I don't read classics very often. I think school curriculums soured me on them. Especially 10th grade honors English. Oh man did I read a whole slew of books I hated that year. Les Miserables, Animal Farm, and A Tale of Two Cities stick out in my mind as the ones I hated the most. I'm sorry. I know these are considered great literary accomplishments. I absolutely positively hate them. Maybe I'd feel differently now that I'm older. But my high school brain just couldn't appreciate them. 
 In college I discovered that not all classics are terribly overblown and boring. Pride and Prejudice is perhaps one of my favorite books of all time. (Seriously Ms Hogan - couldn't you have put one good one in for the year?!) 
 And now I'm happy to announce that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes are classics definitely worth a read. Sherlock Holmes is the kind of guy that you would hate if you knew him in real life, but makes for a spectacular character to read about. He's arrogant, quirky and has seemingly poor social skills. Which makes me laugh. I don't know why I always assumed Sherlock Holmes stories were told from either his point of view or an omniscient perspective, but after reading it, it makes complete sense to be told from Watson's PoV. You can't just know Sherlock Holmes. Plus- the story wouldn't be as good. The mystery would be gone. 
 I'll admit most of my previous Holmes knowledge comes from Robert Downey Jr movies. But it was fun to see how Watson and Holmes partner up, and learn a little more about Watson himself. The sudden change in scenery explaining the backstory to the murder was kind of abrupt and not expected, but I enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed the beginning and solving the murder. I was rooting for Lucy and Ferrier, and it made you sympathetic to the culprit. 
 I have the entire Sherlock Holmes collection downloaded on my Kindle (I'm pretty sure it's free!) and I'm looking forward to reading more. Also- the quote at the end is spectacular and worth googling for the translation. It sums up Holmes perfectly.