The Sherlock Holmes Challenge

After the 1st series of Sherlock on the BBC and the first movie I decided to get a hold of the complete works of Sherlock Homes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and start reading them.
When I bought my Kindle in May last year I did get a hold of them, but got caught up in the ridiculously addictive Langdon books by Dan Brown and the Millenium Trilogy!

So on the 1st of January I made only 1 New Years Resolution and that was to read the Sherlock collection, but again I got caught up in...  ahem, Lego Harry Potter.   I got it for Christmas I couldn't help myself!

Anyway, now that the 2nd series of Sherlock is finished and I've seen and loved the 2nd movie I promised myself that I would finally read them and enrich my life with the work of Sir Conan Doyle. And so begins my own Sherlock challenge.

I was thinking of setting myself a time limit, but I've never kept track of how long it takes me to read. I can obsess over a book and get it done in a week while other times it will take months.
2011 was a pretty eventful year book-wise as I read 13 in total, and like I said earlier, was obsessed with the Millenium Trilogy and stormed through them. The Hobbit was another fantastic read. I'd never read it before, but I LOVED Lord of the Rings and what with the film out in December thought it was about time I read it. It was so enjoyable that I might just read it again before December.

I don't think I could pick a favourite from last year as I read so many good ones. I couldn't put most down, but I have to admit The Black Dahlia was a tough read. It was just so dark and pretty brutal with some description. The fact that I was playing LA Noire at the same time and just had to research the story it was based on didn't make it any easier.
The most surprising book last year was Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. It was so different and enjoyable and much better than Pride & Prejudice with Zombies. And now there's a film on the way with none other than the brilliant Alan Tudyk involved -Amazeballs! If you like graphic novels, vampirey things (proper vamps not Twilight "vamps") and action books, then its a must. It was fun and pretty interesting. After reading, off I went again to do some research on Abraham Lincoln and it works well with the history, making it even more fun.

 

I've found myself doing this a few times now after reading a book. I have to go and research any truth that is involved. Dan Brown's books are so convincing that I had to go and look in to different religious beliefs and articles about the Goddess and all sorts and it actually changed my perceptions a bit. Not that I've taken in any of the books as solid truths, much the same as I don't take religion as solid truths, but the books did make me think and that's what a good book/movie/TV show or doc should do!

2010 was a good year for my literary adventures too. I got all the Harry Potter books under my belt just in time for the new movie and rekindled my love of Bryce Courtenay with The Potato Factory and Tommo & Hawk which led to me starting 2011 with Jessica, still to read Solomon's Song though. (cue research in to the development and history of Australia)

Anyway, back to my challenge. There are 9 books with 59 stories of Holmes and I think I could get them done by the end of Summer. I've already read A Study in Scarlet and loved it!

I had read a review that said it was the worst of the Holmes adventures as Arthur Conan Doyle was young and hadn't fully developed as a writer. I thought that was a bit harsh as I believe that, as with all creative folk, you never stop developing and learning. If A Study in Scarlet is what someone calls a bad Sherlock book, then I must be in for a treat as I get further on with the collection.

Next: The Sign of Four

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