Settling Down with a Good Book

A Long Time Ago and Far Away

Just a quick post about a great book that I am re-reading for the umpteenth time...

One day about 35 years ago, I was living in an apartment with some actual "free time". Sometime before, I had picked up a copy of The Complete Sherlock Holmes at a used bookstore and had been waiting for the right time to tackle it.  The time finally came and what a treat it was!

You're probably wondering why I am bringing up a book I read 35 years ago... I have recently picked it up and am reading it again at over twice the age I was when I first read it.  It's like getting together with an old friend again and what a great treat AGAIN!

For anyone who has not read Sherlock Holmes, I envy you in a way because you get to experience it for the first time. You get to meet Watson, Holmes, his brother Mycroft, Irene Adler, Professor Moriarity and many, many others. There are 56 short stories and four short novels. I must have about 5 different copies of it and the current one that I am reading is on my little PDA (a Palm device).

It really doesn't matter what version you read, the words of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are magnificent and he creates a world into which you are immediately propelled (albeit backward in time). I read a lot and I must say that there are many modern-day authors I like, but Doyle captured me the first time I picked it up and every time since.

Of course, Doyle got sick of writing Holmes stories over the span of 40 years. But how they have held up! And, of course, there is an immense following among readers the world over.

If you are looking for adventure and some fascinating Victorian CSI, check out The Complete Sherlock Holmes.