I May As Well Give Up the Attempt at Once

Before I get started with this week’s blog post, The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street got some nice shout outs recently. Dan Andriacco gave it a next review in his website, and I was interviewed by Derrick Belanger for I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. 

Alright, I’m done rooting my own horn....

This week found me reading two  books that gave me very different feelings: one that I loved, and one that I fought and fought until I finally gave up and abandoned it.

The book I loved was Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp This book was the basis for my favorite Christmas movie, Die Hard. It was a fast paced read that was similar enough to the movie to make me smile in recognition, but different enough to keep me wondering what was next.

But this isn’t a blog about Die Hard (but it is the right time of year for that sort of thing....), which brings me to my other book. It was a Sherlockian book that many people have liked. But, man, it didn’t click for me. I am a believer in the idea that there are too many books in the world to read something you don’t want to. I knew early on this book wasn’t a good fit for me, but I kept coming back to it a few times a day for a few days until I finally gave in.

I kept at it because it was a Sherlockian book, and the author cares about this hobby as much as I do. They were very knowledgeable in their research and the book was well written, it just didn’t click for me. Had this book been on another topic and I had the same response, I would’ve bailed after 30 or so pages when I knew it wasn’t working for me.

But I’m willing to give all things Sherlockian the benefit of the doubt. To be honest, I think Sherlock Gnomes looks terrible. Nothing in that trailer looked interesting to me. But I’m excited for it to come out and introduce Holmes to new viewers who may one day become new readers.

There are plenty of other subsets of Sherlockiana that don’t particularly get me excited, but I’m glad they are out there for those people who do enjoy it. This may seem like a negative topic, but I’m happy that whether we are Johnlockers or chronology fanatics, we can all find a common ground in the 60 stories.

And when it comes to being a Sherlockian, as long as you enjoy the canon, welcome to the party, pal!