What I'm reading at the moment

Blue Shoes and Happiness
by Alexander McCall Smith

"Now that she is finally and happily married to her long-term suitor Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, Mma Ramotswe of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency of Botswana might have expected life to grow more sedate. But the many problems that lead customers to Mma Ramotswe's door seem, if anything, to have multiplied, and no sooner has she settled her traditionally built person into the married state than she finds herself looking into several troublesome matters at once."

I know there are mixed opinions about this series, and it's mocked unmercifully by Radio 4, but I like these books. It's difficult not to hear the voice of the radio satirist sometimes, though.



Saving Fish from Drowning
by Amy Tan

"Businesswoman, patron of the arts and socialite Bibi Chen has been killed in mysterious circumstances. Her death may or may not be linked to the disappearance of eleven American tourists in southern Burma."

Another one loaned by Lola II. I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me. I still wouldn't give it five stars, perhaps just two or three.



Life: a user's manual
by Georges Perec

"Such is its scope, such is the marvel of Perec's lapidiary prose that the Chinese-box structure, the jokes and the typographic games enhance rather than diminish the vitality of those who people the puzzle."

Translated from French and two inches thick, I haven't a clue how this book came into my possession. I'm not sure I'm going to like it, given that I don't know what a Chinese-box structure is, and can only guess that 'lapidiary' relates to jewels. But I'm prepared to give it a go.