Why oh why oh why?

Have you ever had the experience where you watch a movie and it’s so bad that upon thinking back on it you have the impulse to watch it again, because it couldn’t possibly be as bad as you remembered? I’m having that experience with a certain series of books, and I just need to stop. It seems like everybody loves Alexander McCall Smith’s books, and while I admit that my own expectations sabotaged my reading of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, I just have issues with his Isabel Dalhousie novels. They’re frustrating on a number of levels, the dialogue reads awkwardly, the writing has the tendency to go on tangents, and the point of view switches jarringly.

This particular installment (The Right Attitude to Rain) confused me because the previous books have been mysteries (of a sort) and I assumed this was as well, but as I got about 2/3 of the way through, I figured out there wasn’t a mystery at all, and well, yeah, that’s all I have to say about that. Overall I was disappointed, and I hope I have the strength to avoid his next one, because at this point they’re driving me nuts.

Current total: 24

Just finished: The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith

Next Up: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

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