Sherlock Holmes
by Charles Verral, Arthur Conan Doyle · first published 1957
50% recommend50% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Detective stories praised for focused awareness and detached, logical analysis, often called an early example of rational fiction. Reread since childhood and suited to young readers and mystery fans.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
I meet Mr. Sherlock Holmes Adventure of the Speckled Band Naval Treaty Case of Identity Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle Red-Headed League Final Problem
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Mentions per year
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…Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think - The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: How to Know What's Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake - Sherlock Holmes: The definitive collection
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗Sherlock Holmes
on “Ask YC: favorite books” ↗Star Diaries by Stanislaw Lem Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗Rebel Without a Crew (Robert Rodriguez), The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho), Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
on “Ask YC: favorite books” ↗…your own way. # "Time Enough for Love" by Robert Heinlein taught me that, while culture is arbitrary and we should be free to try to make it what we wish, that doesn't make it fake or ignorable. # "Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, re-read as an adult, taught me the importance of formula in consistency and how much a market of fans love predictability. # "Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin taught…
on “Ask HN: What are the books that changed the perspective of your life?” ↗…absolutely nothing quite like it, and it taught me to laugh - or at least giggle - at anything) - Dune (the notion of mental discipline, at least as idealized by Frank Herbert, made an impression on me) - Sherlock Holmes (focused awareness and logic) - Godel, Escher, Bach - The Eternal Golden Braid (multiple takes on awareness, logic and creativity) There are more, but I tend to avoid Malcom Gladwell style books (and…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗Feed them fiction! 10 to 13 is great age to nurture the imagination and exploring ideas. - Harry Potter - Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree series - Lord of the Rings (start with the Hobbit) - Sherlock Holmes (and Agatha Christie's mysteries) - Asimov's Robot and Foundation series
on “Ash HN: Book you wish you read as a kid?” ↗…quite different from him being really rational. If super-detached and accurate analysis of a situation is what turns you on then I think Arthur Conan Doyle nailed down the "rational fiction" genre with Sherlock Holmes over a century ago.
on “Rational fiction” ↗This is a must read story. The exact same code was copied by Arthur Conan Doyle in his Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Dancing men". He just substituted the symbols in the code with different ones. Arthur Conan Doyle himself acknowledged Edgar Allan Poe's influence in his creation of Sherlock…
on “Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Gold-Bug” (1843)” ↗A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain North of Boston by Robert Frost Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (+ the other Sherlock Holmes') Candide by Voltaire (was reminded by other posting - this is great!)
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?” ↗Have you read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? I mean Sherlock Holmes. I become fan of these books unfortunately after phenomenal Russian series (unfortunately, because Vasily Livanov, who played Holmes, in last years become involved in Russian politics, and was supporter…
on “New Chinese GPU Maker Moore Threads Unveils the MTT S60 GPU” ↗Ever since I read The Hound of the Baskervilles five years ago I've been hooked on the Sherlock Holmes stories. I think I've read every single one. I didn't realize Arthur Conan Doyle wrote other genres, I'll have to check those out.
on “Arthur Conan Doyle and The Strand” ↗…no particular order): Shakespeare's plays, Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe", Harper Lee's "To kill a mockingbird", JM Barrie's "Peter Pan", Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories...
on “Ask HN: What are some great fiction reads for someone that reads non-fiction” ↗- Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (All 4 Novels and 56 short stories) --> read multiple times since childhood - "Be Here Now" by Ram Dass (read once and listened to audiobook twice) - Flatland by Edwin Abbot Abbot --> read multiple…
on “Ask HN: Which books have you read more than once?” ↗This might be a good time to note that a large number a Sherlock Holmes stories have been written with the autorisation of the estate since the death of Conan Doyle. Of those, I particularly like Neil Gaiman's The Case of Death and Honey.
on “Sherlock Holmes will finally escape copyright this weekend” ↗