"The No. 1 Ladies' Opera House" is the brainchild of Alexander McCall Smith, the bestselling author of the "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series. He just opened a new arts centre in Botswana's capital, Gaborone, called "The No. 1 Ladies Opera House," and we talk to him from Botswana about his idea of bringing opera there.

Sarah Palin now stands victorious over a sinister array of dark conspiracies. We’re not talking about the media or liberals, though: Palin’s win is over best-selling author Dan Brown. Her still-unreleased memoir is now number one online. "Going Rogue: An American Life" sits atop the best-seller lists at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Motoko Rich covers the book business for The New York Times, and she tells us how important this is in the publishing world.