Thursday, April 24, 2025
44 Scotland Street
by Alexander McCall Smith
waiting room material
LibraryThing link
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, WaitingRoomMaterial
Sunday, September 29, 2024
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party
by Alexander McCall Smith
waiting room material
LibraryThing link
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, No1LadiesDetectiveAgency, WaitingRoomMaterial
Sunday, June 23, 2024
The Double Comfort Safari Club
by Alexander McCall Smith
In volume 11, Mma Ramotswe is called upon to find an heir, uncover evidence of a philandering husband, and figure out a way to help a man who was scammed to give away his house. Complicating life is a serious accident suffered by Phuti Radiphuti which threatens his upcoming marriage to Grace Makutsi. Like the other books in this series, it's a fun, light read with likable characters.
waiting room material
LibraryThing link
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, No1LadiesDetectiveAgency, WaitingRoomMaterial
Monday, July 10, 2023
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
by Alexander McCall Smith
It's been a minute...
This installment of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency features two mysteries. The official one is that Mma Ramotswe is hired by the owner of the local football club to figure out who in the organization has betrayed him and caused the team to lose more matches. The unofficial one is where Mma Makutsi, assistant detective, tries to figure out how her nemesis, Violet Sephotho, sales associate, is able to sell so many beds. The latter may not seem like a challenging mystery, but it's hard for Mma Makutsi to think straight when the store is owned by her fiancé and she's sure Violet is making a play for him. All in all, it's not great literature, but it is an enjoyable read.
Fun waiting room material.
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, No1LadiesDetectiveAgency, WaitingRoomMaterial
Tuesday, May 07, 2019
The Miracle at Speedy Motors
My wife was recently talking about a trope, Innocent Eye point of view, where the story is written from the viewpoint of an innocent. The naive protagonist/narrator describes the action without truly understanding what is going on. The more sophisticated reader, one hopes, will pick up on the true situation. When done well, a passage written in the Innocent Eye can be amusing and wise at the same time, exposing the foolish side of many conventional situations and institutions. As my wife described this trope, I almost immediately thought of this series.
The Miracle at Speedy Motors is the ninth volume of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. It follows the pattern. Almost all of the characters are innocents. I suppose it might be a tad insulting to the main characters, adults all, but they also exhibit the typical goodness of an innocent character. They're not perfect. But their vices are minor--common, familiar even--and outweighed by their compassion and integrity. I would welcome a Mma Ramotswe or a Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni into my life.
Which is a long winded way of saying that the delight of this book is the characters. The plot itself isn't all that exciting. At times it gets somewhat predictable. But there are worse ways to bide one's time.
Waiting room material
LibraryThing link
The Miracle at Speedy Motors is the ninth volume of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. It follows the pattern. Almost all of the characters are innocents. I suppose it might be a tad insulting to the main characters, adults all, but they also exhibit the typical goodness of an innocent character. They're not perfect. But their vices are minor--common, familiar even--and outweighed by their compassion and integrity. I would welcome a Mma Ramotswe or a Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni into my life.
Which is a long winded way of saying that the delight of this book is the characters. The plot itself isn't all that exciting. At times it gets somewhat predictable. But there are worse ways to bide one's time.
Waiting room material
LibraryThing link
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, No1LadiesDetectiveAgency, WaitingRoomMaterial
Sunday, April 15, 2018
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
by Alexander McCall Smith
Book 8 of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. My thought after finishing this was that, despite the series name, it was more of a soap opera than a detective novel. But then, I had to admit, the mystery portion of the series has always been sparse. The real appeal of these books is the humorous interactions of the characters. Alas, despite some attempts at conflict and change, those, too are kind of flat and predictable. As waiting room material, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive succeeds, but that's about it.
LibraryThing link
Book 8 of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. My thought after finishing this was that, despite the series name, it was more of a soap opera than a detective novel. But then, I had to admit, the mystery portion of the series has always been sparse. The real appeal of these books is the humorous interactions of the characters. Alas, despite some attempts at conflict and change, those, too are kind of flat and predictable. As waiting room material, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive succeeds, but that's about it.
LibraryThing link
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, No1LadiesDetectiveAgency, WaitingRoomMaterial
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Blue Shoes and Happiness
by Alexander McCall Smith
Another book in the series--number seven, to be specific. There are only a few cases in this volume. Mma Ramotswe looks into food theft, blackmail, and unspoken dread at the Mokolodi Game Reserve. The rest of the book is filled up with the relationship issues between various characters. All in all it makes for amusing waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
Another book in the series--number seven, to be specific. There are only a few cases in this volume. Mma Ramotswe looks into food theft, blackmail, and unspoken dread at the Mokolodi Game Reserve. The rest of the book is filled up with the relationship issues between various characters. All in all it makes for amusing waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, No1LadiesDetectiveAgency, WaitingRoomMaterial
Monday, November 16, 2015
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
by Alexander McCall Smith
Book 6 of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. 'Twas kind of bland. Less detectiving and more soap opera. But as waiting room material, it was enjoyable enough.
LibraryThing link
Book 6 of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. 'Twas kind of bland. Less detectiving and more soap opera. But as waiting room material, it was enjoyable enough.
LibraryThing link
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, No1LadiesDetectiveAgency, WaitingRoomMaterial
Thursday, March 19, 2015
The Full Cupboard of Life
by Alexander McCall Smith
The fifth installment of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Amusing, but far from outstanding.
This one's just waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
The fifth installment of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Amusing, but far from outstanding.
This one's just waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, No1LadiesDetectiveAgency, WaitingRoomMaterial
Friday, September 19, 2014
The Kalahari Typing School for Men
by Alexander McCall Smith
Okay, I liked book 4 better than book 3. In this installment of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe encounters some problems with her foster children, a new competitor in the detective business and helps a man make amends for past sins. Meanwhile, Mma. Makutsi adds a new startup business to her areas of responsibility. It's all presented with the quirkiness and sweetness that keeps this series on my family's bookshelves.
LibraryThing link
Okay, I liked book 4 better than book 3. In this installment of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe encounters some problems with her foster children, a new competitor in the detective business and helps a man make amends for past sins. Meanwhile, Mma. Makutsi adds a new startup business to her areas of responsibility. It's all presented with the quirkiness and sweetness that keeps this series on my family's bookshelves.
LibraryThing link
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, No1LadiesDetectiveAgency, OnMyShelf
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Morality for Beautiful Girls
by Alexander McCall Smith
Book 3 of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. An enjoyable read, spoiled slightly by the fact that I had already watched the TV adaption of the stories. Still, it was well worth checking out.
LibraryThing link
Book 3 of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. An enjoyable read, spoiled slightly by the fact that I had already watched the TV adaption of the stories. Still, it was well worth checking out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, CheckItOut, No1LadiesDetectiveAgency
Monday, April 21, 2014
Tears of the Giraffe
by Alexander McCall Smith
A delightful sequel to the delightful The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Precious Ramotswe handles a typical adultery case as well as an atypical cold case concerning the disappearance of a foreigner. In between she and faces some challenges and surprises with her new fiancé.
Adding it on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
A delightful sequel to the delightful The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Precious Ramotswe handles a typical adultery case as well as an atypical cold case concerning the disappearance of a foreigner. In between she and faces some challenges and surprises with her new fiancé.
Adding it on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, No1LadiesDetectiveAgency, OnMyShelf
Sunday, September 02, 2012
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith
Ah, what can I say about this book? It's the tale of Precious Ramotswe, a middle aged woman who sets up the first woman-owned detective agency in Botswana. "Quirky" is the word that came to mind as I was reading the book. The plot is rather loose--the book is kind of like a number of short stories woven together. It lopes along with numerous observations of life. Many of those are humorous, but the humor is so subtle I had to wonder how much of it was intentional and how much stemmed from my own cultural misunderstanding. Another phrase that popped in my mind was "feel good".* It's kind of like one of James Herriot's books, that makes you glad to be alive regardless if the events you're reading of are happy or sad. In the end, I figure I just need to hang onto the book and find room for it on my ever more crowded shelf.
LibraryThing link
___
* I really do apologize for using that phrase. It strikes me as very lowbrow. However, I'm not well read enough to know a better word to describe the concept. Is there an antonym for Schadenfreude?
Ah, what can I say about this book? It's the tale of Precious Ramotswe, a middle aged woman who sets up the first woman-owned detective agency in Botswana. "Quirky" is the word that came to mind as I was reading the book. The plot is rather loose--the book is kind of like a number of short stories woven together. It lopes along with numerous observations of life. Many of those are humorous, but the humor is so subtle I had to wonder how much of it was intentional and how much stemmed from my own cultural misunderstanding. Another phrase that popped in my mind was "feel good".* It's kind of like one of James Herriot's books, that makes you glad to be alive regardless if the events you're reading of are happy or sad. In the end, I figure I just need to hang onto the book and find room for it on my ever more crowded shelf.
LibraryThing link
___
* I really do apologize for using that phrase. It strikes me as very lowbrow. However, I'm not well read enough to know a better word to describe the concept. Is there an antonym for Schadenfreude?
Labels: AlexanderMcCallSmith, No1LadiesDetectiveAgency, OnMyShelf
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