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Old School Classics, Pre-1915 > The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes #3 *NO spoilers, please*

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message 1: by Katy, Quarterly Long Reads (last edited Apr 04, 2014 08:03PM) (new)

Katy (kathy_h) | 9530 comments Mod
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #3) by Arthur Conan Doyle by Arthur Conan Doyle Arthur Conan Doyle

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the series of short stories that made the fortunes of the Strand magazine, in which they were first published, and won immense popularity for Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. The detective is at the height of his powers and the volume is full of famous cases, including `The Red-Headed League', `The Blue Carbuncle', and `The Speckled Band'. Although Holmes gained a reputation for infallibility, Conan Doyle showed his own realism and feminism by having the great detective defeated by Irene Adler - the woman - in the very first story, `A Scandal in Bohemia'.


message 2: by Tytti (new)

Tytti | 1010 comments I somehow would hope that I hadn't read these yet because I can still remember all the stories (and not all of them are my favourites). The Speckled Band was probably one of the scariest, at least in the tv series with Jeremy Brett. One scene especially stuck to my mind as a kid.


message 3: by Jessica (new)

Jessica I'm currently making my way through the first volume of stories. The next one I am to read is actually "The Red-Headed League". For the most part they have been fairly interesting, though sometimes a little slow. But, I have to remember how the TV shows and movie spin-offs have changed things to make them appeal to a new audience. I am excited to keep reading the original tales though.


message 4: by MK (last edited Apr 29, 2014 11:04AM) (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments (putting previous post in spoiler tags, just to condense)(view spoiler)

----


Editing to add:

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #3) by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was chosen from monthly nominations as our May Old School Classic Group Read. I hope you will join the conversation! This thread is limited to discussions that DON'T include plot spoilers, so take care not to give away any plot points! :)

-------

For the thread open to full discussions about the May book, here is the link to the The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes #3 Spoiler thread.


Thankyou! Happy Reading :D

-------

Other installments of Sherlock Holmes have been previous group reads, so we went ahead and set up a thread for each of the remaining ones as well. The folder contains threads for each of the 9 Sherlock Holmes books (some are novels, some are collections of short stories). Feel free to read as many of them as you'd like, book discussion threads always remain open!

-------

Here is a goodreads link to the Series Order for all the Sherlock Holmes Books (9 books, plus a complete one, for the 10th): https://www.goodreads.com/series/4999...


Here is a 'table of contents' of sorts to our group's book threads :):

A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes #1)
first impressions threadspoiler thread

The Sign of Four (Sherlock Holmes #2)
book thread

---> MAY'S BOOK - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #3)
first impressions threadspoiler thread


The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #4)
book thread

The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes #5)
book thread

The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #6)
book thread

The Valley of Fear (Sherlock Holmes #7)
book thread

His Last Bow (Sherlock Holmes #8)
book thread

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #9)
book thread

The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #1-#9)

-------

Link to nominating thread - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Link to poll - https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/9...
Link to the folder for Sherlock Holmes* discussions - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
*The book for May is Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (but all nine Sherlock Holmes book discussion pages are in that folder).

-------

There are also several film/tv adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories. If you've seen any of them, and/or would like to discuss it/them, here's a link - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

-------


message 5: by Kelly B (new)

Kelly B (kellybey) | 233 comments I just downloaded this book from my library:-). I'm relieved to see it's not a long book; I haven't read any Sherlock Holmes since middle school and I remember not liking it back then (pretty sure we read Hound of the Baskervilles..). I'd had an aversion to ole' Sherlock ever since then. It will be fun to see if I dislike the stories now as much as I did back then.


message 6: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Interesting! I will be very interested in your reaction, Kelly :), when you're done reading, of course :p. heh ~


message 7: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments I have two versions of this on my kindle. The first one is no longer available in the kindle store, so I must have downloaded it awhile ago (haven't read it yet tho).

The second one has $2.99 whispersync narration available for it, so I may spend some of my $5 Audible coupon that Melanti hooked me up with :D. (don't remember which thread that was in, or I'd link it ... )


message 8: by Kim (new)

Kim (whatkimreads) I have The Complete Sherlock Holmes on my eReader, so I'll join! I've never read anything from the Sherlock Holmes series, but I LOVE both the movies with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law and the tv series with Benedict Cumberbatch. So I think I'll like the books as well. :D


message 9: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Kim wrote: "I have The Complete Sherlock Holmes on my eReader, so I'll join! I've never read anything from the Sherlock Holmes series, but I LOVE both the movies with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law and the tv ..."

Will be great to have you join the read, Kim :)


message 10: by Tytti (new)

Tytti | 1010 comments Kim wrote: "I LOVE both the movies with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law"

I thought they were absolutely horrible. Well actually I couldn't even watch them because they were so bad.


message 11: by Kim (new)

Kim (whatkimreads) Tytti wrote: "Kim wrote: "I LOVE both the movies with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law"

I thought they were absolutely horrible. Well actually I couldn't even watch them because they were so bad."


Haha!! This really made me laugh out loud!
But it's okay, I get that they're not high quality movies, for me it's just that I love the cast so much so I enjoyed it anyway. (Jude Law.... oh my....)


message 12: by Tytti (last edited Apr 25, 2014 03:07PM) (new)

Tytti | 1010 comments The problem was that they were just normal Hollywood action movies, nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes character. He was portrayed just as a joke or something.

The best Sherlock Holmes series, most true to the character.
Season 1, episode 1: A Scandal in Bohemia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbQOU...


message 13: by Janet (new)

Janet (jangoodell) I'll be reading Sherlock, too. Are we reading the complete series or just one?


message 14: by MK (last edited Apr 25, 2014 03:48PM) (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Just this one, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, was nominated and voted on for the May read, but a couple others were on the bookshelf already, and Kathy set up threads for the rest of them, so anyone who is interested can read the whole lot, and discuss, if they'd like.

I read #1 and #2 myself, a couple weeks ago, in anticipation of our May book (#3), because I didn't want to read them out of order :-p.


message 15: by Melanti (new)

Melanti | 1894 comments MK wrote: " (don't remember which thread that was in, or I'd link it ... ) ..."

I think it's too late to claim it anyway. But happy to help!

This is the anthology that I read part of at my grandmother's house when I was a kid, but I don't recall if I actually finished it or not. I didn't like it that much so it's quite possible I never bothered to read the whole thing. Actually, given how bratty my cousins were being that day, it's quite likely I didn't finish.

I read The Sign of the Four last year, and I'm finding Sherlock a bit more tolerable these days, but I'm still not a big fan. I think the current Sherlock TV show deserves credit for my better appreciation. I've only seen parts of a couple episodes, but it certainly gave me a different perspective on his character and I think that really helped me get through the book.

I haven't decided if I'll join in on this group read or not. I know I really OUGHT to read more of these stories (Hound of the Baskervilles at the very least), I'm just dreading it.


message 16: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments (Personally, I want to read them all, but I don't think I will have time in May, need to get back to War & Peace *grin*)


message 17: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Melanti wrote: "MK wrote: " (don't remember which thread that was in, or I'd link it ... ) ..."

I think it's too late to claim it anyway. But happy to help!

This is the anthology that I read part of at my gra..."



Thanks, Melanti! :)


message 18: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Ps - chuckling at the bratty cousins memory :D


message 19: by MK (last edited Apr 29, 2014 11:01AM) (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #3) by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was chosen from monthly nominations as our May Old School Classic Group Read. I hope you will join the conversation! This thread is limited to discussions that DON'T include plot spoilers, so take care not to give away any plot points! :)

-------

For the thread open to full discussions about the May book, here is the link to the The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes #3 Spoiler thread.


Thankyou! Happy Reading :D

-------

Other installments of Sherlock Holmes have been previous group reads, so we went ahead and set up a thread for each of the remaining ones as well. The folder contains threads for each of the 9 Sherlock Holmes books (some are novels, some are collections of short stories). Feel free to read as many of them as you'd like, book discussion threads always remain open!

-------

Here is a goodreads link to the Series Order for all the Sherlock Holmes Books (9 books, plus a complete one, for the 10th): https://www.goodreads.com/series/4999...


Here is a 'table of contents' of sorts to our group's book threads :):

A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes #1)
first impressions threadspoiler thread

The Sign of Four (Sherlock Holmes #2)
book thread

---> MAY'S BOOK - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #3)
first impressions threadspoiler thread


The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #4)
book thread

The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes #5)
book thread

The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #6)
book thread

The Valley of Fear (Sherlock Holmes #7)
book thread

His Last Bow (Sherlock Holmes #8)
book thread

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #9)
book thread

The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #1-#9)

-------

Link to nominating thread - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Link to poll - https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/9...
Link to the folder for Sherlock Holmes* discussions - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
*The book for May is Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (but all nine Sherlock Holmes book discussion pages are in that folder).

-------

There are also several film/tv adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories. If you've seen any of them, and/or would like to discuss it/them, here's a link - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

-------


message 20: by Bob, Short Story Classics (new)

Bob | 4602 comments Mod
I started this series last year and want to read them in order, next on the list is #3 The adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I'm in, I will start reading right after I finish One Hundred Years of Solitude.


message 21: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments I am in too, and I also wanted to go in order. I might not begin until 2nd week of May tho.


message 22: by Kelly B (new)

Kelly B (kellybey) | 233 comments I just started this, and so far I'm not really into it. I'll jump over to the spoiler thread to add more there; I don't want to spoil anything here:-).


message 23: by Kelly B (last edited Apr 29, 2014 08:46AM) (new)

Kelly B (kellybey) | 233 comments Kelly wrote: "I just started this, and so far I'm not really into it. I'll jump over to the spoiler thread to add more there; I don't want to spoil anything here:-)."

The spoiler link leads back to here; if the moderators don't mind I might start another thread for spoilers? I'd hate to spoil the book for someone just scrolling through.


message 24: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Kelly wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I just started this, and so far I'm not really into it. I'll jump over to the spoiler thread to add more there; I don't want to spoil anything here:-)."

How embarrassing: apparently ..."


There is only one thread for each book (except the first book), so yes, they're all spoiler threads. Beware!


message 25: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Kelly wrote: "I just started this, and so far I'm not really into it. I'll jump over to the spoiler thread to add more there; I don't want to spoil anything here:-)."

heh, just saw this. Didn't see it, before I answered your next post :D


message 26: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments (I'll go edit the title names to indicate that they are *spoiler* threads. Sorry, Kelly!


message 27: by Kelly B (new)

Kelly B (kellybey) | 233 comments LOL! Okay, I'll post it here:-). Disregard my remark about adding another thread.


message 28: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Kelly wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I just started this, and so far I'm not really into it. I'll jump over to the spoiler thread to add more there; I don't want to spoil anything here:-)."

The spoiler link leads back t..."


Kelly wrote: "LOL! Okay, I'll post it here:-). Disregard my remark about adding another thread."

Kelly, I truly am sorry. I keep missing your posts. Of course, please, go ahead and make a non-spoiler thread for this book. It is a Book of the Month, and it's almost 300 pages, so it could probably use a spoiler & a non-spoiler thread.

After you're done, I'll add it to the navigation links post(s) previously made.


message 29: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Kelly wrote: "So, I just finished the first story, The Woman from Bohemia. I thought it a bit dull, and predictable.

I was amused a few paragraphs in to see it mentioned that Sherlock was using cocaine;-). I k..."


Kelly, apologies again. (This isn't 'my' section :p, the threads were already set up). Would you like us to set up a second thread,and put spoilers in one, and non-spoilers in the other? If so, should I make this thread the spoiler thread, or the other thread the spoiler thread?


message 30: by Kelly B (new)

Kelly B (kellybey) | 233 comments I just added a spoiler thread:-). I'll delete my post on this thread that contains spoilers, and move it there.


message 31: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Kelly wrote: "I just added a spoiler thread:-). I'll delete my post on this thread that contains spoilers, and move it there."


ty! :))


message 32: by Kelly B (new)

Kelly B (kellybey) | 233 comments Melanti, I answered your question on the spoiler thread:-).


message 33: by Daniel (new)

Daniel (dward526) Have the audiobook from my library, hopefully I will start listening tomorrow.


message 34: by Melanti (new)

Melanti | 1894 comments Kelly wrote: "Melanti, I answered your question on the spoiler thread:-)."

Deleted my portion, just to keep from confusing people with half a conversation!


message 35: by Philina (new)

Philina | 1085 comments I so hope to finally get my copy tomorrow!
I've never read anything by Canon Doyle, only seen the first season of the Sherlock BBC series.


message 36: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Phil wrote: "I so hope to finally get my copy tomorrow!
I've never read anything by Canon Doyle, only seen the first season of the Sherlock BBC series."


Awesome! Welcome to the read, looking forward to discussing with you :)


message 37: by Philina (new)

Philina | 1085 comments I finally got my copy and have already finished the first story.

I was totally surprised about the extreme shortness of the story! I kind of expected a much more elaborate and difficult plot line. Maybe this will change with the next stories. But then, on the other hand, it's Watson journaling about the adventures and he doesn't intend to write a "proper" book.


message 38: by MK (last edited May 07, 2014 10:10AM) (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Yes, they're very short (the stories in this title, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)! The first two Sherlock Holmes titles, Study in Scarlet and Sign of the Four, are stand-alone stories. Short novel-length.


message 39: by Janet (new)

Janet (jangoodell) Phil wrote: "I finally got my copy and have already finished the first story.

I was totally surprised about the extreme shortness of the story! I kind of expected a much more elaborate and difficult plot line...."


It was an abrupt ending for me also, simply because I was reading an on-line version (Gutenberg) and so had no idea where I was in the story. I like the length. I read his first two novellas in April and thought they went on a little long. I have just started the second story about the red-head.


message 40: by Philina (new)

Philina | 1085 comments I've just finished the red-headed league and thought it was better than the first story. More interesting somehow... More like I had imagined it...

After having finished the whole book we could vote for our favourite story. What do you think?


message 41: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Phil wrote: "I've just finished the red-headed league and thought it was better than the first story. More interesting somehow... More like I had imagined it...

After having finished the whole book we could vo..."


It's a great idea, Phil :).

We have another 'spoiler' thread, so if you'd like to join in with the others commenting on the individual stories, follow this link - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


message 42: by Lisa (new)

Lisa | 3 comments I just love Sherlock's superior observation skills. It makes me realize how totally in observant I am and wonder just what he would deduct from my own appearance if he could meet me in person. I'm pretty sure there isn't much to tell from my wrists!


message 43: by Martin (new)

Martin Gibbs Tytti wrote: "I somehow would hope that I hadn't read these yet because I can still remember all the stories (and not all of them are my favourites). The Speckled Band was probably one of the scariest, at least ..."

Jeremy Brett really nailed the Holmes character, I think. I have all of these stories as well, and will re-read one from time to time (in this series, The Man with the Twisted Lip is my favorite).


message 44: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Lisa wrote: "I just love Sherlock's superior observation skills. It makes me realize how totally in observant I am and wonder just what he would deduct from my own appearance if he could meet me in person. I'm ..."


Lisa, I've been thinking the same thing!


message 45: by Tina (new)

Tina (tinaleetlc) | 16 comments This is not my genre of choice and attempted to read only because it was a May book. I had a hard time reading this because a lot of Holmes' process is cerebral and not fast paced. He spends much of his time watching others behavior.
I enjoyed the audiobook version a lot. The narration in the version I listened to livened up the writing for me and I did appreciate the stories much more. I enjoyed the banter between Holmes and Watson in the audio version.


message 46: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Bettina, I've also been whispersyncing (listening to the audible, and reading the ebook, simultaneously, karaoke-style), and I agree, the audio makes the narrative very much more enjoyable!


message 47: by Tytti (new)

Tytti | 1010 comments I couldn't do that... I tried it with A Study in Scarlet and while it worked with a shorter story (and in English) because I was eating etc. at the same time, I thought it was much too slow for me.


message 48: by Janet (new)

Janet (jangoodell) Lisa wrote: "I just love Sherlock's superior observation skills. It makes me realize how totally in observant I am and wonder just what he would deduct from my own appearance if he could meet me in person. I'm ..."

I love reading his observations, too. I wonder how much of Doyle's ideas have gone into the growth of modern forensic science. In the Boscombe story, he is all grumbly about people trampling the crime scene. I teach science and am thinking of having 8th graders read a story at the beginning of the year to understand how observations differ from inferences.


message 49: by MK (new)

MK (wisny) | 2579 comments Janet wrote: " I wonder how much of Doyle's ideas have gone into the growth of modern forensic science...."

I was wondering that too, Janet!

On the 8th grade science project, what a neat idea! I'd have loved that kind of thing as a kid. I can still remember in third grade when we were learning about measurements, all us kids partnered up and drawing from a hat something to measure, and hoping to draw the hallway outside the classroom, to be measured with a yardstick, and actually getting it!

I think grade school kids particularly enjoy real world applications of things they're learning.


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