Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes- the name we all associate with 221 Baker Street, blockbuster films and, more recently, the BBC series staring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. If we're honest I don't think any of us think of the books by Arthur Conyan Doyle first, if you do I give you a round of applause.

I am a great fan of all things Sherlocky, as most of my friends and family would probably tell you. Not so much that I am constantly talking about Sherlock Holmes, but enough that, when in London, I convinced my friends to walk up to 221 Baker Street. Let me tell you now, it is a very very long street. Something I probably should have realized from the address. Needless to say my friends were not very impressed, some even wanted to turn around when we got to 21 Baker Street and realized we had a couple hundred more houses to go. I was determined however and we eventually arrived at our destination, to find, much to my disappointment, that it really wasn't that impressive - I have no idea what I'd been expecting - I did get a photo though and pretended, mainly for the benefit of my friends, to be very excited.


There are nine books in the Sherlock Holmes series, they are as follows;

A study in Scarlet

The sign of four

The adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

The Hound of Baskervilles

The Return of Sherlock Holmes

The Valley of Fear

His Last Bow

The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes

The first Sherlock Holmes adventure I read was The Speckled Band, and that is when my love for the Sherlock stories began. Of course I'd heard about Sherlock Holmes before but I had never really wanted to read it or had any particular interest in it. Then, after watching The Study in Pink on TV I decided to start reading 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes,' Even though it wasn't the first in the series I found that it didn't matter because the mysteries were almost completely stand alone and not in chronological order.

I can't say much about the book series as a whole as I have only read one book and only a half of it at that, but the one thing that caught me about Arthur Conan Doyle's style is how cleverly he manages to confuse the readers and disable us from making conclusions before Sherlock presents his, extremely logical and apparently 'obvious' observations. Most mysteries present the reader with clues unknown to the characters in the book, with Sherlock Holmes its different, he knows everything whilst the reader is still in the dark waiting his explanation. This role is shared by John Watson and it is his train of thought we follow and not Sherlock's. This technique might differ in other books but as I haven't yet read them I cannot say. 

As a closing note let me strongly encourage you to read the Sherlock Holmes series for yourself, don't rely on the magic of television to accurately portray the genius behind Arthur Conyan Doyle's famous characters. 

The Hawk that Dare Not Hunt By Day by Scott O'Dell

Far from being anything to do with Hawks this book tells the tale of William Tyndale and how the first English bible made it's way into England. Following young Tom Barton and his uncle Jack this book describes the dangers and trials not only of getting the bible into the country but also of how the ordinary folks were treated by their seniors. The bible was purposely in Latin so that everyday people could be fooled into believing things that weren't actually in the bible. Tyndale's work gave everyone the opportunity to read God's word for themselves and changed the way England worked.

Scott O'Dell manages to twist fact with fiction to create a story that is both informative and interesting. The fictional characters he adds to the story are so well blended that it is hard to tell which are true and which false. My favourite thing about this story is that it brings this period of history alive in a way history books don't.

By far the most interesting character in this book is William Tyndale, he is willing to sacrifice his life for his work, nothing is more important to him than giving the bible to all people. Translating the bible into English changed England dramatically and the King and important people within the church new this and that is why they didn't want Tyndale's work to continue. Continually on the run from his persecutors William Tyndale's life was always endangered but he still persevered.

Robinson Crueso by Daniel Defoe

Robinson Crusoe was a little of a disappointment because I had been excepting more action. Robinson Crusoe is a very similar story to that of the Swiss family Robinson however the Robinson's are able to have more conversations and tend to have more gripping adventures. After the first initial disappointments I did find Robinson Crusoe very interesting if not gripping.

Robinson Crusoe is alone on a desert island after being shipwrecked on some rocks nearby. At first he gives up all hopes of  survival but then he discovers that things are not as bad as they seem and he still had a  good chance of life.

I don't really have a favourite character in this book because for most of the time there is only one character anyway. Robinson Crusoe is a determined man who strives to get things done and is not scared of working hard. Using many amazing and often challenging equipment he makes himself a home to live in until he dies or is rescued. This sort of determination is very inspiring and makes me long to do things even if they take a lot of effort.

Boy by Roald Dahl

Boy is about Roald Dahl's childhood and it includes everything about his life from birth right up until his first job. Nothing important is missed out, even the first time he was whipped is included in this book.

I like this book because, despite the sometimes unhappy content, Dahl has a humorous way of putting things and making his life story interesting and he certainly didn't need to add anything. From the time of the goat droppings tobacco and all the various beatings he ever experienced he manages to keep the reader engaged. 

As you'd expect from Roald Dahl this autobiography isn't like your average autobiography - and much more of an easy read like reading fiction.