End of the Year Book Wrap-Up

Okay, so I originally got this idea from Miss Dashwood. She said in her blogpost this was past the date, and it must have been, because when I went on the notebook sisters blog to find the post about this, it was not even one of the first few posts there! But I shall not pay attention. I will fill it out anyway, because it looked like lots of fun to do! So, without further ado, here are the end of the year book questions: 

1. What was your overall favourite book this year? (Yes. Pick one.)
This is so hard! Must I pick just one? *Madd Rose pouts* Fine. I think I liked the Last Sin Eater the best. (And as a series I liked Miss Marple the best. Soary, as Gilbert would say; I had to throw that in there.)

2. Favourite debut(s)? (Author must have been first published in 2013.)
Uh.... I don't really read many modern books, so I don't think I have even read an author that has just been published this year. Bummer.. WAIT! I think Wish You Were Eyre by: Heather Vogel Frederick came out this year! So there it is, problem solved.

3. Which books did you reread this year?
Tons and tons! Alright, fine I will try to name them all:
Anne of the Island b: L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Windy Poplars by: L.M. Montgomery
Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
Rilla of Ingleside by: L.M. Montgomery
Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
A Rose in Bloom by: Louisa May Alcott
An Old Fashioned Girl by: Louisa May Alcott
Little Women by: Louisa May Alcott
Heavens to Betsy by: Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy in Spite of Herself by: Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy was a Junior by: Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy and Joe by: Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy and the Great World by: Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy's Wedding by; Maud Hart Lovelace
Emily of Deep Valley by: Maud Hart Lovelace
Emma by: Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by: Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by: Jane Austen
Daddy Long Legs by: Jean Webster
....and that's all I can think of, but I think there were others.

4. Favourite cover(s) this year!

Note: not necessarily my favorite books, but I liked the covers

5. Worst cover(s)?
Um... I don't like to read or buy books with covers I don't like. I will say I dislike when publishers put the movie as the cover of the books.
                                                           

6. What self-published books did you read this year?
I've read Only a Novel by Miss Dashwood and I greatly enjoyed myself while doing so. :)

7. Which book(s) gave you a massive hangover?
The Last Sin Eater: because this book is just full of so many ideas and concepts and it is really good.

the Mitford series: because I loved this series to itty bitty pieces and when I finished the last book I just didn't know what to do with myself. I'd been "living" in Mitford for months, you know?

 Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: even though this was a reread, I was so happy when it ended and then very sad because there is no sequel. And cannot be, as the author, Mary Ann Shaffer, has since passed away. :'(

8. Best standalone you read?
This is hard, as I read several good stand alones this year. Um... the Last Sin Eater, I suppose.

9. Biggest book(s) you've read this year?
I think it might be Wives & Daughters. I started several big books this year, but I didn't finish them. (I know, I am very bad about that sometimes.)

10. Book(s) you followed the hype for and then loved!
the Help by: Katherine Stockett... I think that might be it, I really don't follow "hype" or "trends."

11. Most disappointing book(s) you read this year?
the Postmistress looked promising but turned out to be rather bad. There are others, but that is the most recent one I can think of. (And yes, I know Miss Dashwood also did that but sometimes I am not an original thinker...)

12. Favourite leading-female character?
This year? Miss Marple

13. Favourite leading-male character?
And... Father Tim

14. Best romance(s)?
Juliet and Dawsey from the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (is that how you spell his name? Eh... I am too lazy to look it up, so if it is wrong, be a dear and please excuse. Thanks.)
Father Tim and Cynthia from the Mitford series (And Dooley and Lace)
Sally McBride and Dr.Robin "Sandy" McRae from Dear Enemy
Rose and Mac from A Rose in Bloom
Polly Milton and Tom Shaw from an Old Fashioned Girl
Emily Webster and Jed Wakeman from Emily of Deep Valley
Betsy Ray and Joe Willard
Emma Woodhouse and Mr. Knightley
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy
ANNE AND GILBERT from Anne of Green Gables
I think I covered most of them, but if I didn't, please excuse

15. What book(s) hit the DNF list? (Did not finish.)
Sadly, a lot. I won't even list them all, readers, because I am a tad embarrassed about how many there would be. More and more this year I found it difficult to get through books. And not always because they are bad. Just because I lose interest. I sort of worries me as I haven't really had long lapses like that before.

16. What book(s) did you read out of your comfort-zone?
 the Last Sin Eater (I don't usually read Christian fiction, because it usually turns out to be some silly romance) and Agatha Christie's novels (because I didn't think I would like murder mysteries. I still don't like many murder mysteries, but Christie's special)

17. Which author did you read the most from?
Probably Agatha Christie. I read all the Miss Marple mysteries and several of Poirot and some stand alone novels of hers.

18. Top 5 books you'd recommend from all the books you've read this year?
Can this include series? Well I shall make it include series (this is my blog you know; )) 
In no particular order
1) Miss Marple mysteries
2) the Mitford series
3) the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
4) Miss Pym Disposes by: Josephine Tey
5) Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by: Kate Douglas Wiggin (and if you want something similar, the Anne books by L.M. Montgomery)
5 1/2) I know I am such a cheater. Oh well... the Betsy Tacy series

19. How many books did you read this year all up?
I didn't keep a list... but quite a bit! You know what? That shall be one of my new years resolutions. I will keep a list of books I have read in 2014.

20. What's a book you're hugely excited for coming out in 2014?!
I wish I were hugely excited about one, but I am not. I am excited about the next Penderwick book, but I think that actually comes out in 2015 or later.

A Glimpse into the World of Mysteries

Hey friends! Sorry I haven't posted in a while but all the sudden my life got rather busy. Now that the pace seems to be getting back to normal, I can do a blog post that has been bouncing around in my mind for a while. For around a month now I have had a Miss Marple Mystery binge. For those of you who may not know, they are mystery books written by the infamous Agatha Christie, the "Queen of Mystery." She specializes in murder mysteries, but they aren't gruesome, the books center on suspects and clues, like a whodunit mystery. The Miss Marple series is about a little old woman, living in the small English village of St. Mary Mead. Miss Marple of the white hair and china blue eyes, innocently gossiping and knitting... and solving murder mysteries!

It all started when my aunt (who turned me on to Anne of Green Gables that led to all of my old fashioned obsessions…) recommended them to me. Luckily, she had all the books and knew which ones to start me on.

I actually started with Agatha Christie’s last Miss Marple book: Sleeping Murder. Well, I was hooked. I zipped through that one, and was shocked absolutely shocked at who it turned out to be!

Well, when I told my aunt how much I enjoyed it she casually mentioned there were MISS MARPLE MOVIES TO GO ALONG WITH THEM! She asked if I’d be interested, I, of course, was and I met the dear Joan Hickson, who plays Miss Marple.

They were wonderful adaptations of the books. I would read one Miss Marple, then immediately watch the movie that went along with it. I literally get chills every time I think of the ending to Sleeping Murder!

The next Miss Marple I read was entitled Murder is Announced. It’s about a small town village. The villagers are reading the local newspaper when they come across a strange advertisement. There is a murder to be announced at Miss Letitia Blacklock’s! So, of course, everyone is fascinated. They all come, under false pretences, to see what it was all about. Well, Miss Blacklock didn’t know what it was about! She said she hadn’t put that ad in the paper! Well, then imagine everyone’s surprise when the lights go out and a real murder is announced….

The next book I read was The Mirror Crack’d, which is supposed to allude to Tennyson’s poem The Lady of Shallot. “Out flew the web and opened wide, the mirror crack’d from side to side, and the curse has come upon me! Cried the Lady of Shallot.” Which, of course, coincides with a certain red-headed heroine’s novel that we all know and love! Anyway, the book is about an aging film star who buys the mansion in St. Mary Mead, where Miss Marple lives. The actress, Marina Gregg, hosts a garden party. At this party, one of her fans, Mrs. Heather Badcock, is killed when she consumes a poisoned drink supposedly meant for Marina Gregg! Can Miss Marple solve this mystery before there’s yet another murder?

This was a lovely movie adaptation. Marina Gregg isn’t exactly as I pictured her, but she did a great job! Cherry was exactly as I pictured her and did a fantastic job too. The end was tied up very nicely and you could see both sides of the story. A toast to the ingenious Miss Marple!

The third mystery was Murder at the Vicarage. This was actually from first person point of view, which was new, and it was from the point of view of the vicar, who I’d never met before. This is also the first of the novels, that I’d read, where there are outlines of the room and markings to show the body, clues, etc., which was rather nice to see! Anyway, the vicar and his charming young wife are introduced. We go on to see all the cast, and see each of their motives for wanting to get rid of the disagreeable Colonel Protheroe. So, when the Colonel is found dead in the Vicar’s office, he’s the prime suspect! Can the Vicar, with the help of our lovely Miss Marple, clear his name? Find out in Murder at the Vicarage.

The movie was lovely for Murder at the Vicarage. They took out a few minor characters, but the main plot remained unaltered, so I really didn’t mind. Fantastic finish! A must see.

          The next in my reading was The Body in the Library. This centers on a dear friend of Miss Marple’s, a Mrs. Dolly Bantry. Mrs. Bantry wakes up one morning to find her maid screaming something about a body in the library. It can’t be true! Sadly, it’s only too true. A fashionable, bleach blond girl is found lying strangled on the library floor…and no one seems to know who she is! Can Miss Marple get to the bottom of this for her dear friends sake?

          This was a great movie, although one of the more graphic ones. It doesn’t show the head, but it does show the body and describes vividly some unpleasant scenes. Nothing too horrid, though. A very well done movie, as they all are.

          

         What Mrs. McGillicuddy saw seemed rather different than her usual. It is also known as 4:50 from Paddington, one of her more well-known mysteries. Miss Marple’s friend, Mrs. McGillicuddy, was riding over to St. Mary Mead when another train pulled up to her coach, when she witnessed a woman being strangled in the opposite coach! The murderer was facing away from her, so she didn’t see his face. Worst of all, no one seems to believe she saw it; especially since no body was found, but one person believes her…. Miss Marple! And she won’t let it rest until this mystery is brought to light.

          A Caribbean Mystery was one of my more recent reads. Miss Marple is on a relaxing vacation in the Caribbean islands…. That is, until one of her fellow vacationers is found dead! Everyone assumes he died of a heart attack, being an older gentleman, but Miss Marple has her suspicions…. And if her hunch is correct, she needs to get to the bottom of this before another innocent person is murdered!

          The movie to this was very interesting. I especially liked Miss Marple’s accomplice, Mr. Rafiel. J This movie was a nice way to spend the ten hour trip in the car on the way to our spring break destination!

         

A Pocketful of Rye is an intricate and suspenseful mystery…. With a very surprising ending, in my opinion…. And it follows the old nursery rhyme: the King was in his counting house…. The Queen was in the parlor eating bread and honey…. When a blackbird came and pecked her on the nose! There are several murders in this one, alluding to a rather deranged killer. There are many suspicious people, as no one seemed to like the deceased, Rex Fortisque, and many people stood to profit by his death! Find out who is behind this intricate plot in A Pocketful of Rye.

          

The Moving finger was one of the last Miss Marple’s I read. It all starts with some “poison pen notes going around a little English country village. All harmless enough… until it seems a suicide has been committed because of it! But was it suicide? Luckily, Miss Marple is on the scene! Can she figure out who is righting these silly, nasty letters before it’s too late?

          This book was very good, and has a delightful twist at the end. Also some romance is thrown in, which doesn’t usually happen in the Miss Marple novels.

          Nemesis is a sort-of sequel to A Caribbean Mystery. It has overlapping characters, references to the earlier book, etc. So I would recommend reading A Caribbean Mystery first. But you must read Nemesis! It starts out when poor Mr. Rafiel dies, leaving Miss Marple a mysterious post-mortem letter… to solve a mystery! Almost no details are included, just a ticket to an English Garden tour. Even with a lack of information, Miss Marple is hooked, and she won’t stop until Justice is served!

          Murder with Mirrors is the last book I read. Its original British title was They Do it with Mirrors. It all takes place in a mental institute, just crawling with potential suspects! But Miss Marple believes this was an inside job, one of the family. At, first there’s just strange goings-on, but when someone turns up shot, things turn dangerous…. On top of that, it’s thought someone is trying to poison the mistress of the house, who is Miss Marple’s dear childhood friend! Nothing seems to match up, but Miss Marple is determined to get to the bottom of it, for her dear friend Carrie Louis.

There is one last novel, called Bertram’s Hotel. I can’t give you a very good synopsis. I’ll try to do a quick post on it later. My aunt hadn’t found the book until later.

          This was my first glimpse into the world of mysteries, and it is fascinating! I am now reading another series, a bit more modern, called The Tea Shop Mysteries. It’s set in Charleston, South Carolina. Theodosia Browning owns a tea shop in the historic district. Mysteries seem to just throw themselves in Theodosia’s way… with interesting tidbits on tea and delightful mysteries, these books are a rare treat! A modern Miss Marple, if I do say so myself. J I hope y’all enjoyed this post! Sorry that it’s been a little while since I posted. I had spring break and lots of work! I think my schedule should be getting back to normal soon!