#59 Jeeves in the Offing, by PG Wodehouse (Arrow Books)

One of the main themes of PG Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster series is the astute acumen and advice of butler Jeeves. So, married as I am to a ginger goddess, it was slightly concerning to read of Jeeves' views regarding red-haired women early on in Jeeves in the Offing.

"I would always hesitate to recommend as a life partner a young lady with quite a vivid shade of red hair," says the butler. Oh? Bugger...

After two wonderful Wodehouse books, I was slightly (and only slightly) disappointed by Jeeves in the Offing. It was good, of course. It was warm and witty, full of bon mots and fun frolics concerning an 18th century silver cow creamer, kleptomaniacs, misguided romances and more.

But I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous two.

So, rating time:

#59 Jeeves in the Offing, by PF Wodehouse (Arrow Books) - 8/10

Next up: Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn (Methuen)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#58 A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute (Vintage)

Well, well, well. Fifty-eight books in and we have something to really write home about. Well, a short blog at least.

I'd forgotten about Nevil Shute. Many years ago, I read On the Beach, a story about nuclear war and the dignified end of the world, and it had a great effect on me, so I'm not sure why I limited my own exposure to Shute's work to that one book. After reading A Town Like Alice, I regret it even more.

A Town Like Alice is a love story, but it's not your typical US rom-com. After all, the female lead, Jean Paget, is forced to hike hundreds of miles across Malaya by the Japanese army during the Second World War, while the leading man is crucified for stealing a chicken in an effort to help her.

That that part of the remarkable tale, based on the true story of a group of Dutch women and children in Sumatra (although there is some discrepancy about whether they walked or were transported from camp to camp), is just part of the story is where the books excels. Told from the perspective of an aged Scottish solicitor, who is appointed Paget’s trustee when she comes into some money, the story then switches to Australia, where she breathes new life into a dead town.

It's not without issues. In many ways, it's a book of its time and certain attitudes and terms - such as 'golliwogs' and the like - are authentic, if a little uncomfortable.

But the greatest thing about A Town Like Alice - and I'm a little surprised by how much of an effect this had on me - is its strong female voice and feminist theme, which came as a welcome antidote to a number of other books I’ve read this year which are primarily meant to appeal to women. Yes, I’m talking about you Twilight.

Throughout everything, the initial hardship and the suffering, and then Paget's crusade to improve things for womenfolk in the town where she ends up making her home, her desire to make things better for the women around her despite apparently insurmountable odds is incredibly inspiring. All that, and it's a love story too...

So, rating time:

#58 A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute (Vintage) - 10/10

Next up: Jeeves in the Offing, by PF Wodehouse (Arrow Books)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#57 Shame the Devil, by George Pelecanos (Indigo)

A confession: I must have finished Shame the Devil almost a month ago, but have only just found the time to get around to offering a review. This is therefore going to be a shorter write-up than perhaps is usual.

My third George Pelecanos book of the year, and the challenge, it didn’t quite reach the heights of the previous two. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, far from it, but a book which is merely entertaining isn’t up to scratch when the best of Pelecanos’ work, and the lessons he tries to impart about race, society, drugs and America, normally hits you in the stomach like a .38, a .22 or a .45 – the guns his characters use in the opening robbery-gone-wrong in Shame the Devil.

This is also my first Pelecanos book without main character Derek Strange, and while it was nice to read something else, such was the powerful characterisation of the previous novels I’d read, I found myself missing him. A ‘strange’ reaction indeed to the absence of a cheating private eye whose moral code is loose, to say the least.

The best bit of Shame the Devil is its focus on the victims, the relatives and loved ones of frequently unspeakable crimes. But it would have been nice for a resolution different to the typical showdown amid a hail of bullets.

That said, if Pelecanos is good at one thing, it seems to be writing the truth, so who am I to judge…?

So, rating time:

#57 Shame the Devil, by George Pelecanos (Indigo) - 7/10

Next up: A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute (Vintage)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#56 Jelleyman's Thrown a Wobbly, by Jeff Stelling (Harper Collins)

It's been a while. Sorry. Work. Moving swiftly on...

Football is a big part of my life, encompassing work and play. So Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday, that wonderfully addictive television show where 'people watch people watching football matches on television', hosted by the incomparable Jeff Stelling, is naturally a big part of that life. So it might come as a surprise that I didn't have high hopes for his book - Jelleyman's Thrown a Wobbly.

At its best, Soccer Saturday is a whirlwind of enthusiastic activity, football reporting, interviews, jokes, banter, mockery, opinions and controversy, capable of captivating television over the course of six hours, which fly by as a result. At its worst, it's a smug, blokey clicque laughing at their own jokes. Unfortunately, more of the latter than the former is present in the book.

That Soccer Saturday is much more difficult than it looks is undisputed, and the story of how the current format evolved (the history of the programme from when it covered Britain's Best Lady Driver as much as the football), and how the show is put together, makes for interesting stuff.

For those who don't know about the potential drinking games and the explanations behind the recurring jokes, I suppose there are some further passably entertaining sections, but I'm not so convinced by the parts of the book devoted to the other members of the panel.

I don't need to be constantly told that Paul Merson is always checking his weekend coupon when he's off screen, or Matt Le Tissier is constantly scoffing. The first time it's mildly amusing, the second time it simply seems unprofessional. It quickly gets boring and suggesting that the programme has ever set the football agenda, as it does when George Best is credited with starting the chorus of disapproval which greeted then England manager Glenn Hoddle's views on disabled people and led to his dismissal from the post, is stretching the truth, to say the least.

To Stelling's credit, he doesn't shy away from the odd criticism and occasional mild jab at various clubs and fans within the game, which is quite a rarity in these kind of books. But it's not enough to redeem a book which remains passably entertaining rather than a complete compendium of a phenomenen which remains incomprehensible to many people.

So, rating time:

#56 Jelleyman’s Thrown a Wobbly, by Jeff Stelling (Harper Collins) - 5/10

Next up: Shame the Devil, by George Pelecanos (Indigo)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating