Three Men and a Maid By P G Wodehouse

A corker of a novel. It has got the full humor effect of Wodehouse by way of sea-side romance, attempted kidnap to woo the girl, couple of break-ups, added misunderstandings again to woo the girl, etc.. Only thing I did not like was the ending since it seemed too forceful. 

Noting down one of the best sentences in this novel:

Bream Mortimer was tall and thin. He had small, bright eyes and a sharply curving nose. He looked much more like a parrot than most parrots do. It gave strangers a momentary shock of surprise when they saw Bream Mortimer in restaurants eating roast beef. They had the feeling that he would have preferred sun-flower seeds.

LOL!!

Wednesdays Are Pretty Normal by Michael Kelley

A true story about a father narrating his two-year-old's cancer story. But considering father [author] is also a priest, the whole novel is like a pravachana - a gospel - like a Sunday Church seminar on Bible. There are many stories from Bible told in the novel which gives value if you are a Christian reader. As such the story itself moves slowly and is very poignant but the novel has more emphasis on Bible and religious faith. 

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Felt like reading pure fiction, after a long time. So, searched for a Booker prize winner (had liked 1997 winner God of Small Things and 2002 winner Life of Pi tremendously) and came across this 2012 winner. 

It started off well, then in one single page, it moved about 5 decades! Then, it got boring but always had some punchline statements. Julian has portrayed old age really well, with its associated thoughts and memories. Then, just as the novel came to an end, it picked up momentum and finally ended on the last page with a thrilling effect that made me re-read the novel once more!! Definitely deserved the award! Good narration, good story, good language, good characterization.

The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner & Quincy Troupe

After having seen the movie, I was keen on reading the novel. As it turned out, the novel is very different compared to the movie. The movie could be just 30% of the novel. The story of what Chris Gardner’s mother has gone through is mind-blowing. The story of his life alone is stunning. Sometimes it seems he screwed up big time and hence he struggled so much to get to where he is. Other times, it seems like this is more of a pursuit of money and wealth, starting from the very first scene in which he wants the Ferrari badly. Either way, it is a riveting biography. A very good read.

The Prince and Betty by P G Wodehouse

A very different Wodehouse novel. It seemed more like a Hardy Boys book since there were many scenes of adventure and literal street fighting and gun-wielding gangs. And then there were typical Wodehousian romance scenes and wonderful English speaking characters. And the story is long and winding and complicated – across Europe and US. Just goes to show how skilled Wodehouse was – he could write any action story, any sports story (there are scenes of boxing rounds intricately explained), any romance story and any comic story. Worth a read, for the sake of uniqueness in Wodehouse spectrum.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

There are books in which every single sentence is important and is somehow related to the overall plot of the book, like in Agatha Christie's novels, Alistair MacLean's novels. And there are novels like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in which many sentences are neither important nor related, and is as unrelated as it could ever be. It is just - as somebody has rightly reviewed - whimsical insanity. A total timepass read. Not hilarious but definitely comic. If Wodehouse had come across Douglas, he would have said 'Just goes to show that it makes all kinds of people to make this world'.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

I remember my college mate talking about this book way back in 2000. I remember his making a comment on how a home can be a liability instead of an asset. I was not sure if I wanted to read this book. But when I came across this book in the library, I thought why not.
But very soon I realized that it is a book not to be borrowed and read from the library. It is a book meant to be bought. It has may wise gems which needs constant reading and referring - like Dialogues with the Guru and Autobiography of a yogi. It is not a great book (there are many sentences which keep repeating and it kinda becomes monotonous at times, but it is not boring), but definitely a book that needs reading, and a book that honestly inspires you to become rich.
Sometimes, when I read the book, I felt I was already following what the author wants the reader to do to become rich, sometimes I felt I was like the author's educated (poor) dad.
There are lots of things to learn in this book, and lots of things that make you think and re-think.
Definitely, a must-read.

Indiscretions of Archie by P G Wodehouse

My first Wodehouse novel read on a mobile phone. Not a very comfortable feeling, but anything to read a Wodehouse novel if I can't get hold of it on the book format. Coming to the novel itself, it is a different kind of a novel - a blend of both short stories and a novel clubbed into one. In the sense, the entire novel is categorized into short stories (read bloomers) of Archie while the novel itself revolves around Archie's relationships with his wife, father-in-law, friends, etc. A top-notch in Wodehouse class with a supreme touch of English and humor. A definite must-read.

The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

This book contains all strips from The Revenge of the Baby-Sat and Scientific Progress Goes "Boink". Notable are the stories in which Calvin tries to finish his homework and instead grows bigger and bigger & his scientific device going Boink!! A hilarious read!
Unfortunately for me, though, this is my final C&H book...there is no other C&H novel left for me to read.
:-(

Calvin and Hobbes Sunday Pages 1985 - 1995 by Bill Watterson

This is a must-read for all C&H fans. This has about 50 odd pages. The left side pages are some of the actual drawings which Bill Watterson drew and the right side pages are the same drawings in color [color chosen by Bill himself] that got published on the Sunday pages between 1985 and 1995. It also has a preview by Bill and each page has Bill's thoughts on the strip and the different challenges he had to surmount. In most cases, his challenges were drawing the strip in a panel that fit into books and papers - so that even if some of the panels were thrown away, the essence of the strip remained. This shows the ingenuity of Bill Watterson - not only is the comic strip great in conversation, humor and drawings but also in behind-the-scenes work like panel design and color combinations. Even though I had read many strips before, reading it again with Bill's thoughts penned gave it a different thought dimension and further impressed me. This also has C&H last strip drawn by Bill on 12/31/1995.

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

A book named Calvin and Hobbes on Calvin and Hobbes! As always, very entertaining & refreshing.

Weirdos from Another Planet by Bill Watterson

Another Calvin and Hobbes gem. Again, in black and white, though. Below (rough) excerpt suffices to an extent:

Calvin to Susie: "Can I borrow your black crayon?"
Susie: "Ok, but dont break it and dont peel off the side paper. Also draw on all sides so that the end remains pointy."
Calvin: "Geez, why dont you get an insurance on it!"

:-)

The Revenge of the Baby-Sat by Bill Watterson

Another Calvin and Hobbes gem! The episode of Susie Derkins being sent to Principal's office because of Calvin's pranks is hilarious. Would have been better if print was in color.

The Days Are Just Packed by Bill Watterson

Brilliant! The 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm Calvin meeting 7:30 pm Calvin sequence was absolutely hilarious. A must-read.

Yukon Ho by Bill Watterson

Colored edition would have made it better. But the dialog between Calvin and Hobbes is worth the read anyways.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

A child's book. Maybe it would have been interesting if I had read it when I was a kid. But now, reading it on my Android only because it came with the phone, didn't enjoy as much although it is true that novel is written just the way dreams occur.

Lazy Sunday Book by Bill Watterson

Beautiful. Ingenious art and dialog. Color adds further color to the comic. Each page contains 6-8 panels and it is one complete story. So, one small story per page. A must-read!

Something Under The Bed Is Drooling by Bill Watterson

A black and white comic book. Hence not so captivating. But very insightful and humorous, as always. Foreword in the book says it all. 

Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat by Bill Watterson

A treasure. A pleasure. As always, Calvin and Hobbes makes life so enjoyable!

There's Treasure Everywhere by Bill Watterson

A Calvin and Hobbes must-read. I almost re-read each comic strip to completely enjoy the artistic ingeniuty and the matter-of-facts-of-life of Bill Watterson.