Literary Exploration Society to Expand Reading (Formerly 52 Books): Whodunit Bookology

Showing posts with label Whodunit Bookology. Show all posts

Sunday, December 1, 2019

BW49: Whodunit Bookology - Gabriel Allon

Our whodunit bookology detective for December is Gabriel Allon, created by Daniel Silva. The character is a former Israeli intelligence operative, who retired and became an art restorer but gets pulled out of retirement to catch a terrorist.

There are a variety of ways to complete this challenge with plenty of rabbit trails. Read a book with one or more of the following (but not limited too) and have fun exploring a variety of places and topics:

One book per letter in the character's first or last name.
One book per letter in the author's first or last name.
If you're feeling really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.
Follow in the character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time frame of the story.
Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.
Read a book with the first or last name of the character or author in the title.
Read the first book in the series.

Daniel Silva's 19th book in the Gabriel Allon series, The New Girl, was released in July 2019. Learn more about the author and his thoughts on Pop Culture, on seeing his thriller plots come true, and how he celebrates the art world via superspy Gabriel Allon.

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In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

BW45: Whodunit Bookology -- Phryne Fisher

Our whodunit bookology detective for November is Phryne Fisher, who solves mysteries set in 1920's Melbourne and was created by Kerry Greenwood who also resides in Australia.

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited to the suggestions below:

Read the first book in the series.
Read one book per letter in the character's first or last name.
Read one book per letter in the author's first or last name.
If you're really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.
Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the character.

Learn more about Kerry Greenwood, her books, how Phyrne came to life , and her thoughts on crime fiction with The Garrett Podcast.

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If you'd like to share your book reviews, you may link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have any internet or social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. Please do not add links of 52 Books, nonexistent or old web pages. They will be deleted. If your link disappears, please email me if you need to change or update your links. The linking widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

BW40: Whodunit Bookology - Toby Peters

Our October Whodunit Bookology detective of the the month is Toby Peters, created by Stuart Kaminsky who has authored more than 50 novels and is the former president of the Mystery Writers Association.

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited, to the suggestions below:

Read the first book in the series.
Read one book per letter in the character's first or last name.
Read one book per letter in the author's first or last name.
If you're really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.
Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the character.

Learn more about the character Toby Peters, the late Stuart Kaminsky, and his interviews with mystery writers in Behind the Mysteries.

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Sunday, September 1, 2019

BW36: Whodunit Bookology - Darko Dawson

Our September Whodunit Bookology detective is Detective Inspector Darko Dawson and his story is set in Accra, Ghana. We are introduced to Inspector Dawson in Wife of the Gods, the first book in a 5 book series written by Kwei Quartey.

Kwei Quartey was born in Ghana where both his parents lectured at the University of Ghana. Although he loved books and writing, during Kwei's teen years he decided to become a doctor. He never gave up his love for writing and found a way to blend both his writing and medical career. He currently resides in Pasadena, California, and works at a wound care clinic three days a week, dedicating the rest of his time to writing.

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited, to the suggestions below:

Read the first book in the series.
Read one book per letter in the character's first or last name.
Read one book per letter in the author's first or last name.
If you're really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.
Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the character.

Learn more about Kwei Quartey through his blog NPR interviews, or Criminal Elements Welcome to Ghana review of Wife of the Gods. Check out LitNet's Indepth review of Wife of the Gods if you don't mind a few spoilers.

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In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

BW32: Whodunit bookology - Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg

Our August Whodunit Bookology detective is French police detective Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg. We are introduced our detective of the month in The Chalk Circle Man, the first book in a nine book series. He has recently been promoted to Commissaire in the 5th arrondissement in Paris and is unorthodox when it comes to solving crimes.

The character was created by Fred Vargas aka Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau. Ms. Vargas, born June 7, 1957, is a French historian and archaeologist as well as a writer. Her studies of the black death and the bubonic plague is considered definitive in research studies completed on the subject which resulted in Les chemins de la peste : Le rat la puce et l'homme (Pest Roads), published in 2003.

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited, to the suggestions below:

Read the first book in the series.

Read one book per letter in the character's first or last name.

Read one book per letter in the author's first or last name.

If you're really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.

Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the character.

Be sure to check out Vargas's other series The Three Evangelists as well.

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Sunday, June 2, 2019

BW23: Whodunit Bookology - Commissario Guido Brunetti

Welcome to June and our newest Whodunit Bookology Detective - Commissario Guido Brunetti, created by Donna Leon. The 28 book detective series takes place in Venice, where Leon resided for thirty years before moving to Switzerland.

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited, to the suggestions below:

Read the first book in the series.
Read one book per letter in the character's first or last name.
Read one book per letter in the author's first or last name.
If you're really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.
Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the character.
Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.

Learn more about Donna Leon and why she became an Eco-Detective writer, an American in Venice, her deadly fascination with Venice, and Discovering Venice with Donna Leon.

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Sunday, April 28, 2019

BW18: Whodunit Bookology - Peter Zak

Our Whodunit Bookology Detective for May is Peter Zak, the brainchild of author Hallie Ephron and Dr. Donald Davidoff. The character is the director of the Pierce Psychiatric Hospital in the five book medical/psychological series and is based loosely on Dr. Davidoff.

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited, to the suggestions below:

Read the first book in the series.
Read one book per letter in the character's first or last name.
Read one book per letter in the author's first or last name.
If you're feeling really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.
Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the character.
Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.

Follow myriad rabbit trails with Nine Great Medical Thrillers chosen by a physician, Best New Medical Thrillers To Keep You Up All Night, Best 'real' psychological fiction, best fiction for neuroscientists or Fictional Psychologists/Therapists.

Happy Reading!

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

BW14: Whodunit Bookology - Brother Cadfael

Our Whodunit Bookology detective of the month is Brother Cadfael created by Ellis Peters aka Edith Pargeter who is originally from the United Kingdom and passed away October 14, 1995 at the age of 82.

Brother Cadfael came to life in A Morbid Taste for Bones through Peters interest in Shropshire history as well as herbs and gardening. The series includes 4 prequel short stories and 22 books and takes place during the 12th Century between 1135 and 1145. Cadfael, born May 1080 in Wales, was a soldier in the Crusades, a man at arms on a English war ship, and sired a son during the war before he became a Benedictine Monk at middle age and lives at the Abbey of St Peter and St Paul, currently known as the Shrewsbury Abbey in Shrewsbury, England.

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited, to the suggestions below:

Read the first book in the series.
Read one book per letter in the character's first or last name.
Read one book per letter in the author's first or last name.
If you're feeling really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.
Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the character.
Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.

Discover more about Ellis Peters and Brother Cadfael through her interview with Robbie Cranch on Mother Earth Living: Mystery in the Garden - Interview with Ellis Peters; Follow in the Footsteps of Brother Cadfael with Derek Jacobi and discover the timeless joys of 12th Century crime solving through Crime Reads Brother Cadfael: An Appreciation

Have fun following in the footsteps of Brother Cadfael

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In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Sunday, March 3, 2019

BW10: Whodunit Bookology - Chief Inspector Armand Gamache

Our Whodunit Bookology detective for March is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, created by author Louise Penny.

Armand Gamache, introduced with the publication of Still Life in 2005, is in his early 50's and works as a homicide detective for the Sûreté du Québec and at the start of the series resides in Quebec, Canada. In the books we are introduced to his wife Reine-Marie, his dog Henry, and a quirky cast of characters that live in the town of Three Pines. Gamache is warm and witty as well as stern and philosophical, digging beneath the surface, along with his second in command, Inspector Jean Guy Beauvoir, to solve murders. There are currently 14 books in the series with the latest book in the series, Kingdom of the Blind released in November, 2018.

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited, to the suggestions below:

Read the first book in the series.
Read one book per letter in the character's first or last name.
Read one book per letter in the author's first or last name.
If you're feeling really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.
Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the character.
Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.
Read a book with the first or last name of the character or author in the title.

Check out Minotaur books Chief Inspector Gamache website to learn more about Inspector Gamache, the stories, cultural references, recipes, or join in discussions about the books. Go to Louise Penny website for news and book club discussion guides. For more about Louise, dive into Quill and Quires's Louise Penny's Second Chance or her podcast interview with WCAI.

Have fun following rabbit trails.

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If you'd like to share your book reviews, you may link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have any internet or social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. Please do not add links of 52 Books, nonexistent or old web pages. They will be deleted. If your link disappears, please email me if you need to change or update your links.

Every week I will put up Mister Linky's Magical Widget for you to link to your reviews. No matter what book you are reading or reviewing at the time, whether it be # 1 or # 5 or so on, add your link to the current week's post. The linking widget will close at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Sunday, February 3, 2019

BW6: Whodunit Bookology - Inspector Chen Cao

Our Whodunit Bookology detective of the month is Inspector Chen Cao created by Qui Xiaolong originally born in Shanghai China in 1953 and currently resides in the United States.

Inspector Chen Cao was introduced with the publication of Death of a Red Heroine in 2000. The Inspector Chen series is set in Shanghai China in the 1990's and Chen Cao works as a homicide detective in the Shanghai Special Cases Bureau. The character is in his early thirties and also writes poetry and works as a translator. Inspector Chen must navigate his way through government politics while trying to solve murders. The series provides fascinating cultural and historical insight into China during a time of transition.

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited, to the suggestions below:

Read the first book in the series.
Read one book per letter in the character's first or last name.
Read one book per letter in the author's first or last name.
If you're feeling really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.
Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the character.
Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.
Read a book with the first or last name of the character or author in the title.

Check out Big Thrills Interview with Xiaolong - Perceiving China Through a Poetry-Spouting Sleuth as well as delve into the history of China during the 1990's, emerging Chinese authors, and best novels that take place in China.

Have fun following rabbit trails.

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Reviews and Comments

If you'd like to share your book reviews, you may link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have any internet or social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. Please do not add links of 52 Books, nonexistent or old web pages. They will be deleted. If your link disappears, please email me if you need to change or update your links.

Every week I will put up Mister Linky's Magical Widget for you to link to your reviews. No matter what book you are reading or reviewing at the time, whether it be # 1 or # 5 or so on, add your link to the current week's post. The linking widget will close at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Sunday, January 6, 2019

BW2: Whodunit Bookology - Hercule Poirot

Hercule Poirot located in Village of Ellezelles

Our Whodunit Bookology detective of the month is Hercule Poirot, created by Dame Agatha Christie. He was introduced to the world in 1920 in The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

Poirot was an extraordinary-looking little man. He was hardly more than five feet four inches, but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military. The neatness of his attire was almost incredible, I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound.

Arthur Hastings, The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Poirot appears in 33 novels and numerous short stories spanning from 1920 to 1975 with his death in Curtain: Poirot's Last Case. The Village of Ellezelles is officially registered as Poirot's place of birth on April 1, 1850. The famous detective was the only fictional character to have an obituary in the New York Times. The detective traveled all over Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. The character appeared in many movie, television and play adaptations and has been portrayed onscreen by over 35 actors from David Suchet to Peter Ustinov to Kenneth Branagh.

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited, to the suggestions below:

Read one book per letter in the character's first or last name.
Read one book per letter in the author's first or last name.
If you're feeling really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.
Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the character.
Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.
Read a book with the first or last name of the character or author in the title
Read the first book in the series.

You may even want to consider comparing the books to the movies. I'm looking forward to watching the most recent film adaptation with Kenneth Branagh. Currently in my stacks are: Murder on the Orient Express, The Man in the Brown Suit, and Sparkling Cyanide.

Have fun following in the footsteps of Hercule Poirot!

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How to link to your reviews

If you'd like to share your book reviews, you may link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have any internet or social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. Please do not add links of 52 Books or nonexistent pages. They will be deleted. If your link disappears, please email me if you need to change or update your links.

Every week I will put up Mister Linky's Magical Widget for you to link to your reviews. No matter what book you are reading or reviewing at the time, whether it be # 1 or # 5 or so on, add your link to the current week's post. The linking widget will close at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

2019 Rambling Roads Reading Adventure

Lady Enchanted by Josephine Wall

Happy New Year and welcome to another round of Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks. Our reading quest began ten years ago and during that period of time, our armchair travels have taken us all over the world and back again. This year we are going to ramble and rove around the globe, follow multiple rabbit trails. Whether you are a fan of fiction or nonfiction, like to juggle multiple books at once, love to reread favorite authors over and over, explore different genres, new to you authors, or stick to the tried and true, this is the place for you.

I know what you're thinking. The goal is to read 52 books so you'll aim to read at least one book a week. However, there are books that take longer than a week to read. And there are some books that can be read in two or three hours. I don't want anyone to sacrifice quality for quantity by reading a short book just to make the goal for the week. Read what you want, explore and dive into those longer books, engage your mind and soul and don't worry. Do your best, challenge yourself and see what happens.

To aid us in our reading adventures, we have several optional challenges to entice you. Follow in the footsteps of bookish detectives, sleuths, and private eyes with our spelling and reading challenge,  Whodunit Bookology. Traverse different times, places, or spaces with another round of 52 Books Bingo. Delve into the world of music and silence with The Sound of Silence.

We have a few perpetual challenges including our Brit Trip Adventure along the Roman roads of England. Snoop along with  Agatha Christie or dig into great books with Susan Wise Bauer's Well Educated Mind or the Nobel Prize Winners. Explore the world of science fiction and fantasy with Mind Voyages or Feed Your Muse with poetry, essays and short stories. Read alphabetically with Alphabet Soup, or answer the call of those Dusty and Chunky books sitting on your shelves.

Plus I'll introduce various mini challenges throughout the year to tickle your reading taste buds. As always, you may choose to travel along with me or follow your own path.

Are you ready to go? Grab your backpacks and a new pair of walking shoes, a map to all the bookstores and libraries around the world and get ready to ramble as we wander through the centuries and continents and across the seas and outer space.

I'm headed to the other side of the world to the far eastern shores of the continent of Asia where traditionally we start out the year with Haruki Murakami, a fan favorite of many 52 Book a Week readers. I have Kafka on the Shore and Killing Commendatore as well as a dusty and chunky book - James Michener's The Source  -  which has been calling my name for quite a while.

“I still love books. Nothing a computer can do can compare to a book. You can't really put a book on the Internet. Three companies have offered to put books by me on the Net, and I said, 'If you can make something that has a nice jacket, nice paper with that nice smell, then we'll talk.' All the computer can give you is a manuscript. People don't want to read manuscripts. They want to read books. Books smell good. They look good. You can press it to your bosom. You can carry it in your pocket.” ― Ray Bradbury

My shelves are overflowing with dusty books. They kept having babies, because I like to keep my books rather than use the library. I amused myself last year reading way too many ebooks. So my plan this year is I can only read one ebook for every two physical books. Plus I'm extending my book buying ban which includes those tantalizing freebie virtual books, through June. New releases from your 'I can't stand it, they published a new book in the series, what am I going to do, he or she is my favorite author' are certainly allowed. *grin* Join me in clearing your tbr shelves and see how long you can go without buying a new book.

~Cheers to a wonderful new reading year~

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For the first week, link to your I'm participating post, reading plans or to your most current review. Please link to your specific post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading. Every week I will put up Mister Linky's Magical Widget for you to link to your reviews. No matter what book you are reading or reviewing at the time, whether it be # 1 or # 5 or so on, add your link to the current week's post. The linking widget will close at the end of each book week.

Saturday, December 8, 2018

2019 Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks

Are you ready for another round of Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks? Our reading quest began ten years ago and during that period of time, our armchair travels have taken us all over the world and back again. This year we are going to ramble and rove around the globe, following multiple rabbit trails. Whether you are a fan of fiction or nonfiction, like to juggle multiple books at once, love to reread favorite authors over and over, explore different genres, new to you authors, or stick to the tried and true, this is the place for you. The rules are very simple. The goal is to read 52 books. How you get there is up to you.

We have a variety of challenges including a new 52 Books Bingo as well as A to Z, Chunky, Dusty and Feed Your Muse to assist us in our reading adventures.

Whodunit Bookology Spelling and author of the month -- Follow in the footsteps of Agatha Christie and her charming detective Hercule Poirot as well as variety of bookish detectives, sleuths, and private eyes.

Brit Tripping --- A year long mystery read traveling the Roman Roads through England reading reading a book from each of the 45 counties with a few extra trips to London. (Perpetual)

Agatha Christie -- read at least three of her books per year. Read the books in chronological order as listed, group by detective or collection, or randomly if you choose. (Perpetual)

Well Educated Mind -- Continue to explore the classics in 6 categories: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama, Poetry and Science. (Perpetual)

Since it is our Tenth Anniversary, there will be a variety of Ten themed mini challenges throughout the year.

The mini, weekly and monthly challenges are all optional, Mix them up anyway you like or follow your own path in the quest to read.

The challenge will run from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019.
Our book weeks will begin on Sunday
Week one will begin on Tuesday, January 1st.
Participants may join at any time.
All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc.
Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2019
Books may overlap other challenges.
If you have an blog, create an entry post linking to this blog.
Sign up with Mr. Linky in the "I'm participating post" in the sidebar
You don't have a blog to participate. Post your weekly book in the comments section of each weekly post.
Mr. Linky will be added to the bottom of the each weekly post for you to link to reviews of your reads.

Pages

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Sunday, June 2, 2019

Sunday, April 28, 2019

Sunday, March 31, 2019

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Saturday, December 8, 2018