Review of The Inimitable Jeeves, by P. G. Wodehouse

Audiobooks, Fiction Review, Humorous, Starred Review 0

inimitable_jeeves_largeThe Inimitable Jeeves

by P. G. Wodehouse

narrated by Jonathan Cecil

AudioGO, 2009. First published in 1923. 6 hours, 18 minutes on 6 compact discs.
Starred Review

Since I was having such fun listening to Jeeves and Wooster stories, and since the library seems to have new copies of several of the books, I decided to try to listen to them more or less in order. NoveList tells me that The Inimitable Jeeves is the third book, coming after The Man with Two Left Feet, and Other Stories, which only has one Jeeves and Wooster story, and My Man Jeeves, which the library only has in a print edition.

I do know I’ve read The Inimitable Jeeves before, sometime or other, and the events related here were also reproduced in the brilliant BBC miniseries which I have on DVD. But that didn’t keep me from enjoying Jonathan Cecil’s performance tremendously. And I enjoyed the characters and situations all the more, because I know how they will continue to haunt Bertie’s life.

Indeed, this is the volume where Bertie first gets engaged to Honoria Glossop. It happens because, while having a disagreement with Jeeves, Bertie thought he could get his pal Bingo Little (who was then in love with Honoria) out of a scrape using his own brain power. How foolish, Bertie! I found myself trying to warn him the whole time, and shaking my head with great delight as his scheme went wrong.

Of course, Jonathan Cecil adds so much. This one involves several romantic trials which only Jeeves can solve, including one involving Jeeves himself (which I hadn’t remembered). I listened to this while driving my son back to Williamsburg after Spring Break, and there’s nothing better at making the road seem short than hearty laughter, don’t you know.

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/inimitable_jeeves.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library audiobook from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of The Interrupted Tale, by Maryrose Wood

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Historical, Humorous, Starred Review 0

interrupted_tale_largeThe Interrupted Tale

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 4

by Maryrose Wood
read by Katherine Kellgren

Listening Library, 2013. 8 hours, 19 minutes on 7 compact discs.
Starred Review

Brava! Another installment in the incredible series about The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. This series makes fabulous listening. I laughed and laughed during my commute, my only regret being that in my own car I had no one to share the joke with, and since I listened to it, I can’t quote hilarious bits in this review.

The plot is outrageous, but told in all seriousness. Katherine Kellgren’s proper British accent strikes exactly the right note.

In this fourth book, mysteries that have followed the Incorrigibles through the entire series are beginning to be uncovered. For the bulk of this book their governess, Penelope Lumley, is invited back to her former home, the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, just in time to learn of an insidious plot to change it into the Quinzey School for Miserable Girls.

Meanwhile, the charming Simon Harley-Dickinson, he of the spark of genius, has been silent, captured by pirates, and the cannibal book from Lord Ashton’s library gains weighty importance.

The plot is wild and unlikely – and oh, so much fun! The style reminds me of Lemony Snicket’s, only far more hopeful and uplifting. This is a series I highly recommend listening to, because you will appreciate its brilliance even more than if reading it on your own.

maryrosewood.com
booksontape.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/interrupted_tale.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of The Mating Season, by P. G. Wodehouse

Audiobooks, Fiction Review, Humorous, Starred Review 0

mating_season_largeThe Mating Season

by P. G. Wodehouse
narrated by Jonathan Cecil

Sound Library (AudioGO), 1992. 6 hrs 51 min on 6 CDs.
Starred Review

I keep exclaiming on how much fun Jeeves & Wooster CDs are to listen to in the car. This one had delightfully absurd situations.

Bertie’s Aunt Dahlia has asked him to visit Deverill Hall, and he dare not disobey. He is to participate in a concert in the village, which is being organized by the vicar’s niece, Bertie’s good friend Corkie, who is also a Hollywood star. Meanwhile, Gussie Fink-Nottle has been told to visit Deverill Hall by his fiancé, Madeleine Basset. Living at the hall is Esmond Haddock and his five aunts.

As if that situation alone weren’t enough, Bertie ends up going to Deverill Hall pretending to be Gussie, and Gussie comes later, pretending to be Bertie. Once at the hall, romances are all tangled up. Corkie loves Esmond, but he is too cowed by his aunts. Gussie falls for Corkie, which puts Bertie in peril of being engaged to Madeleine Basset. And Corkie’s brother, Catsmeat, is in love with Gertrude Wentworth, a daughter of one of Esmond’s aunts. But Catsmeat fears that Gertrude is falling for Esmond, who is trying to make Corkie jealous.

As usual, there’s a grand comical mess, and only Jeeves can possibly hope to straighten it all out. Along the way, we get to hear Bertie’s hilarious understatements and apt similes all told in Jonathan Cecil’s wonderfully versatile British accent. He’s consistent in using different voices for each of the many characters, so you can tell who is speaking by just listening to his voice. A marvelously entertaining audiobook.

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/mating_season.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library audiobook from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, by P. G. Wodehouse

Audiobooks, Fiction Review, Humorous, Starred Review 0

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves

by P. G. Wodehouse
read by Jonathan Cecil

BBC Audiobooks America, 1992. 5 hours, 11 minutes, on 5 CDs.
Starred Review

There’s nothing like a P. G. Wodehouse audiobook to make a long drive seem short! I so love his understated humor, Bertie Wooster’s way of speaking and outrageous similes. And Jeeves! Always, he saves the day.

P. G. Wodehouse books remind me of a Seinfeld episode. Several different threads all get entwined together, and at the end, Jeeves works them all out. And you laugh hard along the way.

I have lost track of which Jeeves and Wooster books I have read and which I haven’t, and on top of that, I’ve watched the wonderful Jeeves and Wooster BBC video series. So I was very happy when it turned out that this book comes after the events in the series, and I’d never read it before. I was familiar with all the characters, but this was further adventures, with Bertie going back to Totleigh Towers, because it looks like the marriage of Gussie Fink-Nottle and Madeleine Basset is in jeopardy — and Bertie knows that if that happens, Madeleine will insist on marrying him. And at the same time, Stephanie Bing has a little job she wants Bertie to do for her, which can never be good.

All the same characters are there from Bertie’s previous narrow escape from Madeleine Basset, but he’s in an entirely fresh fix.

Of course, Shakespearean actor Jonathan Cecil reading this book is the only thing that could make it even better than the print version. This audiobook is an absolute delight.

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/stiff_upper_lip_jeeves.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library audiobook from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of Vader’s Little Princess, by Jeffrey Brown

Humorous, Nonfiction Review 0

Vader’s Little Princess

by Jeffrey Brown

Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2013. 64 pages.

This book, along with its companion, Darth Vader and Son will make anyone who’s ever seen Star Wars laugh out loud.

The assumption is what it would have been like if Darth Vader had been a real Dad to his kids. This one looks at life with Leia during the rebellious teenage years. The references to the films, twisting them slightly, are hilarious.

It’s all done as comic panels, so the references to the films are visual as well as quotations placed in a new context.

I like the one where Leia knits her dad a “Cozy” for his helmet. He wears it, looking ridiculous, and thinks, “Just tell her you like it.”

Or, referencing the film: Leia’s sitting down at a table with Darth Vader at the head. He says, “SO, WE MEET AT LAST.” She says to Han Solo, sitting next to her, “Behave yourself, or my Dad will totally kill you.”

On a related note, when Han is frozen in carbonite, Leia’s protesting, “You are so mean! All he did was kiss me!”

I love the way Star Wars is so ingrained in our culture, he can write these comics knowing full well that most readers will know exactly which scenes he’s referring to.

Too funny!

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/vaders_little_princess.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of Clementine and the Spring Trip, by Sara Pennypacker

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Humorous 0

Clementine and the Spring Trip

by Sara Pennypacker
pictures by Marla Frazee

Disney Hyperion Books, 2013. 160 pages.
Starred Review

Clementine’s back! In this, her sixth book, we’re taken through Clementine’s 3rd grade year. I’m almost sad to see her maturing as the series goes. She doesn’t really get into any trouble in this book. In fact, her teacher asks her to partner with the new girl, Olive, on the class’s Spring Field Trip to Plimouth Plantation.

And there’s plenty of elementary school drama. Clementine’s class is forced to ride the dreaded Bus Seven.

I have only taken Bus Seven one time, but one time was enough, let me tell you. If you took all the terrible-smelling things you could think of and mixed them together and let them rot for a good long time, it would smell like roses compared to The Cloud. The smell gets worse with every step you take toward the back of the bus, except that it gets a little better at the very last row, but that might be just because at the very last row you can smell the exhaust. Bus exhaust smells like roses too, compared to The Cloud.

On the field trip, the third graders have to eat with the fourth graders, and Margaret warns Clementine that the fourth graders have rules against eating anything noisy.

Rules and worries and the new girl and the disgusting smell all have a part to play in a satisfying story about our irrepressible third grade friend.

This book doesn’t stand out in my mind, because I’m getting used to the high quality of the series. I’m booktalking the whole series this year simply by reading aloud a small section from this book. This whole series makes highly enjoyable reading, with plenty of lively pictures and a way of looking at the world not quite like anyone else’s.

disneyhyperionbooks.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/clementine_and_the_spring_trip.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf, by Mark Teague

Animal Characters, Fairy Tale Variant, Humorous, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf

by Mark Teague

Orchard Books, New York, 2013. 40 pages.
Starred Review

What is it about Three Little Pigs adjustments? Like The Three Pigs, The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot, and The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig, this book simply makes me laugh.

The story isn’t much different from the traditional one. Instead of being sent off by their mother, the three pigs are let go because the farmer and his wife move to Florida.

From there, things progress as expected. The commentary along the way is the hilarious part. The first and second pig love potato chips and sody-pop, respectively. The Somewhat Bad Wolf succeeds in blowing down their houses, saying, “I can’t believe that worked!” The wolf is so surprised, the pigs have time to escape to their sister’s fine brick house.

The pictures are fabulous. I especially love the one where the wolf is collapsed on the lawn after trying to blow down the brick house. It’s no wonder the pigs take pity on him!

scholastic.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/somewhat_bad_wolf.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of The Anthology of Really Important Modern Poetry, by Kathryn and Ross Petras

Humorous, Nonfiction Review, Poetry 0

The Anthology of Really Important Modern Poetry

Timeless Poems by Snooki, John Boehner, Kanye West and Other Well-Versed Celebrities

by Kathryn & Ross Petras

Workman Publishing, 2012. 256 pages.

Okay, this book is very cynical, very silly, and very, very funny. Small doses are advised, mind you. But as a book to dip into, the whole idea is hilarious.

Here’s the idea. Kathryn & Ross Petras are the editors of the 365 Stupidest Things calendar, so they are well-versed in the stupid things political figures and other celebrities say. They took some segments of speeches too long for the 365 Stupidest Things Calendar, formatted them as poetry, and gave commentary, treating the “poems” as serious works of art.

The result
is
hilarious.

In the Introduction, they start things off like a good scholarly introduction, giving trends:

To help introduce you, the reader, to these fresh new voices, we’ve arranged the anthology by poetic schools. You will be introduced to the poems of the strangely evocative Derrièristes and those of the declining but still impactful Dictator School, among many others. We discuss the more salient tenets of each school, allowing the reader a chance to truly understand the underpinnings of the poems and, perhaps more important, the ethos from which they spring. It is this shared aesthetic and philosophical outlook that draws together and indeed weds such seemingly disparate individuals as actor Tom Cruise, mobster Big Joey Massino, and pop star Miley Cyrus (all members of the Didactic School).

We also discern a fascinating kinship between these modern “versifiers” and their poetic ancestors. We see in Ann Coulter of the Compassionate School a faint whiff of her great predecessor, the shy and gentle recluse Emily Dickinson. We see in Rush Limbaugh, the writer of “Rushbo’s Howl,” another Allen Ginsberg. And, of course, in Rahm Emanuel we see another (Mametesque) Shakespeare.

The astute reader may note that some poets are acolytes of more than one school. Many critics have pondered the reason for this. Upon close analysis, we, the editors, feel this occurs because such large talent cannot be confined within the narrow strictures of one basic philosophy. So we happily find the poet Donald Trump represented not only (unsurprisingly) in the Inflated Ego School, but also (perhaps surprisingly, perhaps not) in the Religious School.

Now, I must warn the reader that a large proportion of the poems found in this volume are just plain crude. But that does make the notion of them as poetry funny, I must admit. It does make it unpalatable to sit down and read this book through in one sitting.

But many, many of these poems are simply silly. As an example, here’s one by Miguel Head (b. 1978) with the caption: “Many critics question the inclusion of Miguel Head in the ‘I’m Rich’ School, as Head is not truly of the wealthy but instead close to them as press secretary to Britain’s Princes William and Harry. So let us create a subset of the “I’m Rich” school specifically for Head — the ‘He’s Rich’ School.”

A Royal Pain

The Prince of Wales
does not employ
and never has employed
an aide to squeeze his toothpaste for him.

This is a myth
without any basis
in factual accuracy.

And here’s one by Jerry Coleman (b. 1924), in the Modern Metaphysical Poets, with the commentary, “Sportscaster Jerry Coleman tackles the core question of ‘beingness’ by provocatively veering into cutting-edge developments of quantum-mechanical entanglement.”

Lines on the Platonic Concept of Being

He just made another play
that I’ve never seen anyone else make before,
and I’ve seen him make it
more often
than anyone else ever has.

Truly silly.
Truly funny.
Reading this book will make you laugh.

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/really_important_modern_poetry.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on an Advance Reader Copy I got at an ALA conference.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of Fake Mustache, by Tom Angleberger

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Humorous 0

False Mustache

by Tom Angleberger

Amulet Books, New York, 2012. 208 pages.

This book is silly, over-the-top fun. Lenny’s friend Casper saves his money and buys the one-of-a-kind Heidelberg Handlebar Number Seven fake mustache. It is so good, that next thing Lenny knows, Casper is able to mesmerize anyone and everyone. He goes on a crime spree, takes over the town, and threatens to take over the country. Only Lenny knows the mustache is fake, so only Lenny can stop him. Well, only Lenny and Jodie O’Rodeo. (Why she is so smart kind of went by me quickly.)

After the first robbery, Lenny tries to give the FBI an anonymous tip, but Casper knows it was him and then convinces everyone — even Lenny’s parents — that Lenny is the Evil One, the one responsible for all the crime. He has to go into disguise. Good thing it’s Halloween.

Tom Angleberger never goes for plausibility with this one, but he does have fun giving us a genuine, nerdy middle school kid caught up in the middle of events beyond his control.

No, I didn’t find it believable. I did find it fun. Here’s a section from the first chapter:

Don’t ever buy a fake mustache at Sven’s Fair Price Store.

Sven’s Fair Price Store is an awesome place, and I recommend it if you want to buy fake tattoos, fake noses, fake thumbs, fake eyelashes, fake tuxedo shirts, fake books that have secret compartments, fake laughter machines, fake fog makers, fake feet, fake teeth that you wind up, fake teeth that you stick in your mouth, fake gum that snaps people’s fingers, fake dog poop, or fake people poop.

But the fake mustaches are just too good. They’re made out of real human mustache hair. Apparently, there are men in Belgium who grow their mustaches for a year, then cut them off and sell them to the Heidelberg Novelty Company.

This makes the fake mustaches really expensive. But they’re worth it . . . if you really want a good fake mustache — which you don’t! It’ll only lead to trouble. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/fake_mustache.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on an advance review copy I got at an ALA conference.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of The Man with Two Left Feet, by P. G. Wodehouse

Fiction Review, Humorous, Short Stories 0

The Man with Two Left Feet
And Other Stories

by P. G. Wodehouse

A Digireads.com Publication, 2004. First published in the United Kingdom in 1917.

The Man with Two Left Feet is the first book I read completely on a Kindle. I must admit that I wasn’t even slightly enamored with the Kindle. I don’t like the gray appearance. I don’t like the small number of words on a screen. I’m a fast reader, and scan ahead as I go. Several times, I had to push the button to go back, because I had been scanning and didn’t have any idea what I had read on the earlier page. I hated that it had a percentage bar instead of a number of pages, and I hated that I can’t leaf through it and find good bits when writing this review. Now, mind you, I realize I could have bookmarked things. But I don’t always like to interrupt fiction to do that.

I could probably get used to all these things, but I see no reason to. Now, I did check out this one book as an e-book because the library didn’t have it in print. And on top of that, I wanted to practice putting a book on hold and checking it out, the better to help customers.

Novelist, our online data base of information about novels, lists The Man with Two Left Feet as the first book about Jeeves and Wooster, which is why I sought it out. I found that description a little misleading. Yes, one of the thirteen stories is about Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. But, would you believe it, in this story, Jeeves doesn’t help solve the situation at all!

Bertie’s asked by Aunt Agatha to talk some sense into his friend Gussie, who wants to marry a showgirl. We have humorous situations and reversals, but believe it or not, Jeeves does not save the day!

All the same, the stories in this book are tremendous fun. They remind me of the O. Henry stories I used to devour when I was in junior high. They all have some kind of surprising ending and the humor is shoveled on thick.

So even if Jeeves hadn’t yet come into his own, P. G. Wodehouse was already a masterful comic writer.

Though I would have preferred to read this in a traditional book, I’m glad I got to read it at all. I have to admit, the Kindle was light and easy to carry around, and I may have finished the book sooner than I would have otherwise. Because once I dipped into one of these stories in a doctor’s waiting room or waiting for my son to get glasses, I simply had to finish that story, and maybe a couple more.

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/man_with_two_left_feet.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library ebook from the Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!