Tears of the Giraffe

"Tears of the Giraffe" by Alexander McCall Smith is the second of the "No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" books. I have been reading them in odd order -- every time one shows up in the library I read it. Thus, I have read several books in the series, but have only just finished the second one.

If you have not heard of Mma Precious Ramotswe yet - you are in for a treat! The New York Times Review of Books calls her, "The Miss Marple of Botswana." To learn more about Mma Ramotswe and the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency you can follow this link to my review of the first book.

The purpose of TODAY'S short post is just a little FYI. I read this whole second book wondering where the 'tears of the giraffe' came in. It was a delightful second book full of more detective work - a missing son, a cheating wife, etc. But, at the end Precious buys a basket with a 'tears of the giraffe' design in it! I googled it - of course - and here it is! See the tears?!? The basket is from a website selling handmade baskets from Botswana!

Friday Book Beginnings - The Miracle at Speedy Motors

Hi! I thought it might be fun to try this Friday Meme hosted by Katy at fewmorepages.blogspot.com. It is called "Book Beginnings," and here is how it works (I borrowed this next paragraph from her blog:)

How to participate: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence. The link-up will be at A Few More Pages every Friday and will be open for the entire week.

There you have it...not too complicated! Well, I am reading BOTH "Les Miserables," by of course, Victor Hugo, and "The Miracle at Speedy Motors" by Alexander McCall Smith. I am plodding though Les Mis, and then when I need a break, I switch to Alexander McCall Smith.

So, without further ado, here is the first line of "The Miracle at Speedy Motors:"

The correct address of Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's foremost solver of problems - in the sense that this was where she could be found between eight in the morning and five in the afternoon, except when she was not there - was the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, c/o Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, Gaborone, Botswana.

Now, I get to tell you my impressions...and that is difficult, because this is not my first impression. This book is part of a series, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series...and I love it! The books in the series are pretty light. The main characters are really likable people. The setting is Botswana. I did not know much about Africa before starting this series, but I must confess that I thought the whole continent was an unhappy place. Not so! Smith was a law professor at the University of Botswana, and he knows the place. His prose transports you to Botswana and let's you relax there among the acacia trees.

I got this AMAZING picture from the blog of a fellow blogspotter who is a Peace Corp volunteer in Botswana(!) For more about her and Botswana, you can check out her blog: http://melissainbotswana.blogspot.com/

More About Africa and What I am Reading Now

Went to the library and picked up two more books from "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series by Alexander McCall Smith. I got "The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party" and "Tea Time for the Traditionally Built." Both were good reads, and uplifting, as our protagonist, Precious Ramotswe, has a positive outlook.

If you did not read my previous posting, this series is about the one and only woman-owned detective agency in Botswana. I have really enjoyed reading about Botswana, and have wanted to learn a bit about Africa in general, because I have not read much about it.

So, while at the library I grabbed, "Djibouti" by Elmore Leonard off one of the shelves. (The only reason that I know that Djibouti is a country in Africa is because my eldest son, Josh, once had to pick an African country to do a report on. At the time, I suspected that he had chosen the country because it is (roughly) pronounced "Ja Booty," and as he was in the fifth grade at the time, I figured he liked to go around saying that.)

But, I digress.

I plowed through the Detective Agency books really quickly. They are light, fun reads. Then, I turned my attention to "Djibouti." (Yes, I am aware that I just said that I turned my attention to Ja Booty.) Basically, it is about a woman that travels to Africa to make a film about the Somali pirates. Seems like a good premise. But, to be honest with you, I could not get into the book. The dialogue seemed stiff. I put it down after a few chapters and just did not pick it up again.

So, I decided to test-drive a couple of Alexander McCall Smith's other series. First, I read, "The Sunday Philosophy Club." I read the whole thing, but to be honest, I thought that it dragged a bit. However, the end had a nice twist to it.

Next, I read "The Unbearable Lightness of Scones," from the "44 Scotland Street" series by the same author. THAT was a winner! In the book we follow the action of several families and individuals who live at 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh. They are a lively group, and I am going to snatch up the rest of the series as it shows up at the library.

Smith. our author lives in Scotland. But, according to the dust jackets of his various novels, I know that he was born and raised in Zimbabwe. This was the British Colonial country of Rhodesia (I confess that I only know that from the movie, "Blood Diamonds.) Still curious about Africa, I pick up a book called, "The Last Resort: A Memoir of Zimbabwe." I am a few chapters in and am learning that it is about the murder and displacement of a lot of farmers there, many of them from the old colonial days.

To be honest, this book has been sitting open on the floor next to my bed for several days. I'm just not up for a lot of murder right now. I am enjoying good old hunky-dory Batswana too much with Precious Ramotswe. So, I think that I will return "Djibouti" and "The Last Resort," and try to get more of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" books while I am there. Luckily, Smith is a very prolific author. By the way, here is a map of Africa that I got from the website of some international investment bankers at www.munoz-group.net.