Book for January and February

Meet Mma Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of th No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, located in Gaborone, Botswana.  Mma Ramotswe uses her intuition to help her clients solve all sorts of small mysteries.  This book, and the others in the series, is filled with wit, humor, and an intriguing look at modern Botswana.  Mma Ramotswe is a traditionally built woman who shares her thoughts about her world is changing, and yet the same.  There are now 13 books in the series.  You can read about them at Alexander McCall Smith's web site.  Apparently, there was a television series and a movie, but I have not seen either.

Botswana, the setting for this series, is a medium sized country in sub-Saharan Africa.  It is surrounded by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.  70% of the country is taken over by the Kalahari Desert.  It is the least sparsely populated country in Africa, but it has the fasting growing economy.  Botswana is an independent country (since 1966) that holds regular free democratic elections. Gaborone is the capitol of the country. 

I would like to have everyone read this book, or another one in the series, because the visual possibilities are so wonderful.  From the traditional clothing and architecture to the Acacia trees and the animal life, to the traditionally built Mma Ramotswe, I am excited to see the quilts we all come up with.

Another reason I would like for us to read these books is for the discussion possibilities.  Mma Ramotswe and her friends, family, and co-worker have very interesting ideas about how the world works.  These ideas often generate interesting discussions in the book.  I think it would be fun to build on them here.

I hope everyone is okay with this choice.  If not, please suggest other titles for our consideration.

I would like to work on this one for two months, then start a new book in March.

For those of you who are new to this, here are some guidelines.

1.  Read the book.

2.  Create a quilt of any size and style that brings to your mind some aspect of the book.  This could be setting, plot, underlying theme. symbols, or characters.  Anything that stands out for you in the book.

3.  Share your progress and process here.

4. If you are not a member of the group, just leave a message that you would like to join, and I will send you an invitation.

Happy reading and quilting, everyone.