Reading in the bath tonight, and if I recall correctly, humming snatches of a tune or two, I asked myself an interesting rhetorical question: Wouldn't it be nice to have a comprehensive catalogue of your (my) P. G. Wodehouse books? Indeed, the man wrote something new for each of his 92 years, and because he was a great recycler of his own material, often rewriting his plays into short stories, and then into novels, I realised that the Wallace bookshelf had become rather weighed down with the stuff and organisation was required. I know I have at least two of the same short novels in at least three different omnibus editions, and a trip to the bookstore is increasingly an exercise in memory: Do you (I) have Joy In The Morning already? Isn't that the alternative name for The Steeple Bumpleigh Horror? Or was that the sub-title? In many cases, the summary on the back is nearly useless in providing clarity. Take the synopsis for Jeeves In The Offing:

Down at Market Snodsbury rum deeds are afoot...and Bertie knows that it will take every last drop of the daredevil Wooster spirit to survive a weekend without Jeeves at Aunt Dahlia's rural lair...

That could describe something near a dozen Wodehouse stories. A list, I reasoned, especially one easy to access, would make adding to the collection considerably more hazard-free. The number of accidental re-buys would be practically nil. Of course, looking at the list, one might detect some nearly identical volumes and assume I've already begun to err. Looking carefully however, one would note (and then slap oneself in the forehead saying, Ah! Of course!) that this Best Of...Collection has an introduction by Stephen Fry, while that one is introduced by Hugh Laurie. And before one jumps to conclusions regarding two copies of Carry On Jeeves, take stock of the publisher and date. See? That one is a new Penguin edition, while this is an original Pocket Book from 1946. Completely intentional.

So a list I shall create and link to it here. This will be for my personal use, but if you find it fascinating, award yourself the Blue ribbon, for I consider you one of the Great Minds of The Age.