“Death on the Nile” by Agatha Christie

I picked up this one because of the movie, starring Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, and Kenneth Branagh, who plays Hercule Poirot. I get the impression that they’ll make a series of Poirot movies, which I’m glad for as I’ve enjoyed the two out so far. Just liked with Murder on the Orient Express, I was motivated to read the book after seeing Death on Nile. I wanted to experience the story in its original format and am glad to have enjoyed it that way too.

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GENRE

Mystery

SERIES

Hercule Poirot Mysteries

PUBBED

1937

Quick summary

As the title suggests, this story takes place in Egypt. Hercule Poirot is on vacation, on a cruise on the river Nile. When he boards the boat, he’s approached by Linnet Ridgeway, a wealthy young woman who’d recently married, about a job to help her and her husband.

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“Emma” by Jane Austen, illus. by C.E. Brock

Here’s another classic surprise. Again I gravitated toward a classic story to read, this time because I watched the movie and liked it so much that I wanted to try the book.

Well, not only did I complete the book and understood what I read, but it was a Jane Austen book and I liked it too! Something weird must be going on with me this year for me, of all people, to like a Jane Austen book.

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Genre

Classic Romance

Series

n/a

Pubbed

1815

Quick summary

It’s all about a young woman named Emma Woodhouse playing matchmaker to everyone and causing a bunch of confusion while doing so. There’s also a lot of classism thrown in. (Goodreads)

“The Invisible Man” by H.G. Wells

I decided to revisit The Invisible Man a few weeks ago when I saw it on a feature shelf at my library.

I’d first read it when I was in high school and was so hooked on the story back then that I completed the book in a day. I wanted to know if my experience with the story would be the same or if the intervening years had dried the story for me and made it a bore, so I gave it another read.

Genre:

Sci-fi; Classic

Pubbed:

1897

Goodreads summary:

This masterpiece of science fiction is the fascinating story of Griffin, a scientist who creates a serum to render himself invisible, and his descent into madness that follows. (Goodreads)

My thoughts: (spoilers)

In short, I enjoyed the story. Again I was hooked just as I was when I first read it. But unlike my high school years, I now have responsibilities that claim my time, so it took a few days to complete the story, which is quite short at under 200 pages.

“Dragonflight” by Anne McCaffrey

I buddy-read this with Sarah from Dragons & Zombies because we both like dragons (and zombies) and Elizabeth Moon’s Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, which we first tried to read, was too boring to continue with. Dragonflight was a slight improvement.

Genre:

Fantasy

Pubbed:

1968

Series:

Dragonriders of Pern (book 1)

Quick summary:

Dragonflight is the first novel in the Dragonriders of Pern classic fantasy series. It’s about a planet called Pern that uses dragons to overcome the Threads, offshoots from a planet that sprouts destructive formations when it orbits close to Pern.

Dragonflight begins with a girl called Lessa planning revenge on the man who brought about the end of her family and stole her birthright. However, Lessa does not yet know that her life is about to change for the unexpected because the dragonmen are on a search for a female to bond with the new dragon queen and help prepare for the return of the Threads. (Goodreads)