"Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit," P.G. Wodehouse

Fun (is it possible for a Wodehouse novel to not be fun?) but a little repetitive - a lot of references to previous books, "as readers of my past works will know" sort of stuff. There really isn't that much Jeeves in it, either, he shows his feudal spirit once or twice and spends the rest of the novel offstage. Still, what am I complaining about?

"Pride and Prejudice," Jane Austen

I have a confession to make: until now, I have never read "Pride and Prejudice." A few excuses in my defense! Quite possibly part of the problem was an excessive attachment to the miniseries version from 1995 - whenever I attempted the book, Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth would overwhelm my weak little reader's brain. Another part of the problem - Darcy, as a hero, well - he's a bit of a cold fish, isn't he? Of course he makes up for it, although there really should be an alternative ending:

Darcy: I've saved your sister's honor to prove my love to you, Elizabeth!

Wickham: Wait a minute, Elizabeth! I have built a time machine and gone back in time to stop myself from hooking up with your sister!

Elizabeth: And I'm using that time machine to go to the future where I will no longer have to be utterly financially dependent on men! See you on the flip side, suckers!

I like time machines.

No, but really, it's very obvious to say but this is a wonderful book, "light, and bright, and sparkling" as Austen herself said. It's also very pleasant to have a heroine who's allowed to be witty without it being shown as compensation for something else (lack of looks or money) or a trait that she'll lose after her marriage: "Georgiana had the highest opinion in the world of Elizabeth; though at first she often listened with an astonishment bordering on alarm at her lively, sportive, manner of talking to her brother. He, who had always inspired in herself a respect which almost overcame her affection, she now saw the object of open pleasantry." And I even do like Darcy, by the end - which is I suppose the reaction you're supposed to have to him, gradually coming round to his good points as Elizabeth does. As I said, weak reader's brain - perhaps I expected him to be "good" all the way through because he was handsome Colin Firth? Miss Austen is probably spinning in her grave at the silly readers she has nowadays.

"Erewhon," Samuel Butler

I attempted to get through Samuel Butler's The Way of All Flesh for class, and failed miserably; however, I remembered that Butler had written Erewhon, which was prominently featured in the Dictionary of Imaginary Places (a wonderful book and everyone should own a copy), and decided to read that instead. Our hero (a sheep herder, as Butler was once) decides to go exploring in the wilds of colony ----, and finds himself in the mysterious land of Erewhon, where illness is punished by death, and babies are really spirits who have emerged from a nebulous pre-existence. The centerpiece, I suppose, are the chapters on the evolution of machines which were written as a sort-of response to Darwin. I have very little understanding of the 19th century debates on evolution so I am no informed judge; I have to say that were I alive then, I would be swayed to Butler's side, merely because his style is so compelling.

My edition was printed in 1911 and has a list of ads at the back for other books the 1911 reader might want to purchase, including Racial Decay: A Compilation of Evidence from World Sources, in which "The literature of Neo-Mathusianism and the sale of abortifacient drugs and preventive appliances are severely handled by [the author]," The Nursery of Toryism: Reminiscences of Eton under Hornby ("a picture of idleness, lack of organization, and waste of any intellectual energy that showed itself"), and my personal favorite, A Holiday With A Hegelian.

The quick and dirty biography of Samuel Butler.

"The American Way of Death Revisited," Jessica Mitford

I wasn't feeling particularly morbid when I picked this classic up, but I was ready to be rocked by a total takedown of the Undertaker!* And it just didn't happen for me. Part of me enjoyed the prose, and part of me was outraged at the amount of money that the undertakers, cemetery owners, florists, and so on were able to gouge out of grieving families. But a little voice whispered in my ear: But what if you want a really tricked-out coffin? I know it's culturally relativistic and bullshit of me, but all cultures do have their own funeral traditions and we should honor them all, and not get mad at undertakers for... well, being undertakers. It's not their fault they want respect, we all want love and affection, even if we spend our time writing scholarly articles for "Casket Monthly."

Maybe if I was at risk of being embalmed and put on view myself, I'd care more, but as far as I can tell I'm in line to be dumped in the ground ASAP in accordance with religious tradition. Personally I'd like to end up like Jeremy Bentham, but maybe that's a bit much to ask.

* Does anybody remember what the name of that guy was that hung out with the Undertaker, and had the spoooooooooky voice? A question that haunts me to this day.

"Lady Chatterley's Lover," D.H. Lawrence

Everyone in the world (by which I mean everyone in my graduate-level English class) is still embarrassed by this book, although now it's probably more because of the written-out dialect than the sex. Also, whatever happened to Lady Chatterley's clitoris? This is a mystery that haunted me throughout my reading of the book.

"The Portrait of Dorian Gray," Oscar Wilde

I know I'm revealing a defect deep within my soul, but I never found Lord Henry Wotton that witty a character. I always pictured him as carrying around a book of aphorisms, which he would study intensely so that he would always have a good reverse aphorism at hand. Then he would deploy his reverse aphorism, and polite laughter ensued!

Apparently Dorian was so awful that his portrait turned into a Marc Chagall!

"Mrs. Dalloway," Virginia Woolf

I'm afraid that I don't have much to add to all the commentary there must already be on this wonderful book, so I'll just say that I absolutely adored it and read it in one sitting. I am embarrassed that a reading list was what finally got me restarted on the book, having unsuccessfully tried to read it all the way through a few years ago. I'd like to think that I now love Mrs. Dalloway because I am a grown woman and not a green girl, but it's probably just that I don't have cable anymore.

It was interesting to compare to Saturday, in that Saturday is supposed to be a homage to Mrs. Dalloway - yet the reader only gets one perspective in Saturday, and Woolf lets us into all her characters' thoughts. It certainly makes for a much less monotonous read, even if the only one anybody ever remembers after finishing is Clarissa.