A Song of Comfortable Chairs by Alexander McCall Smith

Excitingly, I am going to a talk from AMS this autumn, so I thought I'd better get a move on and catch up with this series.  I'd been saving them, as they are always such a pleasure to read, but then I read them so quickly and I'm sad that I've finished!

This one certainly didn't disappoint.  I devoured it, and it made me laugh aloud several times as I was reading it (especially Mma Makutsi's behaviour at the start!).  It was everything I had hoped for - a lovely, gentle time with familiar friends.  Don't start with this one, if you haven't read any before.  This is number 23 in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, and you should definitely start at the beginning!

Title: A Song of Comfortable Chairs

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

ISBN: 9780349144818

Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba, translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa, illustrations by Miho Satake

This was the first book in my Mr B's Emporium book subscription (a lovely gift, from a lovely friend) and what a good pick for me it was!  If you don't know about their book subscription service, you can sign up for a delivery of hand-picked books, and after filling in a questionnaire, they will hunt out authors and books that they think you might enjoy.  This one hit a lot of spots for me - it's a children's book, it's a Japanese translation, it's funny and mysterious...

It's a good translation, I felt - sometimes works translated from Japanese can feel a bit stilted somehow, but this one flowed well, and most especially in the 'Daisy' section, where I would never have guessed it was a translation.

The 'Daisy' sections were my favourite parts, and I was completely gripped reading the story.  I had a small book of similarly styled fairy tales when I was growing up, which I used to read over and over, and this section very much had the feel of that book, and I loved the illustrations alongside of it too.

It has some funny moments, and often has the feel of a Ghibli movie.  I could see it working really well as an animation, especially the fractious relationship between Kazu and an elderly lady in the story.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable read, and probably not something I would have come across by myself as I think so I'm really glad it was sent to me.  I'm very much looking forward to my next book from Mr B's!

Title: Temple Alley Summer

Author: Sachiko Kashiwaba

Translator: Avery Fischer Udagawa

Illustrations by Miho Satake

ISBN: 9781632063052

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins

This is a slow burn of a novel, but at least for the first half it held my attention well.  I was interested in the artist, Vanessa, and I could sense the layers of mystery beneath her life, and I was intrigued by Becker too and his obsession with her art.  But then it did start to drag a little, and I found myself liking Becker less and less, and nobody in the story was very nice at all...I did like the way the story was told though, in bits and pieces and fragments of letters and diaries.  It conjured up that feeling of wading through an archive, or mooching through someone's personal correspondence and uncovering truths about their life.

It's certainly atmospheric as well, especially the parts about the island, Eris.  But I felt let down by the ending.  I had guessed much of it, but had been hoping for a big twist that didn't come.  I was left with lots of unanswered questions, so mixed opinions overall - I read it fairly easily, I was interested in the art and the artist's life, but it ultimately left me dissatisfied.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: The Blue Hour

Author: Paula Hawkins

ISBN: 9781529938067

Due to be published: 10th October 2024

The Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi, translated by Cat Anderson

 I've read a number of these magical realism / magic cafe / Japanese cat stories in translation lately...there seems to be a trend of publishing them, though they are very mixed in quality.  This is one that I enjoyed reading, and I thought the translation was good.  It's quite a moving story this time, with people visiting the restaurant in order to have one last meal with the ghost of their loved one.  I liked the idea, and I also really liked the inclusion of the recipes mentioned in the story.  There is a cat (which seems almost obligatory for these books too!) but the cat doesn't play an enormous part.  I liked the gentle pace of the book, and I could feel my mouth watering at the descriptions of the food!  Overall, a sweet little book.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: The Chibineko Kitchen

Author: Yuta Takahashi, translated by Cat Anderson

ISBN: 978-1399817622
To be published on 7th November 2024

Friends of Dorothy by Sandi Toksvig

I haven't read any of Sandi Toksvig's writing before, and I enjoyed her style.  This was an enjoyable, fun story that was perfect for my holiday reading.  The central idea, of an elderly lady refusing to leave her house after it is sold manages to be both tragic and, with Sandi's writing, very funny.  I really liked Dorothy, and I was intrigued as to what was going on and how Amber and Stevie were going to manage the situation.

We're introduced to a good range of characters, all of whom are interesting in different ways, and have their own little stories along the way.  I was intrigued throughout as to what Dorothy's story was going to be, but I wasn't sure that it evolved as I would have liked it to, so that was a little disappointing.  Things do get wrapped up nicely, but I think I had just been hoping for a different rounding out of Dorothy and what was happening to her.

But there were lots of little moments that I really enjoyed - especially the builders who come to work on the house, and the extremely painful parental Christmas visit (and I was very happy about Stevie's mum at the end!)  

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: Friends of Dorothy

Author: Sandi Toksvig

ISBN: 978-0349019017

To be published: 26 September 2024