Bookish Thoughts

I picked up The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul expecting something light and silly that I wouldn't have to pay too much attention to. And while this book was light and pretty easy to read, it had far more of a plot that I was expecting. There was a mystery to be solved and connections to be made and everything. Apart from the surprise of the plot, I was most struck by how familiar this book felt. Which is to say that I could clearly see the influence Adams has had on some of my favorite authors. Gently reminded me more than a little of Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell from Good Omens . And I have to wonder if the dying Norse Gods in this book had any influence on Gaiman's American Gods . It took me a little while to get into this book, mostly because I hadn't expected to pay as much attention to it as I ended up needing to. But by the time Kate was investigating the nursing home, I was on board. Things came together a little abruptly at the end, but it was sti...

Two books in one review?  What are these shenanigans?  But it didn't really make sense to separate these two books.  They are the first two books written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle about Sherlock Holmes and have a similar structure.  I also read them back to back and didn't want to do two reviews that would basically say the same thing. When I got my kindle for Christmas, the first thing I did was download every single Sherlock Holmes story from Gutenberg.org .  I started reading A Study in Scarlet almost immediately.  This picks up with Watson meeting Holmes, renting the rooms at 221 Baker Street with him, and helping him on a case for the first time.  Halfway through the book, they catch the criminal and the book completely switches perspective.  For the first half it's told in first person (Watson is the narrator) and takes place in London.  Then it switches to a third person description of the Mormons, led by Brigham Young, t...