There are authors I like whose other work I’ll happily try. There are classics that sound worthwhile. There are a few friends whose recommendations are consistently excellent.

Other than that? It’s a crapshoot. I can filter out certain works based on the synopsis or author, but that’s about it. And of course, even authors I like or classics can end up being massive disappointments.

Well-known as well as being wildly exaggerated and overstated.

Doyle never resented Holmes nor his initial success. At times later in his career he resented having to write more stories due to said success, as he wanted to move on to fresh characters and stories.

Obviously even that was not just pure resentment, since he brought the character back to life and continuing writing Holmes stories for decades more after that.

Turning this topic into a more fruitful one, I’ve enjoyed Doyle’s works that weren’t Sherlock Holmes, too. The White Company is excellent and I really like the Professor Challenger series, especially The Lost World.

I often set reading goals, even for books I love. I don’t believe that it’s a reflection of not truly liking the work, as there are a myriad of responsibilities and distractions that can keep you from reading as much as you wanted to. It can keep you motivated and focused.

Without doing so intentionally, I ended up with all the books in the Sherlock Holmes series, short story collections as well as novels. I was probably 13 when I completed it with The Valley of Fear.