Polished off two more books before August ended, bringing the total for that month to 27. The last two were Ukridge and Something Fresh, both by PG Wodehouse. I had seen Ukridge lauded by others before and was, consequently, expecting something a bit above Wodehouse’s average. Initially, I was disappointed. The story opened with some business about Pekes that I didn’t think could carry the whole novel. After that disappointment, it picked up because they didn’t have to carry the novel, the book being rather a collection of loosely connected short stories. It was quite funny, and while there still was some residual disappointment because it wasn’t the scream I had been led to believe, it wasn’t a total washout either. Something Fresh was the first Blandings novel Wodehouse wrote, and it shows in some ways. The characters aren’t quite fixed in their personas and, having read several later Blandings novels, it is rather disconcerting to find that Freddie Threepwood is not quite the wastrel that he is later, and that Emsworth isn’t quite so weak and doddering as he is later and that Baxter can be held at bay much more easily. All in all, a good book however, and clearly shows the promise that likely prompted Wodehouse to revisit the setting and characters and perfect them later.
The most recent book I’ve finished is Do As I Say (Not As I Do) by Peter Schweizer. It wasn’t bad, it read quickly and would probably be most useful as ammunition when debating with a leftist. It makes the very good point that though liberals profess one thing, they often do another and, differing from conservatives, usually make their lives better as a result. When conservatives stray from their principles (Rush Limbaugh addicted to OxyContin, for example) their lives take a turn for the worse. The question then is, if leftists don’t believe their ideas will do them any good (since they won’t practice what they preach), why do they want the rest of us to adopt them?
Neh 