This story is setting in an Africa that is developing and evolving.

This is what my Mum calls ‘FEEL GOOD GENRE ‘ that is Fiction that has a Feel Good Factor in the truest most genuine sense of the word which won’t leave a bitter or dark aftertaste in your mouth or make you feel as if you are a unfulfilled Revolutionary as other books make you feel.

Mme Rambotswe heroine of show. This is the lady who learns her trade on the fly and ends up with skills that gradually grow into an uncanny reputation to get to the bottom of things no matter how difficult or complex the quandary. She is someone you can get on and like. If you, yourself were in the Story then she would be your best mate who you would have over on a regular basis and who incidentally would have useful skills for those times when you need something requiring a little Private Investigation

The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency is full on Private Detective material with all it implies covering a whole range of grievances from husbands who play away to stolen cars, child abductions, and common or garden witchcraft incidents.

We normally associate Private Investigation with the dark, sly, underground, depths, unknown, undetected portrayal. Sad occasions where one is likely to need a private Detective to get facts behind the suspicious behaviours of a cherished person of yours and or situation.

We get other metaphors like the hated White Van Man so hated by the UK Public and parodied by all alike.

All this takes place in everyday Africa with it’s wonders and tragedies, pictures and media portrayals. Here we have an everyday life lived out efficiently in a modest South African? Township

where life goes on and is ENJOYED despite of all the troubles assailing the Africans.

Writing this Review has made me realise the various components that Alexander Mc Call Smith has used to great effect in his book. It is not contrived, it is not unrealistic but it is wall to wall Feel Good and we all need Novels with the Feel Good Factor. I will read more.

250 pages

Time to read over a week? Alongside heavy Nussbaum and newly minted God Delusion.

KT

I have just recently finished reading Jade Goody ‘Forever in my heart’ Jade Goody’s Official Cancer Diaries.
This is Book 14 meaning Nussbaum is Book 15 so quite a bit of reading this year! Currently I have a book a month at the current numerical rate which is not good enough considering the time I have available. ( I have things that sap and use up time also) There are 50 Book Reading Challenges but most are based on Literary and Novelistic Content whereas I am actually trying to read PHILOSOPHY Books and other Academic texts which is, if you know anything about them, not quite a walk in the park. I am also on my second Philosophy Audio book Bertrand Russell The Problems of Philosophy’ which I intend to follow with Homer Odyssey and the Iliad so I can get some ancient content.
This is just a post to let you know I am getting on.

A totally delightful book about a a runaway daughter who flees unloving father to Tibouron a community where unbeknown to her; her late mother, accidently shot by her, also fled to the same refuge where bees are kept.
This book is above love about the persecuted black community in small town America who have refuge in the Sanctaury of their home, who have a sustainable way of living as Beekeepers but who are surrounded with troubles and marginalisation on all sides. (No choice as to work and career).
As this is a quick review to get job done this book is also a timely anti-racist polemic.

This is my first ever test of listening to a Philosopher’s Work in Audiobook (MP3) Format.
Over a week or two I have taken a Section at a time working my way through about 10 hours of’ Reading’.
During this time I was not able to take in my Latest attempt at Tome Reading; the full 766 pages of Martha Nussbaum’s ‘Upheaval of Emotions the Intelligence of the Emotions’ which title wise would suggest a very female text.
So to contrast the rather calm but authentic tones of Nussbaum I have subjected myself to the angry embittered stunningly insightful in parts (the bits I did get that is) of one Friedrich Nietzsche .
This is just a brief review just to post up the fact that now I am on Book No 12 hallelujah! now that is one book a month. Lets get through next layer to make it 24 books a year so far-aided and abetted shamelessly due to their difficult content-Philosophers tomes in audiobook format.

I wrote 3,065 words yesterday. In order to ease my way into the Project once again. The Discipline is hard. I can’t tell you how horrible I feel as I write them. I understand this is normal if you are birthing a new habit but maybe Academic kind of lifestyles have this oxymoronic character due to the multiple disadvantages persons such as I are forced to face, even to BE, let alone experience transendence and freedom which I now realise is constricted by issues of Agency and self-determination.

Reading Wise I am steadily working my way through the Kearney and Rainwater and have Readings in Ancient Philosophy coming from the US from Amazon in line with the Ancient Philosophy Course on MIT OCW.

So far I have read Simone de Beavoir, Gadamer, Merleu Ponty, Heidegger who proved to be surprisingly hard to read. (none of the Readings are easy because it is a representative excerpt of these Great Philosophers).

Philosophy I am understanding is helped by Lectures. Now I see their role and it is not surprising either given the technical nature of the material. In fact there are books about ‘Reading Gadamer etc’ around which I might have to investigate although I see a definite value in reading in situ in presented form so I can make my own mind about the text without being unduely influenced by prominent academics of which I am acutely aware.

I may have to delete excess podcasts from HDD’s and hope and pray that if a book happens to have an accompanying podcast it might be a good idea to combine.

267 words add to  Todays Words Todays Writings.

Current Count:(39 )Books Current Read (BECKER Tricks of the Trade Book 40 )
Paper/s Read ( scanned) Podcasts listening/ed to ( none but planned)
LIBRARY BOOKS ON LOAN?? ( 4 too many but high qaulity items)Library Books Due Date ( 28 Sept 2007)

One Hundred Academic Book Reading List 2007

Saturday Sept 22nd Sept 2007

FROM IMMINENT 40 TO 60 PLUS
70 DIVIDED INTO 4 MONTHS 4X 30 =120 DAYS END YEAR 2007

1. FOUCAULT Madness and Civilization GREEK LATIN FRENCH GERMAN BARRIERS
2. FOUCAULT The Archaeology of Knowledge DITTO
3. BERGER Peter The Social Reality of Religion AWFUL PROSE TONNES OF JARGON MADE SLOW BOOK
4. ORWELL Collected Essays
5. PRITCHETT VS The Pricchett Century
6. BAUMAN Liquid Modernity REALISTIC DEPRESSION COURTESY OF LSE
7. BOOTH The Craft of Research HALF WAY THROUGH
8. BECKER How to write your Book Thesis Article
9. DOUGLAS Mary How Institutions Think ACADEMIA VERY DEPRESSING READ BUT VERY GOOD SO FAR
10. BUCKLEY Sociology and Modern Systems Theory discredited so Dad tells me Books noted by Bill and Sheila.
11. LACLAU Emancipation’s BID SLOWER READ ABSTRACTION ABSTRACTNESS BUT ON THE BALL SO FAR
12. GLASER STRAUSS The Discovery of Grounded Theory BID SPECIAL ** VERY DEMANDING BUT GOOD BOOK READ BIT
13. CONNERTON Paul Critical Sociology FRANKFURT SCHOOL?
14. PLATO Symposium SHOULD BE DONE IN A SINGLE READING/ DAY
15. BARO Ignacio Writings for a Liberation Psychology BID CHALLENGING DEEP INTO THE DEPTHS OF ACADEME FROM MY LIVING ROOM AT HOME IN SITU ACADEMIA
16. FRIERE Pedagogy of the Oppressed MORE CHALLENGE PUT OFF?
17. SCIENCES STUDY DICTIONARY FIRST CLASS KS4 RESOURCES SCHOOL IS GOOD!
18. MATHS STUDY DICTIONARY DEFIINTIONS ALPHABET GREEK LEARN HOW TO READ MATHS
19. PHILOSOPHY NOW Constructing Human Futures PHILOSOPHY THINK
20. The Philosophers Magazine How to be a Philosopher Edition Essex Campus Both
21. JOURNAL ‘A Day in the Life’ Service User inclusion all main Disability Journals but as Controversy Correspondent. MORE DEPRESSION MY WAY GENERATES ALL SORTS OF THINGS!
22. BURR Social Constructionism LIBRARY BID KEY CONCEPT FROM ME OLD SOCIOLOGY DEPARTMENT AT ESSEX DAYS FIRST INTRO TO.
23. WETHERWELL Discourse and Social Psychology LIBRARY RESEARCH DRAFT BID IGNORANCE SHOWS BUT SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY CHEN BERKELEY RIGHT WAY FORWARD PLUS INTRODUCTORY TEXTS FRIERE BARO AND PLUS PSYCHOLOGY = INTERESTING WAY FORWARD
24. BECKER Tricks of the Trade How to think about your Research while still doing it.THIS GUY KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING AND IS RIGHT TO CRITICISE OVER RELIANCE ON A SHED LOAD OF METHODOLOGIES: OUT OF THE BOX THINKING HELPS FOR SOCIAL SCIENTISTS.

BIG 40 IS BECKER TRICKS OF THE TRADE

334 WORDS

Current Count:(39 )Books Current Read ( Becker Tricks of the Trade Logics Chapter to the end Book 40 )
Paper/s Read ( downloaded ) Podcasts listening/ed to (none yet )
LIBRARY BOOKS ON LOAN?? (4 )Library Books Due Date (28 Sept 2007 )

First Class read which I read on Holiday in France but forgot to include in total figure.

Current Count:( 38)Books Current Read ( Howard Becker Tricks of the Trade)
Paper/s Read ( none) Podcasts listening/ed to ( KALDOR LSE done, Patricia Hewitt NHS10 years on )
LIBRARY BOOKS ON LOAN?? (4 TOO MUCH! )Library Books Due Date (28 Sept 2007 )

Strategy: 1GB work through IGB alone just one Subject MP3 player?? Note Citation make Notes once and archive key Lectures to read with accompanying books?
IHUM 55
Serena Chen Social Psychology in progress? have I still got it?
KANT series Glasgow
Knight Series JOURNALISM
mental health conference key
other Conference material also key
Internet and Society
US sources are IVY LEAGUE which is fantastic but US bias, US at its best.

Current Count:(39 )Books Current Read ( Howard Becker Tricks of the Trade)
Paper/s Read ( none) Podcasts listening/ed to ( IHUM 55 The Literature of Crisis 2 Lectures!)
LIBRARY BOOKS ON LOAN?? (4 too many but frightfully high qaulity )Library Books Due Date (28 Sept 2007 )

I like the passion of Professor McCall I like his energy his commitment. I like the light he brings to this important subject in Literature even though I don’t yet study Literature.

Current Count:( 39)Books Current Read ( Howard Becker ‘Tricks of the Trade How to do your Research..whilst doing it’) EDITED
Paper/s Read (none but downloaded some qaulity items ) Podcasts listening/ed to ( MIT Neuroscience I during Rest, Muslims and Cartoons Warwick (very good) )
LIBRARY BOOKS ON LOAN?? ( 4 too many and pressurising )Library Books Due Date ( 28 Sept 2007).

I have started a new thing a Reader Writer Notebook. This is an MIT OCW Innovation and a fine one it is too. I am realising just how disengaged I am with the books on my list and the power of attraction in a volume e. g the concepts and thinking in Becker’s book and Becker in general*
The books I own and borrow are deep reads indeed. They cut into my very soul and expose the pain and abnormalities that lie in mine and Society’s core especially in academia**
Even though I don’t research my ‘research’ carries me to a depth of discovery that is frightening and Becker’s book is encouraging me on that quest.