Uncle Dynamite by P G Wodehouse

Jovial as usual. Enough twists and turns with romance popping on and off, impostors, policemen, robbery, etc to make it a page turner. And of course the English language. Must-read.

No Nudes Is Good Nudes by P G Wodehouse

Absolutely topper! Even the title is apt. Blandings Castle, Uncle Threepwood, Lord Emsworth and his pig, Duke of Dunstable, Beach, a couple of romantic hearts and of course 'The Reclining Nude' - a perfect composition of an excellent novel. Add "Wodehouse at his best" and this book is unputdownable.

The Meaning of Life

This book by Bradley Trevor Greive contains less than 120 pages and has one sentence per page. Yes, just one sentence per page. Rest of the page is covered with animal pictures which is why I took the book for my daughter. But as it turned out, this is a book for adults. When I started reading it by chance, I could not put it down till I read the whole thing. It is a page-turner and hard-hitting. The message is wittily put across in less than 10 mins of reading the book.

Lord Emsworth and Others by P G Wodehouse

Rib tickling short stories. Thoroughly enjoyable. Some golf stories too. Only Wodehouse can combine golf with funny love entanglements.

Young Men in Spats by P G Wodehouse

Short story collection involving many of Wodehouse's brightest and funniest heroes. Comical read.

Laughing Gas by P G Wodehouse

A different kind of a novel by Wodehouse. Sci-fi-ish soul-switching incident that happens, as Wodehouse says in 'Fourth Dimension' leads to a laugh riot. Extremely comic page-turner! A must-read.

Just Us Girls by Moka / Sunscreen Books

For lack of any other book, I read my wife's choice of 'Just us girls'. Being father of a daughter (she is less than one now!), it was interesting to know what my daughter will go through a decade later! A good read, actually.
Rating: 2

Blandings Castle and Elsewhere by P G Wodehouse

A collection of short stories of Blandings Castle, Mr Mulliner and Bobbie Wickham. Enjoyable. A snippet (the start of the novel) reproduced below - the English, the setting, the light humor - all wodeshousian Classic!

Lord Emsworth had his eye to a powerful telescope and Beach, the butler, was beside him.
"Beach," said Lord Emsworth.
"M'lord?"
"I've been swindled. This dashed thing doesn't work."
"Your lordship cannot see clearly?"
"I can't see at all, dash it. It's all black."
The butler was an observant man.
"Perhaps if I were to remove the cap at the extremity of the instrument, m'lord, more satisfactory results might be obtained."
"Eh? Cap? is there a cap? So there is. Take it off, Beach."
"Very good, m'lord."
"Ah!" There was satisfaction in Lord Emsworth's voice. "Yes, that's better. That's capital. Beach, I can see a cow."
"Indeed, m'lord?"
"Down in the water-meadows. Remarkable. Might be two yards away."

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham

After a long time, I wanted to experience Grisham's legal battles in the court but when I chose this book off the shelf, little did I know that this was nothing to do with legal eagles. It was all about NFL and super bowl in Italy. Half the book is like a tourist guide to Italy and half the book is like a sports magazine on American Football. Totally time pass novel - not something I wanted to read.

The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens (abridged)

Time pass. Good to read to get a feeling of the old world charm. It is a collection of adventures of Mr Pickwick and his friends. They go from one city to the other, make friends, attend weddings, have some adventures and move on. Total time pass.

French Leave by P G Wodehouse

Not set in rural England. No Ukridge, no Lord Emsworth, no Wooster, no Psmith, no Uncle Galahad. New set of characters, new location (Roville and St Rocque in France) and new plot although the misunderstandings, lovers tiff, etc is in abundance. Enjoyable. My 50th Wodehouse read.

Thank You, Jeeves by P G Wodehouse

Absolutely topper. There is something about Jeeves and Wooster novels that brings the best out of Wodehouse. A must-read. Cannot help but give an extract of one of the hilarious passages from the novel:

There was a knock at the door and in floated Jeeves.
'Excuse me, sir', he said, shimmering towards old Stoker and presenting an envelope on a salver. 'A seaman from your yacht has just brought this cablegram, which arrived shortly after your departure this morning from the yacht. The captain of the vessel, fancying that it might be of an urgent nature, instructed him to convey it to this house. I took it from him at the back door and hastened hither with it in order to deliver it to you personally.'
The way he put it made the whole thing seem like one of those great epics you read about. You followed the procedure step by step, and the interest and drama worked up to the big moment. Old Stoker, however, instead of being thrilled, seemed somewhat in the impatient side.
'What you mean is, there's a cable for me.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Then why not say so, damn it, instead of making a song about it. Do you think you're singing in opera, or something? Gimme.'

Money in the Bank by P G Wodehouse

Wonderful! Again the Wodehousian formula: romance, missing diamonds, beautiful girl engaged but not liking the adventurous spirit of her Boy Handsome but bowled over the Master Orator, set in a country house, few scenes of attempt-to-burgle and getting caught in the cupboard, etc. Never fails to bore the reader.

The Mating Season by P G Wodehouse

Topper! Its always a pleasure to read the conversation between Jeeves and Wooster and this novel has lots of it. Set in a country hall, Wooster finds himself in the midst of four couples' tiffs and his name being changed to Fink-Nottle! Full of entertainment!

Quick Service by P G Wodehouse

A complete new set of characters and a new location but similar plot (romance in country, burgling of portrait, etc) and similar set of characters (an out and out optimist spreading sweet and lightness, a pessimist with a digestive problem, a subtle valet, a guy who doesn't believe in marriage but finds himself engaged to the most beautiful and sweet girl, etc). A wholesome entertainer.

Service with a Smile by P G Wodehouse

Lord Emsworth and the pig Empress; Emsworth's sister Lady Constance; Emsworth's secretary Lavendar Briggs; Finally, Lord Ickenham in Blandings Castle. A sure-fire recipe for a great comedy! Unavoidable.

Much Obliged, Jeeves by P G Wodehouse

Wodehouse at his usual best. Similar plot - robbery, false accusations, entanglements, engagements being broken off, set in a country and the Junior Ganymede club book.

The Coming of Bill by P G Wodehouse

Boring! One of the rare Wodehouse books that bored me. There were no entanglements, misunderstandings, burglary but a plain story. Good English of course but lacking punch in story. Realized that Wodehouse's first few books (written during 1900s) are not as funny as those written post 1950s. Definitely a book that can be avoided.

Wings of Fire by D A P J Abdul Kalam with Arun Tiwari

A nice read. Very inspiring too. Gave me a lot of food for thought.