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The Perils of Morning Coffee: An Isabel Dalhousie eBook Original Story (Sunday Philosophy Club)
by
Alexander McCall Smith (Goodreads Author)
In this Isabel Dalhousie original short story, available exclusively in electronic format, our intrepid heroine - accused by a distraught wife of being the "other woman" - makes a surprising discovery as she attempts to defend her reputation.
Summer in Edinburgh is a season of delicate sunshine and showers, picnics with loved ones in blossoming gardens, and genteel celebrat...more
Summer in Edinburgh is a season of delicate sunshine and showers, picnics with loved ones in blossoming gardens, and genteel celebrat...more
ebook, 56 pages
Published
October 25th 2011
by Knopf Canada
(first published September 1st 2011)
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What harm could an innocent meeting for morning coffee bring to a quiet life of a philosopher? When a computer glitch schedules Isabel Dalhousie for a coffee meeting with a professor from the nearby university, she decides to meet with him despite the initial mistake. Initially glad in her choice, for she finds in him a kindred spirit, she comes to later regret it when his wife unjustly accuses her of carrying on an affair with her husband. Isabel is hurt by the accusation and, as usual, cannot...more
The price being irresistible, I downloaded two little stories by two of my favorite book authors onto my Kindle. (These stories and/or others are, of course, available for other types of e-readers, as well.) This is something new: short stories or novellas featuring characters familiar from series of novels.
The Perils of Morning Coffee, by Alexander McCall Smith, featured an installment in the life of Isabel Dalhousie that I would hate to have missed. It was as deeply interesting and satisfying...more
The Perils of Morning Coffee, by Alexander McCall Smith, featured an installment in the life of Isabel Dalhousie that I would hate to have missed. It was as deeply interesting and satisfying...more
An Isabel Dalhousie novella that'll take you an hour or so to read. Vintage Alexander McCall Smith, Isabel is accused of having an affair with a married man, at which she takes great umbrage, but ferrets out the truth in the end and, in the process, thinks about things a little too much. If you like this series, this one will not disappoint.
Post Script:
How does McCall Smith churn out such good books so quickly and regularly. He publishes at least one per quarter. Here we are screaming at George...more
Post Script:
How does McCall Smith churn out such good books so quickly and regularly. He publishes at least one per quarter. Here we are screaming at George...more
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Was it the slight length? Or just the slight subject matter? I can't really say with precision why I found The Perils of Morning Coffee so very unsatisfying. Available only as an eBook, at 45 pages, author Alexander McCall Smith's 2011 work is closer to a long short story than to a novella. What can happen in less than 50 pages? Well, not much. Isabel Dalhousie responds to an email sent by accident, and she ends up having lunch with the email's sender. A distraught wife accuses Isabel of engagin...more
Having read the first five books in the Sunday Philosophy Club/Isabel Dalhousie series, I thought I'd squeeze in this e-book exclusive novella to get a few more quick pages read before the end of 2011. Technically, I guess this would be considered Book 7.5 in the series, but no worries of any ongoing plot spoilers as long as you are past Book 4 (The Careful Use of Compliments) when Isabel's personal/home life took a dramatic turn.
As with the rest of the series, this was a perfectly pleasant tale...more
As with the rest of the series, this was a perfectly pleasant tale...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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The Perils of Morning Coffee is an Isabel Dalhousie short story by Alexander McCall Smith, offered in electronic book format. Isabel accepts an invitation from a fellow philosopher to meet for coffee, but is subsequently accused by the man’s wife of having an affair with him. As usual, Jamie urges caution, but Isabel is indignant about her innocence and cannot resist investigating further. And again, as usual, Isabel gets the wrong end of the stick, although this time, her misunderstanding is qu...more
This short story is an ebook exclusive. It's a little snippet of an event in Isabel's life. Isabel has coffee with a fellow philosopher and is then accused of having an affair with him by his wife. Isabel, of course, cannot resist setting the story straight. If you like Isabel Dalhousie, go ahead and pay the two bucks for the book.
I personally was thrilled to see Isabel using not only email, but also texting in this short story! Seems like not that long ago she didn't even have a cell phone.
I personally was thrilled to see Isabel using not only email, but also texting in this short story! Seems like not that long ago she didn't even have a cell phone.
In this novella, Isabel Dalhousie's reflections on the human condition get a little frustrated when a chance encounter over coffee with a philosophical colleague leads to accusations of her being an adulteress. Of course, this makes things personal for Isabel, & leads to some typical interference (purely undertaken to clear her good name, of course): is the accusation based on the fact that the wife is paranoid with jealousy, or is the colleague in fact having an affair? If so, with whom? Or...more
Nov 07, 2012
Duckpondwithoutducks
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012-novels-mccallsmith
Isabel gets invited by mistake to have coffee with a stranger, and this leads to someone accusing her of having an affair with her husband. Of course, Isabel has to find out the truth - she never can stop herself from getting involved with someone who has a problem and needs help! Reading this short ebook makes me appreciate my kindle all the more, because without an e-reader I would never have been able to read this!
This is the first works I've read by Alexander McCall Smith. He certainly has a huge following of his many, many stories. I found this story interesting with good interchanges between memorable characters. It was humorous at times, a little boring here and there, but a pleasant ending as the truth is revealed. I'm glad I read it. I'll try one of his canine stories and see if it holds my interest better than the coffee tale.
I love Alexander McCall Smith so it is with a bit of reluctance that I give this book only 3 stars.
It is a short story featuring Isabel Dalhousie who is wrongly accused of having an affair by the wife of a man she met once.
There were many many memorable quotations and the writing is, of course, excellent.
The reason I only give it 3 stars is that I didn't much care for the ending.
It is a short story featuring Isabel Dalhousie who is wrongly accused of having an affair by the wife of a man she met once.
There were many many memorable quotations and the writing is, of course, excellent.
The reason I only give it 3 stars is that I didn't much care for the ending.
I did enjoy this story, I liked the twist at the end that I didn't predict too. It's a very short one, and actually the last third is the start of one of the full novels which I don't mind but would like to have known as it makes the story appear t be longer than it is. I do like the way that AMS always embraces new technology though, good on him again for a "novel" idea!
Hmmm - these short stories for ebooks are interesting. I like Michael Connolly's approach of giving me at least three stories. I do like McCall Smith's books - mostly the No. 1 series - I'm getting a bit fatigued by Ms. Dalhousie and her 'thinking' and 'philosophizing' (is that a word?) about everything. I did however learn a new work - Hagiography . . . so that was worth it!
At 100 pages all told, including a sample of another of McCall Smith's books, this is the shortest 'novel' I've ever read. What is there is actually lovely, as always, but I honestly thought it'd downloaded wrongly to my Kindle and had to come and do an internet search to check it was actually that short. Ripped off.
A wonderful novellette-sized addition to the Sunday Philosophy Club series - it's always nice to spend time with Isabel and her latest moral quandary - and then afterward to sit and marvel at how Alexander McCall Smith's mind must work . . . fascinating. To say anything further would be a spoiler. Enjoy!
This one felt contrived. I still prefer the PORTUGUESE IRREGULAR VERBS series to any other McCall Smith. I've been reading some P.G. Wodehouse. The two share some traits, but the nod for me goes to Wodehouse. There's something a little too gentle, too P.C. about AMcSmith for my taste.
This book contains two Isabel Dalhousie short stories. I'm not keen on short stories generally as they end too quickly, but really liked these. A McC S is a guilty pleasure of mine and The Sunday Philosophy Club's Isabel Dalhousie is my favourite.
Isabel is wrongly accused of something scandalous, and during the course of this story she feels compelled to investigate and correct this mistake. Short and sweet, this novella is highly enjoyable as is the case with this entire series.
An Excellent novella for this series. I love the way the author leads us through the twists and turns of Isabel's mind and supports her conclusions with philosophy. The reader can explore their own preconceptions and misconceptions as She does.
I've read a couple of the Isabel Dalhousie series, and generally enjoy them. The key to enjoying them, however, is to just relax and not expect anything to really happen. I suppose that's to be expected -- she's a doctor of philosophy.
A very fun and likable read! As I have said previously, McCall Smith can not write Isabel Dalhousie books fast enough for me. She and her family are such lovely characters.
I have always loved the Nr 1 Ladies Detective series by the same author and this novella served as an introduction to his Isabela Dalhousie series however I just didnt like it. The characters seemed immature, annoying and making drama out unnecessary events.
3 likes · like · see review
Short and simple. My interest in Isabel has been declining over the series but I picked this up because it was an ebook release, just to keep up with the series.
Adorable. I must disclose: I am a huge Isabel Dalhousie fan. There's hardly a mystery & rarely a murder, yet these cozies never fail to entertain. It's a nice twist to have the story telling shine through.
Nov 07, 2011
Dorothy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
alexander-mccall-smith
What a delicious little treat to tide me over until "Forgotten Affairs of Youth" next month! Even Isabel can make a mistake in judgement. And I made the same assumptions she did and very much enjoyed being corrected in the end!
If you love the Isabel Dalhousie book series, and I DO, this is a nice short that will leave you wanting more!
An Isabel Dalhousie short story, her background in philosphy in hand with her thinking everything continues.
Isabel Dalhousie is such an interesting character. Lovely story by one of my favorite authors.
Very soothing, short, easy to read and engaging, just what was needed in a busy week
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Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what...more
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