For anyone who has never read Agatha Christie, I highly recommend the following:<p>- And Then There Were None<p>- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd<p>- Murder on the Orient Express<p>- The A.B.C. Murders<p>The books are usually "slow burns", meaning they slowly build up to the big reveal at the end of the book. Agatha Christie is the master of making great payoffs though, so despite the initial slog, by the last page you are usually awash in dopamine/adrenaline (okay maybe that's a little exaggerated, but these books really do have good payoffs).
This essay's main accusation at crime fiction, captured in the callout that these particular books are "not entirely a waste of time", is kind of insulting. Does anyone actually know the parts of reading that make a book a non-waste of time?<p>This is the kind of arrogance in criticism that would lead parents to be ashamed that their kids are reading Pokemon fan fiction. Heaven help you if they are writing it?!<p>Do I sympathize that sometimes I feel like I want some time back from something I have read? Yes. But do I truly know what is a good use of my own time? Probably not.<p>Take this article, as an example. I find the conceit in it wholly unwarranted and it casts scepticism in how I read the rest of it. That said, it does have me thinking on it. And while I can't help the lyrics, "a dangerous past time, I know" from entering my head, I have a suspicion that is a great use of my time.
This reminds me of this TV series I watched a few episodes of, about a monk that solves crimes. Surprisingly good.<p>Mystery!: Cadfael
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108717/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108717/</a>
This essay seems (I didn't read it fully due to the point I'm making) more a vehicle for the author's desire to display his culture and life than anything about Agatha Christie.
The BBC radio dramas are highly recommended:<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercule_Poirot_(radio_series)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercule_Poirot_(radio_series)</a><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Marple_(radio_series)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Marple_(radio_series)</a><p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b03js5pl" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b03js5pl</a>