Of Sherlockians and White-Collar Criminals (January Wind-up)

In this month's wind-up: Kim Newman steals the stage at the House of Commons (he get's that from Moriarty's side), Ally Carter reveals herself to be up to no good (but in a really good way), and George R. R. Martin continues to torture me (unsurprisingly).

➢ The Reads
I started with my first Sarah Dessen book, Last Chance (review here), which was rather sweet and certainly left me wanting more from the author. I then started on Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles by Kim Newman. The book is basically a recount of the Sherlock Holmes cases from the point of view of his Sebastian Moran. Unfortunately I only read the first few stories in the book, as you really need to have a good knowledge of Doyle's canon to appreciate them. As I have yet to finish all of the original stories - and didn't want to encounter any spoilers! - I decided to put the book on hold. Shame, as I was really loving it! I also got a chance to meet the author this month (more below!).

Next up was A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin... which I still haven't finished. But not for lack of trying, however. I am enjoying many of the narrators - but others just drag the book out like mad. But I did finish Season 2 of Game of Thrones this month so... that kinda counts, right?

As Clash of Kings took up so much of my reading time - despite not being finished - I only got two other books finished this month. First of these was Heist Society by Ally Carter - which was OMG amazing. Seriously, I absolutely adored this book. Next up was The Holders by Julianna Scott, which I had trouble getting into at first, but then absolutely flew through. Reviews for both of those books coming up soon.

➢ The Events: The Stranger's Room Repast
Earlier this month, my mother invited me along to a rather special literary dinner: The Sherlock Holmes Society of London's annual dinner in the House of Commons. It's an annual tradition for the society and, every year, they invite a special guest to address the society. Past guests include Stephen Fry, Colin Dexter, Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, to name but a few! This year, author Kim Newman was invited.

Programme and Invitation.

Kim Newman gives a toast.

The evening was a black tie event for members only and I expected great things. The preparation alone was great fun, and the dinner itself was everything it claimed to be: fantastic food in a stunning setting, rich in history, and a night of people speaking about literary characters.

Kim Newman was an absolute treat: he gave a very funny talk, spinning a tale about Moriarty and where he may well be now. It was so well thought out, and so well delivered, it made me want to finish his book! (Something I plan to do in parallel with reading the rest of ACD's work.) Perhaps I should also pick up his Anno Dracula?

Society member Calvert Markham also gave a fantastic toast in honour of Doctor Watson - I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. He is not a writer (to the best of my knowledge!) but he could sure spin a tale. He had the room hanging on his every word - it was one of the highlights of the evening!

In short, a great night - thank you mum!

➢ The Blog
Highlights from the month:

• Book Notes: Upcoming Events in Londontown 
• Winter's Respite Readathon
• The Alphabet on My Shelf

➢ The Challenges 
Double Dog Dare: 2 books taken off my TBR pile.
New Authors: 3 new authors read.
Personal challenges: I'm still working on A Clash of Kings, dammit!