Once again McCall Smith has demonstrated his compassion and love of Africa and its people, with Number 1 Lady Detective Precious Ramotswe solving the disappearance of an American man in the Kalahari desert, amongst other problems both at work and in her personal life. Smith manages to convey the simplicity and complexity of Africa in this delightful novel.

postal release sent today to chaparal in Belgium

Book received in my P.O. Box yesterday 20/01/2004. Tks Jawin. I will read the
book as soon as possible and I think it may be finished at the end of February
2004 (I have 2 or 3 books waiting on me TBR pile before this one).
My comments on it with the next Journal Entry.
Bye for now and against tks.

Very plesant book. Easy to read. Nice book about the follow-up ot the
adventures of Mma Ramotswe in Botswana.
I am waiting to receive by Bookring the 1st book of the serial "The n°1
Ladies Detective Agency".
My wife would also like to read the book and after that I will send it back
to Jawin in Australia.

I've offered this up as a ray so it can make new friends on its way to Australia.

List at this stage:
Mymlan (Finland)
Katayoun (Iran)
Hengameh (Iran)

As foreséén with Jawin my wife will now read the book and then I will send it as a ray to the next
Bookcrosser on the list.
Within 2-3 wééks it mus be OK.

Just to inform that my wife has just finished reading the book.
I will send it via Air-Mail on 07/04/2004 to the next BCer on the list i.e.
Mymlan.

Thank you, the book arrived safely. I have another bookring on my TBR-list before this one, so it might take a few weeks.

Just heard from Katayoun that she has managed to get her hands on a copy of this from elsewhere. She was to pass on to Hengameh - so they are right and no longer need to be on this ring. When you're done, Mymlan, let me know if you can post internationally and I'll see if we can add some European names to the ray.

I had read a lot of praise for the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency -series, and after that I was a bit disappointed. I don't know Africa that well, and the book did give an idea of what it might be - and a very different idea from the one we get from the news for example, which I thought was very refreshing. The oversimplistic style bothered me though, and I don't know if it was meant to give more of a "local touch" - and in that case, how truthful was it - or if it was just a lack of finess on the author's part. There were also unforgivably many grammar mistakes - or then again, they were a way to illustrate the way people speak. I think the author had captured something very true about the "African way of life" with true respect for it, but at places it still sounded a bit too idealistic, too much the westerner longing for something simpler and more authentic - a bit like all those people who go to India and find "such spiritual richness among the material poverty".

I don't regret reading the book, but I'm not as eager to read the rest of the series as I was before. Nevertheless, I am more eager to get to know Africa, and why not Botswana. And, most of all, I'd like to get to read some African authors, I think I've ever only read one.

The book is going to continue it's journey when jawin finds more takers for it.

Well, lots of people are interested in reading this, so a new ray is ready to go.

Here are the details:
from Mymlan in Finland to
Ladyanglophile, in Kuwait
Dani75, in Germany
Rlylv2rd, in Minneapolis, USA
Digitaltempest, in Alabama
Txbookworm, in Austin
Tamster33, in San Fransisco
Wandeca, in Ontario, Canada

I'll also post this in the forums to see if there are any late takers.

Please contact the person after you for their address. When it gets to Wandeca, we'll see what happens.

Hope you all enjoy this.

I sent the book to Ladyanglophile on Friday the 7th May by air mail, so it shouldn't take too long now to get to Koweit. Good reading!

i recieved the book today.
looking forward to reading it.

Thanks for sharing the book :)

My experience with this book was GOOD in general :))

it was an easy read..
there's a sense of humour in it.

in some parts of the book i felt as if i was reading one of Socrates dialogues discussing abstact issues.

sloving the cases in the book didnt take long, i didnt expect that!!

off to Dani75 in Germany...ENJOY :))

Received in the mail this morning. And it arrived just in time as I have just finished reading The No.1 Ladies´ Detective Agency!

I just love the way how unconventional and warm-hearted Mma Ramotswe solves her cases. There´s plenty of work for the agency so Mma Makutsi, the secretary, is promoted to Assistant Detective.and gets to investigate her first case. Mma Ramotswe is busy finding two missing persons. And there are also domestical matters to be solved: Mma Ramotswe is to be married to Mr. JLB Matekoni and they have to decide on choosing houses and maids. But then Mr. JLB Matekoni has also just agreed to be a father to two orphaned children and his future wife does not know yet ...

Already on the way to Rlylv2rd - enjoy!

Just arrived safe and sound from Germany! Thank you so much. The postcards are beautiful (Belgium, Kuwait, Helsinki)...love it when you find a little treasure inside of a great book. I am in the middle of another book, and this arrived with another ray, but I will get to asap! Thanks jawin.

Thank you so much, jawin, for sharing this. After two terrible bookring books in a row this was a breath of fresh air!

Strangely enough, I have read every one of these books out of order, #4, #3, #1, and now #2. I like them more and more as I read. Not sure if that is because I enjoy them more as the characters develop, or this one, "Tears of the Giraffe," is just that much better. It sure fills in a lot of holes though (how the children were adopted, the two houses, Mma Makutsi's promotion, etc).

I will miss the beautiful postcards enclosed, and add one of my own. My favorite is LadyAnglophile's from Kuwait. Though all are amazing.

I've just received this book as part of a bookring. It's next up on my reading list so I'll be posting and passing it on within the next few days.

I too have enjoyed looking at the postcards and the messages included. What a wonderful global exchange!

CAUGHT IN AUSTIN TX USA

As has already been stated by Mymlan, the book does have numerous grammatical and typographical errors that can be very annoying. There are other instances where the author has attempted to use, what I assume to be a patois common to the area of Botswana. I didn't mind that so much.

When I read The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency I was disappointed in the story. It was simple, not much of a mystery and it left me wanting for more. However I subsequently spoke with a friend who encouraged me to read it for the local color and the descriptions of mores and culture. That's the way I read Tears of the Giraffe and found it much more enjoyable. Again, the mystery isn't the focal point but the location and the insight into the ways of the characters create to combine the charm in this series. I still don't love them but I have a new appreciation for the country the author is trying to bring to life. I'll read more in the series for that reason.

Now, this book is off to Tamster33 in California.

I received this while I was away last week. I'll read it as soon as I can. Thanks!

I finished this quite a while ago. I don't know why I didn't journal it. Anyway...

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first one, but I love the characters and the simpleness of the books. I've since read the third book in the series and I enjoyed that one better than the other two.

Wandeca asked to be skipped and there's no one else on the list, so I'll just release it as I see fit.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this :)