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I feel that The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the best choice because it contains a little something for everyone (there are many different stories, so you're probably bound to like one of them), and it's easily accessible (it will most likely be available at everyone's library and/or bookstore).

Moreover, Conan Doyle is, of course, awesome. Sherlock and Watson are deftly crafted, fascinating characters the reader can empathize with, and the plots of the book are fast-paced, while the dénouments are satisfying and enlightening.

Huzzah! biggrin

I'll be away from the computer for the next ten days, but I'll jump in the discussion as soon as I get back!

I love A Scandal in Bohemia! I like the idea that maybe, just maybe, Holmes fell in love (or at least tripped over it - pardon the pun whee ). This is indeed the only story in which Irene Adler shows up, but I wish there had been more. Unfortunately, I don't think romance was really Conan Doyle's stock in trade. Or perhaps he just didn't want to distract Holmes from what he really loved writing about: mysteries.

And yes, it is highly enjoyable to just sit back, relax, and read a bit of Holmes a day.

I finished "The Red-Headed League" earlier this afternoon. This was one of the first Holmes adventures I ever came into contact with as I had a children's version of some of the Holmes stories as a kid.

I don't really have much to say on this one though. But I did kind of feel sorry for Mr. Wilson.

Just finished reading The Red-Headed League. There was a great passage in it I thought I'd share with you all; I think it captures the essence of Holmes' character and is illustrative of why I love him so much:

"My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very capable performer but a composer of no ordinary merit. All the afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the most perfect happiness, gently waving his long, thin fingers in time to the music, while his gently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth-hound, Holmes the relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent, as it was possible to conceive. In his singular character the dual nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and astuteness represented, as I have often thought, the reaction against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him. The swing of his nature took him from extreme languor to devouring energy; and, as I knew well, he was never so truly formidable as when, for days on end, he had been lounging in his armchair amid his improvisations and his black-letter editions. Then it was that the lust of the chase would suddenly come upon him, and that his brilliant reasoning power would rise to the level of intuition, until those who were unacquainted with his methods would look askance at him as on a man whose knowledge was not that of other mortals. When I saw him that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. James's Hall I felt that an evil time might be coming upon those whom he had set himself to hunt down."

It was sad! And I, too, was looking forward to seeing Holmes smack the guy down. evil Though, I wish Holmes had told her the truth. The ending was super-sexist, but hey, Conan Doyle was a man of his time. I'll let it pass. stare

I highly recommend purchasing Vol. I and II of Barnes and Noble's The Complete Sherlock Holmes. It has a very interesting introduction and footnotes explaining some of the period-based references of the text. It's also super-cheap for a high-quality hardback book!