"On glancing over my notes of the seventy odd cases in which I have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend Sherlock Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a large number merely strange, but none commonplace; for, working as he did rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of wealth, he refused to associate himself with any investigation which did not tend towards the unusual, and even the fantastic."Of the three Sherlock Holmes books I've read so far (the other two being [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348362236s/102868.jpg|1997473] and [b:The Sign of Four|608474|The Sign of Four (Sherlock Holmes, #2)|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1299346921s/608474.jpg|21539872]), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is definitely my favorite. Although the first two Sherlock Holmes books are also wonderful, I think Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's strength is more in his short stories. In this third volume, Doyle includes twelve short stories: "A Scandal in Bohemia," "The Red-Headed League," "A Case of Identity," "The Boscombe Valley Mystery," "The Five Orange Pips," "The Man with the Twisted Lip," "The Blue Carbuncle," "The Speckled Band," "The Engineer's Thumb," "The Noble Bachelor," "The Beryl Coronet," and "The Copper Beeches." The Kindle edition I read also included a nice little "About the Author" section and the original illustrations from the story, which were a nice touch. :)As I've already said, more or less––although I did really enjoy the first two Sherlock Holmes novels, I think I prefer the short stories. They're more concise and well-paced––whereas, [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348362236s/102868.jpg|1997473], for example, wandered off on a different subplot for a while and got a bit tedious. There's a great variety of stories in this collection. Scandal, murder, family drama, killer snakes, the KKK ... You name it, it's in here. And, as usual, Sherlock Holmes himself is such a great character: so in love with solving strange mysteries that he doesn't even want compensation for it, brilliant but slightly insane, a drug addict and a master of disguise ... He's mysterious and fascinating and hilarious and ... just awesome.Plus, Watson is a great narrator and an endearing character. I love his friendship with Sherlock, and how it's so unusual and strangely touching. This is not really relevant, but I also like how some of the old language, has uh ... changed in meaning a bit over time. For instance, Watson really "ejaculates" a lot. Also, just, this:"Very sorry to knock you up, Watson," said [Sherlock], "but it's the common lot this morning. Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up, she retorted upon me, and I on you."HAHA, Sherlock Holmes ... knocking up Watson.Sorry, I'm just being stupid and immature now.The point is, this is a great collection of stories and I immensely enjoyed it. I look forward to reading the rest of them! :)
Flying Kick-a-pow!
Hi people! I'm Brigid, a college student and lover of all things book-related--writing them, reading them, reviewing them, biting them ... Yeah. I mostly read YA but I'm open to pretty much everything.
"On glancing over my notes of the seventy odd cases in which I have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend Sherlock Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a large number merely strange, but none commonplace; for, working as he did rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of wealth, he refused to associate himself with any investigation which did not tend towards the unusual, and even the fantastic."Of the three Sherlock Holmes books I've read so far (the other two being [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348362236s/102868.jpg|1997473] and [b:The Sign of Four|608474|The Sign of Four (Sherlock Holmes, #2)|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1299346921s/608474.jpg|21539872]), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is definitely my favorite. Although the first two Sherlock Holmes books are also wonderful, I think Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's strength is more in his short stories. In this third volume, Doyle includes twelve short stories: "A Scandal in Bohemia," "The Red-Headed League," "A Case of Identity," "The Boscombe Valley Mystery," "The Five Orange Pips," "The Man with the Twisted Lip," "The Blue Carbuncle," "The Speckled Band," "The Engineer's Thumb," "The Noble Bachelor," "The Beryl Coronet," and "The Copper Beeches." The Kindle edition I read also included a nice little "About the Author" section and the original illustrations from the story, which were a nice touch. :)As I've already said, more or less––although I did really enjoy the first two Sherlock Holmes novels, I think I prefer the short stories. They're more concise and well-paced––whereas, [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348362236s/102868.jpg|1997473], for example, wandered off on a different subplot for a while and got a bit tedious. There's a great variety of stories in this collection. Scandal, murder, family drama, killer snakes, the KKK ... You name it, it's in here. And, as usual, Sherlock Holmes himself is such a great character: so in love with solving strange mysteries that he doesn't even want compensation for it, brilliant but slightly insane, a drug addict and a master of disguise ... He's mysterious and fascinating and hilarious and ... just awesome.Plus, Watson is a great narrator and an endearing character. I love his friendship with Sherlock, and how it's so unusual and strangely touching. This is not really relevant, but I also like how some of the old language, has uh ... changed in meaning a bit over time. For instance, Watson really "ejaculates" a lot. Also, just, this:"Very sorry to knock you up, Watson," said [Sherlock], "but it's the common lot this morning. Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up, she retorted upon me, and I on you."HAHA, Sherlock Holmes ... knocking up Watson.Sorry, I'm just being stupid and immature now.The point is, this is a great collection of stories and I immensely enjoyed it. I look forward to reading the rest of them! :)
Currently reading
Iliad
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
A Clash of Kings
Les Misérables
The Once and Future King
Fire and Ash
