Review: My Man Jeeves

My Man Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse is one of those books that everyone says is funny, but I'm always suspicious that it actually is. So, get this - it is! My Man Jeeves is a collection of eight short stories by Wodehouse -- half feature the perfect* butler Jeeves and his employer, Bertie Wooster, while the others are about Reggie Pepper, an early prototype for Wooster. While I definitely preferred the Jeeves stories over the Pepper ones, the whole book is quite amusing. And short! Just the perfect thing to read between diaper changes and late night feedings, when your brain is too frazzled to read anything more serious. Or maybe that's just me.

Buy My Man Jeeves on Amazon or download free at Project Gutenberg.

*Edited for bad writing!

Review: Heidi

Yodelay, yodelay, yodelayheehoo! There's no actual yodelling in Heidi, the classic children's novel by Johanna Spyri. Nor does a cherubic Shirley Temple pop out to say all the charming platitudes that the little Swiss girl spouts during the book. But otherwise, it was much like I remembered it from reading it in my younger days.

Orphaned at an early age, Heidi is sent to live with her curmudgeon of a grandfather high in the Swiss Alps. But Heidi soon finds that things are not always what others say they are, makes friends with her grandfather, and happily runs wild in the glorious mountains with the goat boy, Peter, and his goats.

Suddenly her aunt returns, and Heidi finds herself confined in the city to be companion to the invalid Klara. But Heidi is bitterly unhappy away from her grandfather and the outdoor life she has grown to love.

There's actually a lot in common between this book, which I enjoyed, and The Secret Garden, which I did not (link goes to my recent review). I don't know what the difference was. For example, where I found Colin in The Secret Garden to be insufferable, I thought Klara was quite sweet. This is definitely a kids' book - I don't expect to see it suddenly become hot beach reading - but I thought it was charming to read again. Buy Heidi on Amazon or download free at Project Gutenberg.

Review: The Secret Garden

Here are my thoughts on The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett in one sentence: Not as good as I remembered it. Doesn't that suck?

For those of you who haven't read it, or read it so long ago you can't remember it: Contrary little Mary is sent to live with a relative on the Yorkshire Moors after her parents and household die in India. The spoiled girl has never even dressed herself and is quite friendless. But with the help of two boys, a gardener, and an abandoned garden, she becomes a new person.

Clearly, I have become a jaded, terrible person, one who can't even enjoy such a magical story. I felt terrible for Mary and was happy about her transformation - but found angelic Dickon to be annoying and Colin to be insufferable. That said, I loved this book when I was a girl so hopefully someday, if I read this to my little M, I'll be able to enjoy it through her again. Until then, I think I'm too old to enjoy this one.

Buy The Secret Garden on Amazon. Or do what I did, and download it free via Project Gutenberg.

Wonderful Things at Tor.com

I visited Tor.com this weekend, which I'd never done before. I went to read a free short story written by John Scalzi, set in the Old Man's War universe, After the Coup. I poked around a bit, too, and came upon a most amazing little video that I just had to share with you: A Record Of Life from Owen Gatley and Luke Jinks on Vimeo.



This video makes me wish I could draw better. And compose music. Just wonderful!

Bookish Stuff

Digging through my Reader post-vacation, here are some links I thought I'd share:


Where the wild things are furry about a version of "Wild Things" by Dave Eggers and Spike Jonze with a fur cover. That image is unbelievable creepy to me.

Via Bookslut: Kill Your Darlings: designers on book covers that were killed.

Via Scott Westerfeld's blog, a link to download Uglies for free. Its a limited time thing, so go now if you are interested. I loved that book.

Way back in July, Tamora Pierce (who I was my fave author in my pre-teen years) published a list of her teen reads for the summer. I don't think I've read any of them, though I recognize a few of the titles.

The Hunting of the Snark

One of the best things about reading the Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde is getting all the inside jokes of literature. So what to do when you haven't read the work being referenced? It depends to a certain extent. I don't think it matters at all to the enjoyment of The Eyre Affair if you've read Dicken's The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, but it would be a problem if you hadn't read Jane Eyre. Still, the books are so much more enjoyable when you get all the references, so I try to look up anything that is clearly going over my head. In the case of The Well of Lost Plots (review), I had no idea who the Bellman was and why he (or she) would be in charge of Jurisfiction. Isn't a bellman the guy who carries your luggage for you at a hotel?

Thanks to Wikipedia, I found the strange and lovely poem by Lewis Carroll that features the Bellman, The Hunting of the Snark.

"Just the place for a Snark!" the Bellman cried,
As he landed his crew with care;
Supporting each man on the top of the tide
By a finger entwined in his hair.

"Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What I tell you three times is true."

Read the rest of The Hunting of the Snark at Literature.org.

Free Women of the Otherworld Stories

For those of you who are either a) completists* or b) trying to see if the Women of the Otherworld series is worth diving in to, series author Kelley Armstrong has a ton of short stories on her website that you should check out. (See my previous post here.) Here are a few links to get you started:

Rebirth
Infusion.
Demonology
Birthright

Probably the easiest way to navigate to all the short stories is to visit the Wikipedia page for Women of the Otherworld, here.

* completist kəmˈplētist - noun, an obsessive, typically indiscriminate, collector or fan of something. Example: me.

Free Read: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Thanks to Reader's Respite for the link: read Coraline by Neil Gaiman online here for free.

Wish List: Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Series

Sometimes, when I hear about new (to me) authors, who have been around for ages, publishing multiple NY Times bestsellers, I think, Where have I been? Fortunately, someone comes along and educates me and now I have a whole bunch of new favorites and new books on my ever-growing wishlist.

Today's addition, via John Scalzi's blog Whatever, is Carrie Vaughn and her “Kitty Norville” series, "in which a lycanthropic radio host has all sorts of wild adventures."

There is even, to wet your appetite, a link to the first Kitty story, Doctor Kitty Solves All Your Love Problems, as well as an excerpt from the newest novel, Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Edgar!

In addition to being Martin Luther King, Jr Day here in the USA, it is also a very important day in literary history: it is Edgar Allen Poe's birthday! In his honor, you should curl up with a glass of Amontillado and read one of his famous tales, many of which are available free here.

PS: Also, as an obnoxious UVA grad, I am obligated to point out that Poe, even though he is more closely associated with Baltimore, actually grew up in Richmond and attended (though did not graduate from) the University of Virginia. So, wa-hoo-wa!

"Yes, We Did" Novella

Slate is running an inauguration themed novella by Curtis Sittenfeld (author of American Wife) in five parts this week. The first part is here. I will refrain from judgement until I have read more.

P. G. Wodehouse

Sure, I've heard of P. G. Wodehouse. But he always sounded like one of those authors I should read, and therefore avoid at all costs. So I was pleasantly surprised when I read a recent post by Jacket Copy on Wodehouse that had me laughing out loud. From The Mating Season:

I am told by those who know that there are six varieties of hangover—the Broken Compass, the Sewing Machine, the Comet, the Atomic, the Cement Mixer and the Gremlin Boogie, and his manner suggested that he had got them all.

I love it!

Buy The Mating Season on Amazon.

There is also a lot by Wodehouse that is in the public domain and therefore available free online. Look at Wikisource or Project Gutenberg.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Want to see the new movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button? Haven't read the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story it is based on yet? You are in luck! Thanks to the University of Virginia (my alma mater!), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button can be found free online here.

Thanks to Jacket Copy for the link. They are also hosting a discussion, so check it out.

Happy Hanukkah!
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!

Updated to add picture, because a little Brad Pitt is never a bad thing. =)