tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6512050174377678428.post4717783495916237831..comments2024-03-26T09:32:26.565-05:00Comments on Sherlock Peoria: The old wheel turns.Sherlock Peoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09896656391037436805noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6512050174377678428.post-76413182569421164982013-03-20T12:36:10.498-05:002013-03-20T12:36:10.498-05:00You know, David, I have had the same idea. I am m...You know, David, I have had the same idea. I am much more discerning about what I spend my time reading because I have less time left. And there is a lot I want and need to read.<br /><br />I suspect that I am not so much different than a lot of Sherlockian collectors: collecting it and actually reading it (or reading it carefully anyway) are different things. And while I do indeed spend a lot of time reading Sherlockiana, from the canon to the writings to (yes) pastiche, my friends who see that collection are always suprised to learn that I, by far, mostly read other things.<br /><br />And I find it hard to re-read many books (excepting the canon and there is a limit even to that), because there are so many books that I haven't read and want to read. And if I live another 30 years, even at 100 books a year, that's just 3,000 books. And while that might seem like a lot, a simple visit to a library or a large bookstore tells you it's not. So if I have only 3,000 books left to read in this lifetime, I am very, very unlikely (even if I overcome my initial suspicions to give it a try) to get past that gross grammatical mistake or spelling error or totally unconvincing premise in the first two pages of your POD pastiche.Bill Masonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6512050174377678428.post-17026437572425939272013-03-20T11:31:08.562-05:002013-03-20T11:31:08.562-05:00"When I was between 18 and 35, I read a ton o..."When I was between 18 and 35, I read a ton of pastiche.... It's what an enthusiastic freshman Sherlockian does. Later, between ages 40 and 55, they just became very had [hard?] to read . . . or maybe there just wasn't a writer taking to the keyboard who could quite excite my more jaded tastes."--B.K. "Once I hit 50, I realized there's little time left, so it had better be spent on the classics rather than the ever present glut of cheap fiction."--D.M. Exactly so, gentlemen. I am grateful to those who read pastiches and review them so that if there is something out there worthwhile to read I *may* check it out. (I'm glad to have read "Dust and Shadow" and "The Hound of the D'Urbervilles"recently.) Too much chaff, not enough wheat and rereading Doyle still satisfies. Can a very good pastiche read for the first time be as savory as "The Hound" or "Sign" after the tenth meal? Increasingly, the answer is no."Older and wiser" and perhaps a bit sadder.James C. O'Learyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13866010043246236340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6512050174377678428.post-62279253636926552952013-03-20T05:02:41.131-05:002013-03-20T05:02:41.131-05:00Old and jaded? I prefer to think of it as older an...Old and jaded? I prefer to think of it as older and wiser.<br /><br />Once I hit 50, I realized there's little time left, so it had better be spent on the classics rather than the ever present glut of cheap fiction. It boggles my mind that, despite years in academia, I've never actually read any Mark Twain or D. H. Lawrence or quite a few others in the pantheon. But, unless a 16 ton weight falls on my head, I sure as hell will...David Morrillnoreply@blogger.com