A surprise book! I haven’t even introduced the subject yet!

I’m heading to Scotland in just over a week, and what better way to prepare then to read about it? I’ve checked out a big stack of books from the library about all different parts of the country, and am having a great time digging in.

We’ll be spending our first few days of the trip in Edinburgh so that’s where I started, and fortunately picked a great book to begin my journey, 44 Scotland Street, written by Alexandra McCall Smith. Mr. Smith came into his writing career in his 50s, but has since  sold over 20 million books and his work has been translated in over 40 language. And he lives down the street from J.K Rowling! He’s known for an easy-going style, and creating  memorable characters, and that certainly holds true here.

This story originally came together as a daily serial in the The Scotsman newspaper. It ran every day for six months, and was enormously popular. Nothing huge happens, no drama or earth shattering revelations; just a nice story with engaging people in a unique city.

Full disclosure: I’m listening to this one. I don’t take advantage of audio books very often, and I have no idea why. They almost always turn out to be a lot of fun, and this is no exception. The narrator, Robert Ian McKenzie, does a great job, and all of the Edinburgh accents are completely charming.

And a bonus: our hotel is less than a mile from the address in the title. I love it!