No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency The Limpo Academy of Private Detection

The New No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency 
The Limpo Academy of Private Detection

by: Alexander McCall Smith
hardback 257 pages
2012

I just now realize that i have skipped a few mysteries in the detective series written by Alexander McCall, for i was at the library and thought i reading a book about Africa would be nice as i seek to picture Sofi living there.  I found the No.1 Ladies Detective Series but because I was without my glasses a could not tell which one was next for me to read.  The Green book looked good so i chose this one and right away i was transported back to an Africa that i have never been but one that i had read of in Thailand when i first was introduced to these delightful books.
Life goes at a slow pace and it is easy to get into step with Mma Romostwe and those in her life in Botswana.  The biggest news is that Mma Makutsi is now married (that may have happened in the book called The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party) and she and her husband are building a home.  The matron of the orphanage, Mma Potokwane has been forced out of her role...there is a need for a detective here and how wonderful for the author of the "bible" of private detection, Clovis Andersen, to have arrived in Botswana and to be involved with the progress. 
i always learn a new word or two when i read the detection stories as Alexander McCall does a wonderful job in creating Africa in his descriptions and in using a few local words to add to the flavor of all the bush tea that gets consumed through the pages of the mysteries as they are solved.  "Pula, pula,pula!" is what i learned this time and as page 187 tells, it "is the cry of triumph, of joy, that was universal in Botswana.  It mean rain, rain, rain,--just the right cry for a dry country that lived for the day that the first life-giving rains arrived-- that day of ominous purple skies, and heat, and the wind that precedes the first drops of water spattering on dancing on the baked ground."
Another great read, not too ambitious, but with good insight to human character as seen through the eyes of a traditionally built woman who has a heart as big as the country.
in my opinion, the books do not need to be read in order, for each story gives enough detail for you to enjoy it on its own and each has a satisfactory conclusion.  For a closing remark i will quote Mma Romostwe's thoughts on friendship, "New friendships can be every bit as strong as old friendships, and of course became old friendships in due course." 
These books are like spending time with a good friend.

The Fitting Room

The Fitting Room

Putting on the Character of Christ
by Kelly Minter
2011
paperback 206 pages (which includes notes and useful study questions at the back)

As people chosen by God and dearly loved just how are we to dress?  Good question, and Kelly Minter does a good job of answering it chapter by chapter as she describes and gives insight (both scriptural and personal) into the virtues put forth in Colossians 3, mainly honing in on verses 12-15.  I am thankful to our ladies mission prayer group that meets on Tuesdays at noon and to the wonderful teaching that comes as each of us expounds further into a character trait we are to joyfully grow in. (i got to teach on forgiveness, and like always, God teaches you a lot as you prepare to teach).

This all would be totally overwhelming, the idea that we NEED to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, forgiving, not to mention filled with peace and joy.  But the truth is, due to the reality that as God's children we are so loved by Him, that it is not a "i have to wear that and i don't want to" but it is replace with "i get to wear this and it looks great on me!" kind of mind-set change.  Changing what we "put on and live out" makes all the difference. Just like our physical clothing we are intentional with what we wear, it takes being intentional to choose patience over hotheadedness, or compassion over selfishness, etc.  You don't go to a wedding with your old sweat suit under your formal gown, and so it is you need to take off (and throw away) old useless ways of going about living...and you can because God loves you and has a better, more satisfying way for His children to live.

I highlighted the bits of Kelly's book in pink in the spots where she brought other helpful scripture into the concepts of putting on the character of Christ, and i'm happy to say there is quite a bit of pink in the book.  This to me makes the message more reliable.  It is an easy to read kind of book, not weighing you down with     guilt, but lifting up with hope and i think it will be one i will keep on the shelf, to refer to and recommend.

One Thousand Gifts

One Thousand Gifts
One Thousand Gifts
a dare to live fully right where you are
by: Ann Voskamp
2010
hardback, 237 page if you count the notes

In keeping with reading only books that have come to me recommended, i knew for a while that i wanted to read this one with the blue eggs in the nest on its cover.  I bought a copy (before i read it) for Melanie's 50th birthday thinking that 50 gifts would be cool, a thousand gifts would be way cool. Then our church (HFBC) had a ladies retreat and Kelly Matte, our pastor's wife did a session about it, but as i was not there, i do not know what she taught.  i checked it out of the church library but then got too busy with writing to read it.  I did read the first few pages and put it down quick as the raw description of birth and then the death of a child was too much for me.  Then i got sick, i thought instead of laying around, i will lay around with a book and because so many thought i would like this one, i picked it up again.  That is saying a lot before i say anything, i know. 
So, the book.  It is poetically written, yet touches on points like a good spiritual disciplines book should, so if it were mine it would have underlines in it.  It is a story, but one that is not in any hurry of getting anywhere and in the end, other than a trip to Paris (that may have been better off left as personal journal rather than included in the book) you really do not have a sense of arriving as far as story resolution goes.  But there is big resolution in the process that one homeschooling mom of six living on a pig farm in Canada goes through in her way to God, in her journey to fully trust Him.  She comes upon a word  eucharisteo meaning to give thanks and uses it page after page in her growth process in how this really unfolds. All boiled down one might say living a life of gratitude leads to living a full life of joy.  I would certainly agree.   The part that goes along with the title and with the journey is that she counts gifts... the little things that make up life, and she writes them down.  And she does so poetically.  On page 83 she reaches gift number 1000. Resurrection bloom, an amaryllis, a gift a year in the coming in reference to her mother-in-law's gift of a plant before she died of cancer.  There are lots of pages left for further discovery and the author uses her life as the class room of this growth into the goodness and blessings of God. At the end there are five pages of footnotes to give credit to authors and reference to books she has quoted in each chapter, so one has good resources if they would like to go deeper in an area. 
i liked the book and think it would be one that i would really have enjoyed reading in a book club where more could be expounded person to person after each chapter read.  At the end the reader is invited to join an on-line club to get even more information on how to live fully, complete with photos.  Many praise her book, and for good reason.  

Sluggers #1

Sluggers #1
Magic in the Outfield
by: Loren Long and Phil Bildner
Paperback 136 pages

Thank you Noah for suggesting Sluggers #1 for me to read!  It was a joy to meet Griffith, Ruby and Graham, the Payne children and their mom, "Guy" who plays as catcher for a traveling baseball team back in 1899.  The book Sluggers #1 is the first in a series of 6 that were originally called "Barnstormers" which is the name of their baseball team.  There is a mystery to be solved and at the end of the 136 page paperback we get just enough clues to draw is in and want to read more to figure it all out.  I love the creative and expressive illustrations throughout the story.  But what really captured me was the mini dictionary of baseball terms used back-in-the-day that add such authenticity to the story.  For an example, at the beginning of chapter 4 in the margin we can read that a Striker's Box is the area in which the striker (now known as the batter) stood when it was his turn to hit.  Also known as the "sticker's line."  Dish: home plate.  Lumber: baseball bat. also called "timber" and a Hurler is a pitcher.  The recommended age for the series is from 8-12, but at 47 (and as a gal who played softball back when I was kid) I found the book to be a lot of fun.  Noah, can't wait to borrow the rest of the series, thanks again for sharing some of your favorites with me.  Oh, and if you would like more information about it all, there is a cool website to get the behind the scene scoop! http://www.lorenlong.com

Taking the Word to Heart

 Taking the Word to Heart
Five Ways to get a Grip on God's Word
by Nancy Taylor
paperback 70 pages
2009

As the end of 2012 was drawing near, i had been thinking through just how i wanted to journal the journey of 2013.  One thing that kept coming up was this idea of trying to memorize Scripture so i thought maybe i would journal the process.  I had heard about a woman at our church, Nancy Taylor, that had written a book about how she went about it, and one day her husband, who works with Russell, gave me a copy of her book.
I thought through the reasons for why i would want to take on something that seems huge to me (really knowing the Word and the reference for where it was) and jotted down what would be gained, starting with closeness to God, obedience, wisdom for my life and others, a way to grow in the character of Jesus, have ammunition against the enemy, a fresh look at God's faithfulness and how my trust in Him would increase.
I began Nancy's book and was delight on how she touched on these motivations and then gave a well-thought out tried and true plan for how to make these goals a reality.
This short book, brought to mind advice given in years past, but also fresh outlooks and techniques including getting the Word not only in your head but in your life.  And that is what i really desire: a transformed life.  I'm thankful that Nancy lives this out, teaches others, has written this book and has been a personal encouragement to me as i begin this journey.  At this point i have 3 verses in my head and heart and about to add verse four, seeking to add one verse for each week so that by New Year's Eve, Lord willing, i will have 52 verses!  what a treasure that will be!

The History of Love

The History of Love

by: Nicole Krauss

2005

hardback 252

The fresh and very unique writing style of Nicole Krauss drew me in and kept me on my toes as i tried to connect the characters to their countries and sought to detect how it was that they interconnected with each other.  I had not read a novel in several months, maybe half a year, so i found the experience again fun as a little escape.  And now that it is over, it feels like guest that have been visiting the past week have moved on from our home.  Sophie got hooked on the novel with a line from page 11, " Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laugher was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."  When she left for Africa, she asked me to return the book to the library as she was not going to be able to finish it and i thought i would go ahead and give it a go.  

Great description was given not just of things but of feelings and thought processes. The two characters i liked best were Leopold, an old man who had escaped Poland when the Nazis invaded and Alma: an almost 15-year-old that was named after the gal in Leopold's book that he loved since he was 10 years old in Poland.   There is a bit of a mystery to solve as the pages give way to the rich development of both Alma and Leo and others they both know.  And you learn a lot of this and that as you read along like a person can starve to death by eating rabbits and that a lamed vovnik is one of 36 super-powered Jews that live at any given time.  (Alma's younger brother, Bird, thought he was one of these).  

In my opinion, the story was not as proportional as it could have been and for all the build up and investment, it ended far to quickly... maybe i just was not ready to be finished reading about these endearing friends and wanted it to go on a bit more.  With the title being "The History of Love" do not expect a very romantic book, or a happy book, yet i did laugh a time or too. It was realistic and sad told of missed opportunities and made me want to live life fully for it ends for some before it is really over.     

A Painted House

 A Painted House
by: John Grisham
294 pages, hardback
2000

I have never harvested cotton, listened to a Cardinals game, painted a house, or written a letter to a solider serving in Korea  but after reading John Grisham's novel it feels as if I have experienced all these things and more. (This is my second book from renown author John Grisham and neither involved a lawyer).   Told from the perspective of a 7-year-old boy named Luke, the 6 weeks or so of harvest season in the Arkansas low-lands came to life almost as if I had lived it back in the 50's.  Great story-telling, super character development and action I would not have guessed kept the pages turning.  Before leaving on my trip to Michigan, Melanie gave to me this novel and another one called Winter Garden (I will also give my review on that novel) and I read one chapter from each book most nights before going to bed (sometimes I gave in and read more than one chapter).  Luke, became like a son and I loved his relationship with his mother.  Actually, as an only child living in the same home with his parents and his paternal grandparents, he had good and healthy interactions with his whole family.  Life was far from dull and the secrets told and kept in this story made me feel like one with the  inside scoop in this country/small town settling.  The book contrasted interestingly with the other novel which was set present day on an apple orchard business in Washington state. Fun to read like that and Melanie I recommend both books...thanks for giving them to me to read!