#11 "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and #12 "Casino Royale" by Ian Fleming

As a child I grew up around sports. Some of my earliest memories were of me and my brother playing soccer and baseball in the tropical climate of Honolulu, Hawaii. I also remember going to the Pro Bowl stadium to watch the NFL All-Star game and the minor league baseball team, THE RAINBOWS play. How would you like to tell people that you play for THE RAINBOWS? However watching these games I knew I wanted to be a professional athlete. I wanted the popularity, the fame, and most of all I wanted to be liked. I always try to be the nice guy that doesn't make waves because I don't like it if someone doesn't like me. Unfortunately this abnormality prevents me from being my true self out of fear of saying or doing something that would not be received well. I've always looked up to my younger brother because he possesses qualities that I wish I had. He is funny, intelligent, clever and likable. Perhaps it's all in my head but I felt like I was in his shadow. This isn't his fault at all but people tend to gravitate towards the more charismatic people. Whenever I spoke my words just came out sounding like Foghorn Leghorn. So annoying for my mouth to move faster than my brain. No matter how hard I tried not to be me genetics and previously learned behavior would win out eventually. Frankly it also just felt unnatural. I, like many, turned to hero's at a younger age who possessed abilities I idolized or who've battled through their handicaps to become more than what life has dealt them.

London in the 1890's

Both Sherlock Holmes and James Bond became iconic symbols. Both, for lack of a better term, were idolized for different reasons. During the time of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle there were numerous unsolved crimes deemed to be of supernatural origin. Someone you knew murdered while walking home from work. Must have been the Boogeyman or Spring-heeled Jack check this character out.
Imagine the time in the 1890s when the industrial revolution was exploding and multitudes emigrated to London in search of employment. Not enough jobs for everyone. Countless people unemployed living in slums resulted in crimes of theft and murder. I've read that New Orleans was the London of America if that gives you a better picture. At least that is what was said by the protagonist in "Interview with a Vampire". Onto the scene comes the neurotic and intelligent private investigator Sherlock Holmes who is known to solve any mystery sent his way with the assistance of Dr. Watson. Holmes popularity came at a time when Jack the Ripper was just beginning to make his mark on the prostitute population of London.

Fast forward to the 1950s less than a decade after WWII. Men have settled down to their mundane family life. BABY BOOM!! Feminism was beginning to take root since women held down the fort while the men were off protecting the country abroad which resulted in women and men working side by side. My own grandmother had to endure some harsh criticism and injuries fighting for her right to work at a Seagram's factory in Kentucky. The smooth, debonair, and clever James Bond appears to the mass bringing a chauvinistic excitement to the humdrum life of a family man who's workmates now consist of women in skirts and nylons. WOW!! I like working next to Shirley a lot more than Moe! Fancy cars, crazy gadgets, hot women, and unique villains while working as a spy to foil his foes plans. 007 is all a guy wanted to be and women desired to have.

Don't get me wrong now. I didn't know much about these novels initially. I didn't know "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was actually a Sherlock Holmes story. I've heard about it before and have seen parodies of it on "Duck Tales" and "Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers"; to me, the hound was no more than a sinister glow-in-the-dark dog that could give "Cujo" a fight.


Rescue Ranger episode

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" centers around multiple generations of Baskerville estate heir's and their mysterious deaths. Due to the recent unexpected death of the previous owner of the establishment and the coming in of the new inheritor, the current overseers of the estate enlisted the help of Sherlock Holmes to bring light to this presumed curse before another man falls victim to the same fate. Holmes' keen attention to detail and the masterful way he organizes all the facts to come up with a logical solution is evident from the start as he confers with Dr. Watson to find out who is the owner of a cane left at their office.
Sending Dr. Watson to the Baskerville estate alongside the new inheritor the former was to write to Holmes about his observations of people's behavior and happenings at the estate. Doyle has a Scooby Doo style of problem solving- gathering of information and at the end a long monologue reveals the truth behind the mystery. Doyle's style allows the reader to "be on the case" with Sherlock Holmes. As clues are revealed, we take part in solving the mystery as opposed to having it laid out for us.


Ian Fleming's "Casino Royale" is more action packed. Here agent 007 James Bond, works for the secret service and is assigned to bankrupt a man named Le Chiffre who works for SMERSH. A woman named Vesper Lynd and Bond are hired to work together for this task. They develop a love connection which is very James Bondish with it's own twist in the end. All in all there isn't much to say about this book. A lot of action, mind games, and Baccarat and sexually tame. This book made it on "The List" but really, you could save yourself the time and watch the fabulous Daniel Craig version on DVD or Blu-Ray. I will say, however, that reading these two books was a nice respite from the other depressing books.