“As Charles Lamb said of Godwin, he had read more books not worth reading than any man in England.”That is from Bring on the Girls by P.G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton. It is not quite an accurate description of the book in which I read the quotation. But, it is too close for comfort. Back in the 1920s Wodehouse and Bolton were collaborators writing a swath of Broadway Musicals. Many of them were hits. Big hits! They were famous! Bring On the Girls is a memoir of those years. It tells the … [Read more...] about The Roaring or Boring ’20s
Wodehouse P.G.
Seven Books
The Seven Book Challenge is one of those curious “challenges” that has been floating around social media. You know the drill: someone challenges you to post pictures of seven books. I have no idea why it is called a “challenge.” I have a former student who recently tagged me in this challenge. Since all I do on social media is put up book reviews, just putting up pictures of seven books I enjoy seemed odd. But, I like my former student who issued this challenge, and so I feel duty bound to do … [Read more...] about Seven Books
What a Coincidence
A Gentleman of Leisure is the story of Jimmy Pitt, the rather wealthy gentleman of leisure from the title, who on a trip from England to New York falls in love with a girl, but sadly never learns her name, gets back to New York, converses with some friends about a play involving a burglar, makes a bet with his friends he can burgle a house that very night, goes home and falls asleep only to wake up and find his house being burgled, interrupts the burglar, pretends to be a bigtime thief himself … [Read more...] about What a Coincidence
Embracing Your Inner Psmith
It comes to all of us in the end. The school years finish. Done. Finding ourselves poised at that moment between the rolling years of school and the endless plains of the Rest of Life, what book should we read, dear Comrade? What book sets forth the stark choices facing us all at that moment? P.G. Wodehouse, Psmith in the City. Mike and Psmith (“There is a preliminary P before the name. This, however, is silent. Like the tomb. Compare such words as ptarmigan, psalm, and … [Read more...] about Embracing Your Inner Psmith