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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
I typically don’t like story collections as there are always weaker and stronger ones. I do think short stories work better for Sherlock Holmes but for me the majority of the stories weren’t great but there were a few very good, the best being A Scandal in Bohemia.
→ A Study in Scarlet: 3.5 stars
→ The Sign of Four : 2.5 stars
→ The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: 3 stars
→ A Study in Scarlet: 3.5 stars
→ The Sign of Four : 2.5 stars
→ The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: 3 stars
I've read bits and pieces of this book throughout my high school and college classes, but I'd never actually sat down and enjoyed it from start to finish. I found the incentive I needed to do so when I watched the BBC's "Sherlock" series, and I got a serious craving for more of the heroine-imbibing sleuth.
Mind you, the book's not as edgy as the show, but it's worthwhile all the same.
My favorite still remains the chapter of "The Speckled Band." I read it first in the 5th grade, when my class and I put on a play, and I got to act out the main part.
Mind you, the book's not as edgy as the show, but it's worthwhile all the same.
My favorite still remains the chapter of "The Speckled Band." I read it first in the 5th grade, when my class and I put on a play, and I got to act out the main part.
I'm not gonna lie, I barely made it through the first story before putting the book down. Being a huge fan of the show House (which is loosely based on Sherlock Holmes) and enjoying the new Holmes movie, I was excited to read the source material. Sadly, it fell flat for me. I found the writing very dry and mater-of-fact. While Holmes is portrayed as a great detective, I found him seriously lacking in character or personality (don't get me started on Watson). Normally I am all for reading the original, but in this case I think I'll stick to the film versions.
This Barnes and Noble's classic contains nine of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's favorite short stories and the novel the Hound of the Baskervilles. A great variety in one volume. Really enjoyed the Speckled Band and the Red-Headed League. But The Hound of the Baskervilles was the perfect capstone. It had plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
They're Shelock Holmes stories. Second time through, this time on audio. The short stories are a nice break from the longer books I normally read.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
A Scandal in Bohemia
3.5 ⭐
The Adventure of the Red-Headed League
3.5 ⭐
A Case of Identity
3.5 ⭐
The Boscombe Valley Mystery
4 ⭐
The Five Orange Pips
4.5 ⭐
The Man with the Twisted Lips
4 ⭐
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
4 ⭐
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
4 ⭐
The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb
2.5 ⭐
The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
3.5 ⭐
The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
3 ⭐
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
4 ⭐
3.5 ⭐
The Adventure of the Red-Headed League
3.5 ⭐
A Case of Identity
3.5 ⭐
The Boscombe Valley Mystery
4 ⭐
The Five Orange Pips
4.5 ⭐
The Man with the Twisted Lips
4 ⭐
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
4 ⭐
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
4 ⭐
The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb
2.5 ⭐
The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
3.5 ⭐
The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
3 ⭐
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
4 ⭐
120th book of 2022.
I like Holmes and think The Hound of the Baskervilles will pretty much remain at the top for me, as many others clearly agree. Though the ratings for the short story collections are usually as glowing as the novels, I found these quite inferior. With only 20 pages or so to work with Doyle has to set up the mystery and quickly have it solved in no time. This, sadly, consists of a lot of dialogue to report the action and the discovery as happening elsewhere or in the past. So very tell-y. Frankly a few of the stories bored me, reading two block pages of a character describing what happened to them. Sometimes the action happens in 'real time' in the longer stories but a lot of them felt too long-winded and not present enough. Sherlock remains a nice comfort read on rainy wintery English days though.
I like Holmes and think The Hound of the Baskervilles will pretty much remain at the top for me, as many others clearly agree. Though the ratings for the short story collections are usually as glowing as the novels, I found these quite inferior. With only 20 pages or so to work with Doyle has to set up the mystery and quickly have it solved in no time. This, sadly, consists of a lot of dialogue to report the action and the discovery as happening elsewhere or in the past. So very tell-y. Frankly a few of the stories bored me, reading two block pages of a character describing what happened to them. Sometimes the action happens in 'real time' in the longer stories but a lot of them felt too long-winded and not present enough. Sherlock remains a nice comfort read on rainy wintery English days though.