I last read The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency about two and a half years ago for my ENGL 2000 class, and which I reviewed for CBR 7 (aka, the only time I ever managed more than a triple cannonball, which gets more exhausting to reach each year). I have never made it through the entire series yet, but that’s one of this year’s goals. I was excited to read it again, because I find the gentle humor to be soothing in a time where […]
A comforting read in dark times
I am a fan of Alexander McCall Smith. I am woefully behind in the Mma Ramotswe books, but my aunt gives me a copy of the new book when it appears. One year, she gifted me with one of his rare standalone books, and I just got around to tackling it as one of the last in my read-the-books-on-my-shelf project, which will end in early 2018, when I finally read the rest of the Mma books in my stack. I had heard mixed reviews of […]
I am an incurable, and nothing else behaves like me
This book was just a lot of fun. 44 Scotland Street is a serial novel that was originally published in an Edinburgh newspaper. It takes place in Edinburgh, focusing mainly on the inhabitants of the titular apartment building. Among other characters, there’s Pat, a college-aged woman taking her “second gap year,” Bertie, a high-achieving 6-year-old with a helicopter mother, Domenica, the resident wise Mrs. Madrigal-type, and Bruce, who is honestly a completely fascinating character. In fact, while Pat is nominally the main character, and Bertie […]
A lovely start to my semester.
My aunt first introduced me to Alexander McCall Smith several years ago, when she bought me the first four books in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. I thought they were charming and made for perfect bedtime reading. And so I devoured them, not realizing that I would have to WAIT for the next books to come out. That’s the problem with a series you like…the waiting. Thankfully, Mr. McCall Smith is a productive and voracious writer, so you don’t have to wait too […]