This is the first Sherlock Holmes I've ever read, though like many, I've seen various adaptations. I started with this book of short stories mostly because it was the one I owned. I've never been a huge fan of short stories, though, and while I wish now that I'd started by checking A Study in Scarlet out from the library, I'm still glad I've started reading Holmes in any form. The issue with reading this book of shorter mysteries, though, is that a lot of the clients start to blend together, as many of them talk and act similarly when they bring Holmes their case. I did spread the stories out, reading 3 at a time, then reading other books before coming back for more, and I think that helped some.

My view of Holmes and Watson, and even some of the other characters, started with an understanding based on some of the adaptations I've seen, and while Holmes was indeed standoffish and generally assumed he was the smartest one in the room, I didn't think he was quite as cold as I've seen him portrayed. A few of the cases were really interesting, while there were a couple that I thought had a much less intriguing solution. The introduction of Irene Adler wasn't at all what I expected, but I wonder if she'll be back in a future story. Overall, I enjoyed reading these vignettes, and have a feeling I'll appreciate even more the longer stories when I get to them. ( )

Excellent! My Watson & Sherlock crush continues. ( )

"Holmes," said I as I stood one morning in our bow-window looking down the street, "here is a madman coming along. It seems rather sad that his relatives should allow him to come out alone." ( )

Puoi trovare questa recensione anche sul mio blog ---> La siepe di more

Questa è stata in realtà una rilettura, ma con Sherlock Holmes è sempre in piacere. In particolare, a Le avventure di Sherlock Holmes sono affezionata perché è uno dei primi libri che abbia mai letto in lingua originale.

In questa raccolta incontriamo due donne molto importati e che avranno un certo successo nell'immaginario collettivo: una è Mary Morstan, futura moglie del dottor Watson; l'altra è la Donna, come la chiama con grande rispetto Sherlock Holmes: sto parlando di Irene Adler, l'unica che sia riuscita a fregarlo.

Per il resto, abbiamo ancora il buon Watson nelle vesti di narratore degli intricati casi risolti dal suo prodigioso amico. Devo dire che, nonostante questa sia una rilettura, i ragionamenti di Holmes mi lasciano ancora a bocca aperta: sapevo come sarebbe andata a finire, ma nonostante questo non avrei saputo dire quali fossero gli indizi.

In conclusione, forse il mio racconto preferito della raccolta è L'avventura del carbonchio azzurro: io non so come sia venuto in mente ad Arthur Conan Doyle di coinvolgere pure un'oca nelle indagini di Sherlock Holmes... ( )

Book title and author: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (by Arthur Conan Doyle). 5/3/23
I. A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA
II. THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE
III. A CASE OF IDENTITY
IV. THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY
V. THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS
VI. THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP
VII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLE
VIII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE SPECKLED BAND
IX. THE ADVENTURE OF THE ENGINEER’S THUMB
X.THE ADVENTURE OF THE NOBLE BACHELOR
XI. THE ADVENTURE OF THE BERYL CORONET
XII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE COPPER BEECHES

Why I picked this book up: this is the 3rd of 32 books in Banned Books compendium
I won this book from LibraryThing’s April 2023 early review.

Thoughts: from description in The Banned Books Compendium: 32 Classic Forbidden Books by Gringory Lukin (Editor) this book talked about why this book was banned. “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, which had been published in twelve monthly issues of The Strand Magazine from July 1891 to June 1892. The stories are collected in the same sequence, which is not supported by any fictional chronology. The only characters common to all twelve are Holmes and Dr. Watson and all are related in first-person narrative from Watson's point of view.
The book was banned in the Soviet Union in 1929 because of its alleged "occultism", but the book gained popularity in a black market of similarly banned books, and the restriction was lifted in 1940.” I think that is interesting since I thought Russian was atheistic. These took me longer to read than I expected. Not all of them were equally as entertaining to me but I liked reading them. Sherlock’s drug use is odd to me. I read he used for his overactive mind. Dr. Watson was not too happy with his drug use. I wonder if he gets his drugs from Dr. Watson?

Why I finished this read: I really enjoyed some of these entertaining stories. Sherlock was so observant, witty, intelligent, logical and kept the pages turning.

Stars rating: I really enjoyed these stories 4 out if 5 stars. ( )