Alexander McCall Smith 44 scotland street 6 Books Collection Pack Set RRP: £49.22 (Love Over Scotland, Espresso Tales, 44 Scotland Street, The Importance of Being Seven, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BERTIE, The Unbearable Lightness of Scones)

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Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna continues to offer aphorisms, some more enigmatic than others: “Two snails do not argue about whose shell is the more attractive.” Angus compares conceptual art to the emperor’s new clothes, there is a marriage proposal, Highland Games are organised for the Drummond Street Gardens and, as always, Angus bestows a poem on the gathered company.

Domenica Macdonald mentally lauds the virtue of inaction: not fixing what isn’t broken; the electrically-changed Bruce Anderson stuns his friends by heading to Pluscarden, intent on becoming a monk; Turner Prize judge, Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna reveals a radical plan likely to upset its protagonists. That pretty much sums it up, I think. The audio version is performed by a man (can't recall his name, sorry) who does an ok job. I don't like the way he performs most of the women. And I read mostly by listening, so this is a small issue for me. However, will I stop listening? Nope. Just putting it out there in case it might matter to you. Last week the 14th volume – a world record for a serialised novel, no less – ended its run in The Scotsman, ahead of publication this week by Polygon as The Promise of Ankles. Time perhaps for an insider’s guide to the crafting of a serial novel. Bruce, Antonia, and Sister Maria...finding their hopes, dreams intersecting in a profound and life changing way.While Bertie is precocious (a neighbor finds him reading a book on the life of Kierkegaard), he is sweet-tempered and just wants to be a normal boy. His best friend is Ranald Braveheart Macpherson. He wants to be a Boy Scout, but that group is anathema to his termagant, ultra-leftist, ultra feminist mother Irene. In past books, Irene has painted Bertie’s room pink, had him wear pink pants, attend yoga sessions, learn Italian, play the saxophone, and undergo psychotherapy for no other reason than Bertie is a normal little boy for all his intelligence. (BTW, Irene had an sexual encounter with said psychotherapist during a session at a flotation tank. This resulted in the birth o Meanwhile, Angus Lordie expresses his appreciation of the bespoke Lobb brogues he inherited from his father, while Domenica comments on Belgian indoor shoes and the fashion for knee-ripped jeans and low-slung trousers that expose underwear. She bemoans how independent privately-funded scholars suffer the condescension of academics, and Angus muses on the alter-ego endowed on him by the bureaucracy.

It is a street with its own share of peculiarities and failures. The old haute bourgeoisie finds itself enmeshed with students, poets and portraitists. Angus Lordie is a traditional portrait artist with an animus against The Turner Prize, which awards conceptual art - such as a video of a chair seen from different angles - rather than art objects. In fact Angus has taught his dog Cyril to lift his leg whenever he hears the words Turner Prize. From social media to the finer points of human behavior, this episode of Alexander McCall Smith’s popular series provides an entertaining commentary on a small corner of modern life in Edinburgh where, contrary to received wisdom, the sun nearly always shines. Angus Lordie and Domenica Macdonald are finally tying the knot. Unsurprisingly, Angus is not quite prepared. The long-suffering Bertie knows firsthand how stringent his mother’s rules can be, and he resolves to help Cyril set off on an adventure. Meanwhile, Big Lou becomes a viral Internet sensation, and the incurable narcissist Bruce meets his match in the form of a doppelganger neighbor, who proposes a plan that could change both their lives. If you haven’t met the residents of 44 Scotland Street yet, there is no better time, since everyone seems to bein themidst of new beginnings.Pat, who was apparently the protagonist of the novel, was more sympathetic, but horribly naive and I hated how the traumatic events of her "first gap year" were hinted at, but never revealed. I wanted to slap her multiple times because her actions were so pathetic and stupid. Seriously, if I was that dumb at 20, I hope someone would have shaken some sense in to me. I suppose that is what the two older, more worldly and experienced characters do, albeit in a much gentler way. Those two characters, Domenica and Angus, are among the most likable of the group, but they're a little too perfect. "Big Lou" -- a local coffee shop proprietress -- was another of the more likable characters, who I'd have been willing to read more about.