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You'll get The Small Bachelor from Amazon. In fact, I think Amazon is quite a good place for Wodehouse. Alot of his books are like gold-dust, now. The rarer ones seem to go for silly money on ebay. I think Everyman are doing a new series of his books, and have already got quite a few in print.

I thought the film was good too, to be honest. Thought Jack Nicholson was perfect for McMurphy and played it to perfection.

I think blandings is probably his most consistently good setting. (Not sure if that was a very good sentence, but nevermind.) But some of his one-off novels are great too. Try 'The Small Bachelor' and 'Uneasy Money' (this was the first one I read, and I'm re-reading it now). He's just got a way of saying things which is funny; your signature quote is a good example. Not sure I'd describe his books as satires particularly, (I always think of more scathing critiques of society or something when I think of satires). I'd just describe his books as 'fun'. Anyway, happy Wodehousing.

A ward in a mental institution is turned upside-down when the swaggering, gambling McMurphy arrives. A battle ensues between him and 'the Big Nurse' as he tries to get the patients to take back control of their lives. This is well worth reading. The metaphors Kesey uses to describe some scenes are spot on. It's funny, exhilarating and tragic by turns and is really well written. 8.5 out of 10

Let us know what you think of them.

1. Favourite main meal ~ Steak and kidney pudding, chips and peas 2. Favourite starter ~ Prawn cocktail 3. Favourite dessert ~ Profiteroles with single pouring cream 4. Favourite pizza topping ~ Salami 5. Favourite bread ~ Crusty granary 6. Favourite vegetable ~ Broccoli 7. Favourite fruit ~ Nectarine 8. Favourite cheese ~ White, crumbly stuff; is it Wendsleydale? 9. Favourite takeaway ~ Special fried rice 10. Favourite chocolate bar ~ Snickers 11. Favourite sandwich ~ Chicken and bacon in mayonnaise

To be honest, you could probably read them in any order. Even if you haven't read the previous books Wodehouse will fill you in on any essential details from those stories. He makes a kind of joke of it; Wooster says 'Please stop me if I've told you this before, but for those who haven't read of my previous adventures...' etc. Both Very Good, Jeeves and Right Ho, Jeeves are really good ones.

I've read it before; it's good and genuinely quite spooky.

Meursault is an average joe living in Algeria. His mother dies in a home, but he feels no grief and is undemonstrative at the burial. The next main episode occurs when he shoots a man at the beach. He is tried and sentenced to death, but on reflection realises that he is no worse off than if he had led a long and 'normal' life. Far-fetched. The logic of Meursault's philosophy doesn't really hold up. I would have thought that he was suffering from some sort of mental illness than actually facing the realities of life. But maybe that opinion is exactly what Camus was challenging. You would have to read it and judge for yourself. Interesting, even if you don't agree with the philosophy behind it. 7 out of 10.

Thanks for the info Dave; I might read it. I heard a bit about that Kampusch thing. Isn't it spooky when something that you would think could only happen in fiction happens in real life.

An expert Russian computer programmer bids to create himself a position of power by manipulating the internet and killing key targets in the US intelligence agency Net Force. Can the Americans stop him? A readable techno-thriller. 6.5 out of 10

Has anyone read The Collector by John Fowles. Is it any good?

It's the only Thomas Hardy I've read. We read it in GCSE english and I liked it then, and I got a copy from the charity shop not so long ago and enjoyed it the second time. Think you're abit hard on Henchard. He did try to make amends with his wife. I think he was just a bit of a hothead - his own worst enemy. :vmad:

Set in early nineteenth century England, this is the tale of a man's rise to power and prosperity and his ultimate downfall as a shameful secret comes back to haunt him. The story starts as the young haytrusser Michael Henchard and his wife and child visit an agricultural fair. Henchard gets drunk and sells his wife to a seaman in a humiliating scene. The next day Henchard starts a desperate search for his wife and child, only to discover that they have emigrated with the sailor. Years later, after the supposed death of the sailor and Henchard's rise to power as the Mayor of Casterbridge, his wife returns with his now grown-up daughter. What ensues is the story of Henchard's struggle to right the wrongs of the past, his resentment for Donald Farfrae, an employee who becomes a bitter rival in business, love and for the sympathy of his daughter, and Henchard's ultimate downfall. A good yarn. 7/10

I've always liked the films, and particularly like David Suchet's Poirot on the tele, but Evil Under the Sun is the first Agatha Christie I've actually read. I'll probably read more.

Christie's famous Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot retires to an English seaside hotel for a holiday, and soon realises that all is not well with the other guests. When Arlena Stuart, the alluring actress is found strangled in a remote cove the finger of suspicion points to her husband, (Arlena had been flirting quite blatantly with another guest.) But all is not as it seems, and it falls to Poirot to help the baffled police sort out the intricacies of the case. A good page-turner, with the familiar all-the-suspects-in-a-room ending for Poirot to tie up the loose ends and expose the murderer. 7.5 out of 10 :book:

I've just finished reading The Broker by John Grisham. The story revolves around Joel Backman - a Washington power broker convicted of a treasonable offence and sentenced to twenty years. The offence being the touting of software to control a mysterious new satellite system to the highest bidder. Not knowing whose the satellite system is, the head of the CIA hatches a plan to have Backman pardoned and hidden in Italy under a new identity. Later Backman's whereabouts will be leaked and the CIA will watch to see which nation kills him, and so deduce whose satellites they are. Starts well. Slows abit in the middle - too much coffee drinking and strolling about Bologna. Picks up quite nicely towards the end, but I felt it finished a little unresolved. I would have liked to have seen what happened with Sammy Tin, the Chinese assassin. Average - 6 out of 10. :type:

I think the earlier Adventures of Tom Sawyer is better - more to the point and less wandering. I know what you mean about the end of Huck Finn - it was almost as if Twain became obsessed with the idea of Finn wanting to escape with style and this episode dragged on far too long.

I tend to keep all my P G Wodehouses because they're the kind of thing you can read again - it's also quite difficult to get hold of some of them. After that, I'll probably keep books that were presents, and others I tend to not keep. One book I've often regreted not keeping was the Drones Omnibus by Wodehouse - I gave it to Oxfam. While I know that that's a good cause, it had a pretty big crease down the spine, and I often think that they probably didn't put it out for sale anyway. I also saw the exacty same edition on Amazon the other day selling used for

Cheers, I might get The Outsider instead, then. :upsidedown:

The first one of his I tried to read was A Painted House, but I never got past the first forty pages because I thought it started too slowly. I'm reading The Broker now which is shaping up to be quite good.

I know what you mean about the saminess being a good thing - it's like the characters are old friends. I think his books give you a nice, warm feeling. His use of language is masterly - the way he expresses things is funny. And some of his comedy situations are pure genius - I think Something Fresh, chapter 8, part IV is a great example. I think Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie were brilliant in the TV Jeeves and Wooster. I picture them as Bertie and Jeeves when I read the books now, as well as some of the other actors in that series as their respective characters in the books. His stories are farces about young men and women trying to make a buck and marry the girl/man of their dreams. Then of course there's Jeeves and Wooster; Wooster being the aristocratic Tim Nice But Dim character and Jeeves (his manservant) always getting him out of the various scrapes he gets into. And not to forget Ukridge, the likeable ne'er do well always with a grand scheme up his sleeve but never more than about threepence in his pocket. And Psmith, not one of my favourite characters, but a crafty and resilient chap all the same. Some of his comic situations are brilliant, and his use of language to great comic effect and his ability to find the telling phrase are masterly. A good one to start with would probably be Very Good Jeeves, a book of short stories with Jeeves and Wooster.

Has anyone read A Happy Death by Albert Camus? I was looking at it in Waterstones and it looked interesting, but I didn't get it at the time. Wondering if it's worth getting. :?

He's probably my favourite author, but I agree that his plots and characters are a bit the same sometimes.

Hi, is anyone into P G Wodehouse?