Wrap up for September

#1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith (Books 4 & 5)  

Currently, reading this funny series. These books are the quintessential cozy mysteries, as the theme focuses on personal mysteries over horror, true crime, or murder mysteries. Mma Precious Ramotswe is the main character who leads her own detective agency in the Botswana suburban landscape. The series is twenty-six books about her agency and local mysteries. I am reading through the series one book at a time.

The Kasidah of Haji Abdu El-Yezdi by Richard Francis Burton 

I found this rare book at Turtleman Books in Olympia, WA. The owner likes to collect rare books and especially poetry. I was introduced to this little volume by the owner while searching for an interesting new book of poetry to buy. This volume dates back to 1880 and was written by Richard Francis Burton, a British explorer and translator. The poem was originally written in English, even if the title gives the illusion of it being a translation of a Persian text; however, it is a pseudotranslation. However, the book is Sufi poetry written by a British explorer after encountering the traditional Kasidah form in his travels.