Recommendations based on The Full Cupboard of Lifeby Alexander McCall Smith

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

  1. Morality for Beautiful Girls

    by Alexander McCall Smith
    A tale of adventure and morality as a young woman navigates complex relationships.

    Mma Ramotswe's business, the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, has clients but needs to cut costs and increase revenue from fees. To reduce costs, she and her fiancé Mr JLB Matekoni decide to move the ... (Wikipedia)

  2. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

    by Alexander McCall Smith
    The sixth book in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, following the adventures of Mma Ramotswe and her friends in Botswana.

    Mma Ramotswe and her new husband settle down to married life with their foster-children, but problems are piling up. The tenant of Mr JLB Matekoni's house is running an illegal drinking den. Then ... (Wikipedia)

  3. 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)

  4. 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)

  5. A New Song

    by Jan Karon
    A journey of faith and family as a retired Episcopal priest returns home to the small town of Mitford.

    In A New Song, Mitford's longtime Episcopal priest, Father Tim, retires. However, new challenges and adventures await when he agrees to serve as interim minister of a small church on Whitecap Island. ... (Goodreads)

  6. These High, Green Hills

    by Jan Karon
    A small-town pastor's journey of faith, as he learns to accept himself and his place in the world.

    For years, Mitford's sixtysomething rector has been happily married to his parish. Now he's also married to Cynthia, his vivacious next-door neighbor. For Father Tim, life in Mitford has never been ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Golden Tresses of the Dead

    by Alan Bradley
    Flavia de Luce solves a murder mystery involving a severed finger and a wedding cake.

    Although it is autumn in the small English town of Bishop’s Lacey, the chapel is decked with exotic flowers. Yes, Flavia de Luce’s sister Ophelia is at last getting hitched, like a mule to a wagon. ... (Goodreads)

  8. 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)

  9. Animal Dreams

    by Barbara Kingsolver
    A woman's journey of self-discovery, grappling with family ties and environmental issues.

    Animal Dreams opens with a chapter narrated in the third person from the point of view of Doc Homer. This establishes a double narrative voice, which switches between dreams and memories of the past ... (Wikipedia)

  10. 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)

  11. The Complete Sherlock Holmes

    by Arthur Conan Doyle
    Collection of mysteries solved by the brilliant detective, Sherlock Holmes.

    A study in scarlet – The sign of four -- Adventures of Sherlock Holmes : A scandal in Bohemia ; The red-headed league ; A case of identity ; The Boscombe Valley mystery ; The five orange pips ; The ... (Goodreads)

  12. People of the Book

    by Geraldine Brooks
    A journey through time as an ancient book is discovered and its secrets revealed.

    The "complex and moving" ( The New Yorker ) novel by Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks follows a rare manuscript through centuries of exile and war. Inspired by a true story, "People of the ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Elegance of the Hedgehog

    by Muriel Barbery
    A story of two unlikely outcasts who find solace and comfort in each other's company.

    The story revolves mainly around the characters of Renée Michel and Paloma Josse, residents of an upper-middle class Left Bank apartment building at 7 Rue de Grenelle – one of the most elegant ... (Wikipedia)

  14. 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)

  15. The Big Over Easy

    by Jasper Fforde
    A humorous detective story featuring nursery rhyme characters investigating the death of Humpty Dumpty.

    The book begins a short time after Easter, and no one can remember the last sunny day. Mary Mary, a detective sergeant from Basingstoke , is being transferred to Reading, Berkshire . She hopes to be ... (Wikipedia)

  16. 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)

  17. A Prayer for Owen Meany

    by John Irving
    A boy's search for faith, set against a backdrop of unlikely events.

    The story is narrated by John Wheelwright, a former citizen of New Hampshire who has become a voluntary expatriate from the United States, having settled in Toronto , Ontario , Canada and taken on ... (Wikipedia)

  18. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

    by Christopher Paul Curtis
    The Watson family travels from Michigan to Alabama during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, experiencing racism and tragedy.

    The Newbery Honor-winning American classic, The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963 , celebrates 20 years with this anniversary edition featuring a special letter from Christopher Paul Curtis and an ... (Goodreads)

  19. Five Quarters of the Orange

    by Joanne Harris
    A gripping tale of a young woman's struggle to uncover the secrets of her past and confront her family's dark history.

    The novels of Joanne Harris are a literary feast for the senses. Five Quarters of the Orange represents Harris's most complex and sophisticated work yet - a novel in which darkness and fierce joy ... (Goodreads)

  20. Girl in Hyacinth Blue

    by Susan Vreeland
    A painting's journey across time, connecting with its owners and revealing its secrets.

    A professor invites a colleague from the art department to his home to view a painting he has kept secret for decades in Susan Vreeland's powerful historical novel, Girl in Hyacinth Blue . The ... (Goodreads)

  21. Matter

    by Iain M. Banks
    Epic space opera featuring powerful, warring civilizations and a mysterious energy source.

    In a world renowned within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime within a war. For one brother it means a desperate flight, and a search for the one - maybe two - people who could clear his name. For his ... (Goodreads)

  22. The Master and Margarita

    by Mikhail Bulgakov
    A fantastical, satirical examination of Soviet life, intersecting with the supernatural.

    The novel has two settings. The first is Moscow during the 1930s, where Satan appears at Patriarch's Ponds as Professor Woland . He is accompanied by Koroviev, a grotesquely-dressed valet; Behemoth , ... (Wikipedia)

  23. 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)

  24. Big Cherry Holler

    by Adriana Trigiani
    The sequel to "Big Stone Gap" follows Ave Maria as she navigates marriage, motherhood, and a new career in the big city.

    It has been eight years since pharmacist and longtime spinster Ave Maria Mulligan married. What she hasn't counted on is that fate and the ghosts of the past will come to haunt her, and test the love ... (Goodreads)

  25. I Shall Wear Midnight

    by Terry Pratchett
    A young witch must battle a malicious presence threatening her beloved land.

    Tiffany is working as the Chalk 's only witch in a climate of growing suspicion and prejudice. When the local Baron (for whom she had been caring) dies of poor health, she is accused of murder. ... (Wikipedia)

  26. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

    by David Wroblewski
    An epic tale of family and loyalty set in a rural Wisconsin landscape.

    Forte's Children Edgar comes from a line of dog breeders. After buying a farm, his grandfather, John Sawtelle, rents out the farmland and starts dog breeding . He and his wife have two sons, Edgar's ... (Wikipedia)

  27. The Rules of Survival

    by Nancy Werlin
    A gripping tale of a family's struggle with abuse and survival, told through the eyes of a young girl.

    The book starts out with an introduction when Matthew Walsh is writing a letter to his younger sister Emmy to tell her the story of their mother's vicious abuse. The real story starts with Matthew ... (Wikipedia)

  28. The Lioness of Morocco

    by Julia Drosten
    A young woman in 19th century Morocco defies societal norms and expectations to pursue her dreams of becoming a doctor.

    Independent-minded Sibylla Spencer feels trapped in nineteenth-century London, where her strong will and progressive views have rendered her unmarriageable. Still single at twenty-three, she is ... (Barnes & Noble)

  29. 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)

  30. Wishin' and Hopin'

    by Wally Lamb
    A coming-of-age story set in the 1960s, following a young boy's journey through Catholic school and his first crush.

    Fifth-grader Felix Funicello (Ralff), the cousin of famous Mickey Mouse Club Mousekteer and teen idol / movie actress Annette Funicello , lives in the fictional small town of Three Rivers, ... (Wikipedia)