RJ - Slayer of Trolls’s Comments

RJ - Slayer of Trolls’s comments from the 2025 Reading Challenge group.

Note: RJ - Slayer of Trolls is not currently a member of this group.

As we descend into the quantum realm my mind gets smaller and smaller and it is harder to absorb all of this information, especially while I'm being bombarded by quarks, bosons, etc.

I finished Sherlock Holmes and the Gloria Scott: Case 14 which was Holmes' first case back while he was in college. It seemed very similar to The Sign of Four. Conan Doyle is starting to run out of ideas and is repeating himself so it's no real surprise how this story collection ends.

Ashley wrote: "I have a few others books to read this month so I got this one done first. Enjoy your reading"

Thanks Ashley!

I finished The Adventure of the Stock-Broker’s Clerk yesterday and I agree with you Ashley that it bears a bit of resemblance to the The Red Headed League. I still liked it though.

Ashley, great job! I am lagging a bit behind you but I'm still on pace to finish by the end of the month.

I finished the first two stories. Silver Blaze might be my favorite Holmes story so far, and it introduces the notable phrase "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time" which was popularized a few years ago by the book of the same name. Yellow Face was not as good from a mystery standpoint but the ending must have been quite progressive in its day (over 120 years ago)

Jhuma wrote: "...Someone who takes their time reading this book will have a better experience than others."

I agree completely! Although I rush through best-selling thrillers just like anyone, this is a book that demands more concentration in terms of the scientific concepts it discusses, at least for the layman who doesn't practice in the field of physics.

I just finished Chapter 3 in which we learned (spoiler alert) that the universe is expanding! There was quite a bit of history in the first three chapters, taking us from Aristotle up through the 1970s. I'm starting the next section today.

One more to go! Great job Susy!

I read this book a couple years ago and loved it. It's so well written it's like eating a gourmet meal, but of course after that it's hard to go back to meatloaf. I'd love to read this one again but it took me months to finish it the first time through. Maybe I'll follow along with the discussion if that's ok?

I finished two more right at the end of August which brings me to 57 for the year so far:


Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The Dog of the South by Charles Portis
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And I started these books:


A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking


The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle


The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

If anyone is looking for something to get them into the right mood to read this month's selection, try this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfcC6...

Stephen Hawking singing The Galaxy Song by Monty Python

I just got back in town and I'm starting this collection today.

I'm impressed so far that the author has taken some technical material and made it accessible and even interesting to the layperson. It's astonishing that this book has been such a bestseller and has stayed interesting to the general public for so long. Stephen Hawking became a household name largely because of this book.

Nice! Welcome everyone! This feels like a "back to school" book in a way, so reading it in September is great timing.

I finished #55:


The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now I'm starting


The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka

I finished The Adventure of the Copper Beeches which I thought was a good story that kept me guessing. I thought the little boy would play a larger part in the story.

I didn't like


Invader by C.J. Cherryh

so I kicked it and moved on to


Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon

I finished The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet the other day. It was one of the best in the collection with a lot of detecting for Holmes to do.

I'm down to the last story! I should finish today or tomorrow, then a break for the holiday weekend and on to the next book in the series.

Great! Who else is joining us? And let us know if you've read the book before or not.

I finished #54:


Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Harshmi wrote: "Oh wow, I would love to join you guys in September. I just bought this book a couple of weeks ago and am looking forward to reading it!"

Sounds great! Please do.

I finished The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor. It was OK. I was hoping for something a bit more exciting but it never delivered on what I thought was a promising setup.

Two more stories to go!