Our Christmas sale is on! Get down to your nearest store to pick up some of these excellent local and international non-fiction books to add to your (hopefully heaving) shelves!
50 People Who F***ed up South Africa: The Lost Decade – Alexander Parker, Tim Richman & Zapiro
Was R299, Now R199. Save R100!
There’s a particular asterisk that’s popping up quite a lot this year – and we all know why, really. It’s been that sort of year. And, as it turns out, people just keep f***cking things up… we’re nothing if not persistent.
With the first hilarious book in this series, our team of good-humoured and outraged authors plundered 350 years of SA history to bring us the worst of the country and illustrate their hopeless deeds.
With this funny and accessible list of morons, crooks and shenanigans, it took the authors just ten years to get up to fifty ignominious names. Yup, it’s been a ruinous sort of decade. A sociopolitical snapshot, this book is a handy coping mechanism, an excellent stocking filler and, of course, a necessary rundown of recent reality.
Miracle Men: How Rassie’s Springboks Won the World Cup – Lloyd Burnard
Was R279, Now R199. Save R80!
The Springboks’ victory at the 2019 World Cup was, of course, a glorious moment. It was, however, a triumph made all the more historic as it involved the game‐changing efforts of two men in particular: Coach Rassie Erasmus and captain Siya Kolisi.
Before 2019, the last time that South Africa had won the world cup was back in 2007 – a year in which racial inequality was a fair deal worse than it is today (though the issue still persists). For that win, the Springboks’ match‐day squad included just two nonwhite players. Last year, there were five black Africans in the starting line‐up.
Told by sports writer Lloyd Burnard, Miracle Men is the triumphal before‐and‐after story of the special relationship that transformed the SA national rugby team and made history. It’s also a thrilling tale of obstacles overcome and catastrophes narrowly avoided.
Braaibroodjies and Burgers – Jan Braai
Was R379, Now R299. Save R80!
Let’s not beat about the braaivleis here. It’s Jan Braai – burger-maestro of the covered-brazier and tong-wielding national hero – and it’s got braaibroodjies… which are a terrific reason all by themselves to get the fire lit in the first place.
Master the art of the grilled sandwich – which, as any toastie-aficionado will tell you, is an endeavour into which far too many people put far too little effort – with the help of a familiar fireside friend. What bread should you use? What filling goes best with what bread? How do you get it perfectly crisp without setting fire to your own Schwartzbrot.
Also available in Afrikaans!
The Whistleblowers – Mandy Wiener
Was R319, Now R199. Save R120!
Here’s the thing about exposés: they’re designed to whip up controversy, invite scrutiny and justice (rightly) and perhaps even prompt some sort of hysteria. And in all that litigious frenzy and shocking revelation, there’s a group of people who tend to be forgotten about.
We tend not to spare much of a thought for the brave, often vulnerable, people who help to bring these things to light – and, sadly, often suffer serious consequences for the part they’ve played. However, we do often tend to suggest that those blowing the whistle may themselves have been complicit in the crimes they’re exposing.
This is just the sort of thing that Mandy Wiener’s new book, The Whistleblowers, explores. By allowing whistle blowers, some of whom have been involved in some of SA’s biggest recent scandals (cases like Bosasa, the state capture regime, the arms deal, and several instances of corporate and political corruption), to explore their involvement from their own perspectives and in their own voices, The Whistleblowers uncovers the effects on mental health, and overall life, experienced by these people.
The Whistleblowers is an enlightening, often affecting, look at personal sacrifice and the legislation, culture and perception that surrounds such difficult decisions.
All Rise: A Judicial Memoir – Dikgang Moseneke
Was R339, Now R249. Save R90!
As a kid, Moseneke wanted to be a traffic officer. But life would take him to far greater heights. Things really changed for him when he was arrested at the tender age of fifteen for taking part in anti-apartheid activities. He earned two degrees while in prison and went on to study law at University of South Africa.
From there, he went on to become a judge on the constitutional court. This memoir explores the human struggles and dramas drawn into the courtroom, examines SA’s judicial system and offers an insightful view of the country and its inner workings.
Inside the Belly of the Beast: The Real Bosasa Story – Angelo Agrizzi
Was R299, Now R199. Save R100!
Of all the scandals to have recently rocked the country, the Bosasa Saga stands at a height of its own. In fact, the author of this book is still testifying before the Zondo Commission. Yes, it’s taking a while to clear up this corrupt and overflowing mess.
A company run like a cult by a charismatic charlatan, far-reaching deception and fraud, varieties of corruption and greed hitherto unencountered, Inside the Belly of the Beast ushers you into the previously inaccessible depths of this country-quaking disgrace.
7 Ways by Jamie Oliver
Was R449, Now R349. Save R100
Alright, what sort of kitchen-loving foodie is not thrilled to get the newest Jamie Oliver book for Christmas? That’s right, none of them!
Reinvention has long been at the heart of Oliver’s approach to food and cooking. When he first appeared on televisions, farther back now than any of us has business remembering, he sought to take the pretention out of good cooking, taking culinary art back from the snobs and the old-fashioned. Now, 7 Ways, strives to keep great food both accessible and surprising.
Taking everyday ingredients, such as chicken breast, eggs, mushrooms, mince and potatoes (among others) and giving us whole new ways to prepare them – without increasing the stress or the cost – 7 Ways is just the thing to revitalise your interest in meal times.
Traybakes, freezer-friendly batches and exciting (more affordable) alternatives to takeaway treats… there’s something here to suit every kitchen and every cook.
The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life by Edith Eger
Was R349, Now R199. Save R150
Here therapist, renowned speaker and Holocaust survivor Edith Eger delivers a striking manifesto for living, striving and thriving. In a nutshell, The Gift is all about overcoming your own prisons, smashing your self-limiting beliefs and embracing all that you can in order to realise your potential. These are bright messages for a challenging time.
Few have managed to transcend trauma to the extent that Eger has. Fortunately for us, she has been able to translate her own experiences into the kind of wisdom and advice that can be applied to absolutely any destructive behaviour or moment of darkness.
Release yourself from your own prisons – whether they be fear, anxiety, grief… anything, really – and live every moment with proper fullness with the help of these twelve inspirational lessons.
Read an extract here
The Greatest Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Was R369, Now R199. Save R170
That’s right, Rhonda Byrne is back with more ways to take charge of your future and, ultimately, to be what you want to be and achieve what you want to achieve.
This next progression of The Secret aims to transport the reader beyond the material realm and into the spiritual one – where boundless possibilities exist and can be created.
Infused with sage advice from all around the world, The Greatest Secret shares the most direct ways to overcome hardship and to eschew painful paths and prolonged hardships in favour of a journey unburdened by fear and anxiety.
If you’re after a book overflowing with positivity, workable approaches to squashing negativity and ways to work yourself toward lasting happiness, you’re in proven hands.
Home Body by Rupi Kaur
Was R279, Now R199. Save R80
Not all revelations come in the form of targeted advice. In fact, poetry has historically, and enduringly, provided this function. But it doesn’t have to be stuffy or highfalutin.
Celebrated Canadian, Indian-born poet Rupi Kaur has topped bestseller lists with both of her previous poetry collections: Milk and Honey and The Sun and Her Flowers. Her style is marked by Punjabi influences, simple honesty and intimate explorations of the self.
In this collection, which is augmented with simple illustrations by Kaur herself, the poet urges “conversation with oneself” and explores the need for community and acceptance of change. Home body can be dipped into for doses of both light and dark, for ruminations on nature and for elucidation of all the things that shape us.
Dik Dun Thick Thin – Nataniel
Was R259, Nou R199. Spaar R60!
Nataniel’s short stories are beloved for their crisp humour, their wry retrospection and their ability to conjure the past. Whether he is recalling his influential elder relatives, the trials of fitting in and thriving, or just indulging in fantasy, his tales never fail to delight and entertain. This new collection features 8 stories in English and 20 in Afrikaans.
“’n Splinternuwe, skitterende versameling kortverhale deur Nataniël. 20 in Afrikaans en 8 in Engels. Skreeusnaaks, aangrypend, wys, onvoorspelbaar en — soos altyd — hoogs vermaaklik.
Soos gewoonlik delf hy goud uit sy kinderjare — oor sy ouers, sy ouma — maar daar is ook fantastiese en fantasmagoriese verhale oor sy lewe as sanger op plattelandse dorpies, oor ‘n vreemdeling wat hom een aand in sy huis help om sy vrese te besweer, en hoe ‘n mens jou eerste reus oorwin…”
Guinness World Records 2021
Was R429, Now R299. Save R130!
Really it goes without saying that the end of this year would be a very good time to spend a while considering some of the great, unexpected and, yes, often terribly silly but regularly amazing things that people get up to.
This year’s edition features a special chapter on the history of exploration – which begins with the first circumnavigation of the globe and records our greatest feats of discovery and adventure. Along with this, GWR 2021 also includes chapters on the Solar System, weird, exotic and cute creatures, gaming and eSports, actors, musicians, TV stars and influencers, and sporting achievements… among many more. There are even spreads on outlandish body modification – a reliable favourite – and the most expensive foods in the world.
Let’s get lost in some terrifically entertaining facts!