To make a note of everything I read this year. And so, no. 1, a P.G. Wodehouse my mum left by my bed over Christmas. Something Fresh is a mildly amusing romp set at Blandings Castle, home of the forgetful Earl of Emsworth, his wastrel son Freddie and a roving cast of hangers on. This novel centres around the romance between a hack author of crime novels and a girl he meets who is also working hard to make ends meet, and a setup involving a valuable scarab beetle mistakenly appropriated by Lord Emsworth. Needless to say all ends well, and there are some funny moments, but overall I found it a bit thin. Maybe I watched too much Downton Abbey before Christmas, I kept seeing Carson in place of the butler, Beach. I'm not a big Wodehouse fan (I'm always vaguely thinking this is good but wasn't there something about the Nazi's?), but I've read some of the Blandings short stories and I think I enjoyed those more. Did you know P.G. stands for Pelham Grenville? In the introduction he writes 'If you ask me to tell you frankly if I like the names Pelham Grenville, I must confess that I do not. I have my dark moods when they seem to me about as low as you can get. At the font I remember protesting vigorously when the clergyman uttered them, but he stuck to his point. "Be that as it may," he said firmly, having waited for a lull, '"I name thee Pelham Grenville."' Anyway, it was a good light read for some dark rainy January nights. Thanks, Ma.