Bertie is Gussie and Gussie is Bertie in this Jeeves book. The Gussie and Madeline episodes are my favorite of the tv series (mostly because the first Gussie and the last Madeline are simply fantastic), but I find the opposite is true when it comes to the books, in great part because book!Gussie really annoys me, though I love the Bassett because of how dippy she is. Regardless, this is an enjoyable read, with the usual romantic shenanigans that Wodehouse is so good at.
2. The Complete Sherlock Holmes Part 1, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Consisting of: A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, and The Hound of the Baskervilles. Words cannot express how much I have come to love Holmes and Watson. Just. Can't. In the earlier stories, I tried to solve the mysteries before the reveal, and even succeeded with several, but after a while, I found myself just going with the flow. And I'm really, really grateful, because reading this induced me to get the Granada television series, which is absolutely wonderful in every way possible.
3. The Return of Jeeves, by PG Wodehouse.
As stated before, I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would: it's the one book in the Jeeves canon that doesn't include Bertie, but I don't think it falls down once because of that. It's a glimpse at Jeeve's personality without the lens of Bertie to see through, and a rather nice one it is. Jeeves and Bill have some fun exchanges (it is a sign by how trained I have become by Jeeves that, when Bill first appeared and his clothing was described, I went, "OMG How did he get out of the house dressed like that with Jeeves around?!?" and sighed with relief when it turned out it was a disguise), and I adore the antics of the rest of the cast. I would recommend the book, but not without qualifications, the chief one being that it really shouldn't be the first Jeeves book you read because the rest really are different from it, just by virtue of having Bertie as the narrator.
4. Cosmicomics, by Italo Calvino.
One of the most unique books I've ever had the pleasure of reading; I say that of all the Calvino books I've read, but this one even more so. A collection of twelve short stories, all stand-alone and yet interconnected. Calvino takes scientific concepts and anthropomorphizes them, weaving stories around everything from the creation of the universe to the creation of art, and to the time when the moon pulled away from the Earth. It's a beautiful book and, again as with all other Calvino books, makes me wish I could read this untranslated just because of how stunning I find the storytelling to be.
5. Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, by PG Wodehouse.
I love Aunt Dahlia and her relationship with Bertie, so any book with her in it is an automatic thumbs up from me. Throw in Florence Craye and Stilton Cheesewright and their usual relationship woes (though, sadly without Jeeves dressing up as Daphne Dolores Morehead) and you get another enjoyable Jeeves book in the offing.
6. The Complete Sherlock Holmes Part 2, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Consisting of: The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Valley of Fear, His Last Bow, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, and two of ACD's parodies, "The Field Bazaar" and "How Watson Learned the Trick". Nothing has amused me more in the past several weeks then the amount of times ACD tried to stop writing Holmes stories and continually failed. Yes, there are later stories that don't quite meet the high standard set before, but I still rather enjoyed them all.
7. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, by Nicholas Meyer.
The first Sherlock Holmes pastiche on my "to-read" list, in part because of how highly recommended I've seen it be on various places and by my brother, and also in part because, hello, Star Trek fan here and, really, where would we fans be without Nicholas Meyer? A good read, if a bit too self-conscious in parts. That doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, but in this case I found it distracted some from the story. I also have to say that the constant calling of Holmes by Watson as "the detective" within the narrative grated on my nerves; seriously, once I start noticing something like that, you're doing it too much. But like I said, it's a good read, solid and fun for the most part, with some ridiculousness that I can overlook in favor of the overall product.
8. How Right You Are, Jeeves, by PG Wodehouse.
(UK title: Jeeves in the Offing) This is one of the three Jeeves novels that didn't make it on screen in the Fry and Laurie series, so everything that went on in it was new to me, and boy did I enjoy it! There's a lot less Jeeves in this one than is usual, but I loved love loved how it used that in part to make Bertie and Sir Roderick Glossop even friendlier! I enjoyed the fleshing out of Sir Roderick (or Roddy, as Bertie now has permission to call him) as a character, and I've really gotten to like him a lot, especially after all the revelations of his youth as rather a Bertie-esque figure. There's some taking from past stories (showing someone into a pond re: Bingo and Honoria's little brother, insulting someone so another could sweep in and save the day, as with Boko and Uncle Percy), but it doesn't detract from the story at all and is, rather, just another day in the life of the long-suffering Bertram Wilberforce Wooster. Throw in Bobbie Wickham up to her usual shenanigans, this time with on-again/off-again fiance Kipper Herring, as well as finally getting to meet the infamous Reverand Aubrey Upjohn, and it's fun times all around.
9. Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde.
Fforde's attempt at a dystopian novel. It's a departure from his other books, the Thursday Next series and the Nursery Crime series, but still holds his usual satirical edge. As with his previous two series, this is a distinctly Fforde-ian world with its own terminology and odd history that is still very much rooted in our world. I found the novel slow to start with, but found that to be more understandable when I discovered that it's the first in a trilogy. It's an interesting world, where color-perception determines one's place in society, but I'm not quite certain how well the novel succeeds in its aim; I suppose this will only become clear when I see how the rest of the trilogy unfolds. Not amongst my favorites of Fforde's books.
10. Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, by PG Wodehouse.
Bertie's once again off to Totleigh Towers to intercede in the failing relationship between Gussie and Madeline. To absolutely no one's surprise, shenanigans ensue. This is easily my favorite of the Jeeves books concerning the Gussie/Madeline relationship, with great dialog and great use of callbacks to previous misadventures to drive the plot along.
Currently Reading: The World of Jeeves, by PG Wodehouse, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, edited by John Joseph Adams, The Castle of Crossed Destinies, by Italo Calvino.