I decided to read this book because of that one episode in Criminal Minds. The book was special to Spencer Reid and of course, I wanted to check it out so I decided to read it. I was not expecting the words to be so... confusing. There are some terms that I have only stumbled upon for the first time. I had to take a minute or two to look up the words in the dictionary just so I could understand, others I use context clues because it just takes time for me. But I really like this book because it helped me write and as I was reading, I was also learning how to describe things to the reader and finally express my imaginations as vividly as possible.

In my opinion, it's not a book (not that we understand by the term book). It's a set of ideas of Arthur Conan Doyle about the world, the future and the people.

Nice, but nothing more.

Reading this gave me the feeling that I was listening to my grandpa talk- except instead of stories of his youth, I got opinions of the man who would later write the Sherlock Holmes stories. It was quite a fascinating read, actually, even though this isn’t your typical novel- there aren’t any “characters” or even much of a plot, but the writing is very smooth and fun to read. It’s humorous at times, and I found myself agreeing with him on many accounts. It was a cozy read all in all.

Some of my favorite quotes:

“We may rouse our souls to some supreme effort, but we cannot steel them against the slow sapping of a sordid commonplace existence.”

Or this:

“Of what practical value is a faith which is so delicate that it must be screened off from every gust of controversy?”

And of course:

“There’s nothing I hate so much as idleness- except perhaps labour.”

My favorite quote from this book: 'Perhaps evil and sin and pain may prove to be merely the dark background which is necessary to make the bright design stand out hard and clear.'

There are pieces of music, notes really, stuck in your head that you heard in passing or a long time ago. The notes have a touch of familiarity though the lyrics or the complete arrangement escape your memory. It haunts you every now and then, slamming in your mind at odd and different times.

The narrative of John Smith is something like that. This half a novel is far from perfect or even good. Its a glimpse to the evolving mind of Doyle - in the way he saw things and understood them. It cannot be anything less than a memoir to his thought process, the organic way it seems to have shaped into a man who gave the world its greatest detective.

The severe lack in experience in his observation is almost cute. The ramblings of protagonist is probably a mirror to Doyle's own shaping mind that isn't a well oiled machine yet. This book is a must read for writers who think that every keystroke should produce a masterpiece and every piece of writing is their magnum opus.

The process of reading this book/draft can be a humbling experience and can teach a lesson or two on writing.

Three stars (though the content doesn't demand anything more than one point five or two if one is being generous). Why not? Its Doyle.