This is the most beautiful, sensational, adorable book ever. As ever, I fell in love with London, Victorian London, all over again, because this is what happens with Classics, like by Dickens, they just show you their London, and you can't stop yourself from loving it, over and over again.
It's funny that my journey with Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes began back in like 2013 probably when I found the whole giant novel Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories in my university's library where I had just enrolled in. It was so enormous I was actually daunted by the task and intimidated by the pages themselves which by the way had two columns. The book had barely been issued to 2 or 3 people and it began by me taking and returning the novel until 4 years later I was graduating and if it hadn't been for a well wishing classmate and my general lack of cunning I would've almost stolen the book from the library because I knew I couldn't find one just like it. Thank God I didn't because then I got to come by this wonderful and un-intimidating edition and was happier for it, not to mention no ink on my hands. And, here I am, 5 years later, still left with half the Holmes, which, you know, I'm excited for, more to look forward to.
I got to see Doyle's chivalrous Holmes, his London and though I did try, I couldn't help comparing Holmes and Sherlock and the funny thing, I still can't decide which I like best because both are the best in their own right, I like them both just the same which is just so so beautiful and says much about the respective writers.
This was a beautiful delightful experience though I must advise reading it in shorter parts, because this being the Vol I was like half the Sherlock Holmes so it became drudgery by the end and I had to leave the littlest portion and try a few other books. The book is not dull or abstruse at all, it's rather easy to read, it has the perfect flow but you get tired of the mystery after mystery if you decide to read like all the Holmes that's out there once and for all.
It's rather lovely for crime and mystery. It's one of those books that you must read once in a lifetime, and then maybe a time again.

You wanna know why I love Sherlock Holmes so much? Really? And why I've read every novel and story Arthur Conan Doyle ever wrote concerning the character, as well as many of the modern adventures and nearly all the film and TV adaptations? Because Sherlock Holmes is a magnificent a--hole. Seriously; because he's brilliant, and haughty, and doesn't affect a false modesty to appease any of the dimwitted swarm around him, and is actually rewarded for this in Conan Doyle's Victorian London world, instead of being punished for it as most brilliant disturbed geniuses are throughout history. And this I'm sure is what keeps the master detective so continually popular among even the most contemporary of audiences, even with the BBC filming yet another new version the year before I'm wrote this review (or 2006, that is), even as so many of the popular characters from Victorian fantastical literature are right now permanently turning towards obscurity, even others invented by Conan Doyle as well. (A little Professor Challenger, anyone? Hello?) A perfect read this day and age for anyone who enjoys a tightly-plotted story concerning a deeply complex character.

What can I say? These are some of the most exciting, tightly written, expertly compressed short stories of all time in the mystery/detective fiction genre. There’s something so comfortable about reading Sherlock Holmes, about riding in carriages through the foggy streets of Victorian London, that will forever thrill and captivate me as a reader. Sherlock Holmes may not always solve the mystery in time to prevent disaster from striking, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle always leaves the reader satisfied with the experience of winding his way through each story.

P.S. - This might be the worst quality paperback book ever published in America. I went through two copies in order to reach the end. The pages literally pull free from the binding and fall out as you read. I had hundreds of loose pages that I was carrying around like a second book at the time I finished. Other Bantam Classic copies are not like this. I’m not sure what printing error caused the book to be sold in such deplorable fashion.

To view on Rainy Day's Books, Video Games and Other Writings: https://rainyday.blog/2023/03/01/book...

As someone who’s never read any of Sherlock Holmes’s tales, this was such an enjoyable read for me. The first volume out of two that feature all of Holmes’ tales told from the perspective of his trusted friend Dr. Watson, each of these stories intrigued me in various ways. I wasn’t sure when I started if I would enjoy reading these stories because while I’m a fan of mysteries and crime, classics aren’t always enjoyable to me. I don’t know if its due to difference in writing style over the years, but some classics I have a difficult time reading. Luckily for me though, I found Arthur Conan Doyle’s writing enjoyable.

I believe what made this first volume of Sherlock Holmes so enjoyable to me was the characters themselves, especially Holmes and Watson. I loved their relationship throughout from the start as I feel like they both balance each other out. Holmes is the type of person most people normally wouldn’t be able to tolerate and I feel like Watson is the perfect person to handle all his quirks. From their introduction to each other, I knew they would become such wonderful friends and there would be so many tales of adventure to be told.

The way in which Watson tells of each of their adventures is marvelous. I especially enjoyed when the villain was caught hearing that person tell of why they committed their crime. I also enjoyed hearing Holmes and all of his deductions that he would make from some of the simplest things that most people wouldn’t ever think of. I found his knowledge of crime throughout so interesting, especially since he was the one who normally had everything figured out before the Scotland Yard detectives who would call on his aid. I feel like with a lot of these stories like I was there with Holmes and Watson, asking questions of those involved and trying to figure out who committed the crime and why.

What I also loved about reading these Sherlock Holmes stories was that not all of the crimes committed were murder. I love that there were all sorts of crimes committed throughout, some ending in a way which I as the reader didn’t at all expect. I found this to be interesting because it shows you Sherlock Holmes’s character and that he doesn’t always feel like a person needs to be brought to justice. I found that especially interesting because it makes you question his character and ethics even though he’s the one who ultimately solves all these crimes.

What I loved about hearing these stories told from Watson’s perspective is that I felt like as the reader, I was reading his personal journal regarding these cases he helped Holmes with. And I found myself extremely interested in hearing with each case what would happen next, even if the end result was unexpected to me. Some of my favorite cases from this first volume were the ones with a twist I didn’t see coming or the stories with interesting protagonists who came to Holmes looking for help.

I would say if I had to choose a criticism for this book it would be that there are so many cases Holmes solved that I know I won’t remember them all. But I don’t see that as too much of a problem here because I enjoyed reading this so much that I know I’ll be rereading it again in the future. For now though, I’ve already started reading the second Sherlock Holmes volume in this collection, which has the rest of his stories I’ve yet to read and am looking forward to sharing my thoughts on those as well when I have finished.

Thank you for those who’ve finished reading this post! Leave a comment below if you’re at all familiar with Sherlock Holmes or have any stories you’ve enjoyed just as much as I’m finding myself enjoying reading these.

The actual edition that I read was:
The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
by Arthur Conan Doyle, Kyle Freeman (Editor)

I am unable to locate that edition on the Goodreads search engine.

The Holmes canon is one of my lifetime favorites. I read and re-read my thick compilation of the stories and novels many times as a child. This was my first return to them since then.

In the meantime, I grew up (some), and wrote a few books. Being a writer, I take a different view on the stories now than I did then. I also have a different perspective, having learned a bit about Doyle himself and his disdain for this work.

All of that enables me to see the tell-tale signs of rushed conclusions, sloppy writing (the wandering war wound of Watson, for instance) and repetitive plots.

Nonetheless, I still came away very satisfied from my reading of this entire two-volume collection. I still very much love the characters. I still very much love Doyle's patient teaching of the methods of deduction and observation. I still very much love this peek into London's people, places and things of that era.

Even with its shortcomings, this body of work is truly timeless, and remains highly recommended reading for all ages.

PS - This annotated version adds so much to the reading experience, especially in an electronic edition where you can bounce quickly between the notes and the text. Obscure and obsolete words and phrases that I simply skipped over as a child are now quickly and easily explained.

I did it, finished this book before the end of the month. I really stayed with it because the stories were that good. Doyle is brilliant in his writings and engaged me throughout this very long book. In the memoirs section, I passed by 2 stories - Silver Blaze and The Gloria Scott, the story did not catch me quickly. In the Return of Sherlock section, I passed by The Adventures of Black Peter for the same reason. Also, my question this evening what happened to Watson's wife? At the beginning of the Return of Sherlock section in the story The Adventure of the Norwood Builder, Watson mentions he has sold his medical practice and moved back to Baker Street with Holmes.
Volume 2 of this will remain on my tbr list for awhile though. FYI, never have I watched any of the TV series on PBS either.

My favourite line is on pg. 241 "As a rule," said Holmes "the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, feature-less crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify."

It was a long read but worth every moment. I love the variety of stories and I am looking forward to reading the second volume.

A massive volume that includes A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, and Return of Sherlock Holmes. I wasn't a huge fan of the Return of Sherlock stories, maybe because after reading hundreds of pages of other stories I was just tired, maybe because some of the novelty of the Sherlock mysteries and their repetitive story style wore off, or just that the earlier short stories were better. In any case glad to finally be finished with this massive tome and will be taking a long break before picking up part 2.

Sherlock Holmes is an inspiring character even more than a century since his adventures took places in the Victorian London. With his stories I traveled in time towards an epoque of cabs, pocket watches, top hats and so many details.
Watson's narrative is so precise and accurate in the sense of concentrating both in Holmes' attitudes and the human miseries that cause the crimes.
It's a long book which may deserve beeing read with intervals and not continuously.

Maybe this is my last book for now. I had to lengthen my reading even though It's not really necessary so just I'm not going to run out of something to read, but it ended now. I have to stop even I don't want to. Looking forward to the day I can read in peace. It can be too complicated to tell here the reason why and nobody will care. Being able to discover reading classics and scifi just a year ago change something in me for the better. So I'm really going to miss it. I still want to dig deeper in literature and maybe apply it in my life.

Second time read and still love it.

Sherlock Holmes is the ultimate detective!