We read books for so many reasons. We read to educate ourselves. We read to challenge ourselves. We read to explore new ideas and feelings. We read to think thoughts we've never thought before. We read to visit places, people, and times we'd otherwise never be able to. We read to escape the present. We read to bask in the beauty of the written word. And sometimes we just want a good story, the sort you tell over dinner with friends or the sort that makes a comforting bedtime story, no matter what your age.

These books don't really educate. They're not high literary fiction (whatever that is). They do amuse you. They do introduce you to characters you're glad to have met. The writing is enjoyable. And sometimes they even make you think. But mostly they're stories to be enjoyed for the story's sake. The characters are the jewels of the books, and almost the whole reason to read.

This book, the third in the Corduroy Mansion series transcended the success of the first two. It was funnier, deeper, more believable and more human. I don't know if this is because it's actually better or because I listened to the audiobook. Books always sound more intelligent when read by someone with a British accent. (I highly recommend reading the Harry Potter books this way.)

But I'm not sure that's it. I think McCall Smith really hit his stride here in figuring out the heart of his characters, and I think that's what made it a better book. Parts of it were laugh-out-loud funny and parts of it were deeply thought-provoking. It also takes a certain amount of cheek to decry authors who use deus ex machina tactics to change a character's whole personality and then use the Large Hadron Collider the way McCall Smith did. But I feel like he did it consciously, just to tweak us.

I was sad about the ending; it felt rushed, and we didn't get to see some of the scenes I'd hoped we would. But I still highly recommend these books. It's nice, every now and then, to just read a calm, non-histrionic book about decent human beings.

I love Alexander McCall Smith and his characters. I couldn't love any of these as much as Precious Ramotswe, but they are great, including Freddy de la Hay!

The latest installment of Corduroy Mansions. Caroline and William are the primary characters in this one, and of course, Freddie de la Hay. The other residents of the flat and their friends are also in this one. There is some interesting character development of Barbara Ragg, while most of the many other characters get the usual light treatment.

Enjoyable as always, with interesting developments for our returning characters. Too many pages spent on Hugh' s story, though - that part felt very stagey and artificial.

McCall Smith audiobooks are good for long car trips - they're like children's books with adult themes (& by this I do not mean sex & violence, more dreary than that). Everything is pleasant, everything understandable, nothing too hard to think about, nothing too loud will happen & if you snooze through part of it you can still keep up with the story. Corduroy Mansions is particularly self-indulgent & full of comforting asides - middle class, middle age, middle England. I suspect the author's editor has decided to leave him be as whatever he writes seems to find an audience so it does ramble on & could do with more plot & more ideas. Andrew Sachs' narration is excellent & easy listening.

Full of great wit and fun stories of mostly common but always interesting people.

Well, that was....

It was...


Hmm.

I don’t even know how to rate it. Did it keep me up well past midnight, seriously invested in tying up all the loose ends? Yes. Interesting writing as always. I mean, I enjoyed it.

But seriously. Between the yeti, the particle collider, the gigolo, and all the other stuff, I just...

*wanders away muttering and finally decides it’s time for a lie-down*

3 and a half.
The characters in the Corduroy Mansion series aren't as interesting to me as the 44 Scotland Street gang.

This was not my favorite book, but I love his writing and it was a light read following Jo Nesbo's The Snowman, very intense. This was the 3rd book in the series, I think I liked the first one the best. Well done, AMcSmith. Don't ever stop writing.