Books to Borrow Williamsburg Public Library Recommends

Tiny Tales is a collection of anecdotes about a wide array of characters. Mccall Smith includes mere snippets of his characters' lives. Many stories may be only a few moments of an individual's lifetime. Just like in real life, they may seem unimportant to one person, but to the individual experiencing them they can be epic and have immense impact. The stories are about love, kindness, nostalgia, strangeness, and friendship.

Read about a progressive Viking, an opera singer who couldn't sing, and a group of former housemates reuniting after years apart. Follow Pope Ron on his excursions away from the church with everyday people. The first Australian Pope, Ron hopes to find peace and quiet back home in Perth. He wants nothing more than to find serenity away from the stress of his calling. Pope Ron stars in several stories in the collection, and while they may be short, some less than 2 full pages long, they carry sizable emotion.

Characters are so realistic the reader may believe they are reading nonfiction. As with the guards in Pope Ron's story, "The Pope Goes Swimming," McCall Smith gives even the smallest minor characters equal attention and ample thought to detail. Readers are treated to a pleasant romance when Mr. Sodawaterwalla and Leila Commissariat experience a chance meeting in an elevator.

Broken up with cartoons by McCall Smith's long-time creative collaborator, Iain McIntosh, these short stories cover the full scope of human existence. Author of the well-known No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency' as well as Detective Varg and the 44 Scotland street series, Mccall Smith delivers fascinating and interesting characters with each new tale.

These tiny tales provide a glimpse into the ways of other cultures that differ much from our own, while other practices will resonate with the reader. The delightful compilation celebrates the joy and absurdity of the human experience.

If you've read McCall Smith before, you'll recall memorable characters such as Bertie Pollock, Botswana lady detective Precious Ramotswe, and Isabel Dalhousie. If you haven't read his work before, you are in for a treat.

Donated to our collection in memory of Ethel Saylor, an avid reader who always had a story to tell. As the book's description says, "the best things come in small packages."