Q2: Blog Entry #1

For our outside reading project, I will be reading the novel "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The thought process that went through my head as I was selecting this book to read for the project was very simplistic, but made sense to me nonetheless.

'Hm, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Didn't they used to make you read that in school? ...Why haven't I read it yet? It's probably important if someone's been forced to read it. Okay, I'll read it.'

Agatha Christie has been cited before as looking to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for inspiration in her novels, and Agatha Christie is one of the few mystery / suspense authors that I truly enjoy. Her stories such as "Murder on The Orient Express" and "Curtain" leave you hooked and waiting for more, with each and every single word she has written. That simply must mean Mr. Doyle has written a good piece of literature!

From the introduction alone, written by a man by the name of Eric Ambler, we can tell Doyle is very attached to his profession of writing. "In that one year he abandoned medicine to become a full-time professional writer and suffered a bout of influenza that nearly killed him." (Pg 11.) By the sounds of what Ambler said, Doyle had his career path set and destined. Yet Doyle took the time and effort to completely destroy his plans for the future and go into writing. That, is true dedication. Reading something written by a man who is that immersed in his job, will be a true treat- Something I rarely say when reading books. After all, it's easy to tell when someone has put effort into their writing and enjoys it, versus someone who does not.

Doyle, Sir Aurthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1996.