The Kalahari Typing School for Men

Alexander McCall Smith has written another delightful book in the series, “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.”  Though I had seen the TV series based on these books, I had never read any of them.  The rather formal, contraction-less writing appeals to me and evokes a certain accent which seems familiar to me (I have visited Namibia, which is a next-door neighbor to Botswana, where the story is set).

I find the characters to be captivating.  Precious Ramotswe owns a detective agency in Botswana.   Mma (used instead of Ms., Miss or Mrs.) Makutsi is Mma Ramotswe’s assistant and a wonderful, quirky sidekick.  In this book, Mma Makutsi decides to open a side business to bring in some more money.  She thinks,

When I was at the Botswana Secretarial College, it was only women, and yet men have to type if they want to use computers, which they do if they are engineers or businessmen or work in banks.  I have seen them sitting in banks trying to type with one finger and wasting a lot of time.  Whey do they not learn to type properly?  The answer to that is that they are ashamed to say they cannot type and they do not want to go and have to learn with a class full of girls.  They are worried that the girls would be better at typing than they are!  And they would be!… So why not have a special class for men– a typing school for men?

The story follows Mma Makutsi’s successful typing class, Mma Ramotswe’s current cases she is working on solving, and various relationships including Mma Ramotswe’s with her fiance Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni.

I highly recommend this book– it’s witty yet quiet, charming and engaging.  It’s the kind of book that makes you seek out more in the series, because you want to know the characters better.  I’d also like to read more by this author.  I like his style!

 

No Outward Thing

My heart needs Thee, O Lord, my heart needs Thee!  No part of my being needs Thee like my heart.  All else within me can be filled by Thy gifts.  My hunger can be satisfied by daily bread.  My thirst can be allayed by earthly waters.  My cold can be removed by household fires.  My weariness can be relieved by outward rest.  But no outward thing can make my heart pure.  The calmest day will not calm my passions.  The fairest scene will not beautify my soul.  The richest music will not make harmony within.   The breezes can cleanse the air, but no breeze can cleanse a spirit.  The world has not provided for my heart.  It has provided for my eye; it has provided for my ear; it has provided for my touch; it has provided for my taste; it has provided for my sense of beauty; but it has not provided for my heart.

And what has?  Provided for my heart, I mean.  Jesus, only Jesus.

Lettie Cowman lived from 1870 until 1960, but her words I’ve quoted above resonate with me as if they were written today.

We tend to think that if only our circumstances were better, then we would be content.  If I could lose 25 pounds.  If I didn’t have credit card debt.  If the sun would just come out.  If I had more vacation time.  If I didn’t have to pick up after everyone.  If someone would ask me out… And on and on and on.  Well, guess what?  If all those things magically fell into place, either you’d be happy or you wouldn’t.  As Lettie so beautifully said, those circumstances won’t change your heart.

Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  What does life “to the full” look like?  Health and wealth?  Sounds good, doesn’t it?  But, no, life to the full looks like love, discipline, learning, peace, suffering, laughing, sighing, growing, building, bleeding, and being loved and comforted by my Good Shepherd.  Living life to the full is living it full of passionate love for and from Jesus, the Christ, lover of my soul. No matter what.

The above Mrs. Charles E. Cowman quote is from Streams of Joy, compiled by Jennifer Hahn and published in 2012 by Barbour Publishing, Inc., page 107.

Faking Grace

I’m still looking for a good, humorous book.  This Tamara Leigh offering definitely was charmingly amusing, yet somehow I couldn’t bring myself to like the main character.  As a Christian chick lit work of fiction, it was hard to truly enjoy it without that connection to the main character.

Maizy Grace Stewart (uh, yeah) desperately needed a job, so she applied for an opening at a Christian publishing company.  Since she had been “saved” as a child but had never really pursued God since then, Maizy picked up a book called The Dumb Blonde’s Guide to Christianity to polish up her Christian-eze in order to fit in and make the proper Christian-girl impression.  Her trouble started right away when good-looking Brit and soon-to-be-co-worker, Jake, sees that her “Jesus is my Co-Pilot” bumper sticker is obviously attached only temporarily with scotch tape.

The characters aren’t bad– some of them are rather engaging– and the Christian message is there.  I liked the point the author was making that all the outward cues don’t count for much in the Christian life.  Maizy’s friend Tessie was surprised that Maizy called herself a Christian:

‘I’m still shocked to learn you’re a Christian.’… Feigning offense, I click my tongue. ‘Shocked that I’m a Christian?  Hey!’  I tug a cross earring and tap the matching necklace.  ‘What do you call these?’

Maizy has a lot to learn, and she learns it all the hard way.  I have to admit that I skipped a full 150 pages in the middle of the book because I just got bogged down.  But, I was interested enough that I wanted to see how things turned out in the end.  Admittedly, the ending was predictable and a bit too facile for me.

My personal book-rating system ranges from “couldn’t even finish it” to “eh” to “pretty good” to “incredible.”  This one was definitely “eh” on my scale.  I’ll keep looking for an “incredible” humorous work of fiction.  Let me know if you have one to recommend!

These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking

Finally, a book that is both amusing and entertaining: Melody Carlson’s These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking was a breath of fresh air.

The plot seems all too familiar at first.  Cammie is drifting mindlessly through life, spending too much money and taking everything for granted– until she loses her job and boyfriend in quick succession.

When I got hired at the marketing firm right after graduation, I felt pretty proud of myself, and I thought I had life all figured out.

Cammie moves home with her mother whom she assumes is wallowing in middle-aged despair over her divorce the year before.  It is weird to me that Cammie hasn’t visited her mother in such a long time when she only seems to live about an hour away, but anyway… she is thinking that this move back home will allow her to console her frumpy, dumpy, gray-haired mom.

I study the tall, thin woman in the stylish denim jacket and belted, low-rise jeans.  She smiles at me, then removes her sunglasses.  For a split second, I almost think it’s my sister Callie, only this woman seems a bit older…. Reality hits me like a baseball bat to the side of the head.  That woman is my mother!

It turns out that her mom has gotten in shape, reformed her wardrobe, resurrected her career and has a younger (much younger) man chasing her.  Cammie is the one who is frumpy and dumpy and she is desperately jealous of her mom.

So this ends up being a fun story as Cammie and her old neighbor, Will, help each other get their lives and faith back on track.  Lots of funny escapades ensue.  If you’re looking for a fun, easy read, I recommend this one!

 

The Scent of Rain

Daphne is a “nose.”  She is a highly sought-after perfume designer who had worked in Paris for a prestigious firm.  She just gave up her job in order to move to Dayton, Ohio to be with her new husband.  The problem is that her fiance left her standing alone at the altar.  He simply didn’t show up for the wedding.

Things go from bad to worse with her new job (largely because the Nose’s nose quits working), her new house which turns out to be an unsafe dump, and feelings of rejection from her family as well as her Ex.

This book is cute.  It’s funny in places.  It’s chick lit.  But it just didn’t do it for me.  It was “just okay” without really drawing me in.  I do like Kristin Billerbeck as an author, but didn’t find this to be a favorite.  I finished it to see what would happen with Daphne and her hot boss Jesse. Being a fragrance designer, this is how Daphne described the scent she would choose for him:

Jesse’s flavor would be a Hermes cologne with notes of berries, balsam wood, and dried mosses:  manly and rugged, a protector with berry overtones hinting at accessibility under the gruff exterior.  His type was true, she decided, not the sort to wander…. ‘It’s one of my gifts, sensing signature scents for people.  By their personalities.  Am I right?’

I’m looking for a good humorous book to recommend to my book club.  Unfortunately, this one won’t do it.