Long weekend read

Easter has arrived! What does Easter look like for you? For me, I celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus with family and friends. We attend church and share Hot Cross buns together. I love this holiday for all it represents about humility, sacrifice and love. On Easter Sunday there is usually an Easter egg hunt where the bunny makes his appearance. Great chance to eat copious amounts of chocolate!

Regardless of your religious views, in Australia we get some public holidays around this time of year. You know what that means… Reading time! The long weekend is a great time to get into that ‘To be read’ pile that lives on our nightstands. I know a lot of people head off camping over Easter and there’s nothing quite like reading by the crackling fire to soothe the soul.

What’s on your TBR pile?

One that was on mine from last year was The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s my go to suggestion for anyone going on holidays!

Some background

 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the Sherlock Holmes stories and novels between 1887 and 1927. Originally Doyle wrote these stories when he ran his own medical practice in the South of England in 1882 and found business to be slow. The Sherlock Holmes stories were instrumental in assisting to create the ‘detective mystery novel’ – a new genre at the time. 

Why should I read it?

1. The book is better. Most people are familiar with the character of Sherlock Holmes, the eccentric detective, even if they haven’t read the book. There are countless film and television adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. If you haven’t happened across one of these, you’re bound be able to create a mental image of a tweed wearing, pipe smoking detective with ease. You may be thinking, I know the story. I’ve seen the film. Well!
2. . It’s an easy read. I didn’t expect to find as much joy and humour in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes as I did. I think sometimes literature that was written a long time ago gets a bad rap of being ‘stuffy’ or hard to understand. Granted, there are some classic books that use language that is unfamiliar to us now because of its formality. This book is not like those books. The text is easy to get into. Conan Doyle wrote several of his Sherlock Holmes stories to appear in newspapers as serials. They were written for the everyday person and touch on issues that are common across all humanity. The cases that Sherlock solves we can imagine being presented in modern day society – think spurned lovers and treasure hunters. Solving the impossible murder. The stories are told from the perspective of the long suffering Dr Watson who is just as much an enjoyable character in his own right as Sherlock himself. If you’ve always loved the idea of reading more classic books this is the perfect place to start.
3. It’s very funny. I mentioned it earlier but it’s worth saying again. You’ll be very amused reading this one. Sherlock Holmes has a particular way of speaking and acting that takes you -and the other characters – by surprise. It’s wonderful seeing the complex threads of the mystery being unwound by his marvellous mind.
4. It’s short. These stories are perfect for a holiday or long weekend because you can knock out a few stories between all the other activities you’ll be taking part in (we can’t spend the whole time reading if we’re away with others unfortunately). I know a friend who read these some of these stories to his kids before bed!

“I had no keener pleasure than in following Holmes in his professional investigations, and in admiring the rapid deductions, as swift as intuitions, and yet always founded on a logical basis, with which he unravelled the problems submitted to him.”

Dr Watson on Sherlock Holmes, The adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

So there you have it! I think this long weekend I’ll be spending some time rereading a few Sherlock Holmes stories. Two of my favourites have got to be: The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle and The five orange pips. Check them out!

What will you be reading this long weekend? Comment below or find me on instagram @stephhuddlestonwriting I’d love to hear from you! Wishing you all a happy and safe Easter.

*special thanks to Gerard Cheshire for his Life and Times section in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Collins classic edition (2016). ( Edition Pictured below) A thoughtful and enjoyable read all on its own.