book crush thursday: P.G. Wodehouse

What could be pleasanter than a little literature in the small hours? -- Something Fresh

[There was] a young woman, who, at first sight, appeared to be all eyes and hair. -- Something Fresh

He looked like a dentist with a secret sorrow. -- Laughing Gas

Peckish is not the word. I felt like a homeless tapeworm. -- Laughing Gas

So, it's not a single book this Thursday, but every single thing that one author has written. I hope you're okay with that.

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How to introduce P.G. Wodehouse? I feel like I grew up reading and listening to his work. And my sisters and I know the Jeeves & Wooster movies by heart (one instance where the movies are truly worth seeing).

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No one else was quoting him in third grade, so I guess he's not a widespread childhood favorite...

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And, admittedly, I didn't understand everything about the world he was describing. London in the twenties, the dance clubs, the valets and butlers, golf matches and stiff cocktails. Nope, a lot of that was over my head. (Though the Drones club has always appealed.)

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But even then I could tell he was funny. Really funny. He has the ability to render my whole family helpless with laughter. So I feel like he's like an honorary uncle. Yes--that feels about right.
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Because, after all, finding someone else who loves Wodehouse is like finding a long lost cousin. You realize that you share the same stories, have the same people in common. "What? You know Bertie and Bingo? Lord Emsworth and Uncle Fred? Honoria and Stiffy?"
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Hang on to these Wodehouse cousins. They have wonderful senses of humor.
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I can't pick a single book of P.G. Wodehouse's to recommend. He's just so overall brilliant that I can't narrow it down. The Blandings trilogy is fabulous--start with Something Fresh and go from there. Or, track down the Mulliner stories. Or find a compilation of the Jeeves stories. (Right Ho, Jeeves is pretty fabulous.) And for goodness' sake, get a copy of "Uncle Fred Flits By."
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But for now, just to start, this is one of my favorite Wodehouse short stories.
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Recommendation: I understand that Bertie Wooster drinks Darjeeling and Earl Grey. Why don't you?