Saturday, September 10, 2011

24: The Man With Two Left Feet

This wasn't my original plan for today, but then the day kind of exploded. We have two very sick cats, so I took one victim (roomie's cat Fred) to the vet. Got home, rushed out for a haircut. Came home, started watching some college football, took off my nail polish...heard a strange sound...

...Found that Fred had taken leave of his senses and wandered into the "dogs only" portion of the house, and Alfred was bugging him. I leaned down to get Alfred to back off and Fred went BERSERK. Result? Alfred doesn't have a scratch on him, but I have loads...hand, arm, and side. Fred even left a claw in there for me. Nice, huh?

Soooo off to the emergency room, where they treated me like a moron for coming in about a cat bite/scratches before it became disgusting and infected. I don't know if you're familiar with the dangers of cat bites and scratches, but I am, thanks to my grandmother and aunt. So I refuse to feel dumb for being proactive. If I was such a waste of their time, how come they insisted I have a tetanus shot and a week of antibiotics? Hmm?

So, whilst trapped in the waiting room, I curled up with my Kindle. College football was on, but I was in pain and not in the mood. A while back, I downloaded one of the few free books available from one of my all-time favorite authors: P.G. Wodehouse. Reading this short stories really lifted my spirits, so I decided to make it my rec for the day!


The Man With Two Left Feet
P.G. Wodehouse
Published: 1917

Why?: Well, it's pretty much up there in the italics there. It's impossible to feel too horrible while reading Wodehouse, and since this collection is free, that's even better! I'll be recommending more Wodehouse - I just can't help it. Plum, as he was and is affectionately known, is a classic British humorist. He wrote both novels and short stories, but I find his incredibly charming style best suited to shorts. This is a fairly random collection, which might be why I love it so much, as I'm a fairly random person!

If you check this book out online, the very first page is adorable and really shows Wodehouse's style!

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I had just taken off my nail polish when it all went down. Of course. Sigh!

Gist: The Man With Two Left Feet contains 13 short stories, most of which are stand-alone. Two stories are told from the perspective of dogs ("The Mixer: He Meets a Shy Gentleman" and "The Mixer: He Moves in Society") and the collection does contain the first appearance of Bertie and Jeeves, "Extricating Young Gussie." There's also an amusing (sort-of) sleuthing story, some romances, and an adventure or two. Since the stories are so brief and self-contained, they're perfect for when you need a pick-me-up!

It's available for a buck on the Kindle (I thought it was free, but I'm mistaken...or they've changed it!) or you can read it online for free. Free! Awesomesauce! We'd better not get used to free, given the ridiculous length of copyright these days (life of the author + 70 years!).

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Probably not hugely sanitary, huh? At least he's trying to make up for being at the source of the problem...right?!

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories
Keywords: Classic, Humor

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