Love Over Scotland: 44 Scotland Street Series (3)

Per Wikipedia: "R. Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith, CBE, FRSE (born 24 August 1948), is a British-Zimbabwean writer and Emeritus Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. In the late 20th century, McCall Smith became a respected expert on medical law and bioethics and served on British and international committees concerned with these issues. "He has also written some of the most delightfully funny books I have ever had the pleasure of... laughing. The Scotland Series is my favorite, I'm up to book 8? Thank god there are several more. There is no way to read him and remain in a slough of despond. Or whatnot.Can all of this be true? 1998: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency 2000: Tears of the Giraffe 2001: Morality for Beautiful Girls 2002: The Kalahari Typing School for Men 2003: The Full Cupboard of Life 2004: In the Company of Cheerful Ladies (also known as: The Night-Time Dancer) 2006: Blue Shoes and Happiness 2007: The Good Husband of Zebra Drive 2008: The Miracle at Speedy Motors 2009: Tea Time for the Traditionally Built 2010: The Double Comfort Safari Club 2011: The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party 2012: The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection 2013: The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon 2014: The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café 2015: The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine 2016: Precious and Grace 2017: The House of Unexpected Sisters 2018: The Colors of all the Cattle44 Scotland Street series 2005: 44 Scotland Street 2005: Espresso Tales 2006: Love Over Scotland 2007: The World According to Bertie 2008: The Unbearable Lightness of Scones 2010: The Importance of Being Seven 2011: Bertie Plays The Blues 2012: Sunshine on Scotland Street 2013: Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers 2015: The Revolving Door of Life 2016: The Bertie Project 2017: A Time of Love and TartanThe Sunday Philosophy Club seriesalso known as Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries 2004: The Sunday Philosophy Club 2005: Friends, Lovers, Chocolate 2006: The Right Attitude to Rain 2007: The Careful Use of Compliments 2008: The Comfort of Saturdays (UK title) or: The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday (American title) 2009: The Lost Art of Gratitude 2010: The Charming Quirks of Others 2011: The Forgotten Affairs of Youth 2012: The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds (released 23 Oct 2012 in UK) 2015: The Novel Habits of Happiness 2017: A Distant View of Everything (released 23 Mar 2017 in UK) 2018: The Quiet Side of Passion (released 7 Jun 2018 in UK)Corduroy Mansions series 2009: Corduroy Mansions 2009: The Dog Who Came in from the Cold (published online daily in serial form; also published as a hardcover book on 1 May 2010) 2011: A Conspiracy of FriendsProfessor Dr von Igelfeld Entertainments series 1997: Portuguese Irregular Verbs [18] 2003: The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs 2003: At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances 2004: The 2½ Pillars of Wisdom – An omnibus edition of the first three von Igelfeld titles 2011: Unusual Uses for Olive OilOther novels 2008: La's Orchestra Saves the World 2012: Trains and Lovers 2014: The Forever Girl 2014: Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party 2015: Emma: A Modern Retelling 2016: My Italian Bulldozer 2017: The Good Pilot, Peter WoodhouseShort stories 2011: "The Strange Story of Bobby Box" (published in the young adult anthology: What You Wish For)Anthologies 1991: Children of Wax: African Folk Tales 1995: Heavenly Date and Other Flirtations 2004: The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa 2006: Baboons Who Went This Way and That (Tales from Africa) 2015: Chance Developments: Unexpected Love StoriesChildren's novels 1980: The White Hippo 1984: The Perfect Hamburger 1988: Alix and the Tigers 1990: The Tin Dog 1991: Calculator Annie 1991: The Popcorn Pirates 1992: The Doughnut Ring 1994: Paddy and the Ratcatcher 1995: The Muscle Machine 1996: The Bubblegum Tree 1997: The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean 2000: Teacher Trouble 2006: Dream Angus 2016: Freddie Mole, Lion Tamer 2018: Hari and his Electric Feet 2018: Max Champion and the Great Race Car RobberySchool Ship Tobermory 2015: School Ship Tobermory 2016: The Sands of Shark Island 2018: The Race to Kangaroo CliffAkimbo 1992: Akimbo and the Lions 1993: Akimbo and the Crocodile Man 2005: Akimbo and the Elephants 2006: Akimbo and the Snakes 2008: Akimbo and the BaboonsHarriet Bean 1993: The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean 1990: The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean 1991: Harriet Bean and the League of CheatsMax & Maddy 1997: Max & Maddy and the Bursting Balloons Mystery 1999: Max & Maddy and the Chocolate Money MysteryYoung Precious Ramotswe 2010: Precious and the Puggies[19] (republished in 2011 as: Precious and the Monkeys) 2012: Precious and the Mystery of Meerkat Hill 2012: The Great Cake Mystery 2013: Precious and the Missing Lion 2015: Precious and the Zebra NecklaceAcademic texts 1978: Power and Manoeuvrability (with Tony Carty) 1983: Law and Medical Ethics (with J. Kenyon Mason) (this text has gone through several editions: an eighth, by Mason and Graeme Laurie, was published in 2010; McCall Smith contributed to the first six editions) 1987: Butterworths Medico-Legal Encyclopaedia (with J. Kenyon Mason) 1990: Family Rights: Family Law and Medical Advances (with Elaine Sutherland) 1991: All About Drink and Drug Abuse (educational text) 1992: The Criminal Law of Botswana (with Kwame Frimpong) 1993: The Duty to Rescue (with Michael Menlowe, 1993) 1992: Scots Criminal Law (with David H Sheldon, second edition published 1997) 1997: Forensic Aspects of Sleep (with Colin Shapiro) 2000: Justice and the Prosecution of Old Crimes (with Daniel W. Shuman) 2001: Errors, Medicine and the Law (with Alan Merry) 2003: A Draft Criminal Code for Scotland (with Eric Clive, Pamela Ferguson and Christopher Gane) 2004: Creating Humans: Ethical Questions where Reproduction and Science Collide (collected lectures, audio recordings)

Love his writing. I am such a fan. The characters are like friends of mine, slightly eccentric but loveable. I would love to visit Scotland.

McCall Smith gives us a very interesting look at life and love as he waxes eloquently in this third book of the "44 Scotland Street" series. The vicissitudes of loves and life are truly illuminated in this book. The search for love and the various forms that it takes are at the heart of each of the character's adventures in this installment in the series.Not all of the loves are successful. Some end tragically. Some never get off the ground. And most, as is true of love and life, come when least expected. As always, Smith seems to capture human behavior in his unique and insightful manner. Yet he could not have picked a more difficult topic. For many of us, we wonder what love really is anyway. Are we in love? How do we decide? How do we go about attaining it, if we don't have it? How do we deal with it when it ends? All these questions are touched on and illustrated by Smith in his inimitable manner.What truly makes this book a wonderful piece of work by Smith is its intense realism. While perhaps more of the loves work out in his book than they do in life, not all of them do, and in that way, Smith describes a hugely important piece of behavioral science, the sociology of love. Of all the books in the "44 Scotland Street" series, this book is perhaps the best. Smith has developed most of these characters in his first two books and thus, they are ripe for tackling a subject as complex as love. The montage effect he achieves because of his short chapters that are serialized, allows for a variety of information and material constantly flowing past the reader as Smith develops the concepts that people use to deal with and evaluate and find love in their lives. The book is truly another wonderful creation by McCall Smith, who just seems to get more impressive as he continues to be more prolific. It is highly recommended to all readers of Smith and all seekers of love.

Easily read and immensely enjoyable This is a series to be savored book by book, with appropriate intermissions for mor serious reading

Count me as a happy reader totally enamored with the Scotland Street Series. This entry, number 3 in the series, was pure bliss as the reader follows the adventures of beloved and not-so-loved characters from the previous two volumes and can continue to enjoy being a voyeur in the lives of the richly drawn characters who reside in and around Scotland Street.Bertie, my personal favorite, continues to quietly battle his overbearing mother Irene. She is one whom readers love to hate as her smug attitude and over-the-top ideas (first graders performing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf) continue to make us cringe and take Bertie's side in their numerous conflicts. As for his part, Bertie has a grand adventure that deposits him in Paris then leaves him stranded. This precocious child will charm and beguile readers as he demonstrates time and time again wisdom far beyond his six years.Cyril, the gold-toothed dog, provides the most unexpectedly endearing chapters when he is dog napped. The author cleverly enters the mind of the dog and we are privy to Cyril's fears and panic as he travels the streets of Edinburgh alone, taking in the smells and sights, and having a chance encounter that leads him to his heart's desire.Familiar characters such as Big Lou, Domenica, Ramsey Dunbarton, Stewart, Pat, and Matthewreturn and continue their adventures while new characters such as Antonia and Wolf propel the plot and provide more insights into the regulars.If you enjoy character-driven stories of ordinary people facing their everyday ups and downs, you will enjoy this series. It is light and refreshing, a visit with people whose stories I can't seem to get enough of.

Alexander McCall Smith's book is touching, perceptive, well-informed and very entertaining

I am never disappointed by a McCall Smith book. Always, you quickly enter into the world of his characters and sympathise with their hopes, dreams, disappointments, anger - but of course with much humour. I just love this series, and I always read a McCall Smith when I have finished something 'weighty'.

I love everything from Alexander McCall Smith's collection.

This is my first experience with this author.Enjoyed throughly . He reminds me of PG whodehouse in every respect.Think will pickup more books by Alexander McCall Smith

This 3rd book continues the story.! A most enjoyable yarn so far.