Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome (narrated by Martin Jarvis)

Karen from Books and Chocolate suggested the audio for Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat, saying it was “the funniest books I have ever read,” and she’s read it a number of times. I certainly have to agree that it is a ridiculous satiric Victorian novel and completely unlike the stereotypes of Victorian literature that some foster.

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Père Goriot by Honoré de Balzac

I believe it is possible to be very glad I read a book and yet still not really like it. I read not just for entertainment but for broader perspective.

Reading Balzac certainly gave me a different perspective. In a sense, it’s kind of a mix between Dumas (humorous exaggeration) and Zola (heart-breaking realism). Honoré de Balzac, who wrote Père Goriot in the 1830s, is named the “father of realism” and this book seems an apt precursor to Zola’s sagas (one of which I read earlier this year). Continue reading »

Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

Sometimes I just need something light. Something that makes me chuckle. I’ve been reading a lot of old classics (which I love) and nonfiction (which fascinates me). But when I went to start another portion of my painting project, I needed something light and funny. I couldn’t concentrate on serious when I was doing a chore I wanted to procrastinate.

P.G. Wodehouse’s collection of short stories about Bertie Wooster and his butler Jeeves was simply perfect. It was my first foray into the world of Bertie and his witty butler, and these stories made me crave more.

The best part of the Jeeves stories is the interaction between the two. Bertie is a wealthy British bachelor who thinks quite highly of himself. He is ridiculous. Jeeves is, quite simply, a perfect servant and a genius. Jeeves takes control of situations and use things to his advantage all the while Bertie thinks he’s in charge.

Carry On, Jeeves has ten stories, including one about the first day Jeeves entered into Bertie’s services. A few of them take place in New York, but others are in England and Europe. Jeeves saves the day in all of them, in his own style. Bertie, of course, is ridiculous.

Much thanks for my library’s e-audiobook website. The version I listened to was wonderfully narrated by Martin Jarvis. I now know I have a perfect go-to when I need an audiobook like this!

What is your favorite Bertie and Jeeves story? I’m ready for more!

Jane Austen: A Biography by Carol Shields, a Quote Book, and a History of England

I’ve have been itching to read Jane Austen lately, and although I’ve decided to read Sense and Sensibility for Valentine’s Day, I found a few things that could satisfy my craving right now! A movie or two also may help in the coming weeks. Continue reading »

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

In the end, I sighed with satisfaction. Yes, everything would be alright in Miss Matty Jenkyn’s town of Cranford.

I wasn’t sure I liked Elizabeth’s Gaskell’s Cranford for most of my reading, and to be honest, the snippets of life in the town of Cranford irritated me at first. But in the end, it all comes full circle for me and I almost want to reread the portions that irritated me in the beginning. Some day, I think I’ll revisit this book. I definitely want to read more of Gaskell’s writing.

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The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

In The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, Thursday Next is an agent for SO-27, working in the Literatec division in alternative 1985. Her job is to stop literary thieves from taking original manuscripts. This is a very important job, for people in Thursday’s world are able step in and out of books: if one were to mess with the original manuscript, every copy of the book would be changed forever.

I loved the “Dragnet” tone of the narration, and the outrageous abilities of people in the book (such as going back and forth in time or accidentally falling in a hole in time) make the solving of a crime hilarious. The characters’ names alone are funny (from Jack Schitt, a bad guy, to Paige Turner and Thursday Next). Besides the humorous and fantastic elements, though, I loved the import of literature to the people in Thursday’s world. If only Shakespeare’s plays were the entertainment of choice in our world! Continue reading »

Caldecott Corner Author Spotlight: Simms Taback

Simms Taback has an illustration style all his own. His children’s picture book illustrations are often a blend of watercolor, gouache (an opaque watercolor painting), pencil, ink, collage, and I even observed some crayon illustrations. His colors are bright and his books have subtle jokes in the illustrations (for the parents to find). So far, he has won the Caldecott Medal once (in 2000 for Joseph Had a Little Overcoat) and he was a Caldecott Honor once (for There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly). Continue reading »

Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dogs by Kitty Burns Florey + Giveaway

In Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dogs: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences, Kitty Burns Florey sets out to tell why diagramming sentences is so much fun and the brief history of the art of diagramming sentences. To some extent, I felt Florey’s book was more memoir and humor than it was history. Yet, I highly enjoyed the brief tribute to diagramming because I was one who was fascinated by the month I spent in seventh grade learning to diagram. Continue reading »

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov + Giveaway

I loved reading Vladimir Nabokov’s short stories a few months ago because his control of language is so powerful, although I did feel that some of his stories were rather odd. Nabokov’s novel Pale Fire is similar in that it is both odd and powerfully written. It is a masterwork of creation: who but Nabokov would have thought to write a book like this? In fact, Pale Fire is so odd, I have a hard time calling it a novel.

Pale Fire has two main parts. One part is a 999-line poem (about 30 pages) by the recently deceased (fictional) John Shade. The other part is (fictional) Professor Charles Kinbote’s commentary on the poem (about 185 pages). Nabokov has expertly woven a completely unrelated commentary in with a fairly coherent poem. Trust me: it is funny, in a subtle way. Continue reading »

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein

I know next to nothing about Philosophy, so when it came time to approach the “100s” century (Philosophy and Psychology) for the Dewey Decimal Challenge, I decided to read something from the half more challenging for me (Philosophy). This is about learning, after all, right? But between packing and moving, I felt the need to read something light and easily accessible this month. Is anything about philosophy light and accessible?

I found Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein to be such a light approach. The subtitle is “Understanding philosophy through jokes.” How can one go wrong by reading a book of jokes? While I appreciated the light-hearted approach (especially this month), I unfortunately thought there were too many “jokes” and too few concrete details about philosophy. I enjoyed my short perusal of Plato and Platypus, but I don’t feel I have a much greater understanding of philosophy having read it. Continue reading »