*wanders in* Of the few books that I have successfully started and finished, I read Murder on the Orient Express today. Firstly, I have an uncanny liking for steam trains, travelling in a train (with a restraunt cart, and separate rooms! It's like a traveling hotel where you get to hear the train whistle and see scenery whiz by you! I wish they still ran them the same in the present day.) so I honestly enjoyed the setting of the book.
The book was...wow, intriguing. I did not suspect the suspects; Agatha Christie did a fantastic job making the guilty so unrelated to each other because they maintained their feigned prejudices and mannerisms. I was very, very surprised. I enjoyed the book, if not for something that irked me at the end: the end. [spoiler=]How Bouc, Poirot, and Constantine said that they would keep the conspiracy a secret and instead present Poirot's first proposed solution to the Jugo-Slavian police. I would have trouble trusting the detective. I felt that was awful; why not tell the truth and trust whatever court took it up (presumably the court in the U.S., since everyone involved was there and the crime took place there.) to carry it out? The murder would be looked at from a different light, because it was in retaliation; it wouldn't be looked at the same way as Ratchett's murder was. That could be looked at from two points of view: eye for eye, life for life; or, them appearing in court and letting the judge handle it and give the sentence, based on their witnesses. (simply, what goes around comes around) The second option dissolves the book, but if this were a real situation, I feel the most truthful thing to do would have been to sieze the kidnapper, present him in court, give their 13 truthful witnesses, and had his sentence be given instead of taking matters in their hands... Like I said, though, I still need to ascertain my opinion on that specific topic and, anyways, it isn't currently my focus. My main disappointment was the final decision to lie to the police. [/ramble][/spoiler]
Anywho, the whole point of that was to write about the book and also ask, because I do like a good mystery, are there other Agatha Christie books that probably will not disappoint me the way this one particularly did? Help would be appreciated, because I did enjoy her writing style.

Anywho, the whole point of that was to write about the book and also ask, because I do like a good mystery, are there other Agatha Christie books that probably will not disappoint me the way this one particularly did? Help would be appreciated, because I did enjoy her writing style.

Several of Christie's Hercule Poirot mysteries have a tendency to explore gray areas. If the ending of Orient Express bugged you, I suggest staying away from Curtain.
I would highly recommend Death on the Nile, which is in some ways similar to Orient Express, though I think you'll like the ending better. You may or may not like The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, but I suggest at least trying it out. The Mysterious Affair at Styles and Murder in Mesopotamia are a few others starring Poirot I would recommend. The Miss Marple books, while not as interesting as Poirot IMO, are just as baffling. I suggest Murder at the Vicarage and The Body in the Library. I also recommend the Tom and Tuppence books(The Secret Adversary is the first one featuring them). Hope that helps.

Good recommendations, Sparky.

Bella, in addition to Sparky's list, I also suggest trying The Seven Dials Mystery, The Boomerang Clue (also known as 'Why Didn't They Ask Evans?'), Crooked House, Death in the Clouds, and The ABC Murders. Seven Dials is one of my favorites by Christie, and my mom loves it too. I found the solution to Crooked House chilling, but in a good way.

Well, 2012 is nearly here, so I'm gonna borrow/steal Orious' questions from the beginning of this year...

1: What was the best book you read in 2011?
2: What was the worst?
3: What is on your to-read list for 2012?

*is eager to see what people reply*

--- flambeau

1) Favourite Nonfiction for 2011:
Heaven (Randy Alcorn)

Favourite Fiction for 2011:
The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) - Book club: Rereading and discussing the books at length

2) Least Favourite Books for 2011:
There were some horrors, I prefer not to remember them.

3) My 2012 to-read list:
What a surprise! They're largely speculative fiction.

Currently reading:
Leviathan #3: Goliath (Scott Westerfeld)
Lost Humanity: The Mythology and Themes of Lost (Pearson Moore)
The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien) - Book club: 1st time reading, 5th time I've read it

The rest:
Lost Identity: The Characters of Lost (Pearson Moore)
The Book of Mortals #1: Forbidden (Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee)
Angel Fall (Coleman Luck)
The Queen: A Patrick Bowers Thriller (Steven James)
The Circle Series graphic novels
The Lost Books graphic novels (first 4)
Inception: The Shooting Script (Christopher Nolan)
Prey (Michael Crichton)
Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis) -reread
Perelandra (C.S. Lewis) - reread
That Hideous Strength (C.S. Lewis) - reread
Dreamhouse Kings #2: Watcher in the Woods (Robert Liparulo)
The Unseen (T.L. Hines)
Brother Odd (Dean Koontz)
House of Leaves (Mark Z. Danielewski)

On hiatus:
The Big Argument: Twenty-four Scholars Explore Why Science, Archaeology and Philosophy Haven't Disproved God (Michael J. Westacott & John F. Ashton)

1: What was the best book you read in 2011?
Lord of the Rings. First read. Although I've probably read it a hundred times since then, while studying it. I first started the book December 2010, and finished it the beginning of 2011. Also, Till We Have Faces was another great book I read this year.

2: What was the worst?
The Attolia/Queen's Thief series. I know many people on here like them, so I gave them a chance. But... I wasn't impressed.

3: What is on your to-read list for 2012?
Hopefully a lot of books. I barely read any books this year, so 2011 will be forever known as The Year I Wasted. I hope to catch up with my friends and read a lot of the classics which they've recommended. I've read 100 books which are considered classic literature, and yet I still haven't read nearly as many as most of my friends on here have. So I plan to tackle some of the ones I haven't gotten around to yet. The Jane Austen novels which I haven't gotten a chance to read yet, Jules Verne, more of C.S. Lewis's theological works as well as his Cosmic Trilogy, Shakespeare. The Greats.

~Riella

1. What was the best book you read in 2011?
after much deliberation, I must say that the highlight of the tons of reading I have done over the past year was "The Lost Island Of Tamarind" by Nadia Aguiar. it was a pleasant surprise because the cover honestly didn't look like it was going to be that good. but WOW! was I in for a treat. that book made me feel like I had been swept away to another realm and I would probably read and re-read it any day without tiring of the story and characters read it - you'll be glad you did

Best book this year: I have several. I just finished Jungle Pilot by Russell T. Hitt and In Search of the Source by Neil Anderson. They are both books about missionaries loaned to me by my boyfriend to read over Christmas break. They were both quite good. In Search of the Source is about translating the Bible into another language and talks about some of the struggles they had. It was fascinating how difficult it is to get some concepts across.

I also read The Hunger Games for the first time this year. It was a pretty good series. I closely identified with the main character, Katniss, in a lot of her character traits which made me think a lot harder about the book and about myself. I didn't like how much it got into the whole Peeta vs. Gale thing especially in the later books. However, all-in-all, it was a pretty good series. I am usually quite disappointed by fantasy because nothing can ever compare to Narnia and Lord of the Rings. This series was one of very few that actually came close.

Worst book this year: Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance by Ian Buruma. In my experience, the longer a title gets, the worse the book gets. This book was simply awful. I had a list of books to choose from a for a book report for my World History class this spring. I procrastinated and finally chose this one. I did not get the structure of the book: it started off with his death, then jumped to telling a little bit about van Gogh's life and then delve into interviews with people about his death, and then jump back to more about his life. It made no sense, in my mind. I usually can sit down and read anything but this book, I couldn't read more than a chapter without throwing it down and quitting. The night the report is due, I am less than half way through the book and only have one paragraph written on a three page paper. I skimmed about six different pages throughout the last half of the book and then rambled on for three pages about why I hated this book. (Book reports are amazing! All you have to do is have an opinion and tell how/why you formed it.) I got a 94%. I bought the book on Abe Books for $3. Worst $3 I ever spent. I plan on selling it again or just burning it if all else fails.

To read in 2012: I don't really have anything on my list. I'm reading fewer and fewer books lately because I just don't have the time anymore. I'm sure I have a few that I'll come up with as time goes on.

Last year I gave my favorite new and old reads as well as my worst, so I'll do that again this year.

Favorite Rereads: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and The Silver Chair
Favorite new reads: The Once and Future King, Seaward by Susan Cooper, Grave Peril (the third book in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher), The Land of Dreams by James P. Blaylock, The Hunger Games, Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde (the second Thursday Next book; I listened to this one on my Kindle), Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie

Worst reads: Green by Ted Dekker (it didn't live up to its predecessors), The Traveler's Gift (too much self help mumbo jumbo for a supposedly Christian book), The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (I read both this one and its immediate sequel and while I enjoyed them, I found them too simple and dilatory to continue the series), Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (I read this one because the series is popular and seemed like a good one. I won't be reading any more of them because of the way adult relationships are treated in the books.)

Thanks for the recommendations, Sparky and flam!!
That's too bad the Poirot mysteries go in gray areas, because I rather liked Hercule Poirot.
I've saved the names of all of those and will try find them at the library. Question--are all her books about murder mysteries?
Flam, now you've got me interested in Seven Dials and Crooked House especially!

*fills out questions*

Like Riella, I somehow did not read very much this year. I only had like 11 books officially listed as done on my goodreads.
1: What was the best book you read in 2011?
Ooh, let me think...
Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf. Showed me a part of WWII that I never knew about.
I did not get to finish it, but I was able to read just enough of The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer to love every word of it.
Christmas With Anne and Other Short Stories by Montgomery
Don't Wrestle, Just Nestle by Corrie Ten Boom
The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman. A very heartfelt and personal eyewitness record of WWII.
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

2: What was the worst?
There must have been some awful ones, but I don't remember well enough. Probably some book I was expecting to be good.

3: What is on your to-read list for 2012?
A lot.
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Screwtape Letters (with the NW reading group!)
The Problem of Pain
The Man Who Was Thursday. Never finished it.
The Lord of the Rings. (the entire book)
Where the Red Fern Grows (read almost half, but didn't finish it)
Spurgeon's biography.
Some more G.K. Chesterton.

1: What was the best book you read in 2011?
Either Moby Dick, or Idylls of the King by Tennyson. Both were mesmerising and went straight on my favourites list.

2: What was the worst?
For some unfathomable reason I read The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel, it was beyond awful.

3: What is on your to-read list for 2012?
Books on my immediate to-read pile are -
Apricot Jam and Other Stories - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
A Short History of England - Simon Jenkins
Ragnarok - A. S. Byatt
The Fairy Tales of Herman Hesse - Herman Hesse
The Complete Fiction - H. P. Lovecraft
Life and Fate - Vasily Grossman

Who knows where I'll end up though

Ooh, I love book questionnaires!

1.a: What was the best fiction book you read in 2011?
Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys. A very eye-opening and quite well-written historical-fiction novel.
1.b: Best non-fiction?
Ghost Soldiers - Hampton Sides. Gripping and hard narrative of the Cabanatuan raid of WWII, with context and backstory.

2: What was the worst?
I'd say the several The Cat Who.... mysteries (Lilian Braun) that I listened to with my mom. Slow, uninteresting, and not at all challenging.

3: What is on your to-read list for 2012?
Till We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis
Princess of the Silver Woods - Jessica Day George
Promised - Caragh O'Brien
Jane Eyre - reread
Moby Dick - finish (I hope. The explanatory passages slow me down)
Some Patricia McKillip
Some Georgette Heyer (I haven't read anything of hers yet, but am looking forward to it)

@Lucy of Narnia: Thanks for the idea, I'll give it a try!

Well I think I only managed to read two or three books this past year (sad I know)

1: What was the best book you read in 2011?
The Adventures of Tintin!!! Great, Great Books!!!!!

2: What was the worst?
Hardly read. so none.

3: What is on your to-read list for 2012?
A bunch of re-reads!
This year marks 10 years since I first read both The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia!!!! (Best Reading year of my life!!!!!)
So in honor of 10 years and because The Hobbit is coming out later this year I'm re-reading:

The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
All of the Chronicles of Narnia
The Hobbit

I cannot wait for Book 7 in the Temeraire Series: Temeraire: Crucible of Gold due out on March 6!!!!
And if I have time I would love to read The Space Trilogy, and Some more books by George MacDonald!

I'm very much enjoying everyone's answers to this fun questionnaire!

Aslanisthebest: Isn't The Pursuit of God incredible?! It changed my life, as stupid as that sounds. I also just recently read The Hound of the Baskervilles. I'm not usually a Sherlock Holmes fanatic. I find his intellect makes for boring crime stories. But Hound was my favorite that I have ever read. I did guess that

1: What was the best book you read in 2011?
This is hard. Either Toni Morrison's Beloved, William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, or The Once and Future King by TH White.
(Also maybe Anne of Green Gables).
2: What was the worst?
Probably one of the novels I read for Spanish class: Aura by Carlos Fuentes. Bafflingly enough, it got assigned for this quarter as well.
I also didn't enjoy Faulkner's Light in August or Joshua Ferris' Then We Came to the End at all.
3: What is on your to-read list for 2012?

I'm reading a bunch of fiction for a class on Western Lit, which will be fun since that's my territory. I also hope to read Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, Good Omens by Gaiman, The Marriage Plot by Eugenides, and I really want to read that book I keep seeing everywhere called Swamplandia!.

I'll also re-read The Hunger Games and The Hobbit before the movies come out.

Oh, no, I totally agree, Kate-- The Pursuit of God is so heartfelt and revolutional; it's so enjoying to read because literally almost every sentence is so poignant and worth pondering over. I still do need to finish it, though...
I would say that The Hound of the Baskervilles was my first introduction to real mystery books (I had only previously read the American Girl mysteries, and some others...) and the first time I had read anything to do with Sherlock Holmes, so I really enjoyed it. The writing style and plot was so good and interesting, respectively.

1: What was the best book you read in 2011?
That's so hard to choose... I'll make a list. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas, Digger by Ursula Vernon, and Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine by Dorothy Sayers

2: What was the most disappointing?
Paul: A Novel by Walter Wangerin Jr. is a book I would have liked to love, but I really ought to have known that Wangerin and I would not see eye to eye; it seemed meticulously researched but he cut out verses of Paul's letters to further his own weepy characterization of several characters... Also, The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi and The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson both made me sad (though for different reasons). But I think I'm going to give a prize to Courageous by Randy Alcorn. It had a 'big name' author one would have expected to at least not fail in the technical details of telling the story, but no..... AND The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows which was utterly gorgeous and loveable for the first half and then when the heroine arrives on the island it lost everything that made it charming. If it'd ended before she got there it'd be one of my favourite books of the year.

3: What is on your to-read list for 2012? The Chronicles of Narnia, a new book by Jessica Day George that I noticed in the bookstore the other day, everything on my library hold list...