Choice books to read this winter

Nielsen, a market research company, has released their Bookseller’s Choice Award 2016 shortlist.

The shortlist includes:

Death by Carbs by Paige Nick

Ikarus by Deon Meyer

Immer Wes by Irma Joubert

Little Suns by Zakes Mda

Recipes for Love and Murder: A Tannie Maria Mystery by Sally Andrew

Sweet Medicine by Panashe Chigumadzi

The ability to read and write is important because it alters how we look at the world and our position in it.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) released the following statistics on reading:

• In the world, 774 million adults do not know how to read or write
•  493 million of this number are women
•  123 million youths are illiterate
• Only 87 per cent of women and 92 percent of men have basic literacy skills
• In South Africa, between 7.4 million and 8.5 million adults are functionally illiterate.