Reading - April 2026

My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (1919)

An early collection of stories - some date originally to 1911 - and including some that don't actually feature Jeeves and Wooster at all, but an apparent Bertie Wooster prototype called Reggie Pepper. The Wodehouse style is all in place and just as enjoyable as ever.

Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson (2014)

I was keen to read this as the title promised an amusing look into why people behave in incomprehensible ways. That was scotched pretty quickly: the title is the funniest thing about it and in any case the author quickly explains that there aren't really any "idiots" at all, just people we don't understand. OK, that's fair enough - in my more tolerant moments, I recognise this perfectly well, even if it's not really what I wanted to read. But when Erikson then goes on to claim that everyone's personality traits derive from one of four categories (a theory derived from a piece of 1920s bunkum), he really lost me. Because even allowing for his stipulation that most people are mixtures of personality types, the central concept is still obviously and comically reductive. To quote Ben Goldacre: I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that. What Erikson presents is barely more useful or scientific than a horoscope: generic observations that allow people to say, "yes, I know someone just like that!" without offering any real insight. The whole thing is beautifully deconstructed in a detailed article by VoF, the Swedish Skeptics' Association, and exposed for the pseudoscience it is.

And Away ... by Bob Mortimer (2021)

A genial, leisurely tour through Bob Mortimer's life, in which he comes across as slightly bemused at what he's achieved. His emergence from behind Vic Reeves to become the much-loved comedian he is now is a sweet story, one that he implies kind of happened to him. As ever, I'm sure this fails to mention the amounts of hard work put into the achievement. But he's easy company and the book is never less than engaging.

Carry On Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (1925)

A wonderfully amusing collection of short stories, including "Bertie Changes His Mind", the only Jeeves & Wooster story narrated from the perspective of Jeeves. Now available for free from Project Gutenberg, along with many other Wodehouse volumes.