Reading List 2010 (9/15)

A Sherlock Holmes week!

  • A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle
  • The Sign of Four, Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle
  • The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
  • The Valley of Fear, Arthur Conan Doyle
  • His Last Bow, Arthur Conan Doyle
  • The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle

I decided to read these again after seeing the Sherlock Holmes movie. From what I remembered – fairly accurately, it seems – the books tend to be surprisingly heavy on action, and Holmes is often portrayed as physically active and highly capable. I liked some things about the movie (particularly the Holmes-Watson dynamic) and disliked some things about it (particularly Rachel McAdams’ acting), but not enough on either front to bother writing a full review. Still, the movie scratched my Holmes itch, and it wasn’t as far from the original source material as one would think.

Of course, my favorite Holmes/Watson movie would have to be Young Sherlock Holmes, which is oh so very non-canonical and yet so very delightful! It imagines what would have happened if Holmes and Watson had met at boarding school and started solving crimes then. My favorite scene involves a rival student challenging Holmes to find the school’s fencing trophy. Holmes gets to do his deductive thing in a delightfully playful way!

Also, while writing this post I learned that it was the first feature film to have a completely CGI character. And you know what? Later movies have done worse.

Finally, it’s been weirding me out all week that the U.N. found Rodrigo Rosenberg’s apparent murder to be suicide. Not only do I find it disturbing and sad (though, I guess, better than his being murdered by the country’s president?), it’s also the plot of “The Problem of Thor Bridge.” Part of me’s wondering whether Rosenberg was inspired by exactly that.

1 thought on “Reading List 2010 (9/15)”

  1. Hi Jess!

    Just wanted to say hi and to say congrats on a great site. I, too, am a fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories. I must admit I tried not to be too judgmental while watching the film, since I often find myself bringing that bookworm bias (“well, book was just so much better…”). But, I agree, the dynamic between the two main characters was great; and in some ways, different from some of the older versions I remember watching. Anyhow, just wanted to stop by and say hello. Hope you are doing great!

    Cheers, Sharon

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