Messages

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What I'm Reading / Re: My latest read is...

« on: April 08, 2020, 12:24:35 am »

I haven't. The last British series I checked out was Season 3 of Agatha Raisin and that's because AcornTV is free on my cable system right now.

Me, too! I saw that Acorn was free for a while (I think it may have ended today), so I watched seasons 2 and 3. My favorite episode was The Case of the Curious Curate. Lots of laughs in that one! Wilkes was at his most ridiculous, as he was campaigning for something.  I didn't think I had seen all of season 1, but I wasn't sure, so tonight I watched the last 2 in that season. I had seen them before, but I rewatched them anyway. They seem to have left out whatever happened between Agatha, James, and Charles in Cyprus, as at the end of season 1, Agatha was on her way there, and season 2 started when she got home. I take it that James rejected her (again!), and I'm not sure how Charles ended up there, too, but apparently he 'comforted' her.

I'm back rereading Agatha Christies. I read The Secret of Chimneys, and now I'm reading Thirteen at Dinner.

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What I'm Reading / Re: My latest read is...

« on: March 14, 2020, 10:43:27 pm »

Becke, I've seen both versions of The Lodger that you mentioned. I saw the 1944 film first, and later I saw the Hitchcock version (I own it). I probably first watched it when I was taking a class on Hitchcock on B&N University! It was taught by Donald Spoto, who is mentioned in the article you posted, and we used his book for the text.

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: March Feature: Mysteries in or about Ireland (and Scotland, too)

« on: March 14, 2020, 10:38:10 pm »

Denise, I have just one book of Irish fairy tales and legends. I actually bought it to give someone as a Christmas present but ended up giving them something else instead after I forgot that I had bought the book for them.

Did you end up reading it yourself? I have one edited by Yeats, and I think another has illustrations by Rackham.

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: March Feature: Mysteries in or about Ireland (and Scotland, too)

« on: March 12, 2020, 02:38:15 am »

I'm half Irish. When I was twelve, my family traveled to Europe, and our first stop was in Ireland, where we rented a car and drove around. I don't remember seeing many sites, except the Waterford factory, and a convent, I think. We first stayed in Adare, in a hotel where Teddy Kennedy had stayed, and where I was bitten by a dog. Two small dogs were let out of a room, ran down the hall, and one immediately bit me in the ankle! I had to see a doctor. The owner of the dogs was a senile "Sir Timothy", and couldn't remember if they had had their rabies shots. Luckily, I survived! Then we spent a couple of days at the Great Western Hotel in Killarney, and after that, drove around the Ring of Kerry and stayed there for a night (I think Teddy had stayed there, too).

I don't think I have any Irish mysteries, but I do have a number of books of Irish fairy tales and legends, and ghosts.

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Bookmarks?

« on: February 21, 2020, 10:05:01 pm »

My daughter collects dolls - is your collection made up of a particular make of dolls or dolls from particular countries?

They're from different countries. Although the collection does include three Ginny dolls (remember those?) dressed in costumes representing Spain, Scotland, and Holland. Maybe I'll take some pics sometime and post them on Facebook!

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Bookmarks?

« on: February 20, 2020, 10:42:59 pm »

Ha, ha, my bookshelves are too full of books for there to be room for bookends! I just use a couple of those thin metal ones (from work) on a couple of shelves with very tall books. Those shelves aren't quite full, and have some of my foreign doll collection on the ends.

Those "book nooks" are very cool, Becke!

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Who are some of your favorite mystery pairings, like Holmes and Watson?

« on: February 20, 2020, 10:35:17 pm »

Tommy and Tuppence

Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver

Richard Jury and Melrose Plant

Richard Jury and Sgt. Wiggins

Amelia Peabody and Emerson

Koko and Yum Yum!

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Bookmarks?

« on: February 15, 2020, 01:59:48 am »

I love collecting cute bookmarks. Although they go in a book and I never see them again... Years ago the Agatha Christie Society had a series of bookmarks dedicated to Christie, Poirot, Miss Marple and some of the collectible first editions. I really enjoyed working on them.

Yes! I know I have a few nice ones, but no idea in what book I might have left them. Luckily, I have plenty more!

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: February Feature at the Forum: Curl Up with a Cozy!

« on: February 06, 2020, 10:07:39 pm »

Ha, I wonder how many of those "rules" Agatha Christie broke!

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself

« on: February 06, 2020, 12:38:53 pm »

Hi, Debbie, nice to see some of the old B&N gang finally showing up here! I think several have joined, but few have posted (just Becke, me, and now you!). I was dulcinea3 on B&N.

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: February Feature at the Forum: Curl Up with a Cozy!

« on: February 06, 2020, 12:33:54 pm »

One cozy "rule" I don't really agree with is that the sleuth has to be an amateur. I think it's more about the setting and atmosphere. For example, Becke, I notice that you mentioned a series featuring a police constable. One that comes to my mind is the Richard Jury series by Martha Grimes, that I consider to be cozies. Of course, those encompass two settings, and I guess Melrose's little corner of the world is the cozier of the two, and he's an amateur, but even the London bits with Jury and his crazy neighbors and colleagues are cozieish. Have only seen the series and not read the books, but Midsomer Murders definitely seem like cozies to me. Even Agatha Raisin turns pro and opens her own detective agency!

Not sure it qualifies as a cozy, although in general I consider Christie to be a cozy author, but I'm currently reading So Many Steps to Death (British title Destination Unknown), which is more in her espionage category - disappearing scientists.

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Sherlock Holmes' 166th Birthday - January 6, 2020 - It's a Party All Month!

« on: January 26, 2020, 01:30:21 pm »

In the Adventures, cocaine was spelled "cucaine". I hadn't seen that spelling before. Now I've moved on to the Memoirs, and it's spelled "cocaine".

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Bookmarks?

« on: January 20, 2020, 11:51:03 am »

We stayed in Lenox, and visited the Clark Art Institute at Williams College, in Williamstown, and also the Norman Rockwell museum in Stockbridge. The Clark does have sculptures, too, as well as decorative arts (porcelain, silver, etc.): https://www.clarkart.edu/museum/Collections/Browse-Collections#/?sortBy=2&FacetId=12

I have been to North Adams, when my best high school friend went there for her freshman year of college, but not to any museums there.

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Bookmarks?

« on: January 19, 2020, 03:14:34 pm »

Denise - I'm not sure if this board is set up to include images. I remember we had a lot of fun sharing images on the B&N board but maybe they had something to do with all the notorious glitches at that forum.

I think that the B&N boards used different software, but I have been a member of several boards like this one in the past. I know that we couldn't load actual image files, but had to link to an online image (that was when I used to use Photobucket a lot!). I tried the icon above the text box to Insert Image, but it didn't seem to do anything. Then I tried Insert Hyperlink. Finally, I typed the HTML tags in myself. No luck. Oh, well, maybe another member knows how to do it, and will see this.

Edit: Ah! Got it! Was using the wrong kind of brackets!

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Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Sherlock Holmes' 166th Birthday - January 6, 2020 - It's a Party All Month!

« on: January 17, 2020, 09:54:12 pm »

In honor, I am rereading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I have a quality paperback that is supposed to be a facsimile of the original edition, with Sidney Paget's illustrations. I also have The Memoirs...; they came as a pair.  I have a paperback of The Hound of the Baskervilles, that I got when I was in junior high! I'm actually not sure that I've read any of the other novels; much more familiar with the short stories.

For me, Jeremy Brett is the definitive Holmes. Basil Rathbone was very good, too, although I think a number of those movies had original plots not from the stories. The Cumberbatch series is excellent in its own way, and really fascinating. I particularly enjoyed the character of Moriarty in that series. Elementary was also a good series.

And don't forget the movie The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother! So long since I've seen it, but what a comedy cast! Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, etc. Basically a Mel Brooks film, only without Brooks - Wilder wrote and directed.