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Authors: Adrian Conan Doyle, John Dickson Carr
ASIN : 0517203383
Sales Rank : 99857
Brand : Random House
Studio : Gramercy
Binding : Hardcover
EAN : 9780517203385
ISBN : 0517203383
Number Of Pages : 352
Publication Date : December 11, 1999
Release Date : December 11, 1999
Publisher : Gramercy
Manufacturer : Gramercy
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Gramercy
| From the son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and one of America's greatest mystery writers, John Dickson Carr, comes twelve riveting tales based on incidents or elements of the unsolved cases of Sherlock Holmes. The plots are all new, with painstaking attention to the mood, tone, and detail of the original stories. Here is a fascinating volume of mysteries for new Sherlock fans, as well as for those who have read all the classics and crave more!
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December 26, 2007.
Fabulous fun!.
Rating: 5
Ms Headley, weary of the (I agree, dreadful) world of dating, decides to date any man who asks. She ends up with more bad dates, and we who have had them can all relate, but meets some great guys as well.
I'm surprised that someone her age got jaded so fast - I was around 30 by the time I got *completely* disgusted with dating - but I'm delighted that she shared her experience with the reading public. This is terrific entertainment, wonderful commiseration material for fellow fish in the dating sea, and great advice for those who are truly in the hunt. I hope it gets made into a chick flick, although anyone can relate. Five stars
December 08, 2007.
Boring and Inconsequential.
Rating: 1
I am tired of Books woth absolutely no substance, no depth, no consequenses. This book promised to be hilarious but it isn't; there is just nothing funny with a 20 something year old woman who decides to date just anyone.
I know we go through life tainted with prejudice and judgement but come on we do go on judging, and so be it!
This book drones on and on about tons of dates with absolutely no depth and how this young woman questions the blindness of love and feels herself powerful enough to test the latter blindness.
I have to say I do NOT recommend this book to any seriously mature reader unless you want to read absolutely superficial stuff and yes I call this "stuff" since it is NOT literature of good value.
You decide.
December 20, 2007.
Don't jump to conclusions.
Rating: 5
I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Maria Headley's writing is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, and so are many of the people she observes and situations she gets into. But the best part of the book is the encouragement to be open to other people, not so quick to judge, because you can learn something from absolutely everyone. I loved the account of her train conductor taking her to Coney Island, her surprising interactions with the hated neighbor downstairs and their subsequent mellowing towards one another, and her finding the good in the neighborhood unregenerate Don Juan and accepting him for what he could give, among many other stories.
It occurred to me while I was reading that she might have been fictionalizing as much as James Frye, but the premise is so good and the results so entertaining that I didn't much care. I might have preferred a memoir of this sort from an older woman who had had more experience with the downside of being too picky than a 20-year-old who still has lots of choices, but that is a minor quibble.
This book is garnering negative reviews chiefly from people who either 1) accuse the writer of pretentiousness because she often drops literary references, and often inadvertently makes them feel bad for their own ignorance; or 2) jump to moral judgments because *they* wouldn't do what she did or be as open to experiment as she was. Look, a woman who is well-read would have to artificially *suppress* the literary references--she's not showing off, she's being genuine, and also giving you insight into why she was snobbish about dating literary types before her "Year of Yes." She didn't break up her future husband's marriage: he had been in marriage counseling four times and his wife had already demanded a divorce before they got together. And while I have never come close to getting naked with eight people in one year myself, it was genuinely interesting to hear her impressions, especially as she doesn't claim she was particularly wise about it (see the story about her skeevy classmate) or thrilled with all of the results.
One of the better reasons to read is to vicariously experience the lives of other people and learn something without having to actually suffer all the consequences. What is the point of examining only the work of people who perfectly agree with you? And why read a work that is all about becoming less judgmental, if you cleanly miss the point in order to rush to pass judgment on the book (often without finishing it) or its author?
December 05, 2007.
Clever, Intriguing and Sweet.
Rating: 5
Why is it that when an author is obviously intelligent, negative reviewers immediatley label her work "pretentious"? If you don't get the references, look them up!
I found this book highly entertaining, funny and touching. And I was reminded to be a little more open and accepting of people. To assume the worst a little less often.
A very enjoyable read.
December 31, 2007.
Takes itself far too seriously.
Rating: 2
A few days ago I reviewed a superficially similar book by Chelsea Handler called _My Horizontal Life_. In my review I said that Handler's book was the female version of Tucker Max's book, _I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell_.
Well, this tedious little book is like the Bizarro-World version of Max's and Handler's books.
Certainly Handler and (especially) Max are a bit sophomoric but they are never pretentious. Maybe it's just me, but I find sophomoric 20-somethings a whole lot more palatable than pretentious 20-somethings.
December 30, 2001.
Smiles.
Rating: 5
This is a hilarious book. The laughs and giggles will start unexpectedly, but very early on. Soon you will be guffawing or chortling at every page. And the humor is syncopated. That is, the funniness has unexpected and unusual timing.This is also a visually beautiful book. The sheer beauty and the subtle artistic invention that load every drawing would be enough to make this book worth having even without the funny goings on. This is an especially good book for these times--when a laugh will do everyone some good.
December 03, 2006.
A fine guide to eliminating clutter through creating convenient storage alternatives.
Rating: 5
If your house organization is perpetually 'clutter' mode and you lack the organizational skills to do anything but clean up once or twice a year, The Complete Clutter Solution: Organize Your Home For Good is for you. A room-by-room guide broken down into zones shows not only how to de-clutter, but how much time will be involved. Involve other family members in maintaining the structure created in The Complete Clutter Solution and benefit from discussions of organizational bins, hangers and other special tips in a fine guide to eliminating clutter through creating convenient storage alternatives.
December 23, 2006.
WHAT A WASTE OF $$ (UNLESS YOU HAVE $75,000 TO REDO YOUR KITCHEN).
Rating: 1
This is the same old tired suggestions for cleaning up your clutter. The suggestions given are to install custom made draws that double and triple pull out. The suggestion for the pantry was to organize cans from little to big (duh) and then group like items together (duh) that's in every single organizing book published so this one is not different than any other. Also the other suggestion was to install a pull out swinging triple door pantry system. Oh is that affordable? If I had $75,000 to redo my kitchen I would install the fancy garbage bin that pulls out of the cabinet and the double drawer pot rack with side lid bins. Come on, don't waste your money on this book or it's suggestions. Very few pictures and all for the rich. I thought Good Housekeeping was for the everyday family. Get it at the library and then return it after you don't read it.
December 29, 2005.
Time to Organize!.
Rating: 5
Things I like about this book:
*there's a time clock for each project
*it separates the home into sections to tackle
*it doesn't just tell you how to fix it, but how to stick with it
Drawbacks:
*I really don't like ring binders on books
December 27, 2007.
Morning Coffee Reading.
Rating: 5
I love this book! I am learning more about Jesus and what it means to be His diciple by reading this book from Billy Graham. I enjoy how Rev. Graham describes how people feel in their lives and helps them relate it to God.
December 07, 2007.
Large Print Needed.
Rating: 5
I have to buy the large print for my 90 year old mother. She loves anything by Billy Graham and she has enjoyed this book that I bought for her for Christmas.
December 25, 2006.
Time for Truckin'.
Rating: 5
Wonderful illustration hands down. The story packs all things that a boy could want to see happen: flat tires, rain storms, and a little boy who drives a big rig (even if only in his dreams). My son loves this book and asks me to read it quite often.
December 12, 2005.
Entrances the Little Ones.
Rating: 5
I teach two classes of 3/4 year olds and 4/5 year olds. Both groups liked this book and listened intently. It's great to have a book about trucks for a change of pace too. The illustrations are beautiful. A five and a half year old girl wondered aloud how a boy could drive a truck.
December 20, 2007.
Exploits of Sherlock Holmes - a treat for Holmes' fans.
Rating: 5
The stories in the Exploits of Sherlock Holmes carries on the great tradition of Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Conan Doyle. The stories are written by Adrain Conay Doyle and John Dickson Carr with great accuracy for the Victorian period of time. And the stories captures the relaionship between Holmes and Dr. Watson. The addition of great plot twists to the stories makes this book a must have addition to the Sherlock Holmes' fan library.
December 26, 2006.
Superb!.
Rating: 5
Among these pastiches, several would have found a place in the actual canon, because of their accurate settings-language-plot and structure. Only if there were more..!
December 26, 2005.
A curious incident of stories.
Rating: 4
There is a long and honoured tradition among mystery writers and fans of the Sherlock Holmes tales of writing one's own mystery. This can take one of several starting points - to take a detail in the canonical stories and develop it more fully (there are a lot of dangling pieces in there), to take the characters of Holmes and Watson (and perhaps others) and involve them in completely new fictional scenarios, or involve the characters in actual historical events. Adrian Conan Doyle, youngest son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, teamed with veteran mystery writer John Dickson Carr to produce a series of short stories developing themes that came out of the official canon of 56 short stories and four novels.
The background information tells us that these stories were written at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's own desk, so there is a sense of tactile succession from the official stories to these extra-canonical offerings. Well written, they sometimes lack the same smooth character of the better of the official stories (but then again, some of the official stories vary from the high standard of the better of them to a great degree).
This collection of a dozen stories picks up on details out of 'The Speckled Band', 'Silver Blaze', and many others. One of the glories of the Holmes canon is the in the details - those who love the stories spend hours reading and re-reading to catch new ideas and insights, and will likely be thrilled with the way in which Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr have worked in many pieces here.
Half the stories were written by Adrian Conan Doyle himself; the other half were written as a collaboration. I think this is an excellent volume as an extra-canonical addition to the stories. It maintains in good faith the same character of Holmes, Watson, Lestrade and others from the canon; while putting them in new situations, it does not create new personalities or identities or quirks about them, which sometimes prove distracting in some offerings.
The typical fan of Holmes will be pleased, and those new to Holmes will not be misled, and likely be inspired to further reading.
December 12, 2005.
Come, Watson, The Game's Afoot!.
Rating: 5
Adrian Conan Doyle, the "playboy" son of Arthur Conan Doyle, wrote half of the stories in this volume unaided, but for the first six he had the assistance of the famed mystery writer John Dickson Carr. Here are twelve new tales which vary in quality, but in one way or another, all of them are intriguing. Speaking personally, I would rate this volume rather higher than at least one of the "canonical" volumes. I have a feeling my comments are unnecessary, but let us examine the 12 tales one by one:
THE ADVENTURE OF THE SEVEN CLOCKS. What would cause a brave and stalwart man to faint at the sound of a ticking clock?
THE ADVENTURE OF THE GOLD HUNTER. Holmes and Watson tangle with Lestrade in a story drawn from the famous Bartlett case, involving chloroform. Here is a splendid variation on the "least likely suspect" leitmotif.
THE ADVENTURE OF THE WAX GAMBLERS. Stories set in wax museums are always spooky and this one has a socko ending.
THE ADVENTURE OF THE HIGHGATE MIRACLE. This is the famous tale Watson once mentioned, the case of "Mr. James Phillimore, who, stepping back into his own house to get his umbrella, was never more seen in this world." A natural for John Dickson Carr.
THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLACK BARONET. A thoroughly bloody mess of a crime and a drinking cup that proves unexpected fatal for a despicable cur. Not a very good story.
THE ADVENTURE OF THE SEALED ROOM. The "sealed room" is again a trademark of John Dickson Carr. This story is oddly more like something G K Chesterton might have turned out than an authentic Sherlock Holmes adventure.
THE ADVEVNTURE OF FOULKES RATH. This story has been widely praised, but I do not see its appeal.
THE ADVENTURE OF THE ABBAS RUBY. Holmes undertakes to prove the innocence of a butler suspected of stealing a precious jewel. It is nice to see him helping out a member of the servant class.
THE ADVENTURE OF THE DARK ANGELS. To me, this tale seemed the most similar to the original tales by Arthur Conan Doyle, with its plot involving a secret society determined to avenge betrayal by a former member.
THE ADVENTURE OF THE TWO WOMEN. It is rather like having a good Irene Adler, and a bad one, both in the same case.
THE ADVENTURE OF THE DEPTFORD HORROR. Slick re-write of the famous original Conan Doyle case of THE SPECKLED BAND, but frightening and horrid nonetheless.
THE ADVENTURE OF THE RED WIDOW. Gregson accepts Holmes' suggestions in the "red widow" case. "Red widow" - guillotine. It's graphic. "His hands were tied behind him and a white cloth, hideously besmirched, concealed his head, or rather the place where his head had been."
What a book! So glad it's back in print and in a handsome edition too, with easy to read type and lovely page numbers redolent of the period.
December 30, 2004.
If only there were more!.
Rating: 5
I know that's a cheesy thing to say, but it's true. I may not be the most sensitive literaty critic alive, but this collection is very similar, in content and style, to the originals. It might as well be considered part of the cannon. Are there some contradictions with the elder Doyle's stories? I'm sure there are, but probably no more than the elder Doyle's contradictions of himself. If you've read the originals, you'll want to read these.
This is also a very attractive publication. Nice type, nice packaging, illustrations at the beginning of each story, and quotes at the end--giving the supposed reference to the story you just read.
Good stuff!
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