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Ahhhh, a cup of tea and a book in this series	Customer Rating:
I adore these books. Because I love giraffes, a friend gave me Tears of the Giraffe as a gift. Thus I discovered the series, and have read every installment. The pace is so relaxing without dragging that they are perfect beach/mountain/vacation reads, or an afternoon treat on a rainy day. Love the books, Alexander!

Probably the best introduction to the series

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This first came to my attention as an audiobook. I was checking out the public library for suitable listening material for my two youngest children, and noticed this intriguing title on the adults' audiobook shelf. Hmmm. What on earth could a book with such a title be about? Well, one way to find out, and fortunately it's free at the library, so I took it home with me. Two chapters later and I was hooked on the #1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Incidentally, if you have not yet heard the audiobook, I recommend it, too. It's read by Lisette Lecat, a talented South African actress who does all the voices and accents, making you feel as if you were really there. In fact, all the books in this series are available on audiobook read by Miss Lecat. I still recommend "The Kalahari Typing School" as a first-read when telling people they really HAVE to discover this series. However, I will say that as in several other well-known series, it doesn't much matter where you start, since each book subtly refers back to the previous ones throughout the story. This is especially helpful when encountering the main characters for the first time in each book.

Kalahari Typing School for Men	Customer Rating:
I read this for a book club selection. Unfortunately probably the best I could say is that it is generally a feel good book, and since we had traveled there, it was remotely interesting because of its placement in Botswana. It is a quick read, but I would not recommend it to most people.

Delightfully charming...

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The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith is a delightfully charming book and is just as good as the other books in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Taking place in Botswana, Precious Ramotswe runs the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency with the help of her assistant, Mma. Makutsi. They now share an office with the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors company, owned by Mma. Ramotswe's finace', Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. The clients of Mma. Ramotswe have the typical problems including cheating spouses and missing persons. Her biggest case in Typing for Men involves her client, Mr. Moletelo. He wronged two individuals twenty years ago and he now wishes to make amends. It is up to Ramotswe to find these two people. The character of Grace Makutsi plays a more central role in Typing for Men. She now works part-time for the detective agency and part-time for the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors company. She is struggling financially and fears that there is not enough business between the two companies to keep her employed. She has the idea to establish a typing school for men. She observed that men who use computers don't know proper keyboarding, but would be reluctant to attend a regular secretarial school. The school also provides a love interest for Makutsi, which gets a bit complicated. For the first time, the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency faces some competition when Mr. Buthelezi, a former CID, opens the Satisfaction Guaranteed Detective Agency. Mr. Buthelezi purchases advertisements and gives interviews critical of amateur women detectives (a thinly veiled reference to Mma. Ramotswe). But Ramotswe can tell him why women make excellent detectives. "The trouble with men, of course, was they went about with their eyes half closed for much of the time. Sometimes Mma. Ramotswe wondered whether men actually wanted to see anything, or whether they decided that they would notice only the things that interested them." Typing for Men is a book that is beautiful in its simplicity--in the scenery of Botswana, in the characters, in the dialog and especially, in the simple lessons and common sense throughout. I heard a rumor that Smith's books are going to be made into a television series. If so, it will be something worth watching.

Take a trip into another world

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What I love about these books is the immersion into the Botswana way of life from the Botswana point of view. McCall Smith not only visited Botswana, he lived there for some time, and it shows in every detail. The main character's being a detective lets us pry into the lives of others in her culture. As always, the Kalahari Typing School for men is not "about" having Mma Ramotswe solve a tricky locked-room mystery. It's much more about the interleaving of Western and African cultures. For example, a detective agency replaces a combination of the village grapevine and village leadership. In this installment and the previous three books, Mma Ramotswe's personal life and those of her friends gets more than equal time with the cases she solves. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is my favorite of the four series by McCall Smith that I have sampled. His gentle tone and leisurely pace fit the setting perfectly. I would recommend a new reader begin with the first book, as there is not a lot of explanation as to who all these characters are and how they got to where they are. Not only that, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency sets the mood for the series perfectly. If you are not a fan of crime stories, don't let that put you off. This is a charming fiction set in another culture with an unforgettable main character.