switch gears. (Reading Response #4)

"Imagine Holmes so far gone in cocaine-induced paranoia that he insists oysters will overrun the earth... sheer fun." -New York Daily News

With the disappointment of Plugged still fresh in mind, I turn again to Sherlock Holmes, to a mystery. Not - this time - to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work, but instead to Nicolas Meyer. I've heard of this book and how good it is, and how much the same (while being an alternate take on Holmes) it is to Doyle's style and characterization.

I've also learned (by reading the first few pages) that Meyer has "discovered" other "lost journals" of Watson, and I may be persuaded to check those out as well. (One deals with Jack the ripper, the other with the Phantom of the Opera. Murder mysteries, can't live without them.)

This book is written as though Watson was a real person, and this was truly a rediscovered piece of his adventures with Holmes. The foreword contains a "letter" to Meyer from his uncle, who discovered this manuscript in an attic of a house he just bought. An attic is a rather appropriate place to find an abandoned copy of Watson's journal, of part of his life. Don't get it? Here:

“I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.” - Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet

I love this quote, and I agree with it. The brain is a precious thing and shouldn't be filled with (too much) unimportant drivel (of course, something important to one can be ridiculous to know for another).

Whether a coincidence or intended metaphor, it made me respect the author within the first few pages of the book. Although my schedule is quite busy, I do believe that I will make time to read this novel.

Cheers,
Michelle

know when to give up. (Reading Response: #3 Plugged)

"Letting go doesn't mean giving up, but rather accepting that things cannot be." - Anonymous

It's a sad thing that happens to everyone. Well, everyone who reads often. They get excited about a certain book. They've heard of its reputation, it's author, and they have high expectations.

Too high.

This is what happens with me and Plugged. I love Eoin Colfer, I love his books, and I was so excited to read this.

As with the first Artemis Fowl book, I thought that this was just a slow starter. I'm a fourth of the way in and it still hasn't picked up.

That's a bit too slow.

Then the language - I realize that this Is a novel written for adults, but I don't know many sailors who cuss so frequently. The imagery is almost off in this book, like I'm watching a low-quality film that never ends and has no music.

The narration is okay, but everytime something somewhat exciting happens, or an actual plot begins to form, the chapter ends and the next starts really slow again, usually in a reflective mood. Boring much?

I tried. I really tried but I was so distracted by my own criticism of this book that I can't bear to read more. Maybe I'll pick it up somewhere down the road, maybe it'll end up on EBay, of its fate I am not sure.

Of my fate? I see myself reading something different, very soon.

Cheers,
Michelle.

Dear Mr. Colfer...

A monkey even.

Be afraid. They'll have to slow down to catch up with the pace of this book.

Oh, Eoin, stick to Young Adult novels.