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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
“Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its colour are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers.”
REREAD 2024. 4.5 stars. Yet again, I find myself raising my rating for one of these books, even though this is the... 8th time that I've reread it? (All of my rereads definitely haven't been logged on Goodreads.) Maybe I'm becoming more lenient in my ratings, or maybe something about these stories just hit harder as I grow older. I just get swept away by all this wonderful nostalgia when I read these books, and I'm so so enthralled by the main characters and their friendship. The actual mysteries aren't super amazing, but the stories that they tell... I just love them. This collection had a couple of my absolute favourites. "The Adventure of the Yellow Face" and "The Final Problem", of course, are so dear to my heart. No matter what, I always shed a tear.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Charlton Griffin. Excellent as always. His Holmes voice is THE Holmes voice to me.
--
Not Stephen Fry crying as he reads the final lines of 'The Final Problem'.
Doyle's short stories are so much better than his novels. I enjoyed reading this collection and found the frequent references to previous stories gratifying, so I recommend reading the adventures in order. I felt so immersed in these that I had trouble putting them down at times, and I did tear up during "The Final Problem" when Watson starts off referring to A Study in Scarlet and thinking about the journey to get here. Holmes is much warmer in the stories than he is often portrayed and so dramatic. Watson gives Col. Pickering energy in the best way. I am putting down the Holmes stories for a while, which is fitting as I can sit with the ending the way Doyle's original readers would have. I am looking forward to picking them up again this fall, however, and will miss them in the meantime!
Originally read - 2011
Listened - 2016
Listened - July 2017
Listened - Dec 2020
These Holmes tales are about as well told as any others, though some of the premises start to feel a little repetitive through this section. (I.E. The Stockbroker's Clark feels like a a variation on The Redheaded League, The Greek Interpreter feels like The Engineer's Thumb.)
Still good stories and thankful for any original Sherlock that is available, but I personally have a hard time reading or listening to a plot that feels like an alternative universe plot from another I just read recently.
Listened - 2016
Listened - July 2017
Listened - Dec 2020
These Holmes tales are about as well told as any others, though some of the premises start to feel a little repetitive through this section. (I.E. The Stockbroker's Clark feels like a a variation on The Redheaded League, The Greek Interpreter feels like The Engineer's Thumb.)
Still good stories and thankful for any original Sherlock that is available, but I personally have a hard time reading or listening to a plot that feels like an alternative universe plot from another I just read recently.
Very intertaining collection of storeies. if i have to pick favs it would be between "the final problem" and "the Gloria Scott".
I tend to forget the plots of books I've read--even books I've totally loved--a year or two after reading them. This means I can read things like Sherlock Holmes mysteries over and over and get great enjoyment out of them every time. It's only stories like the Musgrave Ritual and the Final Solution that have stuck with me to the degree that I remember the conclusion, but the memorable nature of these stories is precisely what makes them good to read again. What I'm saying is ZOMG Sherlock Holmez Y R U so good!!!!!1 Can't wait to read these again in a couple of years.
3.5 stars
I have to admit that I prefer The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I liked the stories in this collection too but most of them left me feeling indifferent. The best stories were the ones that introduced Mycroft and Moriaty.
I have to admit that I prefer The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I liked the stories in this collection too but most of them left me feeling indifferent. The best stories were the ones that introduced Mycroft and Moriaty.
So interesting and well written it got me to read the full compendium of his works.
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated