Whatcha Readin?

Posted August 15, 2010 by Glenda Burns Minniece

 

A friend recommended The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.  She and I don't always share the same taste in books so I sort of reluctantly read this book.  Well!  It was so charming that I got the next book in the series, Tears of the Giraffe, and then the next, Morality for Beautiful Girls, and then the next . . . 

 

Needless to say, within the space of a few months, I've read all eleven of this series that Alexander McCall Smith has written so far.  I've even started drinking Mma Ramotswe's favorite drink, red bush tea.  And I would love to visit Botswana!

 

Alexander McCall Smith is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh and an international expert on bioethics as well as a prolific author.  In addition to the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, he also writes three other series.  I've only read one of these, the Isabel Dalhousie series, but abandoned it, giving all four of the books I owned to my friend - who loved them.

 

The highest praise that I can give this series is to say that I would aspire to be like Precious Ramotswe!

 

So, what are YOU reading? Write a comment below to let us know!   Glenda

 

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Comments

[Laura Burns]

Just re-read Little Women for the umpteenth time and read Geraldine Brooks's March, which is her story of what the father of the family did as a chaplain in the Union army. A lot was based on Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women). Perhaps too much. Brooks made the March family vegan like the Alcotts, forgetting the blancmange and the bread and milk breakfast of Little Women, not to mention Amy's lobster.
I like the McCall Smith Botswana detective novels also.

[Glenda]

Laura - This evening on Antiques Road Show, broadcast from Milwaukee, a little girl (about ten or so) brought in two first editions of Little Women. Her grandfather had bought them for her grandmother because the grandmother's name is Jo and a writer as is the main character of the story. The two books were valued at 3,000 to $5,000. Nice! The appraiser asked her if she had read the and she said no. He said if she did to be sure to not read these first editions because they're too valuable.
As for me, I read Louisa Mau Alcott's books as a child but hadn't considered re-reading them. Thank you for reminding me that they are worth revisiting, especially Little Women.

[paul schrader]

Glenda

The No, 1 Ladies Detective Agency was featured as a series on HBO. It was just as good as the book. I just returned from Southern Africa (Zimbabwe) and the Zim people and those from Botswana are alike in many ways.
If you like mysteries, a series of books by Stieg Larsson are great. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire, and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. The first two have been made into movies, but read the books first. Larsson died at a young age before the books were published and they are wildly popular in Europe.

[Glenda]

Hi Paul,

Didn't you just love Africa! John and I would love to go back.
Yes, I hope to see the film version of No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency one of these day. My brother and his wife say, like you, that it's extremely well done.
Thanks for the Stieg Larsson recommendation. I've seen those books and have thought about giving them a go. Now I definitely will.
Now classmates - has anyone besides Mary Frances Shephard Ginsbach and I read "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett? It's riveting. Couldn't put it down! Thanks, Mary Frances, for recommending it.

[Karla Lofgren Davis]

Glenda,
Several of the teachers at school have recently read or are now reading "The Help". One has promised to loan it to me as soon as she finishes. Everyone is enthusiastic about it.

Paul,
I am glad to have your confirmation about the HBO detective series. I thought I remembered that as one and the same as the books. We watched it regularly and enjoyed it. How about sending me some photos from your recent travels in Africa? I'd love to post them on the blog.

[Gladys Payne Bohac]

I am reading "The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children" by Stormie Omartian. WOW, there are some really good answers. All of us have adult children that we need to be praying for and how to deal with them. We all have some of the same problems we deal with with our kids.

[John Echoff]

I am half way through a historical novel, "Order in Chaos" by Jack Whyte. It is loosly based on the betrayal of the Knights Templar in France on Friday, October 13, 1307, that day is considered the reason Friday 13th is unlucky. I am fortunate enough to have an ancestor that was a Knight Templar and find the novel very interesting.

[Laura Burns]

You might like the historical novel on the Crusades Deus Lo Volt by Evan S. Connell. He is a writer probably best known for his nonfiction study on Gen. Custer, Son of the Morning Star.

[Glenda]

When "Speaking of Books" was extant, Laura Burns and I had discussed books written in the form of letters. Well, Laura, at that time I overlooked one of my very favorites: 84 Charing Cross Road. After reading it, I read two other of Helene Hanff's books: Duchess of Bloomsbury Street and Q's Legacy. I've recently re-read them and found them just as delightful the second time around.
Thanks to both John Echoff and Laura Burns for recommending Crusades literature which I look forward to reading. For me, the Ellis Peters' novels about Brother Cadfael have brought together my love of mysteries and my interest in the Middle Ages. The same goes for the Dame Frevisse mysteries by Margaret Frazer.