The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
by Alexander McCall Smith
MCN McC
McNaughton Collection, 2nd floor
The latest installment of the international best-selling No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series is sure to keep fans coming back for more. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is a master mechanic, who loves his job as the proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. But feeling the need for a new kind of challenge, he takes on a case at his wife’s detective agency. Meanwhile Mma Makutsi is also feeling restless and threatens to resign as assistant detective at the agency. Things go even more awry as Charlie, the older apprentice gets big ideas about his future. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing at a local hospital where patients are dying in the same bed at the same time on Fridays. As always Mma Ramotswe, the only private lady detective in Botswana, must use all her female intuition and good judgment to keep her little corner of the world from unraveling.
You won’t need to read the previous seven books to appreciate The Good Husband, though. This book will give you a glimpse into life in a modern African city whose heart is still shaped by the broad savannahs and wide open skies of Botswana.
The Sugar Camp Quilt is part of the Elm Creek Quilts series, by Jennifer Chiaverini (a Madison author). Before you think, “Quilting? Yuk!,” keep reading! This book contains adventure, romance, prejudice, and family dynamics, all with a little history thrown in. I read this book in less than 2 days and found it hard to put down. It’s set prior to the Civil War. In a nutshell, feisty Dorothea Granger, who lives with her parents in the home of her very stern uncle, is commanded by her uncle to create a quilt with a very specific design. When he dies unexpectedly, they discover that the quilt design is actually a guide to a station on the Underground Railroad. Dorothea herself becomes involved in guiding slaves along the Railroad, and she has some harrowing adventures dodging slavecatchers while doing so.
The Sugar Camp Quilt is a little different than the other Elm Creek Quilts books. It doesn’t involve any of the characters Elm Creek readers are used to, although some of the names have been mentioned in the present-day books. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the other books in the series; this one can easily stand by itself. You’ll find it in the University Library’s McNaughton Leisure Collection, call number MCN Chi. And check out the other Elm Creek Quilts books in the Library, also in the McNaughton Collection under call number MCN Chi: Master Quilter, Christmas Quilt (this one’s a little dull), Circle of Quilters, and Quilter’s Homecoming. The earlier Elm Creek Quilts books are likely available at your local public library. I recommend trying to read them in order if you can. They’re great for a little light reading!
Whatcha reading?, our new category, is all about you. We want to know what you’re reading. Think of this as a chance to let other people know about a good book (or a bad one) that you’re reading. It’s kind of like an informal virtual book club, except we’re not all reading the same book. Use the comments section to voice your opinions on your latest read.
OK, I’ll go first. I’m currently in the process of reading a book in Spanish entitled “La Sombra del Viento” (The Shadow of the Wind), written by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The book takes place in Barcelona in the 1940s, a very difficult era in Spain’s history due to the recent end of the Spanish Civil War and the start of Franco’s dictatorship. The protagonist, Daniel, finds this secret ‘Library of Forgotten Books’ and becomes enthralled with a particular book. Zafon’s novel follows Daniel’s ten-year obsession with the fictitious book and its author. As I said, I haven’t finished the book, but I’ll let you know my thoughts when I’m all done – and don’t worry, there’s an English translation.
