Fiction Friday #15 - Finally Finished!

Guys, I just about did a happy dance this last week when I finished this book! The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was part of my Christmas present from Taylor last Christmas. Which should give you a pretty good idea of how long I've been reading it. It was a few weeks into January when I picked it up and I've been chipping away at it ever since. Basically, this book is the first of a two volume set that includes three Sherlock Holmes novels and two story collections: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Now, I saw the 2009 Robert Downey Jr. film adaptation and its 2011 sequel when they came out and enjoyed them well enough. I didn't know much about Sherlock as a character so a lot of his unique qualities were lost on me until a friend explained it. However, when I discovered the BBC TV show Sherlock, based on the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works but set in modern-day London, I was completely blown away! Therefore I felt the need to read all the stories that have been the basis for so many great adaptations, and I have not been disappointed! The Sherlock stories are by far some of the most intriguing accounts I've ever read. If you for some reason know nothing of who Sherlock Holmes is, you could probably just Google search his name and find plenty of information. Basically, he is a fictional detective in London, England who uses extreme attention to detail, unheard of logical reasoning skills, and impressive forensic science deductions to solve some of the most baffling crimes in the country. The stories are written from the point of view of his friend, roommate, and partner in crime-fighting, Dr. John Watson, a former army medic who befriends Holmes and enjoys watching his analytic powers. Because they are written from Watson's point of view, the reader gets to experience the bizarre antics Sherlock is prone to without knowing exactly what he's up to, although I have been able to jump on his train of thought occasionally which makes me feel extremely smart! The thing I love about these stories is that I rarely know how they are going to end. I've said it before  I prefer to be surprised by the ending, but few stories are original enough to completely surprise me at the end. Sherlock Holmes stories are pretty good at surprises. I would definitely recommend you taking the time to read these stories. Feel free to take as long as you would like (it took me seven months to get through this volume)!! Also, I do like this particular publishing by Barnes & Noble Classics because it has plenty of extra stuff to help me understand the time period and what was going on in Conan Doyle's life as he was working on these stories, which I found extremely fascinating. This may be the longest review I've ever written of a single book, but this book is definitely worth it!! I have now started in on the second volume and it's pretty good so far. I just hope it won't take me as long to read!!!My second finally finished book of the week is the non-fiction book Jesus > Religion: Why He is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More and Being Good Enough by Jefferson Bethke. I bought this book almost as soon as it was released last October and have been reading it off and on since then until I finished it this week. Jefferson Bethke gained what many people view at overnight-celebrity status in 2012 when his YouTube spoken word video "Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus" got millions of views in its first 48 hours. In his book, Jeff expounds on the ideas and conversations that inspired the four minute video. It's a fascinating read from a young man who points out the difference between doing what's considered "right" and passionately following Jesus. Jeff is quick to point out that he is not some big Bible scholar with years of professional Bible study under his belt, he is just a simple guy who got sick of seeing his non-Christian friends run from God because they had been hurt by a church or individual in the name of Jesus. I love his honesty about how the church often reacts to those outside, but also how he stresses the importance of embracing the church and building it into a community of people who walk through the difficult times of life together. Jefferson has since made many other YouTube videos to look at different issues facing society, study different passages of the Bible, and simply share what's on his heart on any given day. I would definitely suggest checking out his Youtube channel, stopping by his website, and reading through his book. (Also, in case you recognized his last name, Jefferson's wife, Alyssa, is the co-author of Spoken For, a book I reviewed a few weeks ago. They seem like a super great couple and I really want to be friends with them!! Haha....)