First Anniversary Issue!!!!!!!!

That's right, today - November 13th - is the First Anniversary of this blog. Actually, the first entry only laid out what I hoped to do which was to tell you of the things I've read or watched, and any other thing that piqued my curiosity. Maybe I succeeded, maybe I didn't, I don't know. I do know that I've had fun. So, first I'll go over this months books, and then I'll give you some numbers for the past year.

Series

Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay ($12.95/$.50, 288 pages, copyright 2004, Trade paperback) OK. I know that ShowTime has made a series out of this book and it's sequels but I haven't seen it. I understand a lot of people like it. Given that fact, and that the main character is a sociopathic serial killer, you'd think I'd like it too. Not so much. Don't get me wrong, it was interesting, but I figured out the hook early on, and that kind of ruined it for me. It was OK.

Sherlock Holmes

There was a certain amount of serendipity to how this particular section came together over the last month. I had picked up the first book, then found the second, then the TV series started, and I came across the DVD. Coincidence? I think not. Holmes doesn't believe in coincidences.

Night Watch - Stephen Kendrick ($23.00/$.50, 258 pages, copyright 2001, hard cover)
Holmes and Watson in late 1902. Older, wiser, and involved in a secret meeting of the world's major religions in London. And, oh yeah, murder. PLUS FATHER BROWN, G. K. Chesterton's famous sleuth as a young cleric. I enjoyed it.

The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes - Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr (No Price/$.66, 338 pages, copyright 1952, '53, '54, hard cover)
Adrian Conan Doyle is the youngest son of Sir Arthur, and John Dickson Carr is a well-known mystery writer and a master of the "locked room" puzzle. The pedigree is there, and yet the 12 stories in this collection are uneven. Some of them are excellent, but some lack the atmosphere that Sir Arthur could bring to a damp, foggy London night or a cold country setting. Taken as a whole, they were OK.

Sherlock 
A new TV series, produced by the BBC, and shown here on PBS over the last 3 Sundays. The interesting twist in these 3 90-minute episodes is that they take place in the current time. That's right, Watson is a veteran of Iraq, and writes of their exploits in his blog. Holmes' nicotine habit is seen through his use of nicotine patches. And they call each other by they're first names. As I said, there were only 3 episodes, ending in a cliff-hanger. I enjoyed them, and look forward to the second season. (For those of you who missed this, the DVD came out at the same time as the first episode was aired.)

Young Sherlock Holmes 
This DVD is of a movie released in 1985. It was directed by Barry Levinson, produced by Steven Spielberg, ans some effects were done by Industrial Light & Magic. It imagines a first meeting of Watson and Holmes at a prep school, where they unravel a series of murders. A good period piece, and interesting enough, but it could have been better. Perhaps unintentionally, I kept finding visual references to earlier Spielberg productions like "ET and "The Goonies". But for a movie that's 25 years old, it holds up. I enjoyed it.

 OK. Now for some Anniversary numbers. Over the last year (including those mentioned above) I've told you about:
10 Comic Book Trade Editions/Graphic Novels. I may not be covering any more, due to the rising prices of these collections.
4 individual DVDs and 1 boxed set of TV Westerns from the 1950's. I may be watching more of these since I can usually get older ones for $5.00 and I can borrow the newer ones from my daughter, who has NetFlix.
6 Sherlock Holmes books, for a cover price total of $88.85, but I spent $25.61.
18 books from various different series' for a total cover price of $178.92, for which I paid $10.50.
28 miscellaneous books/novels for a total cover price of $382.51, for which I paid $17.43.

My totals for the year are 52 books read, with a combined cover price of $650.28, for which I paid $53.54. Or 1 dollar per book per week. Not too shabby.

I have made no progress on that jigsaw puzzle I told you about back in January.

Shameless Plug: I have spent a lot of time on my other blog http://www.ramdomblogsdennyoneill.blogspot.com/ . Faction (fact and fiction) based on my true story. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Another year awaits, and I've already got some interesting reads lined up.

Keep Reading!