Even though it was a slightly frustrating beginning to the week (computer decided to stop working whenever it got bored . . . which, it seems, was quite often), complete with rain-soaked days and an irritable cat (she's still adjusting to the move and not liking the three levels much . . . she's always lived on just one level at a time), it's also been a week filled with interesting reading and fascinating watching.

Firstly, the interesting reading:  You comma Idiot by Doug Harris.  A testosterone-centred novel, I must say, but one with such a well-drawn protagonist that it pulls one in despite it all.  The ending disappointed a tad (felt a bit like a beer commercial, I thought), but its tone was in keeping with the comedic approach of the narrative as a whole (which, in other, less skilled, hands may have come across as some seedy melodrama) so I suppose one could argue that it was a fitting ending after all.  

The novel --  told in second person, which is both unusual and very risky, but Harris pulls it off -- follows twenty-eight year old Lee Goodstone as he goes about his life of dealing and loafing. During the course of a very trying period in his life, when he is, paradoxically, the happiest he has ever been (or so he thinks), he loses just about everything in one long, inevitable slide.  But the novel is funny, satirical, and savvy, never feels heavy-handed and, with the possible exception of the very end, never felt inauthentic. 

This isn't my normal reading, but I'm so glad I gave it a try *  because it ended up being highly engrossing and fun to read.  

Secondly, the watching:  Mr. Inkslinger and I caught Masterpiece Mystery on Sunday night and we were both favourably surprised by how good the new Sherlock Holmes series is.  I was reluctant to watch it as I thought it held little appeal for me. A contemporary Sherlock? With cell phones and computers? Please!  But how wrong I was. Benedict Cumberbatch was absolutely terrific as Sherlock and Martin Freeman (who plays Watson) was, well, Martin Freeman (which means, of course, consistent brilliance).  Funny, smart, fast- but evenly paced. Loved it!!

* Much thanks to Goose Lane for sending along a review copy!