Joining in with Laura...
Last month's book of choice was Cranford. I really enjoyed it; there's something I love about stories set in communities where women dominate the social scene (I suppose another series of books which is similar in this respect is the Anne of Green Gables stories - those of you who have been reading Mitenska for a while will know all about my long-standing love of them).
Cranford appealed to me in all kinds of ways: the 'elegant economy' principles by which the ladies lived; the gently comic way in which Gaskell describes the social mores of the time; the episodic format (the book was initially a set of papers, later put together). Verdict: recommended!
This month's choice is a world away from the twentieth century classics I've been reading of late. I'm jumping through time and continents (in my imagination, at least) to modern day Botswana.
A friend suggested I read The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency several years ago, just as it took off in terms of popularity. I was a little dubious as I'm most keen on fiction set from around 1900 to 1960 (give or take). I'd never read anything set in Africa and the only detective novels I'd gone for were by Agatha Christie.
But read it I did, and was hooked. Alexander McCall Smith's books are wonderfully uplifting, funny and life-affirming. They transport you to Botswana and its slower pace of life; you can almost feel the warmth and dust and smell the sun-baked earth. To me, they represent total escapism and feel-good reading. High-brow? Maybe not. Pleasurable? Most definitely.
So April's choice is The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, the latest in the series. To be honest, I've already made a start so it's likely I'll have finished it within the week... Good job as I collected The Goldfinch from the library on Tuesday. It's huge! And I can only have it for a fortnight as it's an 'in demand' title. Can't see that going well somehow.
P.S. We've just returned from the Scottish Borders and I was so disappointed to learn that Alexander McCall Smith is giving a talk at the Eastgate Theatre, Peebles in May. It's located at the end of the very street we stayed on! Oh, and the photos are from another visit to Barter Books on our way home (via Northumberland). On a chilly day the fires were lit, the aromas of cake and coffee were in the air, and 1940s music was being played. Comfy old chairs, books on top of books. A bibliophile's heaven...
Purchases were made.
Happy April reading.
Hello Sarah,
ReplyDeleteYes, I can certainly agree about the books of Alexander McCall Smith. He writes with such delicate humour that one finds oneself laughing with rather than at the characters. And, how beautifully his characters are drawn. All totally credible and set within a context that he has such clear command of. A good read, most definitely!
Well put! He is a lovely writer - and each time I read those books I long to visit Botswana...
DeleteI'd like to read the Ladies Detective Agency too. I've seen it in the library and keep going back to it. I think I'll put it on my request list and just read it already. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, do! They're the perfect books to read in bed - just funny and warm and wonderful. You're left feeling that the world is a nice place despite what the news constantly tells us :)
DeleteLove those books!
ReplyDeleteI think lots of people do... with good reason :)
DeleteI love the Ladies Detective Agency books - I spent my gap year in southern Africa and I've fallen a bit in love with that part of the world! They are just such a pleasure to read.
ReplyDeleteThey are. I do love reading challenging books and those which feel somehow educating... but sometimes reading for the sheer pleasure of it is what you need.
DeleteIt is interesting to know about the Ladies Detective Agency - not one I would have thought to read but if you like Cranford and Anne of Green Gables then that is a good enough recomendation for me. I don't have many DVD,s but I do have Anne of Green Gables together with Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati) and I like nothing better than snuggling up on the sofa on a cold day and watching them. I must be almost word perfect by now!
ReplyDeleteOur cottage in Scotland is near to Wigtown in the South West (the book town). There is a wealth of writers who live and work there and once a year there is a Book Festival with some very major authors speaking - so if you are ever up that way in September I can recomend it.
That sounds interesting. I read somewhere that it's similar to Hay on Wye, and I loved it there. Wigtown is a place I've always fancied visiting so will definitely keep that in mind.
DeleteDo try the Ladies Detective Agency books. I didn't really get along with any of McCall Smith's other stuff, but that particular series is lovely to read.
What beautiful photos, that looks like a lovely bookshop. Cranford sounds good, I'm a big fan of elegant economy. I wonder if it might be possible for you to renew your library book if you keep trying - I've recently discovered that where the library have several copies of a book, one of the other copies might be returned earlier. I've just managed to renew an "in demand" title in that way.
ReplyDeleteHello - and thanks for the tip! I'll give it a go as I can't see myself getting too far with The Goldfinch over a couple of weeks...
DeleteAnd yes, it is a lovely bookshop. It's an old railway station and one of those places where you'd love to work (or dream of opening yourself). You could quite easily spend an entire day there getting lost in books and cake!
We love Barter Books - my in-laws live in Durham and we often drive up the coast to Alnwick when we stay with them. It's a real treasure of a shop, great for browsing, and my two love the wheelie bugs in the kids section. I've never read Cranford but I have read a few of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency books and found them utterly enchanting. x
ReplyDeleteHi! Joe loved the children's area too. That and the little train running around the ceiling. Lucky you, being regular visitors... and it's funny, I felt a bit shy saying what I'd be reading this month as though the McCall Smith books were a little too low-brow. Seems lots of people love them - hooray!
DeleteS x
Another 'Anne' fan here... I just love those stories, have the DVDs and managed to get old editions with lovely dustjackets. Would have loved to visit Barter books, it sounds just like my ideal way of spending a morning.
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful place and you could sit and watch the people browsing as well as looking at the books themselves - book enthusiasts are a truly mixed and eccentric-looking bunch!
DeleteMy set of Anne books is old too, and I'm only missing one title. It's the first thing I looked for in Barter Books but they sadly didn't have it! Maybe next time...
Thanks for the recommendations ... Cranford sounds like a great read and I will be keeping an eye out for the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency at the library ... Bee xx
ReplyDeleteCranford was a good bedtime read as the chapters were quite short and it's a gentle kind of writing... and yes, the Ladies Detective Agency books are really worth a try. Happy reading!
DeleteS x
I've read a few the No.1 Detective Agency books and they're so sweet. I also really enjoyed the tv series. x
ReplyDeleteI think I introduced them to my mum and she liked them too. They're humorous and quite simple but also full of valuable little lessons :)
DeleteI love discovering new to me writers, especially when there's a whole series of books to enjoy. Donna Tartt is a favourite and I was lucky to be given The Goldfinch as a Christmas present (still unread as I'm saving it to read on holiday). Barter Books is great, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteYes! I wish there was somewhere like it nearby - although I doubt I'd ever be away. Much as I love a meander through Waterstones there's something wonderful about old books. Not to mention that lovely old building and roaring fires!
DeleteBeautiful photos. Is that you library?!
ReplyDeleteI wish! It's Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland :)
DeleteLooks like a lovely bookshop. I loved the Anne of Green Gables books...haven't read Cranfield as I'm more inclined to read contemporary fiction.
ReplyDeleteOhhh, love those photos! You can't beat a really good bookshop.
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