I refuse to apologize for completely loving this series. Pure, delightful, light-hearted fun. This one does have some serious subjects to it, but what I enjoy most about this series is that everything always turns out okay in the end. With all the heavy reading I do, it’s nice to be able to ‘take a breather’ with the characters of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.
InMorality for Beautiful Girls, the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency faces a bit of a money crunch and considers relocating to J.L.B. Matekoni’s garage. Meanwhile, some creative double duty assignments are also given to Mma Makutsi. Precious Ramotswe takes on a case of an important government official who believes his brother is being poisoned, and Mma Makutsi does an investigation for a beauty pageant official. I found this latter case to be absolutely hysterical. It actually bumped up the rating from a 4 to a 4.5.
I listened to this installment on audio CD and loved the narrator, Lisette Lecat, who was also the narrator for Purple Hibiscus. I plan on reading and/or listening to the entire series this year and am absolutely looking forward to it.
Thanks to all of you who are participating in Books for the Heart!! At last count, there were 16 people reading books for this event. There is still time to join for anyone who is interested in this fundraiser for The American Heart Association (or your own nation’s heart organization). Just click on the icon for more info and comment or use Mr. Linky to sign up.
I’ve read these books so far:
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
The Reader by Bernard Schlink
Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
I planned on donating $2 for every participant and $5 for every book I read up to a maximum of $100. My money will go to the association in memory of my dad. So I’m up to $52 so far. You choose how you’ll donate!
I will set up a Mr. Linky on February 14th for you to link to your wrap-up post. If you don’t have a blog, please use the comments to tell us how you did. I’ll look forward to your posts!
I liked The Reader more than I thought I would considering one of the themes. I didn’t know about the p*doph*lia aspect of it until the movie came out. I’ve wanted to read this book for awhile because it’s German, and I’ve also looked forward to the movie because I love Kate Winslet. I saw an online interview with Winslet in which she questioned whether or not the age of 15 was really still p*doph*lia. And while I agree that the age of 10 is in a different category than the age of 15 when it comes to s*x*ality, I still believe what Hanna did with Michael was wrong, and I believe that both the author and the narrator of the book do as well.
Of course, Hanna’s wrongs and shortcomings go far beyond her relationship with Michael, and those themes are of extreme interest as well. This would be a great discussion book, and I can definitely see why it would be great for book clubs. Have you seen the movie? If so, what did you think?
1995, 1997 for the English translation; 224 pages
4/5
“The place I like best in this world is the kitchen.”
I didn’t quite get to Kitchen for the Japanese Challenge, but I’m still glad I read it shortly afterwards. I liked the book, but I didn’t love it.
Food and kitchens play a central role int he book, but it’s essentially about two people finding their way through the grief process. Mikage has recently lost her grandmother, whom she lived with, and her friend Yoichi and his mother Eriko take her in. Yoichi ends up losing someone close to him as well, and the bond between the two of them becomes even closer.
Note: This book has been added as one of the new titles in the latest edition of the 1001 list.
1988, 1993 for the English translation;105 pp. 4/5
I listened to Life As We Knew It on audio cd with my 15 year old son. He wasn’t impressed with Miranda’s cutesy character at first, but I told him to hang in there, and he ended up being glad he did. We plan on listening to Pfeffer’s The Dead and the Gone if it comes out on audio at our library.
In the story, an asteroid has struck the moon with catastrophic consequences for Earth. Tsunamis, floods, volcanoes, and electrical and food shortages ensue. The book sort of reminded me of a teen version of The Road. Miranda struggles along with her mother and brothers just to survive. She also struggles with the typical teenage problems of today. It made for a few good discussions with my son.
He and I are looking forward to the ‘boy version’ of events in The Dead and the Gone. The second book is also in a different setting (New York vs. rural Pennsylvania), so that element should be interesting as well.
Just a little reminder that I’m hosting a fundraiser for the American Heart Association (or your own country’s heart association) during the first two weeks of February. You can sign up and/or find out more info by clicking on the icon to the right.
You decide how much to give and you give the money yourself. I’d love for us to raise a lot of money for this great cause, so please consider participating!
"Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." (John 6:27, ESV)
I refuse to apologize for completely loving this series. Pure, delightful, light-hearted fun. This one does have some serious subjects to it, but what I enjoy most about this series is that everything always turns out okay in the end. With all the heavy reading I do, it’s nice to be able to ‘take a breather’ with the characters of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.
