Just Can't Get Enough

I have been devouring books lately. (At least they are low calorie...never mind the chocolate covered caramels that accompany the books so well.) I've always liked to read. My mother read to us as kids all the time, and I get super excited when I see a book I remember from childhood. I have collected way too many kids' books, half of which I had to put in a bin 'cause there just wasn't room on the shelves. I tried to, with my kids, scale down our library but for every book that one of us wasn't keen on keeping, there was another who couldn't bare to part with it.

As a teen and an adult I've always read fairly regularly, but now I'm on some sort of kick where I just can't get enough. My most recent fascination has been with The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. I finished all 9 books too quickly and am anxiously awaiting the publication of the 10th! I highly recommend these books!

Here's the story... Using the inheritance (a fine herd of cattle) left her when her father dies, Precious Ramotswe sets up a one of a kind detective agency in Botswana, Africa. There are many ups and downs and twists and turns as she helps her clients solve some of life's problems. These mini-mysteries carry you through the book and are resolved by the end. But along the way is a compassionate look at the simple life with lots of tidbits of wisdom scattered here and there. For instance, "one should not look uninvited at the papers of another, even if they have been discarded." That just cracked me up. And there's lots of serious advise too: "If only people would say sorry sooner rather than later...much discord and unhappiness could be avoided."



The characters become real, each with their own lovable quirks. From Mma Makutsi weakness for shoes, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni's soft heart that can't say no, and Charlie's preoccupation with girls- it's a case of "you gotta love 'em" just as they are. And the main character, Mma Ramotswe, is a woman that has it together. She is smart and she is kind. She makes no apologies for her body of "traditional build." In fact, she doesn't see the point in showing off our skeletons as everyone knows they are already there. (I can relate- though I'm not sure that my frame is "traditional" in our country.)

Anyway, I think most will enjoy the straight forward and lighthearted writing style of this often humorous collection. It's a candid looks on the human heart and hooks the reader with a smattering of suspense.

So, here I am, book hungry and wondering where I can find a book club or if I should start a book club blog or what I can do to get my book fix and I stumble across an awesome site that I think is just what I've been looking for- GoodReads. You can keep track of what you've read and what you want to read while getting recommendations from others. If you are already on this site or if you join, drop me a line so we can be "friends."

I'm looking forward to finding out what your favorites are and am making my list for my next trip to see my new best friend- the library.