Recommendations based on Tea Time for the Traditionally Builtby Alexander McCall Smith

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive

    by Alexander McCall Smith
    A humorous and heartwarming tale of an African family's daily life, tackling the issues of modern society.

    Mma Ramotswe meets her second cousin, who comes to the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency for help. Tati Monyena works for the hospital in Mochudi, where a series of three deaths in the same bed in the ... (Wikipedia)

  2. The Double Comfort Safari Club

    by Alexander McCall Smith
    An adventure filled with humorous observations of culture and humanity.

    Readers will agree that this touching and dramatic new installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s beloved and best-selling series is the finest yet. In this story, Precious Ramotswe deals with issues of ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Full Cupboard of Life

    by Alexander McCall Smith
    A heartwarming story of a woman's journey of self-discovery, finding joy in life.

    Mma Ramotswe is now engaged to the mechanic Mr. JLB Matekoni, but he seems reluctant to set a wedding date, which makes her a little unhappy. She takes on an interesting investigation: Mma Holonga, a ... (Wikipedia)

  4. Wolf Hall

    by Hilary Mantel
    A historical fiction about the rise of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII.

    England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry ... (Goodreads)

  5. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

    by Jamie Ford
    A touching story of the intersection of love, family, and culture during World War II.

    Henry Lee, the son of Chinese parents in Seattle , Washington, is the only Asian child at his elementary school. His father makes him wear an "I Am Chinese" button so he will not be mistaken for a ... (Wikipedia)

  6. The Lacuna

    by Barbara Kingsolver
    Exploring the ties between art, politics and identity in tumultuous 1930s Mexico.

    The novel tells the story of Harrison William Shepherd beginning with his childhood in Mexico during the 1930s. His parents are separated so he lives back and forth between the United States with his ... (Wikipedia)

  7. The Good Earth

    by Pearl S. Buck
    A story of humble farmers facing the struggles of poverty and the upheaval of social change.

    The story begins on Wang Lung 's wedding day and follows the rise and fall of his fortunes. The House of Hwang, a family of wealthy landowners, lives in the nearby town, where Wang Lung's future ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Shroud for a Nightingale

    by P.D. James
    Mystery novel set in a London hospital, involving a trail of murder and intrigue.

    Student nurses Heather Pearce and Josephine Fallon have died of mysterious circumstances in the hospital nursing school of Nightingale House. As Scotland Yard’s Chief Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

    by Fannie Flagg
    A nostalgic tale of friendship, courage and resilience set in the American South.

    Throughout the novel the narrator and time period change, and the reader relies on the chapters' headings to establish the date and the source of the chapter. Some of the narration comes in the form ... (Wikipedia)

  10. A Light in the Window

    by Jan Karon
    A heartwarming tale of small-town life, love, and faith. Follow Father Tim as he navigates the ups and downs of his community.

    - Readers will enjoy a story from the popular series-packaged bestseller! - Includes new Reader's Guide for group discussion or personal reflection ... (Goodreads)

  11. Cutting for Stone

    by Abraham Verghese
    A sweeping journey of two twin brothers and their search for identity, belonging and family.

    The story is told by the protagonist, Marion Stone. He and his conjoined twin Shiva are born at Mission Hospital (called "Missing" in accordance with the local pronunciation), Addis Ababa , in ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Shepherds Abiding

    by Jan Karon
    A heartwarming Christmas story about the residents of Mitford, as Father Tim tries to restore a Nativity scene.

    The eighth novel in the beloved Mitford series, by the bestselling author of, At Home in Mitford, and, Somebody Safe with Somebody Good, Millions of Americans have found Mitford to be a favorite ... (Goodreads)

  13. Gilead

    by Marilynne Robinson
    A reverend's reflections on life in the Midwest, and the lessons of faith and family.

    The book is an account of the memories and legacy of John Ames as he remembers his experiences of his father and grandfather to share with his son. All three men share a vocational lifestyle and ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Grave Goods

    by Ariana Franklin
    A medieval mystery novel following Adelia Aguilar, a female doctor, as she investigates a series of murders in a small English village.

    Combining the best of modern forensic thrillers with the drama of medieval fiction,, New York Times,' bestselling author Ariana Franklin returns with the third title in the Mistress of the Art of ... (Goodreads)

  15. Maisie Dobbs

    by Jacqueline Winspear
    Detective story set in post-WWI London, investigating a mysterious disappearance.

    Maisie Dobbs, Psychologist and Investigator, began her working life at the age of thirteen as a servant in a Belgravia mansion, only to be discovered reading in the library by her employer, Lady ... (Goodreads)

  16. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

    by Helen Simonson
    A widower finds love and acceptance in an unlikely place, challenging social conventions.

    You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as ... (Goodreads)

  17. Suite Française

    by Irène Némirovsky
    A story of love and loss set against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied France.

    The first two stories of a masterwork once thought lost, written by a pre-WWII bestselling author who was deported to Auschwitz and died before her work could be completed. By the early l940s, when ... (Goodreads)

  18. A Common Life: The Wedding Story

    by Jan Karon
    The wedding of Father Tim and Cynthia, filled with love, laughter, and unexpected surprises.

    The sixth novel in the beloved Mitford series, by the bestselling author of, At Home in Mitford, and, Somebody Safe with Somebody Good, Laughter and wedding bells ring as Jan Karon takes her millions ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Mapping of Love and Death

    by Jacqueline Winspear
    A gripping mystery of espionage and murder set in the World War I era.

    The story opens in August 1914 in the Santa Ynez Valley in California. Michael Clifton—youngest son of an Englishman who had emigrated to America when he was in his late teens, in search of his ... (Goodreads)

  20. Among the Mad

    by Jacqueline Winspear
    In 1931 London, a former WWI nurse turned private investigator is tasked with stopping a madman from causing chaos during the Christmas season.

    ,, In the thrilling new novel by the, New York Times, bestselling author of, An Incomplete Revenge, Maisie Dobbs must catch a madman before he commits murder on an unimaginable scale, ,, It’s ... (Goodreads)

  21. Year of Wonders

    by Geraldine Brooks
    A small English village grapples with the effects of the bubonic plague.

    When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of ... (Goodreads)

  22. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

    by Alan Bradley
    A young girl's detective journey to solve a murder mystery in a picturesque English village.

    As the novel opens, Flavia Sabina de Luce schemes revenge against her two older sisters, Ophelia (17) and Daphne (13), who have locked her inside a closet in Buckshaw, the family's country manor home ... (Wikipedia)

  23. The Story Sisters

    by Alice Hoffman
    Three sisters navigate the complexities of life, love, and loss through their shared passion for storytelling and magical realism.

    The Story Sisters charts the lives of three sisters–Elv, Claire, and Meg. Each has a fate she must meet alone: one on a country road, one in the streets of Paris, and one in the corridors of her own ... (Goodreads)

  24. Callander Square

    by Anne Perry
    Private Investigator investigating a mysterious murder in Victorian London.

    Murders just don’t happen in fashionable areas like Callander Square–but these two have. The police are totally baffled. Pretty, young Charlotte Ellison Pitt, however, is curious. Inspector Pitt’s ... (Barnes & Noble)

  25. The Mysterious Howling

    by Maryrose Wood
    A magical world of adventure and danger, as a young girl discovers a talking dog and mysterious secrets.

    The first book in the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place—the acclaimed and hilarious Victorian mystery series by Maryrose Wood, perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket and Trenton Lee Stewart—has a ... (Barnes & Noble)

  26. Can't Wait to Get to Heaven

    by Fannie Flagg
    A Southern small-town woman's life is changed by mysterious events that open her eyes to a larger world.

    Elner Shimfissle, an octogenarian who doesn't know her own age since her sister Ida buried the family Bible to conceal hers, is known and liked by a large circle of friends and admirers. One morning ... (Wikipedia)

  27. The Dark Horse

    by Craig Johnson
    A sheriff investigates a mysterious murder in the small town of Wyoming.

    Read Craig Johnson's posts on the Penguin Blog.,, Walt Longmire goes undercover to save a woman in an unfriendly place, Interweaving classic noir sensibilities and humor with contemporary themes of ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Year of the Flood

    by Margaret Atwood
    A dystopian tale of survival as humanity faces a new plague, and two women fight against a powerful corporation.

    The Year of the Flood details the events of, Oryx and Crake, from the perspective of the lower classes in the pleeblands , specifically the God's Gardeners. God's Gardeners are a religious sect that ... (Wikipedia)

  29. The Bean Trees

    by Barbara Kingsolver
    A young woman's journey of self-discovery and resilience as she takes on motherhood and a new life.

    Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she ... (Goodreads)

  30. Death in Holy Orders

    by P.D. James
    A detective investigates a suspicious death at a remote theological college.

    Dalgliesh visits Saint Anselm's in a semi-official capacity to follow up the death of a student some time previously as the student's father was not satisfied with the verdict. Whilst there, a ... (Wikipedia)