Five books to add to your must-read list on Read a Book Day
JOBURG – Make sure to check out these five best books on Read a Book Day.
Make sure you encourage reading for young and old by celebrating Read a Book Day this year.
Every year between 3 – 9 September South Africa celebrates national book week and on 6 September the world celebrates Read a Book Day.
The day is aimed at encouraging a culture of reading from young to old, irrespective of the type of books one is interested in.
During this NBW we will be asking all South Africans to tell stories | Visit your local library | #SHAREABOOK | #BUYABOOK | #READABOOK pic.twitter.com/mkPscQha5h
— NationalBookWeek (@NBW_SA) September 6, 2018
This year is no different and Book Circle Capital in Melville have provided a list of five books that one should seriously consider reading during our national book week and international Read a Book Day.
Book Circle Capital’s five must-read books:
Sharon Bala’s The Boat People:
This book chronicles the extraordinary story of a group of Sri Lankan refugees who survive a perilous ocean voyage only to face accusations of terrorism in their new land in Canada.
The Boat People is a spellbinding, timely and compassionate novel about the lengths a father will go to protect his son.
Zadie Smith’s Swing Time:
Set in London, New York and West Africa, Swing Time is about two girls from Willesden who dream of being dancers.
Only one, Tracey, has the talent but the other has ideas which take her further than she could ever have imagined. It is a story of finding happiness in the meanest of places.
It’s about the choices we make and the choices made for us. Above all it’s a tale of the friendships that anchor us, define us and change us forever.
Sarah Ladipo Manyika’s Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun :
The book is about Morayo Da Silva, a cosmopolitan Nigerian woman who lives in San Francisco.
On the cusp of 75, she is in good health and makes the most of it, enjoying road trips in her vintage Porsche, chatting to strangers and recollecting characters from her favourite novels.
She then has a fall and her independence crumbles. Without the support of family, she relies on friends and chance encounters.
The book is a subtle and mesmerising meditation on ageing, friendship and loss. It is also a nuanced portrait of the erotic yearnings of an older woman.
Andrew Harding’ The Mayor of Mogadishu:
This book reveals the tumultuous life of Mohamud ‘Tarzan’ Nur who was born an impoverished nomad who was abandoned in a state orphanage in newly independent Somalia and became a street brawler and activist.
When the country collapsed into civil war and anarchy, Tarzan and his young family became part of an exodus eventually spending 20 years in North London.
In 2010, Mohamud returned to Mogadishu as mayor to the unrecognisable ruins of a city now almost entirely controlled by the Islamist militants of Al Shabab.
The book offers a rare insider’s account of Somalia’s unravelling and an intimate portrayal of one family’s extraordinary journey.
Fred Khumalo’ Dancing the Death Drill:
The book recounts the life of Pitso Motaung.
It is a personal and political tale that spans continents and generations moving from the battlefields of the Boer War to the front lines in France and beyond.
With a captivating blend of pathos and humour, Fred Khumalo brings to life a historical event, honouring both those who perished in the SS Mendi and those who survived.
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