“All this, however, is foreign to the mission on which you sent me and will probably be very uninteresting to your severely practical mind. I can still remember your complete indifference as to whether the sun moved round the earth or the earth round the sun.”
Dr Watson writing a letter to Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, circa 1902
Author: Cadie (Page 34 of 46)
It is no surprise to my regular readers that I have been reading my way through this large volume of Sherlock Holmes stories for quite some time. This book is a great addition to any library, but especially to that of a Holmes fan like myself. The volume is 939 pages and contains a great introduction by Barbara and Christopher Roden. As you can see in the picture of the dust jacket, there are 4 complete novels and 44 short stories. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 56 short stories featuring Holmes, so the volume is only missing 12. My sister joked that those couldn’t be called the greatest adventures, so they were left out.
The four novels are:
- A Study in Scarlet
- The Sign of the Four
- The Hound of the Baskervilles
- The Valley of Fear
The short stories were printed in four collections:
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
- The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
- The Return of Sherlock Holmes
- His Last Bow
I am thoroughly enjoying reading these stories for myself. It is different to read them than to listen to them. I have picked up on small details that I had missed before. I encourage you, if you have not read Holmes (and even if you have), head over to Barnes & Noble and grab a copy of The Greatest Adventure of Sherlock Holmes. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
by Dr Kathy Reichs
This is the third Kathy Reichs / Temperance Brennan book I read. This is the one with the crazy plot twist at the end. I found my copy at the local library thrift store. It is a hardback with a great neon green/yellow/blue dust jack. Hardback books are my favorites! I just love how they feel in my hands. I hope to add more Kathy Reichs books to my collection soon, however, until then, Speaking in Bones is definitely the strangest of the three I own.
My first exposure to Emily Dickinson was in a college course on nature writers, and I did not like her poems at all. However, I decided to buy this tiny book and give her a second chance. These small books are a Barnes & Noble special; they are about the size of a wallet. I’m glad I decided to give Dickinson a second chance because I have enjoyed many of the poems in this book. It just goes to show, first impressions can be deceiving.
by Mary Oliver
This little book of poems is encouraging. Mary Oliver has such a great way with words. I picked up my copy at Barnes and Noble. It is a paperback, but the cover is soft, and the book just feels nice in your hands. Many of the poems in Felicity are about the things Mary Oliver loved, like her dogs and her friends. Every time I read one of these poems, I think, that was just a sweet way to put that thought into words.
by Dr Kathy Reichs
This was the second Kathy Reichs / Temperance Brennan book I read. I found my copy at the local library thrift store. I don’t think it is a former library copy, but I’m not sure because there are two date stamps on the inside cover. My volume is a little hardback with the same red dust jacket as is in the picture. The case was fascinating! I hope you are able to find a copy for yourself, because I think you would really enjoy Break No Bones.
by Lewis Carroll
I have not written much about Alice’s Adventures or Lewis Carroll yet, but I do plan to in the near future. The reason I had to add her to my library before I started reading the full volume was because I posted my favorite poem of all, “Jabberwocky“.
My copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Other Classic Works is a large volume that I purchased at Barnes and Noble. It is a lovely hardback with a bright pink dust jacket. The classic works included in this volume are:
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
- Through the Looking-Glass
- Sylvie and Bruno
- Sylvie and Bruno Concluded
- Verse: The Hunting of the Snark
- Phantasmagoria
- Puzzles from Wonderland
I will be sure to let you know once I do start reading these stories. I also intend to post each poem that Lewis Carrol wrote into the stories of Alice so we can enjoy them together.
by Dr Kathy Reichs
This was the first Kathy Reichs / Temperance Brennan book I ever owned or read. My copy is hardback and large print, but I don’t think it’s an old library copy. I found it at a local Salvation Army thrift store. What a great find! Because of this book, I discovered my love of Reichs’ writing style and bought two more of her books at another thrift store.
By Baroness Orczy, this book is a marvelous story of intrigue, spies, deceit, and undying love. The first copy I bought was a small, paperback Penguin Press copy. Then I found this lovely boxed and illustrated hardcover at Second Read Books in St Augustine, Florida. It was printed by The Folio Society in 1997.
The illustrations are by Lucy Weller, and though they are not my favorite style of art, they are actually very well suited for this book. Each one is a collage of different images fitted together to form a whole. It is almost a true representation of each character who are collages of masks and emotions and lies. Here is one of Lucy Weller’s illustrations of Lady Marguerite and Sir Percy Blakeney. It is almost like a card, the king or the queen, isn’t it?
I’ve made it to chapter six of The Valley of Fear, one of The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It is a kind of locked-door mystery, except in this case, instead of a door, it is a moat. But I wanted to share this quote with you from the local inspector.
“I said it was a snorter!” he cried. “A real snorter it is!”
White Mason, The Valley of Fear, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, circa 1914
(A snorter, informally, is “a thing that is an extreme or remarkable example of its kind.)
Hi! I'm Cadie. Welcome to my Collection of Bookish Thoughts where I will share with you everything I love about books.