I've been addicted to the charming books about The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, a series of ten novels by British author Alexander McCall Smith set in Gaborone, capital of Botswana, and the indomitable Mma Precious Ramotswe, who features as the stories' protagonist.
Just reading the most recent book 'Tea Time for the Traditionally Built'

A continent and 60 years apart, I'm also reading 'Idle Women' a book I bought at the Inland Waterways museum on a trip on the Grand Union Canal last week.
Originally published in 1947, it recounts the experiences of the IW women (nicknamed the Idle Women although very from it) who were the volunteers who manned the cargo boats that ran from London to Birmingham in world War 2