Monday, September 16, 2013

Agatha Christie Week: Books from Around the World



It's Agatha Christie week (September 15th - 22nd) so for the next few days we will focus on her work, life and legacy. Today we have a guest post from Kim Hammond. 

Agatha Christie, My Favorite Writer of All Time

Known as the Queen of Crime, Christie was born in Torquay, England in 1890 and her birthplace holds an annual festival each year. This event is on my bucket list and my sister and I talk about going each year.

I have been reading Dame Agatha since I was a teenager since my mom always had some of her books in the house. She’s one of the few authors, if not the only one, that I will re-read. This is a high compliment considering my to-be-read  (TBR) pile.

Agatha Christie was truly an amazing woman for her time, living in an era where men ruled the world and woman didn’t write about murder and mayhem. During the 85 years she wrote more than 80 books, many of them bestsellers. She is know as the best-selling fiction author of all time and her books have been translated into more than 45 languages. 


It was this last tidbit of trivia regarding the 45 different languages that gave me the idea of collecting her books in foreign languages. I always buy two books and give one to my sister, Kerry, who is also a big fan. Now we both scour for book stores on our travels and it’s not always easy. Sometimes I’ll stumble upon a tiny store and purchase the only two books it has on the shelf. We really can’t look for specific titles because many times we’re very limited in choices. 

The first in my collection was a paperback that my husband found at a flea market in Paris when he was there for business. That gave me the bug and I was hooked. I’ve found books in Greece, Turkey, Italy, Amsterdam, China, Japan, and my most recent was one my sister brought back for me from Iceland. 

I have friends on the lookout for me too. I don’t think I will ever go to all of the countries Agatha Christie is published in, so I realize I need help. My friend is leaving this week for India for a month and she asked if I wanted her to bring anything back for me. Without hesitation I said “Two Agatha Christie books please.”

5 comments:

  1. What a super cool idea! I love your growing collection!

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  2. I love this collection. I think the one on the the upper right hand corner is my favorite. Do you have a favorite?

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  3. I have to admit, it's my favorite thing to collect. My books are on the fireplace mantle at my office, so that I can see them all day while at work.

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  4. I love them all and can't wait to get our next one. Hopefully Tracey will still be going to India this month.

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  5. Congrats for this great idea! I'm a lifelong AC fan myself and at the moment I own over 5,700 books in over 55 languages/dialects. If you want to get in contact with me, please do! You can drop me an email at r.m.m.stultiens@gmail.com or read more about my 'Queen of Crime Library' project at www.facebook.com/QueenOfCrime. Best wishes, Ralf

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