From My Bookshelf....by Lynn Willoughby

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Minding Frankie - Maeve Binchy
"It takes a village to raise a child." This adage is the basis of Binchy's latest novel.

Noel is a single parent, and when he arrives home with newborn Frankie, the residents of Jarlath's Court are there to help him. In this microcosm of Ireland, the neighbours, with all their eccentricities, foibles and flaws, assist however they can.

It is this whole cast of characters and their social interactions, which keeps this book moving. People, restaurants and locales from previous novels pop up from time to time, but I enjoy that continuity and if you have never read any previous novels it will not detract from this one. These are ordinary people, in everyday circumstances, doing the best they can.

Binchy usually ends a novel with all the stories neatly tied and this is no exception. However, some are more successful than others, as life does tend to get in the way of the very best intentions.

This is a light summer read - a book you can pick up, put down, get sand in the pages and still enjoy.
- Quentins
- Scarlet Feather
…..and many others

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
This prolific writer is a professor emeritus of Medical Law at the U of Edinburgh and has written not one, but four successful series of novels, as well as several children's books, TV, radio and internet series.

The No. 1 Ladies series was absolutely charming. My daughter introduced me to these books, then I passed them on to my mother. As the series progressed with them, we three generations progressed with them, and all of us were delighted with each new book, and with Mme Precious Ramotswe, her friends and family.

Located in Gabrone, the capital of Botswana, each book deals with a few set characters and also the people in the cases ‘investigated’. Precious observes, deduces, sets traps with great patience, drinks endless cups of Red Bush tea and wisely interprets the clues to solve each mystery.

The language, the locale and the characterization are stunning. There is a series of eleven books in all, plus Mme Ramotser's Cookbook, published in 2009. The series has been televised, broadcast on radio and is available on CD. How often can three generations of women enjoy the same books?

The series by McCall Smith I am reading now is "The Sunday Philosophy Club", and there are six books.

These stories centre around Isabel Dalhousie, a Scottish editor of an ethics magazine - The Review of Applied Ethics. The Edmonton Journal says "For those who like their mysteries leisurely and cerebral, this is a lovely offering,"

I was reading my current choice "The Careful Use of Compliments" while waiting at the doctor's office and he had read some and we had a wonderful discussion of ethics. The glimpses we get of Edinburgh and the surrounding countryside, make me want to visit.

Like The No. 1 Ladies  - there is a gentle wit and exploration of humankind and our foibles. If you are looking for some summer reading these are fairly short, easy to read and just delightful.

McCall Smith also has the "44 Scotland Street" series - five in all, that I have not yet sampled. Also, "2½ Pillars of Wisdom" which is on my summer reading list. His books are a great change of pace from the intense reading I love, but can also get caught up in.

Who Knew?
"A life without stories would be no life at all. And stories bound us, did they not, one to another, the living to the dead, people to animals, people to the land." ~ Alexander McCall Smith, "In the Company of Cheerful Ladies".