This is not good! I've been awake since 5:30 this morning thinking about the book I want to write about on my blog. I can see that this could become addictive.

Think Peter Mayle and Frances Mayes and you'll understand why I just fell in love with this little book that came across the front desk of the library a few weeks ago. It's called "The Caliph's House; A Year in Casablanca." According to the book jacket Tahir Shah, an Anglo-Afghan, has family roots in the Hindu Kush. Those origins called him and his family out of foggy London town to a fabulous run down palace on the outskirts of Casablanca overlooking the sea.

Though readers might marvel at Shah's unlimited amounts of patience and money, his tale of his family's efforts to hire workmen to render the Caliph's house habitable while trying to overcome the superstitions of the quirky caretakers in residence and the ever present influence of the jinns is simply delightful.

You can find out more about this author at his website www.tahirshah.com