The Body in the Library
Agatha Christie

This isn’t the first Agatha Christie I’ve read, or the first Miss Marple story, but it was crucial to me writing a fic this past year, so I thank it very much for that. The Body in the Library is a great example of a classic mystery that I definitely recommend to Christie fans who haven’t read Marple yet.

The Pun Also Rises
John Pollack

This was a very interesting book about puns, where they come from, what their history is, and why we make them. Though they’ve still not been studied with the depth of so many other things, they seem to be part of our language makeup no matter what language you speak. I’d definitely give this one a read if you love puns, and if you don’t, maybe you should read this too, and gain an appreciation for them.

One Who Saw
A. M. Burrage

This was a very short ghost story that I read on Christmas Eve (as was the old custom). It’s short, but it packs a wonderful little punch. I recommend it to anyone who likes old school spooky stories.

Planet Funny
Ken Jennings

I have some mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it’s written by a Gen-Xer who doesn’t understand Millennial humor. On the other, it’s a good history of modern comedy and how the comedy culture has changed itself and mainstream culture.

The Borrowed
Chan Ho-Kei

Oh my god, this book is everything. As one reviewer on Goodreads said, it’s not set in Hong Kong, it IS Hong Kong. Ostensibly, the stories here are about a particular policeman, but overall, they’re stories about Hong Kong during some of its most formative and important years. The mysteries are clever, the writing is brilliant, and the way the story is told (backwards in time) reveals some very interesting things in our characters’ lives.

I highly recommend this to anyone who loves mysteries. I’m buying this for my collection as soon as I’m able.