Tears of the Giraffe

Sorry this review is a bit delayed! I've actually got two reviews to put up today.

So, the question is, was the follow-up to No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency as good? The answer: yes! It was wonderful. Not as many mysteries in this one, as it mainly focuses on the relationship between Mma Ramotswe and JLB Matekoni.

As I mentioned in an earlier entry, there weren't quite as many mysteries in this second novel. There are a couple, and there is that larger main mystery again.

One of my favorite parts in this novel is when Mma Makutsi is promoted to assistant detective, and gets to solve a case all on her own. She is such a different character from Mma Ramotswe, and it is a lot of fun.

Overall, Tears of the Giraffe is just as heartwarming as the first book, if not moreso. These books are incredibly addicting, and I'm finding it harder to get my hands on the next couple. I hope I can, as they are truly wonderful books.

Yesterday's books.

Yesterday I went to the bookstore and picked up The A List: Hollywood Royalty "Sunset Boulevard" by Zooey Dean, which just came out this week! I've got all the books in the original series and I'm really enjoying the spinoff as well. There are a lot of love triangles in the spinoff. I think I prefer it to Gossip Girl just because the characters aren't quite as promiscuous and it's not as repetitive.

One cute thing about the books is that one of the main characters, Amelie Adams, is basically parodying the actress Amy Adams; her red hair and her role as a Fairy Princess in a famous TV series (homage to Adam's movie "Enchanted"). And the name, of course!

I read it over my lunch break and finished it before bed last night. I love chick lit because it's fluffy and doesn't require that much thinking. The next A-List novel is out March 2010 -- I can't wait that long!

When I got home from work, there was a BookMooch package waiting! American Gods by Neil Gaiman -- so exciting! It's in great condition and it looks awesome on my bookshelf.

I am about halfway through The Eyre Affair and just getting into Crocodile on the Sandbank. Oh, and I'm putting A is for Alibi into my inventory again -- crime mysteries just aren't for me!

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

One of my most recent mooches is a novel by Alexander McCall Smith. It's been on Oprah's book club, and while I don't do everything O tells me to, I noticed there were something like 100 copies on BookMooch so I snapped it up. A friend in Ireland had mentioned to me months ago that there was a TV series in the UK, but I had no idea at the time what she was talking about, nor that it was based on the book series.

The book is not a long one, about 250 pages. I was expecting a mystery, but in fact what I stumbled upon was almost a series of shorter mysteries revolving around the main character, Mma "Precious" Ramotswe, who has just opened up the first ladies' detective agency after suffering a tragedy in her life. Business is slow at first but eventually her first case is brought to her. There is a larger, more sinister, mystery that lurks in the background throughout the book, and I was very happy with how it was eventually resolved.

In addition to the mysteries, we learn a lot about Mma Ramotswe and her childhood, as well as what her home of Botswana is like, and what Africa as a whole is like in the 1960s.

The main cast of characters is small but charming. In addition to Mma Ramotswe, who is the narrative voice, there is also her secretary, Mma Maletsi, and J.L.B Matekoni, the local auto mechanic and one of Mma Ramotswe's friends. Many of the characters that Mma Ramotswe meets during her cases are memorable as well, such as the sneaky Mma Pekwane and the young Nandira Patel.

A very satisfying book, if a bit short, and it makes me hungry to read the next book. I'm thrilled that there are nine more! (And I might just have to check out the TV series, out on DVD in September.)