Having watched Death Note & realized that I like mysteries of the detective kind, I believed that Sherlock Holmes will certainly interest me. But as I searched for that book, I found out it was not a book I was looking for, but books.

I had no intention of buying the books one by one and end up with an untidy looking, or perhaps incomplete collection, and so, the search was eventually forgotten.

Until Taiwan. At a particular Eslite bookstore, I came across a box of 2 Sherlock Holmes books proclaiming itself to be "The Complete Novels and Stories", published by Bantam Classic. I was exhilarated. Even more so when I reasoned that an English book should be cheap in Mandarin speaking Taiwan. The box set was hence, a definite buy.

Fast forward to the present time, where I currently am through about a third of the first volume, I am struck with words I do not understand, and phrases no longer seen.

Written in late 19th century, the language might have been mediocre then. Especially since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a medicine practioner. About a century and a half later, such usage of language is a welcomed novelty, and offers an interesting peek into Victorian England.

With regard to Sherlock himself, despite Doyle's descriptions, I cannot overcome the mental image of the Holmes played by Robert Downey Jr. But I am surprised by the habits of Holmes - some of which would be downright illegal presently - as well as the cases encountered. The book portrayed Holmes not to be an infallible machine, but an extremely well prepared person, and like all preparations, there will always be situations where contingencies have not been thought for.