The Reichenbach Falls Challenge



16 June 2011 - 31 December 2011

 In honour of the new Sherlock Holmes movie due out in December (and since I've read bits and pieces, but not the entire works), I'm challenging myself with The Reichenbach Falls Challenge : to read all 60 of the published Sherlock Holmes stories (both novels and short stories) by Arthur Conan Doyle.  I'll be working from The Complete Sherlock Holmes, published in 1992 by Barnes and Noble Books - all 1,122 pages worth!  If I read any "bonus" stories (books by other authors featuring or referencing the Great Detective), they will also be counted, but not required of the challenge.

Note: w = indicates the story was also viewed, using the Granada 1980s television series (my favourite!).  In total, 41 adaptations were watched.

Though there is already a Sherlockian challenge (The Baker Street Challenge), it is limited in the number of books to be read (3, 4, 5 or 7).  If you want just a taste of Holmesian, check them out!

If you want to join me in this challenge, leave a comment - I would love the company! :)   

Titles will be stroked out as they are read.  Collections will be crossed out when all the stories contained within are read.
1.  A Study in Scarlet (1887) (13 December 2011)
2.  The Sign of Four (1890) (13 December 2011) w
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)
3.  A Scandal in Bohemia (13 December 2011) w
4.  The Red-Headed League (13 December 2011) w
5.  A Case of Identity (16 December 2011)
6.  The Boscombe Valley Mystery (16 December 2011) w
7.  The Five Orange Pips (16 December 2011)
8.  The Man With the Twisted Lip (16 December 2011) w
9.  The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (16 December 2011) w
10.  The Adventure of the Speckled Band (16 December 2011) w
11.  The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb (16 December 2011)
12.  The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor (16 December 2011) w
13.  The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet (16 December 2011)
14.  The Adventure of the Copper Beeches (16 December 2011) w
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894)
15.  Silver Blaze (17 December 2011) w
16.  The Yellow Face (17 December 2011)
17.  The Stock-Broker's Clerk (21 December 2011)
18.  The "Gloria Scott" (21 December 2011)
19.  The Musgrave Ritual (21 December 2011) w
20.  The Reigate Puzzle (21 December 2011)
21.  The Crooked Man (21 December 2011) w
22.  The Resident Patient (21 December 2011) w
23.  The Greek Interpreter (21 December 2011) w
24.  The Naval Treaty (21 December 2011) w
25.  The Final Problem (23 December 2011) w
The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905)
26.  The Adventure of the Empty House (23 December 2011) w
27.  The Adventure of the Norwood Builder (25 December 2011) w
28.  The Adventure of the Dancing Men (25 December 2011) w
29.  The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist (25 December 2011) w
30.  The Adventure of the Priory School (25 December 2011) w
31.  The Adventure of Black Peter (25 December 2011)
32.  The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton (25 December 2011) w
33.  The Adventure of the Six Napoleons (26 December 2011) w
34.  The Adventure of the Three Students (26 December 2011)
35.  The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez (26 December 2011) w
36.  The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter (26 December 2011)
* I wish this story had been dramatized by Granada in the 1980s - it's one of my favourites!
37.  The Adventure of the Abbey Grange (26 December 2011) w
38.  The Adventure of the Second Stain (26 December 2011) w
39.  The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) (30 December 2011) w
* I became bogged down reading "Hound"; it's not my favourite, despite being one of the most famous SH stories.
40.  The Valley of Fear (1915) (30 December 2011)
* I thought I had read, at one time or another, all of the SH stories, but apparently not!  How could I have missed this one?! 
His Last Bow (1917)
41.  The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge (31 December 2011) w
42.  The Adventure of the Cardboard Box (31 December 2011) w
43.  The Adventure of the Red Circle (31 December 2011) w
44.  The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans (31 December 2011) w
45.  The Adventure of the Dying Detective (31 December 2011) w
46.  The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax (31 December 2011) w
47.  The Adventure of the Devil's Foot (31 December 2011) w
48.  His Last Bow (31 December 2011)
The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927)
49.  The Adventure of the Illustrious Client (31 December 2011) w
50.  The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier (31 December 2011)
51.  The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone (31 December 2011) w
52.  The Adventure of the Three Gables (31 December 2011) w
53.  The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire (31 December 2011) w
54.  The Adventure of the Three Garridebs (31 December 2011) w
55.  The Problem of Thor Bridge (31 December 2011) w
56.  The Adventure of the Creeping Man (31 December 2011) w
57.  The Adventure of the Lion's Mane (31 December 2011)
58.  The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger (31 December 2011)
59.  The Adventure of the Shoscombe Old Place (31 December 2011) w
* Not my favourite in either version, though the film adaptation is notable for the appearance of a very young Jude Law... (ahem, Doctor Watson ;)
60.  The Adventure of the Retired Colourman (31 December 2011)

Bonus Titles (books featuring/referencing The Great Detective by other authors)
Titles will be stroked out as they are read.
1.  Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus; ill. by Paul Galdone
2.  The Case of the Gypsy Goodbye by Nancy Springer  (11 December 2011)
3.  The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer  (May 2011)