What I'm Reading

I have been making progress in my reading goals for 2014. So far I have read two Sherlock Holmes novels - A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four - and am about half done with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I love a good mystery, and really only watch mystery TV series, so it is a wonder I have never read the Sherlock Holmes series. I am so glad that I decided to start it. The story lines are great and Sherlock never fails to impress. The depiction of women is to be expected considering the time period, but of course it amuses me more than anything else. For those with stronger feminist sentiments, find consolation in that the only character to stump Sherlock in what I have read so far is a woman. I wish I had a glamorous/bookish picture to share with you of my growing pile of read books, but I have been reading via iBooks on my phone and laptop and I just don't think a screenshot would have the same appeal.

Are these stories the highest rated literature I could have chosen? Definitely not. But they are enjoyable and easy to pick up every few evenings. It is a lot of fun to compare my reading imagination's version of Sherlock Holmes to the many current depictions of the character (Elementary, BBC's Sherlock, Robert Downey Jr Sherlock movies). If you share my love of mysteries, I strongly recommend Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Poirot stories. Miss Marple has multiple novels while Poirot is of the short story variety. I personally prefer novels but the TV series with David Suchet playing Poirot are amazing. You should watch them just for the art deco styling and costumes.

The current plan is to continue reading Sherlock Holmes until the end, but I may pick up something else instead. I started For Whom the Bell Tolls on my honeymoon** because I have always thought I would love Hemmingway's style. I was correct in my thinking, but the book never got unpacked from our move back to Florida. I am going to try keeping up with my goodreads profile to track my progress and future reading whims. Feel free to add me! I would love to see what y'all are reading.


**I started the novel after finishing Animal Farm. That's totally normal honeymoon reading, right?