I jump ahead now and then.). Right now, though, I'm reading something by her that is not a mystery. I'm reading "Come, Tell Me How You Live," which is memoir of her first full archeological dig with her 2nd husband, Max Mallowan (if you are looking for this book, you may find it as written by Agatha Mallowan). It is surprisingly delightful and you get so much of her personality in it! It is also a really wonderful snapshot of the time in which she was writing. I know you like non-fiction, so you may want to consider this one. I felt very much like you did about The Golden Spoon. Also, I have Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy on my TBR shelf and your review made me want to go pull it off and give it a try!

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

And Then There Were None is now at the top of my list since everyone in this comments section recommends it so highly! That memoir sounds amazing, too - thanks!

Crooked House, Sleeping Murder, and of course And Then There Were None are some of my big favorites from Agatha Christie

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

I am primarily a mystery and horror reader, so March and October are my months ;-) I adored Poker Face. The scripts and casting were superior, and Natasha Leone was excellent. I love how Agatha Christie thumbed her nose at Ronald Knox’s 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction (which are kindly and hilariously listed at the beginning of Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone). I am currently doing a chronological read of the Christie canon, and I recommend that everyone read And Then There Are None so that you understand the references that permeate literary culture.

'And then there were none', especially if you go in knowing nothing about it

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

I would definitely go in knowing absolutely nothing about it, so it may be the next Christie I read! Thanks 😊

My top favorite Agatha Cristie books are: "And Then There Were None," "The ABC Murders" and "The Crooked House."

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Added to my list! Thanks 😊

I haven't read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd but I love Agatha Christie books. The Secrets of Hartwood Hall isn't the kind of book I'd normally read, but I'm going to go ahead and add it to my wishlist on your recommendation. Walking With Gorillas sounds like something my Mum would love. I now know what I'm getting her for her birthday. Thanks for the rec.

I do love your videos Olive! I hope your spring gardening is going well. I'd recommend The ABC Murders for a good solid classic Christie. And if you'd like to meet Miss Marple, do consider 4.50 From Paddington. I wonder if I'd be as invested in Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy as an Australian reader? Probably. It sounds great.

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

The gardening is coming along! I'm waiting for the evening temperatures to not dip below freezing before I can transplant my little plant babies from their pots to my raised beds. I think you'd enjoy Liar Temptress Soldier Spy as an Australian! The stories are compelling and there's plenty of context on the war provided.

I think I loved The secret lives of church ladies in the way that I did because I listened to the audiobook. The performance of the narrator was outstanding and it changed so much from one story to the other. It really brought everything to life!

Sounds like you had an awesome month!❤ Church Ladies was so enjoyable for me because my loved experiences connected me to the characters - I actual knew someone who reminded me of each one. Without that element, I can imagine it’s not as solid of a read. And some of the stories were definitely more enjoyable/developed than others. So happy you got a chance to read it!

@LaRosaReads

Жыл бұрын

“Lived” not loved lol

@sarahpowell6617

Жыл бұрын

I will say, I'm someone who does not have a lot in common with any of the characters, and I adored it! I just thought the character portraits were so sharp and beautifully written. I don't even normally love short stories, but it just worked for me. No book will work for everyone though, of course!

I think Murder on the Orient Express is definitely worth a read because it is so famous, but I enjoyed Death on the Nile and Murder in Mesopotamia due to where the books are set. I also read the Secret Lives of Church Ladies - I though it was good but struggled with the varying lengths of stories, I wished some were longer and some of the longer stories could have been edited a bit, but overall, very interesting stories.

Hi, I recently came to your booktube channel and instantly was impressed by your intelligent and captivating discussions and reviews. 👍 As for your topic of this video, and for crime novels, I can vividly recommend the Belgian author Georges Simenon (1903-1989), who has written about 75 books of the most famous pipe smoking "Commissaire Maigret"! Simenon renewed the detective novel genre. Most of these books take place in the atmospheric French capital Paris in the years 1930s - 1960s. Simenon is known for his very atmospheric descriptions of Paris and the intimate old French Cafés and bars, as well as the miserable life of the poor sailors and fishermen of these days. In his investigations, Maigret's method is to put himself in another person's place in order to discover why the crime was committed, rather than just finding out whodunit. He is described as a reserved and taciturn person with calm humanity. If you could read the novels in the original French, that would be great, but as all of his books have been translated into more than 50 languages, there will surely be no problem. Hope you're doing well and keep on doing such a good job. 👍 Stay safe.

I recommend both "And Then There Were None" and "Death on the Nile" by Agatha Christie.

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Enjoyed Once Upon a Tome.

I recommend And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express for Christie novels. Also I finally read Rules of Civility in March! 4 stars overall and I can see why you love it so much. Thanks for the recommendation, I ended up passing my copy onto my sister and mom.

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

RoC gets even better after a reread! It didn't become my favorite until after I'd read it for the second time.

Walking with Gorillas sounds great! Hadn't heard of it before. Ooooh, the bookseller memoirs sound awesome too!!

I love your book reviews, you’re so clear and articulate - without being too negative about the books you didn’t enjoy so much. I think you would really enjoy And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie! 📚

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! I can't promise my reviews will always be tame - if a book is atrocious, I say so 😂

I need to pick up Ashley Weaver soon.

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Let me know what you think if you do!

I really love your reviews. Thank you.

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

The crooked house by Agatha Christie has a recent movie adaptation that is fabulous.

@lindaharrison3240

Жыл бұрын

Is that the one with Glenn Close as the matriarch? Very good.

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Oooo interesting! Thanks!

I loved church ladies such an amazing collection

Such a great video! Your hair looks great btw!

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

So glad you posted today! Missed your videos. 🎉

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

♥

Well done, Olive! I have been in a British historical (WWII) phase ... so have added The Key To Deceit to my TBR list. Thinking about joining you for your series read! Especially because I LOVE the title (& the color of the cover) of Death In A Deck Chair, I am sad to hear that you didn't like it. I may skip it now. I think you have verbalized why I do not particularly enjoy short stories books ... thanks for saying what I have sensed.

The murder of Roger Akroyd is my fav Poiroit of the ones I have read so far. My favorite Christie is and then there were none though it was also my first christie so could be some nostalgia there

Once I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, I’ll pick up The Science of Murder! Ohh The Secret Lives of Church Ladies was the opposite for me, it was the first short story collection I really enjoyed! My criticism is that the story themes were somewhat repetitive

A short story collection I would recommend giving a try is Karen Russell's Orange World because while it's speculative fiction (not sure if that piques your fancy), I think the writing is pretty impeccable and clever!!

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Speculative fiction isn't normally my thing, but I'll keep Orange World in mind - thanks!

I really want to pick up an Ashley Weaver book now! I put a request through my library 🎉

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

I hope you love it!!

Five Little Pigs is not a typical Christie but definitely my favorite

I listened to the Secret Lives of Church Ladies on audio and found it absolutely wonderful. But I do think that what made this a 5-star read for me was the fact that I listened rather than read it myself; it really added to the overall Southern “ambience”.

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Love when an audiobook narrator adds something to the experience!

I really recommend giving George Saunders a try if you're open to giving short stories another go! I felt like I just didn't get short stories at all until I read Tenth of December.

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

I will keep that in mind - thanks!!

You introduced me to Ashley Weaver and for that I'll be forever indebted 🤗❤️✨🥺

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

I'm so glad you like her books, too! Have you read both of her series?

Olive, how do you do it?! 😮 I cannot believe how much reading you get done! Clearly you have the power of focus. Do you set a specific amount of time per day to read? You’re amazing 🎉

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

I've had a lot of practice over the years! I read quicker than I used to and I set time aside each week to focus on reading.

Did you find that engaging with a lot of murder mysteries made it easier for you to figure out who the culprits were over time?

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

All the authors have different styles, so no, not really! I think it's more fun to be kept guessing, though.

Hi Olive, I just love Ashley Weaver, thanks to you....hard to come by here in Germany to be honest...Recently I bought one of Vivian Conroys books named Mysteries in Provence because the cover was similar to Ashley Weavers and it might be sth you want to check out. Its not as good as Ms Weaver but Ms Conroy has a couple series and I hope that they will get better by the book.

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who didn’t think The Secret Lives of Church Ladies was amazing. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

Agreed

I'm generally not a fan of short stories for the same reason as you. I don't like learning all about new characters or worlds,only to have it up and end, and I have to start all over again.

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Precisely!

Read my first Agatha Christie in March. Murder on the Orient Express. For me, was a 3 out of 5 for me.

I’m very curious now about the Agatha Christie book and what’s behind it.

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

It's really interesting! I'd definitely read Roger Ackroyd first, before reading The Science of Murder, though.

Too bad that Golden Spoon was a disappointment! I was feeling hooked during the early parts of your description. 😢

@socaltoobie8984

Жыл бұрын

I enjoyed it! Just a light/fun break from non-fiction. I’d love to hear Olive’s spoiler take (to see if I am naive and didn’t pick up on what she did! 😁).

I’m registered to see Jeanette Walls at the Pittsburgh book festival. So excited! Are you going?

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Planning to be there! 😊

There is a book "murder mistery adjacent" that i just KNOW you are going to love called Malice Aforethought from Francis Iles (real name Anthony Berkeley)

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

That sounds amazing! I've added it - thanks!😊

I agree on Liar Temptress Soldier Spy. It's not just that the Confederate side by itself is impossible to empathize with, it's also that the 2 women basically used the same tactic (sexuality) to pass info from north to south. Yes, it took some bravery, but not as much as the two Union women needed -- plus there was just so much more to what the Union women did -- one taking various roles, including espionage, in the Army and one living below the Mason Dixon finding ways to extricate Union prisoners of war. Just more complexity and danger to what they were doing. (You could say that the Confederate women were brave, but at least one of them seemed less brave and just more sure that her sexuality would always save her. Kinda ick.)

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

I definitely see what you mean, and I agree that the Northern women showed a lot more bravery, but I think Rose's power came from her charm as much as her sexuality. She seemed to have something about her that made people (men in particular) putty in her hands. Even though I couldn't at all get on board with her loyalties, at least I could somewhat be impressed by how powerful she made herself. Belle? Not so much.

I didn’t get the hype around Church Ladies either and dnf’d it. Did you see that Jennifer Ackerman has a new a book about owls coming out in June?? I’m first on the library hold list-so excited. Cheers!

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

I just recently saw that she has a new book coming out! Very exciting 😊🦉

The host is pretty and an intense bibliophile...very attractive

The Church Ladies disappointed me a little because I wanted more diversity of ages in the stories. But overall I loved it.

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

I can see how you'd feel that way!