Moving through my bookshelves to decide what to read next in my 60 Book List is a lot like trolling through the line of a sumptuous buffet -- hard to make a decision but then, no matter what I choose, it's bound to be good.
Like most fans of Alexander McCall Smith, I got to know this Scotsman's work through The Number One Ladies Detective Agency. I like those books but when I discovered the 44 Scotland Street series, I was deeply hooked.
This particular book--Lovers, Friends, Chocolate--is in a new (to me) series of mysteries starring a woman named Isabel Dalhousie. (Is that pronounced Dal-hoozie or Dal-howzie?) I started snacking on it last night and found it to be just as delectable as McCall Smith's other work -- wry, a bit sly in spots, intelligent, philosophical and full of people I'd love to share a cup of tea with.
I find that as I ripen with age, my taste in books -- particularly in novels -- has changed quite a bit. I won't read scary stuff any more (Rosemary's Baby, Vanishing Act, everything by Stephen King except his book on writing--which is excellent) nor will I take on books where the driving narrative is full of graphic descriptions of the horrors that humans visit on one another (everything by James Patterson or mysteries like The Bone Collector).
In fact, I think that way too much of contemporary popular fiction is downright boring because it's all plot, plot, plot or ripped from the headlines garbage (Jodi Picoult?) that makes me yawn.
To me, these are the sorts of books that should go direct to an electronic device so that no trees need die to bring them to readers who think they want them.
If I'm going to invest time (how long does it take to read the average novel?) in reading, I want something well written by an author with a genuine interest in character who has interesting research to share or a fresh take on life in addition to telling a good story. It's the reason why I return again and again to authors like Jane Austen and Edith Wharton and E.M. Forster and Mark Twain.
People in novels, like people in life, take time to develop and savor. In way too much of today's fiction, it's all a big rush from page one to page last with not a whole said in between. Boring.
That's why I enjoy Alexander McCall Smith's books so much. He's a tour guide who wants to make sure that you notice all the details along the way because they make the whole.
That's why I enjoy Alexander McCall Smith's books so much. He's a tour guide who wants to make sure that you notice all the details along the way because they make the whole.
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