The Kalahari Typing School for Men

It's back to school for the kids and hopefully it'll be back to more reading and blogging for me!

I'm looking forward to spending time once again in the company of Mma Ramotswe and the cast of characters in the fourth book in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith. My book arrived in the mail today and I 'm eager to begin reading it. While I don't judge books by their covers--literally--I must say that these books are lovely to look at. I wish I had a decent picture of the inside cover to post. The book designer(s) use African geometric designs and contrasting colors to enhance the visual experience of these books. They are wonderful outside and inside.

Many of us think of Africa as being very poor, people starving everywhere, horribly afflicted by AIDS. While Africa does suffer greatly from poverty and an AIDS epidemic, that is only part of the picture. Alexander McCall Smith shows us another side of Africa, where people own small businesses and actually enjoy life. Far from starving, Mma Ramotswe is "traditionally built". She has her own detective agency in Botswana and forges a unique career in this series of books. An outstanding detective, Mma Ramotswe also helps her secretary in many ways (I won't spoil it by telling you too much) and is the type of employer we'd all like to work for, one who truly cares about people and their success, not just her own well-being.

If you don't hear from me for a few days, you can be pretty sure I'm happily continuing my African adventure with The Kalahari Typing School for Men.

Books in the Mail

My literary adventures continue in earnest. Though I'm still reading (and rereading) Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, which really requires much study and thought, I've finished my "lighter reading", Morality for Beautiful Girls, another heart warming book in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. The New York Times Book Review calls Mma Ramotswe "the Miss Marple of Botswana" and her sundry adventures always manage to bring a smile to my face. I'll begin the next one soon, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, possibly tonight, if it appears in this afternoon's mail. I've been getting books in the mail almost every day for the past week, from Amazon marketplace sellers--they've really come through! The books have been arriving faster than I had even hoped, and are in fine condition. If The Kalahari Typing School for Men doesn't arrive today I may start All In Together Girls, a book of short stories by Canadian author Kate Sutherland.

Collections

Okay, I 'll admit it--I'm smitten. I've fallen in love with Africa, the Africa that is portrayed in Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the nation of Botswana. Today I ordered all six of the remaining books of the series I've yet to read from amazon marketplace sellers, plus the first book (which I had borrowed and need to complete my set). I spent between 1 cent and $8.99 per book (plus shipping, of course), with an average cost of $5 per book (including shipping), so I'm not upset about the cost. My book set will be mismatched: some new, some used (but in good condition), some paperback, some hardcover. Interestingly, the hardcovers were less expensive than the paperbacks! I'll house them together as a collection, in a pretty basket or crate of some sort, and will read them in proper order. I'll share these books with my daughters eventually, and vow to not watch the TV series until after I've read the books. I'm collecting these books not "for show" but because I 'll read and hopefully reread and encourage others to enjoy them.

In general, my books are not terribly organized but maybe it's time to change that. I keep books by the same author together, but there's a definite randomness to the shelves and stacks overall. (Don't ask about the kids' bookcases--they're a mess, overcrowded and haphazard!) Do you have any favorite collections of books? How do you keep them organized?

Back from NY

Greetings! I'm back from a week long trip to NY (Manhattan). For those of you that don't know, I grew up in NY, but have lived in Southern CA for many years now. NY is such an energizing city. I love walking around in NY, and dining in its unique, ethnic restaurants. Every nation has a restaurant in NY--it's amazingly diverse! This time we had brunch at a Japanese/Brazilian restaurant in the West Village, and a dinner at a Turkish restaurant on 9th Avenue between 44th and 45th St.. There's always so much going on it NY that it's truly hard to decide what to do and where to go. Thanks to my family and friends for putting up with me!

I finished The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency on the flight to NY. What a charming book! Now I want to drink the African red bush tea, rooibos, mentioned so frequently in the book, and find the next book in the series, Tears of the Giraffe. Precious and the other characters drink rooibos throughout the day in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. I bought some red tea today from Trader Joe's. Perhaps this brew will help me to figure out the little mysteries in my own life.

On the flight back I read a great deal of the book by Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love, the story of her enlightening trips to Italy, India, and Bali. It's really a celebration of life and shows the writer's great love of people. I think you have to genuinely love people to be a good writer. Reading on flights makes the time absolutely fly by (pardon the pun) and adds pleasure to a vacation or trip, don't you agree?

More Summer Reading

One of the best things about vacations is that when there's not that much to do, you really get a chance to read and relax. I finished The Choice by Nicholas Sparks. Guess what? It's another great romance by Sparks. I don't want to spoil the story for anyone who might read it, but will just say that there are actually a few important choices to be made. Now I've read all of Sparks' books, except for The Rescue and The Lucky One (out this September).

For a couple of years now I've been hearing about these books by Alexander McCall Smith. To be honest, I didn't really have much interest in them, because I've never been a big fan of mysteries. However, I found a copy of the first in this series, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and am already about halfway through this intriguing book, which features Mma Precious Ramotswe of Botswana, known as Mma Ramotswe. It's not really a mystery per se but a novel about a detective. The real mystery is why it took me so long to give these books a chance!