A first stand alone from Alexander McCall Smith, La’s Orchestra Saves the World is a heartwarming, comforting read. Lavender, La for short, demonstrates how a simple ordinary woman can impact those around her by her simple ordinary actions. Set in Suffolk England during WWII this story nicely illustrates the English phrase “Keep Calm and Carry On.” Despite the desperate situations of the war, La offers to not only do some “war work” for a local farmer free of charge, but to also create a local orchestra made up of both civilians and men from the local RAF base. Smith proves himself a true student of human nature and provides the reader with characters that are very human; likable and flawed, each character must face the very realistic consequences of their actions. This short novel is a pleasant read and a testament to the power of perseverance and the very human desire to connect with one another.

‘Tis the season for end of the year book lists!

If you’re looking for book recommendations, you can visit the blog of our venerable Book Goddess year-round.

However, whenever December rolls around, you can’t cross the street without tripping over a book list.  “Top 10 of 2009,” “Best Books for Your Holiday,” “Best Books of the 00’s…”  They’re everywhere!

Here’s a roundup of some of the more interesting lists out there.  To see more information about the books, click on the name of the list.  To request a copy from our library (if available), click on the title of the book.

NPR – Librarian Nancy Pearl’s 2009 Under-The-Radar Books

• Spooner by Pete Dexter
• When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler’s Journey of Staying Put by Vivian Swift
• The Good Soldiers by David Finkel
• Liar by Justine Larbalestier
• Going Bovine by Libba Bray
• When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
• In the Town All Year ‘Round by Rotraut Suzanne Berner
• Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy
• Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile by Sara Wheeler

Amazon – Best Books of 2009 (Editors’ Picks)

• Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
• Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
• Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
• Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
• Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad
• The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
• The City & the City by China Mieville
• Stitches by David Small
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Publishers Weekly – Best Books of 2009 (Top 10)

• Cheever: A Life by Blake Bailey
• Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon
• A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon by Neil Sheehan
• In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
• Big Machine by Victor LaValle
• The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes
• Stitches by David Small
• Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford
• Jeff in Venice, Death in Veranasi by Geoff Dyer
• Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

New York Times – The 10 Best Books of 2009

• Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Maloy
• Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem
• A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
• Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel by Jeannette Wells
• A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert
• The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes
• The Good Soldiers by David Finkel
• Lit: A Memoir by Mary Karr
• Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed
• Raymond Carver: A Writer’s Life by Carol Sklenicka

Of course, the list wouldn’t be complete without my own list!  While they’re not all new books, I truly enjoyed the experience of reading them, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend any of them.  Have a question about one of them?  Email me at krabillb@mycitylibrary.org and I’d be happy to tell you more about it and why I liked it.  In fact, I’m always happy to give book (and movie and music) recommendations!

My Favorite 10 Books Read in 2009

• Stitches by David Small
• The Impostor’s Daughter by Laurie Sandell
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
• Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr.
• Madness Under the Royal Palms: Love and Death Behind the Gates of Palm Beach by Laurence Leamer
• Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
• Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis
• The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
• The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig

What’s your first book of 2010 going to be?  I’m leaning towards either A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore or How to Rule the World From Your Couch by Laura Day.

Happy reading!

** Britta**

Before ‘Granny Savidge Reads’, or just Gran as she likes to be called, answers your questions later in the week (you still have today to go here and leave one or two) she has a favour to ask of you. As the year draws to a close one of the book groups that my Gran is in get to vote for the books for next year. This is one of the U3A groups not the MAD Book Group (which is named because they are in the Matlock and District… not because they are all mad, on the whole) which she founded.  There is a list of books and the members vote for favourite twelve from the list.

Gran and I thought it would be nice, as well as interesting, if you could help recommend which ones you think would be great for the group and which ones you would avoid. I have naturally already thrown in my tuppence worth, so now over to you. The ones in italics are the ones Gran has already read, but do recommend them more if you think fit.

• The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga
• The Yacoubian Building – Alaa Al Aswany
• Black Diamonds – Catherine Bailey
• Border Crossing – Pat Barker
• Villette – Charlotte Bronte
• Restless – William Boyd
• Oscar and Lucinda – Peter Carey
• The Short Stories – Anton Chekhov
• Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell – Susanna Clarke
• The Shieling – David Constantine  
• The Inheritance of Loss – Kiran Desai
• Our Mutual Friend – Charles Dickens
• Alicia’s Gift – Jennifer Duchen
• Last Train from Liguria – Christine Dwyer Hickey
• Engleby – Sebastian Faulks
• Human Traces – Sebastian Faulks
• Is There Anything You Want – Margaret Forster
• The Man in the Wooden Hat – Jane Gardam
• Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
• Peeling The Onion – Gunther Grass
• The Believers – Zoe Heller
• The Beacon – Susan Hill
• The Quiet Girl – Peter Hoeg
• The True Deceiver – Tove Jansson
• Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow – Jerome K Jerome
• The Lacuna – Barbara Kingsolver
• The Other Side of the Bridge – Mary Lawson
• La’s Orchestra Saves the World – Alexander McCall Smith
• The Road – Cormac McCarthy
• Great Fortunes – Olivia Manning
• The Glass Room – Simon Mawer
• Things My Mother Never Told Me – Blake Morrison
• The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
• The Reader – Bernhard Schlink
• The Stone Diaries – Carol Shields
• Tales from a Travellers Life – John Simpson
• Glassblower of Murano – Marianne Siorato
• The Suspicions of Mr Whicher – Kate Summerscale
• Love and Summer – William Trevor
• Miss Garnetts Angel – Salley Vickers
• The Night Watch – Sarah Waters
• They Were Sisters – Dorothy Whipple
• Proust and the Squid – Marianne Wolf

So that’s the lot. I haven’t put any pictures in today’s post as you might be swayed. I know I was when I saw some of the covers of the books that I had never heard of. Gran and I are very much looking forward to all your thoughts, so do get responding.

There is a series of books called “The Ladies’ No. 1 Detective Agency” by Alexander McCall Smith. He is a white Scottish (or English..) man. This series is set in Botswana, which is just north of South Africa. It is a much more stable country than most African nations we are used to seeing on the news. The main character is a lady detective, who inherits some wealth from her father and decides to become a private detective.

I only read part of the first book. I wasn’t in the mood for it at the time, so I did not continue, but the series has sold rather well. These books have been successful enough for HBO to create a show with the same title.

The episodes are filmed in Botswana, and I am guessing most of the cast is from that country as well. The lead character is played by American R&B singer Jill Scott, who I did not know could act. She, it turns out, is an excellent actress, and you will very soon forget she is American. She plays the part perfectly.

My mom has read most, if not all of the books in this series, and says some plots are based on the books, but some are not. If you have read the books already and hope the show will follow the books closely, you will be disappointed.

The show is very, very good, though. There are still bad goings-on in Africa, and some of the stories involve evil-doings by bad people, but this is a mystery show, and it is pretty tough to have mystery stories without nefarious deeds.

Going by HBO’s standards, this program is amazingly tame. No hardcore violence, no graphic sex (just some flirtation and a bit of naughty dancing in the shows I’ve seen), no amazingly-foul language, which is good! Instead, you have some very polite and amusing and smart characters, great stories, and the beautiful settings and landscapes of Botswana.

I have watched the first 6 episodes. They are at least an hour long each, and I think there are 9 episodes total. I will be renting the third disk soon. I just finished the 2nd one an hour ago.

If you want a more positive look at Africa – stories that do not have to do with genocide and the massive outbreak of aids, starvation, etc., and desire some good entertainment for the family, then I highly recommend this series.

“Traditional Botswana men like ladies who are more traditionally shaped. You and I, Mma. We remind men of how things used to be in Botswana before these modern-shaped ladies started to get men all confused.” — Alexander McCall Smith, The Full Cupboard of Life

Forgive my tardiness with this week’s Africa lesson. I usually do these on Wednesdays (as I’m sure my millions of followers have noticed), but it was an unusually busy week and I’ve been trying to out-vitamin a cold for a couple of days.

I’ve been reading The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series (now on book two of 10) for a while now, a delicious indulgence among other books on my nightstand. My friend Meg Medina suggested it when I visited her this summer. I confessed to her that I found myself only reading books about Africa. “Well,” she said, “if you’re only going to read about Africa, you might as well read something entertaining.”

I love Botswana through the eyes of Alexander McCall Smith and his main character, Precious Ramotswe. She is one of those characters I will deeply miss when I am done reading her stories. Someone with whom I would love to share lunch or an afternoon of people watching on her front porch.

In addition to reading the book (really, even if you’re not obsessed with Africa, the stories are wonderful), here are some things you should know about Botswana:

1. The country (which is slightly smaller than Texas) borders and is closely connected in many ways to South Africa.

Gathering food in Botswana

2. Bridge is a very popular game.

3. This is a stable country and has been since its independence from Britain in 1966. Since that time, the people of Botswana have pulled themselves up from being one of the poorest countries in in the world to being a middle-income country. Much of this is due to the discovery of diamonds shortly after independence.

4. Botswana has one of the world’s highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection. The CIA estimates from 2007 show 23.9 percent of adults are infected, second only in the world to Swaziland where 26.1 percent are infected.

5. The country is predominantly Christian (71.6 percent).

6. 81.2 percent of the population is literate (80.4 percent of men, 81.8 percent of women).

7. Many refugees from Zimbabwe flee to Botswana to escape their corrupt government.

8. There are actual Bushmen here. They have been kicked off their land (although they were the first there) and are living in resettlement camps. They now face alcoholism and many other problems (sound familiar to other native people we might know?).

9. Sorghum is a food staple here. In urban areas, you will find also find fast food like KFCs. I’d rather eat the sorghum. A favorite dish is “bogobe, nama and morogo,” the bogobe being sorghum or maize, nama is meat, and morogo is a green leafy vegetable that looks like spinach.

10. Most people in Botswana have three homes: one in a town (near work and school), one in the village (usually where their family is from), and one in where the cattle are (called the “moraka” or cattle post).

How you can help:

• For $30 a month, you can sponsor a child who has been orphaned by AIDS through SOS Children’s Villages.

• Donate to Cheetah Conservation Botswana to help outreach, research, education efforts to help Africa’s most threatened big cat.

• Help the 1,000 Bushmen, who won a court victory in 2006 but have not yet been allowed to return to their homeland, by donating to I Want 2 Go Home.

By Frances Allan

Written 13th March 2008

In the last two weeks, 10,000 free copies of R.L Stevenson’s classic, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde have been handed out to people all across Edinburgh, to celebrate Edinburgh as the UNESCO World City of Literature.

This is  part of the One Book – One Edinburgh campaign and in conjunction with World Book Day.

But what does all this mean for the City of Edinburgh? World Book Day on 6^th March saw thousands of school children being given book tokens to encourage reading for both pleasure and learning and has been celebrated in over 100 countries worldwide.

The title of City of Literature is well deserved for Edinburgh, with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), handing out this title for the first time to a city which, like the Jekyll and Hyde story, is a city of many characters.

credit: cityofliterature.com

Edinburgh has long been a city which has been a cultural capital for its architecture and history, but its literary scene is less well-known, yet dates backs for many years.

Dr Linda Dryden is heavily involved with the One Book – One Edinburgh campaign and an expert on gothic literature. She said: “This means that Edinburgh is being recognised at an international level, although there’s not as much money behind it as being pronounced City of Culture”

She continued: “It recognises Scottish literature in general, not just previous literature but up and coming writers too.”

The title was awarded to Edinburgh in 2006 and since then a host of campaigns and activities have been happening across the city, last year for the One Book – One Edinburgh campaign R.L.Stevenson’s book Kidnapped was used, to great success.

So what has Edinburgh got as a literary city? Well writers have been living here for hundreds of years, Sit Walter Scott’s Waverley novels were based in and around Edinburgh. The city also has many independent and national publishers based here, and many Literary Pub Tours run around the city, which are extremely successful.

The city is also home to many other famous writers, some of today’s best selling authors live in or have come from Edinburgh, Ian Rankin, Irvine Welsh, Alexander McCall-Smith and J.K.Rowling, who has adopted Edinburgh as her home and has inspired millions of children and adults to take on thick books with complex story lines, and famously finished the last book in the Harry Potter series in Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel.

Dr Dryden said: “Edinburgh has been a centre for publishing and literary activity for centuries, and it was felt we weren’t capitalising on that heritage. We had these big international authors living here and yet nothing was being done to celebrate that rich culture.”

The One Book – One Edinburgh campaign has seen many events across the city, poetry readings, plays of Jekyll and Hyde, Hyde & Seek, R.L.Stevenson Literary tours, discussions about the book and of course, the 10,000 free copies which were given out all across the city. Special graphic novels have also been written and drawn by Alan Grant and Cam Kennedy, which have also been printed in large print and Gaelic.

The city of Edinburgh, credit: Alex Morrice

The City of Literature title has brought many people to the city and is bringing the attention of the worlds literary types to Edinburgh.

Dr Dryden said: “What Edinburgh has done with being the first bid, is show the way, we are the pioneers and it has opened the doors to other cities that have a literary culture.”

Other cities, such as Calcutta, are now bidding to get their own World City of Literature title after seeing how successful Edinburgh has been in winning its title and what it has done for the city. When more cities are given the title, they will be encouraged to take part in book-exchanges and other cross cultural literary initiatives.

Will the One Book – One Edinburgh campaigns actually encourage more people to read? It is debatable, when most of the free copies of Jekyll and Hyde are being given out in libraries, bookshops, and to reading groups, to people who are already reading, although maybe they would not have picked up Jekyll and Hyde.

Anna Burkey, from the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust said: “Much of our feedback suggests that people who have never read Stevenson, or rarely read, have enjoyed our campaign,”

Currently, there are 800,000 adults in Scotland with low levels of literacy, with 300,000 of these unemployed and 30% of Scottish adults believe their literacy and numeric skills to be inadequate.

“It is an extremely high accolade for Edinburgh to have received such a prestigious designation, given in recognition of all the literary activity that goes on throughout the city – at local and international levels,” Ms Burkey said.

She continued: “There is strong and growing interest from many other cities in the world to move to try and obtain this title themselves”

Inspired by Dot Scribbles who has been posting regularly on the serialised version of Alexander McCall Smith’s The Dog That Came In From The Cold, I’ve started listing to the podcasts (or rather catching up!).

I thought I’d share a short snippet which made me giggle yesterday in which William, one of the residents of Corduroy Mansions is musing about a potential love interest – Angela, and whether her employer MI6 has a clear desk policy:

“He thought that they probably did; the sort of papers these people dealt with certainly could not be left lying about for the prying eyes of cleaners who might have been recruited by the other side. And it would be very easy, he reckoned, to recruit a cleaner; their weakness was tea, and they could doubtless be tempted by a large cup of Darjeeling …”

Chapter 4, The Dangers of Boeuf Stroganoff, The Dog Who Came In From The Cold, Alexander McCall Smith.

If you’re interested in listening to the Telegraph’s free podcasts like me or reading the daily chapters you can find them here.

Meant to blog at the time, but completely forgot. So apologies for being a little late with the news.

I recently went to a breakfast at Racine to launch a new tea, ‘Lost Malawi’, by Rare Tea Company.

Henrietta Lovell, the ‘tea lady’ behind the company, is an all-round good egg, doing great work to ensure that growers get a fair wage and consumers get a damn good cuppa.

The interest for Pen Pusher readers is that Lost Malawi has been named by Alexander McCall Smith, the blockbuster novelist behind The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and dozens of other books (he writes four to five a year – horrifying news for anyone with writer’s block!). What’s more, he’s written a set of exclusive short stories to go inside the tin. ‘He Loved The View’ is my favourite, although all of them show that gently lilting prose that makes reading McCall Smith’s work such a calming experience. Rather like a good cup of tea, in fact.

De gesprekken tussen Nederlanders die in het buitenland naar de opera gaan zeggen veel over het land waarin ze wonen. De parkeerproblemen van Parijs, de kosten van een kindermeid in New York en mooie bestemmingen voor een weekendtrip rond Sydney. Allemaal keurige, burgerlijke onderwerpen om tijdens een glaasje wijn een boom over op te zetten. In Gaborone gaat het over bavianen.

Gaborone is de hoofdstad van Botswana, een dun bevolkt land in het zuiden van Afrika en één van de minst waarschijnlijke locaties voor een operahuis. Maar wie de stad aan de zuidkant uitrijdt en een route door de wildernis volgt, staat plots voor het No1 Ladies Opera House. De omgebouwde garage is het geesteskind van de Britse schrijver Alexander McCall Smith, bekend van zijn detectivereeks over een vrouwelijke speurneus in Botswana – in het Nederlands vertaald als ‘Het beste dames detectivebureau’.

En waar het theater tot voor kort het toneel was voor kleine concerten, lezingen en marktjes werd er deze maand voor het eerst een heuse opera opgevoerd. Het door McCall Smith geschreven libretto van The Okavango MacBeth is een hilarisch verhaal over een troep bavianen, die door de rest van de dierenwereld wordt verbannen en door een stel wijsneuzerige primatologen in de gaten wordt gehouden. Lady MacBeth haalt MacBeth over om de leider van de troep te vermoorden, maar de snode vrouwtjesbaviaan wordt uiteindelijk zelf door een luipaard opgepeuzeld.

Wie wil er nog naar de professionele opera in Parijs, New York of Sydney als je naar een voorstelling kunt van lokale sterren als Tshenolo Segokgo (Lady MacBeth) en Gape Motswaledi (primatoloog)? Ik niet! Aan de hand van pianist David Slater brenkt het ensemble van twaalf ‘Batswana’ amateurzangers een geïnspireerde muzikale opvoering – met als bonus een dieper inzicht in de wereld van de bavianen.

„Ik haat bavianen,” zegt een Nederlandse commercieel tekstschrijfster na afloop van de show. „Ik had ze onlangs nog op de keukentafel en dan zijn ze met geen mogelijkheid weg te krijgen,” valt een verpleegster haar bij. „Binnenkort zitten ze allemaal bij ons in de tuin als er weer fruit aan de bomen zit,” klaagt een ander. Een honderdtal mensen vormt de Nederlandse gemeenschap in Gaborone – niemand zegt de drukte en de files van hun geboorteland te missen. „Dan zeuren we liever over bavianen.”

Intamplarea sau o aranjare mai fengshuie a astrelor a facut sa citesc una dupa alta doua carti de facturi diferite, dar tratand aceeasi chestiune: eternul mister feminin, asa cum o caracteriza doamna mea profesoara de limba si literatura romana pe Otileea din romanul purtand aproximativ acelasi nume.

Creierul femeii de Louann Brizendine e o carte stiintifica si accesibila. Si, surprinzator, este si utila, in ciuda parerii incetatenite ca bestseller-ul Ce stiu barbatii despre femei este exponentul supremei cunoasteri in acest domeniu. Hormonii, tipurile si actiunea lor in diverse faze ale vietii femeii sunt obiectul acestui studiu, cu exemple relevante, iar eu nu am incotro decat sa admit ca am aflat cate ceva despre femei si nu mai sunt asa inversunat impotriva lor. Iar garantia soliditatii faptelor prezentate este ca autorul este ea insasi o femeie.

Romanul Agentia de detective nr. 1, de Alexander McCall Smith (un englez sadea, nascut insa in Africa) a venit taman la fix dupa o consistenta portie de fapte stiintifice. Recunosc, avand in vedere ca stiu ca moneda nationala a Botswanei, unde se petrece actiunea, este un cuvant uzat pana la satietate in limba romana, care incepe cu pu- si se termina cu -la, am fost ispitit sa cred ca voi avea prilejul sa fac asociatii porcoase si sa ma amuz pe cinste.

Socoteala din gand nu se potriveste insa cu cea din carte. O femeie africana, dupa un mariaj esuat lamentabil si dupa moartea scumpului ei tata, isi deschide prima agentie de detectivi particulari din orasul ei. In viata interioara a lui Mma Ramotswe gasim multe: spiritul unei natii, lungul drum spre al sufletului unei femei catre regenerarea puterii de a iubi si mintea unui detectiv care foloseste cu randament maxim bunul simt. N-are parte de cazuri spectaculoase (demascarea unui sot adulter, comportamentul ciudat al unui doctor, urmarirea unei adolescente cu porniri rebele), dar eu nu m-am plictisit niciun moment, ba chiar mi-au intrat cateva chestii in cap.

Dintre ele, cel mai important mi s-a parut a fi acesta: aveti incredere in mintea unei femei care nu este indragostita!

Una recensione proposta da Claudia, libraia della libreria Fairbook di Casalecchio di Reno:

storie che si intrecciano tra un condominio, una galleria d’arte poco frequentata e un bar (ex libreria) rilevato da una barista filosofa, il tutto senza far mancare l’ironia e la delicatezza nel delineare i personaggi tipiche del buon mccall smith; per chi è in cerca di una lettura piacevole e’ il libro giusto!

44 Scotland Street,

Alexander McCall Smith, Guanda

Tante e tutte molto particolari sono le vite che si incrociano al 44 di Scotland Street, Edimburgo. Protagonista e trait d’union è la giovane Rat, al suo secondo anno sabbatico, con le idee un po’ confuse sul futuro, ma un indubbio fiuto per le opere d’arte. Nel suo condominio abitano anche un vanesio perito immobiliare, un bambino prodigio sull’orlo della depressione, una simpatica vedova amante dell’arte e della poesia, un affascinante pittore

Ieri sera, ovvero sabato 24 ottobre, nella terza puntata del talkshow radiofonico “Siamo in onda” trasmesso da PuntoRadio, ho parlato di cioccolato, noir e tanto altro…

Il termine esatto riportato dai dizionari etimologici è cioccolata (al femminile e, quindi) oppure cioccolatte e secondo i linguisti arriverebbe a noi dal ceppo ispanico. La parola, infatti, sembra proprio essere composta da due termini che si sciolgono fra loro (viene indicato davvero così, e questa volta non credo si possa desiderare nulla di più…): il primo è choco (ovvero cacao) il secondo è latul (cioè acqua).

Una curiosità: dal messicano arriva a noi anche il termine xocolatl, parola che sta oggi a indicare anche una bevanda sudamericana a base di mais e, forse, non solo.

Prima di dedicarci ai consueti consigli di lettura noir, una rapida scorsa ai libri più venduti in Italia. La situazione, rispetto a quanto annunciatola scorsa puntata, cambia (e non poco) perché Margaret Mazzantini e il suo”Venuto al mondo” (Mondadori) lasciano il podio. Al terzo posto si colloca”Zia Mame” di Patrick Dennis (Adelphi), al secondo “Il vincitore è solo” di Paulo Coelho (Bompiani) e in vetta spunta l’italiano Antonio Tabucchi con il suo “Il tempo invecchia in fretta” (Feltrinelli).

Una precisazione per chi mi ha contattato via email, ma non solo: queste classifiche sono quelle ufficiali fornite dal servizio Arianna che riassumono tutti i dati degli editori (italiani e non) commercializzati in Italia. La rilevazione viene effettuata su sette giorni (dal lunedì alla domenica inclusa) e i dati vengono resi pubblici ogni settimana con uno scarto di due. Questo spiega perché controllando sul web dopodomani, si potrebbero trovare dei dati diversi da quelli che vi ho elencato adesso.

Qualche consiglio di lettura noir

Amici, amanti, cioccolato (di Alexander McCall Smith)
Isabel si diletta con la filosofia, le belle arti e il teatro. Ed è una detective a tempo perso. Quando incontra l’uomo che avrebbe dovuto sposare sua nipote, cade come una pera di fronte alla sua bellezza e si finisce in una situazione davvero difficile. Ma sono altre le prove che la attendono: in primis, l’incontro con un uomo a cui hanno appena trapiantato il cuore e che le confida di essere tormentato, da quando ha il nuovo organo, da ricordi inspiegabili e non suoi. Isabel, comunque, non si tira indietro e comincia a muoversi in una Edimburgo magica per fare i conti con un’indagine pericolosa. Al solito, emergono la sua umanità e la sua simpatia così come la sua capacità di riflettere sugli ingredienti essenziali della vita: amore, amicizia e tentazioni. A volte sotto forma di cioccolata, ma non sempre. Nell’edizione di Tea ha un prezzo ragionevole,mentre quella di Guanda costa quasi il doppio. A questo punto, con quello che si risparmia, il mio consiglio è di comprarsi qualche ottima tavoletta di cioccolato da sgranocchiare durante la lettura.
Euro 8,60 – Pagg.262 – TEA

Cocaina & cioccolato (di Antonio Menna)
Una prostituta albanese bella e con le idee chiare, un carcere minorile dove entrano senza troppe difficoltà sia droga sia armi, una baby-gang, un obiettore di coscienza assillato dal sesso, una Napoli dove tutto è consentito e niente è certo. In questo romanzo nero e torbido, i protagonisti si perdono e si ritrovano e lo smarrimento è l’unica bussola per orientarsi. Per alcune scene “pulp”, questo libro può ricordare il cinema di “Tarantino”, ma non solo: allo stesso tempo, infatti, alcuni valori e qualche positività si trova e fa piacere che ci sia.
Euro 11,00 – Pagg.135 – Cicorivolta

Chocokiller. Il sapore giallo-noir del cioccolato (di AA.VV.)
E’ un’antologia dedicata al cioccolato, prodotta con ottimo burro di cacao,ma arricchita da una sana dose di cattiveria e mistero. Troviamo la scrittrice Patrizia Pesaresi che scrive di un giallo della Roma napoleonica, ma anche il gagliardo Bruno Gambarotta e il suo commissario Garzullo, impegnati a indagare per far luce sulla morte di un avvocato goloso di gianduiotti. Una curiosità: in questa collana si trovano anche le antologie Pastakiller, Enokiller, Caffèkiller e Porcokiller.
Euro 13,50 – Pagg.272 – Morganti

Per chiudere in bellezza, questa sera vorrei unirmi al coro di auguri a Gianni Rodari, scrittore nato a Omegna (sul lago d’Orta) e cresciuto a Gavirate (sul lago di Varese). Tradotto in quasi tutte le lingue del mondo, ieri ha compiuto 89 anni l’anno prossimo (a 90 dalla nascita e 30 dalla morte) speriamo che qualcuno faccia qualcosa di bello per ricordarlo come si deve.

Senza polemica (o forse sì, n.d.r.) mi riferisco, ad esempio, al varesino “Premio Chiara” che in questa edizione 2009 ha scordato John Fante ed Edgar Allan Poe per i loro 100 e 200 anni esatti dalla nascita.

Den här veckan frågar Lyran efter böcker med omslag som på något vis berört oss, för att de är vackra, fula eller beskriver bokens innehåll väl.

Här är mina tre val:

1 “Krig och fred” av Leo Tolstoj, den nyaste utgåvan av Bonniers. Jag älskar det här omslaget för dess stilfulla elegans och lek mellan blå och röda toner, och med guldtext.  Den tvådelade bilden påminner mig lite om en filmaffisch, men med vackrare bilder. Och, ja, jag tycker bilden fångar den klassiska bokens innehåll väl med den vackra salongen upptill och slagfältsbilden nertill. Det här är faktiskt det allra vackraste omslaget i min bokhylla, om jag får säga det själv!

2. “Damernas detektivbyrå” av Alexander McCall Smith. Jag blir på rysligt glatt humör när jag ser det här färgglada, och enligt mig mycket estetiskt tilltalande omslaget. Det speglar den varma afrikanska stämningen i boken hur bra som helst. Också ett av mina favoritomslag i hyllan.

3. “Gösta Berlings saga” av Selma Lagerlöf. Egentligen beskriver inte det här omslaget bokens innehåll särskilt bra, men jag älskar det i alla fall, för dess estetiska och eleganta “gammaldagsmoderna” komposition. Det ser ut lite som ett snyggt tyg eller pärm till en dyrare skrivbok. Jag bara älskar mönstret, och när jag tänker efter fångar det nog lite av en sorts “Selma – anda”.

Now you may remember the other week I mentioned that I was going to have one of my book sort outs and I did. I actually, and it amazed me and everyone who knows me, managed to donate a quite impressive 76 book to charity! So now the books I have had for well over a year and just dont really think I will read have all gone to lovely new homes and will be raising some money for charity. I thought the process would be painful and though in parts it was tough it has also left me feeling much better with a slightly less bookish weight on my shoulders.

Not only was I wanting to sort out what I was going to pass on, I was also looking at what I was keeping and rearranging my priorities in terms of reading. One of which was to hunt down all of the books that I as yet have not read and I thought fell into the ‘Modern Sensation’ catagory for my Sensation Season. I found I had quite a few some of which you had recommended to me.

• The Widow’s Secret – Brian Thompson
• The Journal of Dora Damage – Belinda Starling
• The Tiger in the Well – Philip Pullman
• Kept – D.J Taylor
• Misfortune – Wesley Stace
• Classic Victorian Ghost Stories – Various
• The Evil Seed – Joanna Harris
• Martha Peake – Patrick McGrath
• The Girl on the Landing – Paul Torday
• The Mist in the Mirror – Susan Hill
• Portrait of a Killer – Patricia Cornwell
• Ghost Stories – M.R. James
• The Apple – Michael Faber
• Underground London – Stephen Smith
• The Magician – W. Somerset Maugham
• Fixing Shadows – Susan Barrett
• Fingersmith – Sarah Waters
• Silent in the Grave – Deanna Raybourn
• The Meaning of Night – Michael Cox
• The Glass of Time – Michael Cox
• Instruments of Darkness – Michael Cox

Phew there was quite a few. I should maybe mention that some of these books arent technically ‘Modern Sensation’ reads but are either set in that period or in the case of a few of them are non-fiction which will set the atmosphere even more so for me. I think I may get so lost in the 1880’s I may never return, I am loving it though. So which ones of thses have you delved into? Am I still missing any?

Of course the sort out was now about two weeks ago. I did impose a ban on book buying on myself. I must mention before I go further that I could happily have taen all 76 books and bought another 76 from my favourite charity shop however both times I went they were closed for lunch though let me in to drop my bags off (it took three trips in one weekend) and so I couldnt buy anymore. I have since though somewhat fallen off the wagon, though not as badly as I could have and now, and this is very true, I only buy books if I have a very valid reason. Such as…

• Twilight – William Gay (because have a) been meaning to read it for ages and b) it fits into the Modern Sensation reads perfectly what with grave robbing and swapping, mayhem and mystery)
• Miss Garnet’s Angel – Salley Vickers (a favourite of Kimbofo’s and an author I have been meaning to read, I have just swapped to reading this instead of Cover Her Face which I started and know I will love but not just now, if I love this will be kicking myself I missed her at Wimbledon Bookfest)
• Water for Elephants – Sara Gruen (a book I kept seeing everywhere in Tel Aviv for some random reason and then Jackie recommended it and so thought why not?)
• The Other Side of You – Salley Vickers (for the same reason as Miss Garnett’s Angel)
• Marley & Me – John Grogan (have always secretly wanted to read it and thought it was possibly trash, but so many of you recommended it after my sad reads post I had to get it)
• The Unbearable Lightness of Scones – Alexander McCall Smith (I am very, very keen to read all of his work and though this is in the Scotland Street series I struggled with am hoping this gives me the umph to read more of that series)
• Three Cups of Tea – Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Pelin (simply because Amazon has been recommending this as my top recommendation for three months – have they got me spot on?)
• The Lost Book of Salem – Katherine Howe (a rash buy I wont deny but one about Salem and the witches, I think I will love this)
• The Beacon – Susan Hill (a favourite author and a book I have been meaning to get for ages and ages and then got from £10 to £2 bargain, I will be buying her new book instantly full price just so you know)
• White Is For Witching - Helen Oyeyemi (have wanted it since it came out and an author have been meaning to read, matches the Sensation Season just and was in a half price charity shop that called me the other day… was the only book I bought in that shop and on that day… I was impressed)

So thats the latest books. Which of these have you read and which ones would you like to give a whirl? Do you like posts where readers share there latest hauls of books? I know I love reading them, its a mixture of book addict, desiring recommendations, sharing thoughts and just being a plain nosey parker! If you do like these posts you may want to pop here as this is the secret stash I bought over a week or so (and have even had to hide the post) leading up to the great autum arranging and modern sensation hunt! Can’t wait for all your thoughts on these and my modern sensation reading.

Alexander McCall Smith

Agentia de detective nr.1

Cartea prezinta viata lui Precious Ramotswe, prima femeie care a deschis o agentie de detectivi in Botswana.

“Cine sunt eu? Sunt Precious Ramotswe, cetatean al Botswanei, fiica lui Obed Ramotswe, care a murit pentru ca a fost miner si n-am mai putut sa repire. Viata lui n-a fost consemnata nicaieir, cine-ar sta sa consemneze vietile oamenilor de rand?”

De tanara, se casatorise de un trompetist. Nu vrusese nici sa fie cu el in prima noapte in care se cunoscusera, nici sa se marite cu el, dar cand el luase toate deciziile astea, ea nu putusese pur si simplu sa spuna nu. Ulterior, in urma batailor primite de la sot, va pierde un copil.

“Nu uitam niciodata nimic. Capatele noastre sunt tot atat de pline de amintiri cum e cerul, cateodata, plin de roiuri de albine, mii si mii de amintiri, despre mirosuri, lucuri, lucruri marunte care ni s-au intamplat si care ne revin in memorie pe neasteptate, ca sa ne reaminteasca cine suntem.”

De-alungul cartii, ea rezolva cu intelepciunea si spiritul ei de observatie multe cazuri si va salva copii rapiti de vraci care foloseau oasele si organele lor pentru vraji.

In toate peripetiile ei, are ajutorul unui prieten drag, mecanic auto.

“Se uita in intuneric la ea, la femeia aceasta care insemna totul pentru el – mama, Africa, intelepciune, intelegere, mancaruri gustoase, dovleci, pui, mirosul dulceag al rasuflarii vitelor, cerul albastru de deasupra savanei nesfarsite si grirafa care plangea, daruindu-si lacrimile femeilor, sa si le intinda pe cosurile lor.”

Now this blog post has been hidden away because I am ashamed of the amount of books that had been bought since I last told you I had got quite an excessive amount and before I did the great Autumn Clearout. You will probably be aware of this as I have sent you here from another more recent post and will have explained there. So what on earth have I recently bought and brought into Savidge Towers to add to the never ending supply of books? Well…

• Diary of a Provincial Lady – E.M Delafield (I blame Elaine for this purchase completely after she raved about it)
• Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day – Winifred Watson (which I was awarded from Paperback Reader)
• Shalimar the Clown – Salman Rushdie
• Dear Everybody – Michael Kimball (Lizzy this one is your fault for making me buy)
• The American Way of Death Revisited – Jessica Mitford
• Diary of an Ordinary Woman – Margaret Forster
• English Passengers – Matthew Kneale (I blame my Gran for this one)
• The Far Cry – Emma Smith
• The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas (Jackie this one is all down to you and you are to blame)
• Vanishing Point – Patricia Wentworth
• At Risk – Patricia Cornwell (free from the office)
• Nightingale Wood – Stella Gibbons
• The Widow and Her Hero – Thomas Keneally (Juxtabook this one is all your fault)
• Foreign Affairs – Alison Lurie
• The Colour – Rose Tremain
• The 2.5 Pillars of Wisdom – Alexander McCall Smith
• Moral Disorder – Margaret Atwood
• The Robber Bride – Margaret Atwood (a book I lent and never got back)

You can also see I have passed on blame to those who deserve it and thanks to those who sent me books etc. And if that wasnt enough there is also…

• Equator – Miguel Sousa Tavares (from Bloomsbury)
• Pretty Monsters – Kelly Link (from Canongate and Kimbofo has raved about)
• The People’s Train – Thomas Keneally (from the people at Sceptre)
• Sunset Oasis – Bahaa Taher (from Sceptre)
• Serena - Ron Rash (from Canongate)
• The Death of Bunny Munro – Nick Cave (from Canongate also raved about by Kimbofo)
• Falling Slowly – Anita Brookner
• The Beckoning Lady – Margery Allingham
• The Bay of Angels – Anita Brookner
• From Doon With Death – Ruth Rendell (her first as must read in order)
• Late Comers – Anita Brookner
• The Life of Charlotte Bronte – Elizabeth Gaskell

I can’t justify it and I shan’t it just is what it is ha! At least I didnt buy all of them and I do blame some of you out there fully for some of the oens I did buy!  Which of these delights have you read or have been meaning to read?

Click below to get up to 50% off of New York Times Best Selling books at  Buy.com. SHOP NOW! Offer Expires 12/31/09!

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Including, but not limited to:

New York Times Best Sellers (Hard Cover Fiction) – October 11, 2009.

		1. The Lost Symbol Dan Brown
		2. An Echo in the Bone Diana Gabaldon
		3. The Last Song Nicholas Sparks
		4. The Help Kathryn Stockett
		5. Hothouse Orchid Stuart Woods
		6. South Of Broad Pat Conroy
		7. Alex Cross’s Trial James/ Dilallo Patterson
		8. The Year of the Flood Margaret Eleanor Atwood
		9. Hardball Sara Paretsky
		10. Spartan Gold Clive/ Blackwood Cussler
		11. A Change In Altitude Anita Shreve
		12. Dead and Gone Charlaine Harris
		13. The Lost Art of Gratitude Alexander McCall Smith
		14. The Girl Who Played With Fire Stieg/ Keeland Larsson
		15. Mama Dearest E. Lynn Harris

Positives

• Yoga, SculptWorks & Pilates – the holy exercise triumvirate
• Don Draper’s his ability to compartmentalize
• Pumpkin spiced loaf with chocolate chips – delish!
• Hoping with Alex out of the way part of the week I’ll be able to not only catch-up but also get ahead with my school work
• Alexander McCall Smith & the latest installment of The Sunday Philosophy club series. Love that Isabel is a cougar

Negatives

• Duck & Peggy – eew!
• Atlanta
• Dreamt that I left my laptop outside and it rained
• Feeling like I am getting behind in my school work even though school hasn’t even started officially
• This is TMI but I feel like I am menstruating on behalf off all women in my zip code. Seriously, my first period post m/c is brutal
• Nights are closing in
• As much as I love that Linda Hunt is on prime time TV I just can’t bring myself to watch NCIS: Los Angeles

Let’s take a trip…

London’s Times has picked the top 50 paperbacks of 2009 as part of The Time’s WHSmith Paperback of the Year. (Apparently this is the only prize given to paperbacks in the UK). The judges have also picked a short list of 12 out of those 50 and will be counting down 12 weeks to the winner on Dec 12th.

I will admit – I have not read one book on the list. Now, in my defense my year has been extremely busy. And hey, one title has been on my “To Read” list.

One title in particular stood out – Stephanie Meyer’s The Host. Well, based on the Twilight series I didn’t understand this choice. And the description beside the title – “…a love triangle wit only two bodies.” Needless to say I had to read an excerpt and did on Stephanie Meyer’s site. Okay – at least the first 18 pages are written better than Twilight.

Back to my main point – how are these things chosen? Based on writing, popularity, copies sold? I’ve searched and haven’t yet found the answer. The judges include American author and critic (living in the UK) Erica Wagner, bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith (who has a really ugly website) and WHSmith bookbuyer Sandra Bradley.

Well, I won’t make you wait any longer. Here’s the list of 50, how many have you read? And if you want to read the whole article – they do give a fun, brief rundown of how paperbacks came to be – thanks to Penguin and Woolworth’s for making them big.

THE LONG LIST 50

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale: Reinvestigation of a killing in an isolated Wiltshire house that became the prototype for the Victorian murder mystery.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga: Adiga’s first novel and Man Booker winner is a highly original story about the lengths to which Balram Halwai (the White Tiger) must go to break free of his caste.

Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama

Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier

Churchill’s Wizards by Nicholas Rankin: Along with cigars and rallying speeches, Churchill liked deception. Rankin reveals the ingenuity of the men and women who fought Winnie’s secret war.

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

Bones of the Hills by Conn Iggulden

The Palace of Strange Girls by Sallie Day: In 1959, the burgeoning freedom of the Sixties forces a crisis at the heart of the superficially stable Singleton family on their annual trip to Blackpool.

Mystery Man by Colin Bateman

The Girl Next Door by Elizabeth Noble

The Other Half Lives by Sophie Hannah: Aidan Seed, a picture-framer, confesses to his girlfriend, Ruth, that he killed a woman called Mary Trelease. But Ruth knows her and that she’s still alive.

The Return by Victoria Hislop: Sonia, a PR exec, flees her banker husband to dance flamenco in Granada. But the Spanish Civil War’s turbulent legacy permeates her experience.

The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver: The retired criminalist and quadriplegic Lincoln Rhyme teams up with his paramour Amelia Sachs to trace “Unknown Subject 522”, the identity-stealing villain.

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

The Reapers by John Connolly

A Most Wanted Man by John le Carré

The Unicorn Road by Martin Davies

Remember Me by Melvyn Bragg: The estrangement of two young lovers has a tragic ending in Swinging Sixties London. The fourth in a series of Bragg’s autobiographical novels.

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

Testimony by Anita Shreve: A videotape of three boys and an under-age girl performing sex acts is found at a New England boarding school. It sparks a disproportionately damaging scandal.

The Bolter by Frances Osborne

In the Dark by Mark Billingham

The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams: A reunion between a solitary moth expert and her sister in their creepy childhood home masterfully reveals the rivalry and strange secrets that bind them.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer: Meyer’s first novel for adults is set in a future in which humans have been body-snatched by mind-controlling aliens. It involves a love triangle with only two bodies.

Full Hearts and Empty Bellies by Winifred Foley

The Paper Moon by Andrea Camilleri

Revelation by C. J. Sansom: While Henry VIII is pursuing Catherine Parr, Matthew Shardlake, a hunchback lawyer, is on the trail of a serial killer who is a religious fanatic.

The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent

The Way Things Look to Me by Roopa Farooki

An Equal Stillness by Francesca Kay: Rivalry between painters Jennett Mallow and David Heaton results in a competitive marriage. But drink dilutes his flair and lets her slow-burning talent eclipse his fame.

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

Doors Open by Ian Rankin

Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly: When a Hollywood lawyer is murdered, Mickey Haller inherits his case. Enter detective Harry Bosch, hell-bent on trapping the killer and keen to use Haller as bait.

A Simple Act of Violence by R. J. Ellory

A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid: An ambitious young Muslim leaves Pakistan to go to Princeton, where he wins a prestigious Wall Street job. But 9/11 changes his fortunes.

Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks: The Bond torch has passed to Faulks for the latest instalment of 007, picking up where Ian Fleming left off in 1966 with Octopussy and The Living Daylights.

The Believers by Zoë Heller

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Fractured by Karin Slaughter: An Atlanta housewife discovers her teenage daughter dead on the landing, with a stranger wielding a bloody knife. Special Agent Will Trent has his work cut out.

Becoming Queen by Kate Williams

Dambusters by Max Arthur: Fascinating oral history from the men in 617 Squadron whose key Second World War mission, Operation Chastise, was to destroy Ruhr dams.

The Murder Exchange by Simon Kernick

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith: Stalin’s Government won’t admit that crime exists in communist Russia. Exiled war hero Leo Demidov becomes an enemy of the state for hunting down a child serial killer.

When Will There be Good News? by Kate Atkinson

Keeping the Dead by Tess Gerritsen: A killer with a knack for ancient mummifying death rituals is leaving a trail of victims. The race is on to prevent him adding to his grisly collection.

I was delightfully recently asked to take part in the ‘online blogger book group’ for the new Alexander McCall Series (and sequel to Corduroy Mansions) in The Telegraph. Now you all know me well enough by now that I cant read a series of books a few along. I have to start with the first one. This is being delivered in the post by the lovely people who asked me to join but I needed to be up to date before Monday and so I couldn’t wait. What emerged was a slightly crazy charity shop dash (which involved buying some books that weren’t Corduroy Mansions) through South West London, people doubted I could get such a new book at a bargain price but I did! The only problem was that in said shop this was t he window display, I think its best I don’t mention what else I walked out with…

So was all the chaos worth it? Would the book be any good, if not would I be able to cope with following the new series ‘The Dog Who Came in From the Cold’? Also bare in mind that I had already tried McCall’s ‘Scotland Street’ series and wasn’t too sure about it even though I loved the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series and still do, which category would this one fall into?

Corduroy Mansions is the tale of the inhabitants of…well Corduroy Mansions, and those they interact with outside of the building they reside. William lives at the top of the building with his son Eddie, though he wants Eddie out going as far as getting a vegetarian cat loving dog (the wonderful Freddie de la Hay) and then moving in the besotted Marcia as a flatmate, perfect situation for some wonderful comedy. One the floor below lives a group of flat sharing girls. Jo an Aussie fresh to the UK but loving it and possibly one of her housemates, Dee who works in vitamins and pharmaceuticals and wants to give her assistant a colonic, Caroline an Art Student who once featured in Rural Life Magazine and is now sort of infatuated with James who is worried he might be straight and the bookish Jenny who works for the odious Oedipus Snark (brilliant name) the nastiest Liberal Democrat MP you could ever wish to meet.

Not only do we get to follow these colourful characters lives we also get to meet and in some cases follow the people that they have in their lives such as Oedipus through whom we also get to follow his mother Berthea, who is writing her sons biography, and her wonderful ‘spiritual’ brother Terence Moongrove. There is also Oedipus’s long suffering girlfriend Barbara Ragg who runs a publishing company and is about to have quite a change in life. These characters are also wonderful and make you want to read more; it’s almost like wonderful character overload.

Now if you are wondering why I haven’t mentioned plot… well there isn’t a huge plot to it. It’s much more subtle than that. There are small storylines for all the characters as McCall Smith himself puts it “these stories are character-based: what interests me is what makes the characters tick rather than intricate and potentially confusing plots” and with this many characters it could get confusing but it never does. I really, really enjoyed this book and would recommend it for anyone who loved Armistead Maupin’s ‘Tales of the City’ series though it’s somewhat gentler, though there is more adult humour in this one than in 44 Scotland Street as I recall it. I would also recommend it for anyone who likes a good old nosey peep into normal characters lives, their little quirks and how they all interact. Delightful reading!

Has anyone else read this? Is anyone a fan of McCall Smith? If not could you be converted by this book? Can anyone recommend why I should try and read more of the Scotland Street series, should I start again? Are you following the new series? Does serialization work for you?

Ever since the end of Corduroy Mansions I’ve been waiting for the inevitable sequel. Luckily the irrepressible inhabitants are back in Alexander McCall Smith’s new online novel The Dog Who Came in from the Cold.

As before new chapters are added daily to the Telegraph website, with the first appearing yesterday morning. Last time around it was a gave me something to look forward to every lunch break, with weekends feeling just a little empty. I’m guessing the habit will quickly resume!

On a related note, a while ago my aunt won a little journal from AMS’s newsletter and gave it to me as a gift. The top of each page features cover and quote from one of his books. I’m almost tempted not to write in it at all.

Just a very quick reminder that the new sequel to ‘Corduroy Mansions’ Alexander McCall Smith series starts today. You can read the first chapter of the book right here.

I won’t be reading it today,even though I was lucky enough to get this weeks advance chapters, but will be properly from tomorrow (I have to be honest about these things).

I have very fortunately managed to get my mitts on a copy of the first series which I am devouring and will easily finish on the tube back home tonight, I know we are getting sent one but by now you guys know me and I have to read things in the right order. It also means will be able to give one copy away in the not too distant future.  Plus . Anyway a small reminder today for you.

There will be another “non McCall Smith related” post later today that includes a give away so do make sure you pop back then!!!