The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle (? — 30 December)

I'm finished! Woohoo! I started reading this book shortly after I bought it in 2007, and then left off for two years, and then finally picked it up again... sometime earlier this year, and then ignored it again... goodness. But I have been making my way through the bulk of it over the last two weeks, and I can now say that I sort of know what this Sherlock Holmes fellow is about. Sweet.

I had read A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four in my mysteries course senior year, and The Hound of the Baskervilles a few months back, and found them delightful, but I wasn't really prepared for these short stories. In both the novels and the stories, Holmes gets called on a case, checks out the scene, makes some deductions, and solves the matter in a rather quick fashion, but in the stories, that's it. There's not a narrative to go along with the detecting; Holmes just does his thing and Watson reports it.

That's not to say I didn't like the stories. I just had to get used to them. :) And... I don't have much else to say about them! If you want a quick little reminder of how incredibly stupid you are, I recommend finding a Holmes story or two online and enjoying.

Rating: 7/10
(Baker Street Challenge)

See also:
[your link here]

Pass me yours, if you've got 'em.

The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle (2 September — 3 September)

I'm finally getting a start on that Baker Street Challenge I've been neglecting! Yay! (And it's a mystery and kind of creepy, really, so I'm gonna throw it in with RIP as well.)

This is one of those books that I've never read but that I feel like I've read because I saw a version of it on television, though it was many many years ago and it was the Rescue Rangers "Pound of the Baskervilles" and I don't remember it very well but I don't think it was much the same. :) It might have been, though.

In the novel, a Dr. Mortimer seeks Sherlock Holmes's help in a supernatural mystery; Mortimer's patient and friend Sir Charles Baskerville has died in mysterious circumstances that fit in with the family legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles. This Charles was declared dead of a heart attack, but Mortimer believes that a large hound was involved, judging by some footprints a ways away that the police didn't care about. If that wasn't bad enough, the last remaining Baskerville, a Sir Henry, is on his way to take over the estate and Mortimer fears for Henry's life.

Holmes, as ever, does some deducting and sends Watson out to the moor with Sir Henry to watch over him and report back. While there, Watson encounters some rather odd things that make him wonder if there isn't a spectral hound out to get the Baskervilles!

So, now I have read this book, and it was good! And, I will admit, the atmosphere and the case were just creepy enough that I was a little jumpy toward the end of the book and in fact was briefly scared by Scott holding a Wiimote over my head. And then I was just confused. :)

Rating: 7/10
(Baker Street Challenge, RIP Challenge)

See also:
[your link here]

Pass me yours, if you've got 'em.