Welcome to Fred by Brad Whittington

Welcome to Fred is a short, comic, crisis-of-faith, coming-of-age Christian novel.

When the book opens, Mark Cloud, the first-person narrator, is settling his father's estate, putting him in a nostalgic frame of mind. He finds a hand-written definition of "Adolescence: Insanity; a (hopefully) temporary period of emotional and mental imbalance. Symptoms: mood swings, melancholia, rampant idealism, insolvency. Subject takes everything too seriously, especially himself. Causes: parents, raging hormones. Known Cures: longevity, homicide. Antidotes: levity, Valium." This launches him into narrating his own adolescence in Fred, Texas to us.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who enjoy reading comic Christian novels. The narrator uses big words throughout, which I appreciated most of the time, but which sometimes seemed a little too big.

A List {SIGH}

I have been overborne by circumstances once again. Aurelius said one should not excuse one's mistakes, misdeeds, neglect on circumstances. Sorry, Aurelius. Here comes a list, instead of individual postings about each book I've finished recently.

The Heart of a Goof, by P.G. Wodehouse. Definite hit. Much better than the last Wodehouse book I read. Perhaps because it is approximately 50 years older, having been written early in the 20th century instead of late in the 20th century. If you like Wodehouse, if you might like Wodehouse, give this one a try. You don't even have to like golf.

The Sweet Dove Died, by Barbara Pym. Forget it. Not worth it. I picked it up because of Susan Hill's recommendation of Pym in her book Howard's End is on the Landing. It has some of the trappings of a novel of manners, but is too frivolous, and one of the main characters is openly bi-sexual. I found it as disappointing as I've found E.M. Forster's books. I shan't be trying any other of Pym's work.

The Various Haunts of Men, by Susan Hill. A Simon Serrailler mystery, the first, in fact. I found it unsatisfying, though not for want of skill of the author. I did not feel as though I was pitting my wits agains those of the investigator. I did not like becoming attached to a main character, only for that character to be killed near the end (I kept hoping it would turn out to be a police ploy, but, alas, no). I liked the people, and several of them, no doubt, appear in following volumes of Simon Serrailler mysteries. I intend to read another of Mrs. Hill's mysteries, unlike my intentions regarding Ms. Pym and her work.

Bookworms, edited by Laura Furman and Elinore Standard. A collection of essays, letters, excerpts by writers (and readers) about reading. I enjoyed reading it, but who's surprised by that? I thought the various pieces were of various quality, being written by various people, but who's surprised by that? I would recommend it to readers who like reading about reading (is that a bit like a meta-narrative?), but not to those who don't. Do readers who don't like reading about reading read book blogs?

Jeeves and the Tie that Binds, P.G. Wodehouse

Jeeves and the Tie that Binds offered a typical Wodehousian romp. Bertram Wooster is a lovable bumbling idiot, with a touching respect for his butler Jeeves (whose first name we learn in this installment of their story), a very wise man. Bertie is always veering towards matrimonial disaster (actually disasters of many different sorts), only to be saved in the nick of time, and often thanks to Jeeves's wisdom, and this story was no different. Wodehouse gives his characters fabulous, delicious names (like Claude Cattermole 'Catsmeat' Potter-Pirbright).

I liked it, and the other Wodehouse titles I've read, but I must admit that I have to be in the right mood in order to enjoy it. I think Wodehouse's books may be best when shared socially. I can imagine reading them out loud to my children, when they're a mite older, and dissolving in giggles with them.

I'd recommend any Bertie Wooster/Jeeves work if you're looking for a light-hearted escape.