Anonymous asked: I want to buy an annotated edition of Sherlock Holmes. Should I be going for the Klinger or the Baring-Gould version?

YES.

Holy John Above All Watsons, bless this question… Well, here are a few salient differences.  Both are amazing. Neither is “better” than the other, we’re sorry to say from a Consumer Reports standpoint…it would be so much easier if one were terrible.  ;)

The Baring-Gould can potentially be found online in a single used hardcover, which is kind of hefty but also slightly more portable than Klinger’s 3-hardcover set. Neither one is more scholarly or erudite than the other.  If you want a bit more about topical London matters, coins, culture, chronology, cabs, perhaps consider the B-G…if you desire likewise plus more modern Sherlockian cross references, along with brilliant anecdotes and some rather meta moments, or perhaps references back to the B-G, order a Klinger.

Both are awesome, and neither are an automatic cancellation of the other…if you get a copy of an Annotated, you will massively enjoy it.  They don’t repeat each other much, and they provide huge sensations of winning at knowledge.  And fun.  Apologies for failing at camps, but they both rock.