Boop, Barrowman is just slobberworthy in Torchwood. You're in for a treat. Funny, too, because he can get a little campy sometimes, and the writers give him some great one-liners. Ianto - Gareth David-Lloyd - is pretty easy on the eyes too, and he's much more interesting in the second season than he is in the first where he's just sort of a coffee-fetching drone. You'll also want to slap Owen on a regular basis, he's one of the most obnoxious characters I've encountered in a long time, except maybe Jeff in BBC's "Coupling" (which may be the only sitcom I've really liked in many years, raunchy as hell but very well written, especially Steve's rants about things like naked bottoms and cushions). If you get BBC America, don't watch the 5-part miniseries coming up in July until AFTER you've watched the first two seasons on DVD, or else it won't make any sense - Torchwood IS one of those series where you sort of have to start from the beginning or else it's pretty confusing. But, you're're in luck, as the miniseries is being released on DVD July 23. Doctor Who's Martha Jones pops up on Torchwood from time to time and there are perpetual rumors of her having a more permanent role on the team. (When it's shown on Sci-Fi Channel it's quite heavily edited. Some of the funniest parts are also some of the rudest, so they get chopped on Sci-Fi and the show loses something in translation.)

Check out Fern Michaels Sisterhood Series, It is light reading that makes you cry one minute then laugh. I have them all in hardback, but you will have to look for paper back now. You can get the series list on Fern Michaels site. It starts with a tragedy, but gets lighter in the second book. It is about women who have fallen through the legal cracks and the perps got away. The women find them and make them pay, but they do not kill. There were suppose to be 7 but there have been 20 something now. Her fans won't let her quit. LOL Her God Mother series is good also.

I have read all of them -- in order (I'm strange like that). I love them, and am anxiously awaiting the new book. I'll probably get it for Mother's Day or my birthday from DD#1, as she started me on the series. I love reading them. I wish I subscribed to HBO so I could watch it, but I'll get them from Netflix when they come out on DVD. Such enjoyable reading. You could probably finish them in 2 or 3 days or less. However, my husband always wants to eat dinner every night and have clean clothes, so I can't just sit and finish one of the books in one sitting.

Mary52 - That's one positive about these books, that they have wide appeal. How fortunate for your mother that she is still able to enjoy reading at age 84. Reading helps to keep the brain young too! My mother sadly developed dementia late in life so was not able to read into her old age. I find these books so enjoyable that I read each new one as it is published. I have also read parts of McCall Smith's other series, but my favorites are the "detective agency" books. Have you read any of his other books?