A library bargain

I went to the library today to return a book, I had promised myself not to borrow more than one book (after my well thought out strategy of returning one book and lending one new). I return home with three borrowed books plus four I bought from the for sale shelf, to my defence I will say that you can't say no when you get four books for only a Pound. I am not very often at this library and every time I go, there's something new at the for sale shelf that looks interesting.

These were the books I bought this time:

Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow - an author that becomes a bigger favourite the more I read of him.

Marshmallows for breakfast by Dorothy Koomson - I read The Ice Cream Girls and has been looking forwards to read more from her.

The Forgotten Affairs of Youth by Alexander McCall-Smith - The latest in the series about Isabelle Dalhousie.

A Short history of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka - the fourth book and the best of what was left on the shelf.

Josefine

A lovely reunion

To read Alexander McCall-Smith's books on Isabelle Dalhousie always feels like coming home to a dear old auntie. The Lost Art of Gratitude was no exception.
The Sunday Philosophy Club is definitely the best of McCall-Smith's series. Every book is a small philosophical wonder in itself, a philosophic bubble with Isabelle in the middle.
Josefine

Title: The Lost Art of Gratitude Auhtor: Alexander McCall-Smith ISBN: 978-0-349-12054-6

A myth revisited

Binu and the Great Wall by Su Tong is part of the Myth Series. Previously I have read Alexander McCall-Smith's take on Scottish myth of Dream Angus. It's an interesting concept taking old myths and re-energise them, taking traditional storytelling taking to a new level.

In short, Binu and the Great Wall is the story of Binu travelling across China to the Great Wall to give her husband a winter coat where he was conscripted by the King to work on the wall. However, the story behind the story is about sadness and greed that Binu meets on her travels, at the heart she is a traditionalists believing in the good of people but her heart is shattered again and again by the people she meet on the way.
Josefine

Title: Binu and the Great Wall Author: Su Tong ISBN: 978-1-84195-904-7

Amateur orchestra saves the world

La's orchestra saves the world is a different book coming from Alexander McCall-Smith, in so many ways it is more serious than his previous books I have read. It's set during the Second World War in England in Southern England countryside in a small village next door to a RAF airbase. La (or Lavender which is her full name) has moved there from London after her husband first abandoned her and then suddenly passed away. She is doing her lot for the war, working on a farm, taking care of the hens, befriending a military man, when the idea for an orchestra is born.
Despite the title, as often is with McCall-Smith's books, the orchestra is not the dominating feature in the book, rather it is a book about the war and the effect it had on people in all walks of life, even a sleepy village in the back country of England.
Well written as many other of McCall-Smith's books are, I am hoping for a second book.
Josefine

Title: La's orchestra saves the world Author: Alexander McCall-Smith ISBN: 978-0-349-12205-2

The remarkable Alexander McCall-Smith

From a detective agency in Africa, to Edinburgh Scotland and some academic Germany in between you can follow Alexander McCall-Smith’s characters. His No. 1 Ladies' detective agency series is a success. I even heard that they are making it into a movie, which I think will please many. But that is not the end, McCall-Smith also ventures in to the philosophy of living in Edinburgh and the life of a German professor who seems to be a bit out of the ordinary and now the latest addition, they story that started as a series in a newspaper about the house on 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh.

McCall-Smith has a humour and a way of writing that fits the most. I haven’t met anyone yet who has not liked him, if you don’t like one of the series, they are different enough for you to try another. I wasn’t too impressed with the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, but I love the Sunday Philosophy Club and the new series 44 Scotland Street.
What I like the most about McCall-Smith is his style of writing, like he is sitting in a pub telling us a story. It seems like the story poured on to the paper. His characters aren’t described in to their smallest details and there are plenty of room for my own imagination. Take the example of Doktor von Igelfeldt. He is just like you would picture a German professor who has spent way too much time in the academic world. His arrogance makes me sometimes laugh and sometimes shake my head in disbelief. His description of Isabel Dalhousie’s life and the life at 44 Scotland Street makes me want to visit Edinburgh right now.
I can only wish for what comes next from the genius McCall-Smith.
Josefine

My recommendations: Portuguese Irregular Verb by Alexander McCall-Smith

Hooked on ONE author

I often get hooked on one writer. I read one of their books, love it and I just HAVE to read everything else they’ve ever written. So, off I go to the library, check out the book and sit down in my favourite chair to be entertained. However, entertained isn’t always the case. Often when I read an author’s different books to close to each other, I get disappointed. It is probably not the book in itself; it is just me being tired of their way of writing. My solution: a system, where I write down all the books and authors I want to read, and save them for later. The list is long of writers and books I want to read, some of them are Alexander McCall-Smith, Stephen King, Philippa Gregory, Antony Beevor and the list goes on….
The Swedish author Kajsa Ingemarsson is one of the many writers I have on my list. After reading one of her books, I wanted to throw myself into all her other books, But I stopped myself and waited. It took me a couple of months before I picked up her next book and it was as good as the first one. Now I have to wait another couple of weeks (at least) before I pick up her third book.

To read one writer or one genre is good in a way, you feel safe and know what you get. But there is also the feeling of reading the same book over and over again. I think it is important to every now and then, take a chance and throw yourself into the unknown. Pick up an author or genre you haven’t read before. (I know I have used those same words, not long ago, but I really believe it) Explore the unknown, or simply do like my sister, join a book club and see what new books they will send you each month.
Josefine

My recommendations: Small yellow lemons by Kajsa Ingemarsson