Ten Books I Thought I'd Never Read: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

Agatha Christie
9/15/1890-1/12/1976
Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

 Summary of Murder on the Orient Express from Goodreads...

"Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. One of his fellow passengers must be the murderer.
Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man's enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again."


Well, I thought at page 163 that I had the whole thing figured out.  I must admit that I was very, very wrong.  I really liked the book though, and I'm absolutely positive that I will read more Christie books.  As a matter of fact there is a list titled, "The Agatha Christie Collection" at the beginning of the book, and I plan to read them all. 

The Agatha Christie Collection (Listed in Murder on the Orient Express)

4:50 From Paddington
A Caribbean Mystery
A Murder Is Announced
After the Funeral
Appointment with Death
At Bertram's Hotel
Cat Among the Pigeons
Death on the Nile
Evil Under the Sun
Five Little Pigs
Hercule Poirot's Christmas
Murder at the Vicarage
Murder in the Mesopotamia
*Murder on the Orient Express
Peril at End House
Sad Cypress
The A.B.C. Murder
The Body in the Library
The Hollow
The Moving Finger
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Mystery of the Blue Train
The Tuesday Club Murders

If you like the detective in Murder on the Orient Express, Hercule Poirot, you will be happy to know that there are lots more Agatha Christie books starring this funny Belgian.  If you want to read more about them click HERE.

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pen name Mary Westmacott.  I'll definitely be checking those out!

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In 1974 a movie version of the book came out.  It was nominated for and won many awards including an Oscar.

Source:  http://www.imdb.com/

It had a star studded cast including: Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, and many more.

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If you are interested in the present day Orient Express you can visit their website by clicking HERE.  You'll find pictures of the trains, layouts of the rooms, and maps of where it travels.

A Trio of Laura Ingalls Wilder

This will be a short post today--let's just say I'm having computer problems, and I'm doing this post on my phone(ugghh).


"Prairie Girl: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder" by William Anderson

This book is a nice little biography about Laura and her family. The book is easy to read and very much suited to children. It is basically a summary of The Little House Books with some details that are missing from the books.



"Laura's Album: A Remembrance Scrapbook of Laura Ingalls Wilder" compiled by William Anderson

This is an interesting little book full of pictures and neat facts about Laura, her family, and her ancestors. If you've ever wanted to know what Ma, Pa, Laura, Mary, Carrie, and Grace look like, this is the book for you.



"A Little House Traveler" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

This book is a collection of Laura's journals she kept as she traveled. It is made up of "On the Way Home", "West From Home", and "The Road Back".
"On the Way Home" is a diary of the trip that Laura, Almonzo, and Rose made by covered wagon in 1894 from their homestead in South Dakota to what would eventually become Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, Missouri.
"West From Home" is a collection of Laura's letters home to Almonzo when she paid a visit to Rose in San Francisco during The World's Fair in 1915.
Even though I had previously read both of these, the third diary, "The Road Back", made this book worth checking out. "The Road Back" is a record of Laura, Almonzo, and the dog, Nero's trip back to De Smet, South Dakota in 1931. This time they traveled in a 1923 Buick they named Isabelle.
They visited Grace and Carrie as well as old friends in DeSmet. They went to Ma and Pa's old homestead as well as their own. They drove during the day eating their breakfast at any diner, cafe, or restaurant they found acceptable. They always gave Nero their scraps and some milk. They slept in cabins at campgrounds along the way. Laura kept track of the money and constantly commented on the farms, crops, animals, and houses they saw along the way.

You Might Be Surprised At What You Find

I love to travel!  I'm a big believer in exploring your own state, your own county, and even your own town.  You might be surprised at what you find if you just look!  I guarantee you'll learn something.

When I saw this book on Kentucky travel, I snatched it up.

Source:  http://www.paperbackswap.com/

There are 55 trips detailed inside, and they are broken down into regions.  They include:  Western Lakes Region,   Bluegrass, Blues,&Barbecue,  Caves, Lakes& Corvettes Region,   Southern Lakes & Rivers Region,   Kentucky Derby Region,  Bluegrass Region,   Northern Kentucky Region,   Eastern Highlands North Region,   Eastern Highlands South Region.

The trips are numbered in the book.  Trip #1 being Paducah-McCracken County and Trip #55 being Alice Lloyd College.  There's a trip to satisfy just about everyone in this book--history, museums, outdoor activities, city life, food, festivals, and concerts.

Here's some of the trips we've taken and really enjoyed:

Paducah-McCracken County (#1)
http://www.paducahtourism.org/

Source:  My Photo



 Pattie's 1800 Settlement (#2)
http://www.pattis-settlement.com/

Source:  My Photo

Bluegrass&Barbecue (#6)
http://www.visitowensboro.com/

Source:  http://www.bbqandbourban.com/

Mammoth Cave National Park (#10)
www.nps.gov/maca

Book I purchased when we visited last
Source:  http://www.amazon.com/

Louisville Zoo  (#22)
http://www.louisvillezoo.org/

Source:  My Photo



Where are your favorite places to go in Kentucky?  Leave a comment and let me know.