And the Beat Goes On - Ian Rankin

A collection of John Rebus short stories from earlier and later in Rankin's career.  Interesting to see the evolution of the characters as Rebus and others take on more definite shapes and forms.  Not as rich and atmospheric as his novels, but still and enjoyable read.  At the end, there is an interesting short essay by Rankin on how he came to be writing the Rebus stories.  Interestingly, he says his original intent, his original focus was to write about the city of Edinburgh, and Rebus was more a convenient vehicle to get him into both the high life and the low life, and everything in between.

Stamboul Sketches, John Freely

A reread of a classic book on Istanbul from another time.  Always a pleasure to read the little gems of a now mostly disappeared Istanbul, and its people and social customs.  Similar wistful swan song to the books of Orhan Pamuk.  It has suffered the same losses as we in the west - breakdown of daily community ties, loss of the individual and growing social conformity, obsession with material goods as a definition of a life, loss of connection with the natural setting in which we live.  Freely actually explores a broader spectrum of loss than Pamuk, who focuses more on relations and physical environment.

The Architect's Apprentice, Elif Shafak

An interesting portrayal of Istanbul and the Turkish empire in the time of Suleyman and Sinan.  She humanizes many of the historical figures and explores the lives of the many different social stations of the time.  A good story, but a bit contrived in some parts.

Pastoral - Andre Alexis

First book in his philosophical series.  This one focuses on several issues:  nature of love, the idea of maturity, what is the good life, faith and religion vs. living fully in the world, the nature of miracles (supernatural or everyday).
Alexis also plays wonderfully with the pastoral genre:
- a shepherd is required; enter town priest
- life in a simpler, more rural setting; enter small town farming Ontario (complete with sheep)
- critique of corrupted urban life:  enter priest who moves to small town from Ottawa

Alexis is very clever and plays wonderfully with his ideas and form.