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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
A Study in Scarlet (read Oct 16-20) - I really liked this. I've been afraid of reading the Sherlock Holmes books because of the "old English" that they were written in; however, it's been a relatively easy read. Overall, it was a solid story; though, the setting change from Part I to Part II was, honestly, a little jarring. I thought I was starting a new book at first. Ultimately, it all tied together, and I enjoyed the read.
Okay. Finally, after holding onto it for months, occasionally trying a few more pages before putting it away again, I gave up. At a little over half-way through. You see, it sucks in a collection of stories when your favorite is the first one (A Study In Scarlet) and then the others just go downhill very quickly. I think you can tell, especially the further you go, that Doyle's heart wasn't in these stories. The inconsistencies, lazy writing, and fan-baiting really turned me off. I know it's one of those Great Victorian Series or whatever but it's not as great as people make it out to be. Just watch the movies (especially the Freud one), read one or two of the first stories, maybe buy yourself a deerstalker, and don't waste your time with the rest.
Stephen Fry is an exceptional narrator and this audiobook collection is well worth it if you want to listen to Sherlock Holmes stories.
Better review later.
Better review later.
Fantastic compilation of all of Doyle's Holmes stories. One complaint about this particular edition (the B&N Classics leather-bound edition) is the huge number of typos, but it doesn't really take away from the readability at all.
Nate and I have been listening to Sherlock Holmes stories on our way to and from his organ lessons for quite a while now. I don't know when we began, I wish I did.
We both really enjoyed these stories and Stephen Fry's reading of them. I do think Fry only has one American voice which makes me giggle a little bit - all of his Americans sound the same; roughly American Cowboy.
Nate didn't enjoy the final story and, while I did find it a little out of character and too pointedly ... um propagandizing of WWI ... I enjoyed it as I had read so much on WWI in 2020 and I caught some of the same ideas I had read that year.
Overally definitely recommend. Spreading it out on most (but not all) Fridays made it a treat; I think listening back-to-back-to-back-to-back straight through may have been less so.
We both really enjoyed these stories and Stephen Fry's reading of them. I do think Fry only has one American voice which makes me giggle a little bit - all of his Americans sound the same; roughly American Cowboy.
Nate didn't enjoy the final story and, while I did find it a little out of character and too pointedly ... um propagandizing of WWI ... I enjoyed it as I had read so much on WWI in 2020 and I caught some of the same ideas I had read that year.
Overally definitely recommend. Spreading it out on most (but not all) Fridays made it a treat; I think listening back-to-back-to-back-to-back straight through may have been less so.
Finished! It only took me 6 or 7 years to do it.
Near as I can tell, I started this sometime around 2009 or 2010. I distinctly remember carrying it on the Metro and reading this unwieldy tome on my commute. At some point, I decided to put it down and read something else, and then something else... and somewhere along the way I picked up a few other books that were a bit unwieldy and I began reading books the way I watch TV series. Read a chapter or short story from one book, then one from the next, then one from the next... This style of reading books used to irritate me, and now I find I rather enjoy it. Hard to explain, but I blame this book for starting it.
Between A Study in Scarlet and the Retired Colourman, we've had three kids and moved out west. I've encountered a number of interpretations of Holmes (Downey, Jr, Cumberbatch, McKellen... I can't remember whether I read Chabon's Final Solution before or after starting Doyle but that is worth mentioning as well). A lot's happened in those years. Maybe I should read things a bit... more quickly.
Much of the original material holds up 100+ years later, and some of it doesn't. Some prejudices have thankfully been fairly well cast upon the trash heap of history, and some conflicts remain ever-present (the opening introduction of Watson serving in Afghanistan has been mentioned elsewhere so I won't do it here -- oops, too late). I like the modern retellings. It's interesting to see how some characters (Mycroft, Lestrade) barely appear in Doyle's originals.
Near as I can tell, I started this sometime around 2009 or 2010. I distinctly remember carrying it on the Metro and reading this unwieldy tome on my commute. At some point, I decided to put it down and read something else, and then something else... and somewhere along the way I picked up a few other books that were a bit unwieldy and I began reading books the way I watch TV series. Read a chapter or short story from one book, then one from the next, then one from the next... This style of reading books used to irritate me, and now I find I rather enjoy it. Hard to explain, but I blame this book for starting it.
Between A Study in Scarlet and the Retired Colourman, we've had three kids and moved out west. I've encountered a number of interpretations of Holmes (Downey, Jr, Cumberbatch, McKellen... I can't remember whether I read Chabon's Final Solution before or after starting Doyle but that is worth mentioning as well). A lot's happened in those years. Maybe I should read things a bit... more quickly.
Much of the original material holds up 100+ years later, and some of it doesn't. Some prejudices have thankfully been fairly well cast upon the trash heap of history, and some conflicts remain ever-present (the opening introduction of Watson serving in Afghanistan has been mentioned elsewhere so I won't do it here -- oops, too late). I like the modern retellings. It's interesting to see how some characters (Mycroft, Lestrade) barely appear in Doyle's originals.