Precious

Has anyone out there read the Precious Ramotswe books besides me? Tears of the Giraffe, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, etc?

Precious Ramotswe is a "traditionally built" Botswanian woman who founded the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and has been the leading character in eight or so books by Alexander McCall Smith. I love Precious Ramotswe. She's older and less physical than Stephanie Plum, but she's also wiser and more caring.

The books are more than detective stories. They are paeans to Africa, or at least to Botswana, a poor, AIDS-ridden, politically stable country on the edge of the Kalahari. I've learned a lot about traditional African life from the series, and about the philosophies and attitudes of the people. Mma Ramotswe makes me want to visit Botswana someday.

How about you?