The Right Attitude to Rain (2005)

This is the second McCall Smith I picked up in the library. I seem to love his titles, but I am, again, a little disappointed by the book itself. As a matter of fact, I though I picked up the same book again and needed to check twice. It was not the same one, but still it is more or less - the same. I suppose this is good news for fans of his work, but I will be really careful from now on, not to get "fooled" by another clever title.
I am adding this several weeks later: I dd enjoy reading it after all, it had a strange relaxed low-key quality which is so great to see in this crazy world. ( )

A quiet, enjoyable book. Ms. Dalhousie is a philosopher and editor of a journal on applied ethics, and she spends much time musing and conversing about morality, ethics, and relationships. On first glance, she seems to have little in common with Mr. Smith's other heroine, Precious Ramotswe, but in fact they are very similar after all. Both are strong, independent women who are deeply concerned with issues of what's right and wrong, and with people and relationships. ( )

I just didn't get the point of the story. It was lovely and quaint and I did enjoy the fact that it is set in Edinburgh, but there was really nothing much else to it. Now, I have only read [b:The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency|7061|The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency |Alexander McCall Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255582960s/7061.jpg|826298] by McCall Smith and that was quite a while ago. It was enjoyable. [b:The Right Attitude to Rain|15902|The Right Attitude to Rain (Sunday Philosophy Club, #3)|Alexander McCall Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166696106s/15902.jpg|739558] is the third book in the "An Isabel Dalhousie Novel" series McCall Smith has created. Did I miss something by jumping into it at the third book? I don't think so. There was enough information given that I didn't feel lost with the characters or story.

**Spoiler Alert** To me, the only point I could reach is this is a story about the summer of Isabel's 42nd year and she is not a spinster loser. There is still hope for her.**End of Spoilers**

A summer in the life of... does not match up to a day in the life of... (a la [b:Mrs. Dalloway|14942|Mrs. Dalloway|Virginia Woolf|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WTo75I1qL._SL75_.jpg|841320]). ( )

Very enjoyable. This is the only Alexander McCall Smith series I've read and the start wasn't auspicious, mostly because when I picked up the first book I expected a traditional mystery story and didn't get one. I wasn't planning on reading further, especially as I also found Isabel Dalhousie's moralising to be rather tiresome, but by some quirk of fate ended up having a go at the second book, Friends, Lovers, Chocolate and falling for the series.

This is more of the same, but with some very welcome changes in attitude, which I won't go into as I feel as though they would be too spoiler-ish. As usual, some mysterious-ish stuff is going on, but it isn't really the focus and isn't really "solved". This no longer worries me at all, as I enjoy the slow-paced wander through Edinburgh and philosophy. ( )

-- I put down a 14th century Italian novel to cleanse my palate with RIGHT ATTITUDE TO RAIN. It's in the Isabelle Dahousie series. (Smith also wrote No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency novels.) Characters are familiar. Isabelle is a philosopher. She edits "Review of Applied Ethics." Cat is Isabelle's niece & owner of a delicatessan. Eddie is a young man empioyed by Cat. Grace is Isabelle's housekeeper. Jamie is Cat's ex-boyfriend & Isabelle's new boyfriend. In RIGHT ATTITUDE Isabelle houses second cousin Mimi with husband Joe from Dallas while they're in Edinburgh. Tom & Angie are also Texans in Scotland. Readers accompany Isabelle as she approaches issues from moral & ethical angles. I like her company. -- ( )