Give the Gift of Escape

Which best-selling new novels are our Christmas elves most excited about? Well, read on to find out!

Nothing is as satisfying as a well-crafted story by a proven, celebrated author. When looking to leave the concerns of the day behind for a while, you can trust the five writers below to whisk you off into a fascinating, thrilling place.

If you’re looking to gift a slice of gleeful escape to a loved-one this Christmas, here are some rock-solid choices. We have a couple of historical wonders, two super-smart thrillers and one lyrical tale of family and loss.

Take a look:

Armour of Light by Ken Follett

 There’s really no disputing it. All the Christmas Elves agree: Follett is the enduring master of the rich historical epic. And any devotee of top-notch historical fiction will tell you that the Kingsbridge novels – which began with The Pillars of the Earth – are as spellbinding and as monumental as it gets. With Armour of Light, the fifth book in the series, Follett brings us right back into his gripping world of complex conflict, class struggle and revolution.

 Toward the end of the 18^th century, change approaches from all angles. England’s ruthless government will stop at nothing to create an indomitable commercial empire. In France, Bonaparte continues his climb to power, prompting much of Europe to take note and take stock of its defences. In Kingsbridge, the advent of a powerful new technology is threatening its cloth mills, reshaping its lucrative textile industry, and destroying the families that rely on it to make ends meet. Industry, military, and tyranny are on the verge of transforming an entire generation.

With all of this on the horizon, a small band of Kingsbridge residents, including traditional spinner Sal Clitheroe and his resourceful son, Kit, and David Shoveller, a weaver, take up arms against an almost inevitable future of oppression and deprivation.

To say that Armour of Light is riveting and impeccably researched – another brilliant feat of storytelling from a master – risks saying what by this point is already well-known. Follett delivers every time!

The Reed Dance Stalker by Angela Makholwa

One of the most prominent authors in local fiction, Makholwa has forged quite the reputation for two things in particular: sexy misadventure fiction and gripping psychological thrillers… and this one falls squarely into the latter category.

 Lucy Khambule, PR genius and intrepid journalist, is enjoying a major career highpoint. Her company has been enlisted to help organise the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The book she wrote on infamous serial killer Napoleon Dingiswayo – who she investigated during his reign of terror – has become a renowned bestseller. She is fielding requests for talks and interviews from left and right. Things are good, and they’re looking to stay that way.

 Then she gets the news that upends everything: Dingiswayo has apparently escaped C-Max. Her terror does not last long, however, as Correctional Services and a detective, Morapedi, confirm that Dingiswayo’s burned remains have been found in a prison pipe along with a suicide note. He’s dead. No way he’s on the loose.

But if that’s true, who’s the person stalking her online? And who is responsible for the gruesome and disturbingly familiar killings in eSwatini? As Lucy scrambles to hang onto the World Cup, she’s left to wonder: can she trust anyone? And how can she stay safe now that she’s in such demand?

If you like your thrillers local, and especially if you remember the heady days of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, The Reed Dance Stalker is just the ticket.

Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri

Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo, is known for expertly crafting lyrical and empathetic stories.  

Irini’s idyllic Greek village lies deep in an ancient forest. Life there is slow and calm. Irini spends her days teaching music to children while her painter husband, Tasso, draws inspiration from the beautiful woodland. Along with their daughter, Chara, they start the day that changes everything the same way they start every day – with no idea of what approaches them. Before they know it, an unstoppable wildfire has destroyed their home, ruined the forests, and robbed an entire community of their way of life. 

Once the flames have died down, while wandering broken-hearted through the ashes that remain, Irini comes upon the body of a man: a land speculator who, in a bid to clear himself a plot, started the fire that brought this devastation about. It is not clear to her how he died, but it is clear that this is solely his fault. Driven by loss and rage, Irini does something that will weigh upon her forever. Tasso, meanwhile, struggles to accept the severe burns that now prevent him painting and mourns the loss of his father, who has not been seen since the fire. Only Chara, whose name means joy, inspires him to hope again.

The Book of Fire tells the gorgeous, sweeping tale of all that can be taken in an instant and how much it takes to recover from such a loss. Descriptive and hauntingly poetic, it’s a book permeated by grief and depression, but elevated unfailingly by the life that Lefteri breathes into her characters and by the intimacy fostered by each and every captivating page.

Sisters Under the Rising Sun by Heather Morris

With The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and the book that followed it – Cilka’s Journey –, Heather Morris established herself as one of the most popular writers of historical fiction out there. Sisters Under the Rising Sun concerns an aspect of WWII with which fewer of us are likely to be familiar but it packs a punch just as powerful as her previous novels and delivers a tale every bit as affecting.

In 1942, while war raged throughout Europe, the Japanese army captured Singapore, then a British stronghold, capturing thousands of troops and dealing a considerable blow to The Allies. This event, and the advance of the Japanese army through the Pacific, forms the dramatic backdrop of Morris’s newest foray into the heart of conflict.

As the Japanese army continues its unstoppable advance toward the city, Norah Chambers, an English musician, puts her eight-year-old daughter on a ship leaving Singapore – knowing that they may never see each other again. It’s the only possible way to keep her safe. Norah, however, must stay behind to care for those unable to care for themselves. Not long afterwards, Singapore falls to the Japanese and Norah, like her daughter before her, finds herself crammed onto a merchant ship, praying that she’ll make it out alive.

On this ship is also Sister Nessa James, a Welsh-Australian nurse who joined up to treat and care for allied troops. Off the coast of Indonesia, only a little way into their terrifying journey, the ship is bombarded and sunk.

Surviving the wreck, and then somehow surviving an almost unsurvivable day lost at sea, Norah and Nesta finally, improbably, manage to find their way to the shores of a distant island… where they are immediately captured by the Japanese army and thrown into one of their infamously brutal POW camps. Here, nothing awaits them but disease, starvation, and unchecked cruelty. But they do have each other, and they do have their own unique talents and, in forging a beleaguered sisterhood, both women tap into more courage and perseverance than they ever knew they had. 

The Watchmaker’s Hand by Jeffrey Deaver

Have you ever noticed just how many cranes you walk past, or even under, when you live in a big city? Imagine how many that would be if you lived in New York. And now imagine what it would feel like if they could fall down and crush everything in their path without warning. This is the strange and terrifying MO of Deaver’s most villainous invention – and forensic criminalist Lincoln Rhyme’s most dangerous adversary.

The Lincoln Rhyme novels (The Bone Collector, The Kill Room etc) are famed for the tightness and ingenuity of their plotting and, of course, for their memorable, often tormented, protagonist. This is the sixteenth of Deaver’s books to focus on Rhyme, but they can be read in any order. In fact, Deaver’s books are so immediately suspenseful and tightly wound that they often work best when you just jump into them.

When the first construction crane collapses, killing several people and leaving a fearsome trail of destruction, Lincoln Rhyme and his protégé turned partner-wife, Amelia Sachs, are put on the case. A sketchy political group claims responsibility for the heinous act and threatens to repeat it soon, unless their needs are met. The city is given twenty-four hours to respond. Rhyme and Sachs are no strangers to a short and deadly deadline, but with New York plunged into a palpable panic, and with no way to tell which crane will come down next, the stakes are almost impossibly high.

Through it all, an assassin known as The Watchmaker watches from a hidden place. Rhyme knows this Watchmaker. They’ve matched wits before. But Rhyme does not know exactly what he’s planning this time. Or what he’s waiting for.

Deaver’s plotting here is superb, and Rhyme’s mental battle with the The Watchmaker is one of the best and most thrilling contests you’ll read this year.

Escape into the pleasures of reading!!!

Give the Gift of Flavour

There’s nothing quite like introducing a loved one to a new flavour. We bet we can all remember a time we delighted someone we care about with a food they had never tasted before. And that’s really what it’s all about, right? Flavours last forever. They can create new memories and conjure old ones. So, it makes perfect sense to pack as much of that into the gifts you give this Christmas.

On top of that, cookbooks make excellent presents because there’s just so much use you can get out of them. And they’re great at getting the whole family involved. They’re often beautiful too. With all that in mind, here are three outstanding cookbooks that are guaranteed to go down well when it’s time for the unwrapping. Have a look:

Nostalgie

Herman Lensing

Food is such an integral part of Christmas: gathering the family, sharing memories, and lovingly made meals is really what it’s all about. For that reason, Herman Lensing is the ideal person to add into the mix.

Lensing, who is also a well-loved television personality and the editor of Sarie Kos, is one of those chefs who really understands the deep connection between food and personal history. Community, connection and, of course, nostalgia are innately important to his recipes and his writing. With Nostalgie he concludes the trilogy that began with Huiskos and Dit Proe Soos Huis, a trio of books that tells the story of his life thus far with the help of the flavours, recipes and people that have meant the most to him. And with his help, there’s a good chance that this new book will inspire you to do the same along with the folks you love the most.

Nostalgie includes more than 80 recipes, all tied together with delightful anecdotes, and covers everything from lavish main courses to humble side dishes. And of course, there are plenty of holiday themed treats and desserts too. As Christmas gifts go, nostalgia and flavour are really a winning combination!

Kos is een van die meeste belangrikste dele van Kerfees. Almal dit ken. Saam te kom om herrineringe te deel en liefdevol gemaak etes to eet is net die beste. En vir hierdie rede is Herman Lansing die ideale persoon om saam te bring.

Lensing, wat ook ‘n geliefde televisiester en die redakteur van Sarie Kos is, is een van daardie sjefs wat regtig die diep verband tussen kos en persoonlike geskiedenis verstaan. Gemeenskap, koneksie en, natuurlik, nostalgie is ingebore belangrik vir sy resepte en sy skryfwerk.

Met Nostalgie sluit hy die trilogie af wat begin het met Huiskos en Dit Proe Soos Huis, ‘n trio boeke wat die storie van sy lewe dusver vertel met help van die geure, resepte en mense wat die meeste vir hom beteken het. En daar is ‘n goed kans Nostalgie sal jou inspireer om net dieselfde te doen.

Nostalgie sluit meer as 80 resepte in, almal saamgebind met heerlike staaltjies van Lensing se lewe. En dit dek alles van weelderige hoofgeregte tot nederige bykosse. Daar’s ook baie seisoonaal lekkernye en nageregte ingesluit. Soos Kersgeskenke gaan, is nostalgie en geur regtig ‘n wenkombinasie!

Happy Pride!

To celebrate all the super strides that are being made in the book world in terms of representation, variety, and queerness – and to treat you all to some wonderful gay stories, of course – we have put together a list of scintillating pride reads.

There’s a bit of everything here and they’re all brilliant. Take a look:

They Hate Each Other

Amanda Woody

Helpful tags: M/M Romance, Mental Health, Enemies-to-Lovers, Accidental Intimacy.

Who doesn’t love an enemies-to-lovers story? It’s a classic. But here, queer non-binary author Amanda Woody adds extra layers.  

Jonah and Dylan make no point of hiding their animosity. Jonah thinks Dylan is a spoiled golden boy with an uncontaminated ego. Dylan thinks Jonah’s an over the top attention seeker who doesn’t know when to shut up. There’s nothing but hate there. Or could there be something more? Their schoolmates are sure their enmity is just a ploy to hide how incredibly into each other they are. It doesn’t matter what they say or how often they say it; the whole school is convinced they belong together and it’s getting to be too much. And these rumours are only inflamed when Dylan and Jonah wake up together after homecoming.

At first they’re horrified. Then they realise they can twist this situation to their advantage. So they agree to fake date for just long enough to stage an explosive, public breakup and silence everyone once and for all.

It’s only a charade, but soon they begin to really take notice of each other – and to feel more for each other than that relentless antagonism. And soon their plan is falling apart completely.

On top of the feisty fake-dating angle, They Hate Each Other has something very real to say about allowing oneself to be vulnerable and about the need to base one’s perceptions on more than surface. Romantic, occasionally heartbreaking and surprising laden with real trauma and complexity, this is one of those times you come for the lust but stay for the truthfully depicted characters and the mutual understanding.

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date
Ashley Herring Blake

Helpful tags: theatre nerds, struggling writer, cynical romantics, F/F romance.

How familiar does this sound: your siblings have met the perfect partners and are just swimming around in love, your friends are all too busy with their spectacular love lives to pay you much heed, even your parents seem to be couched in perfect marital bliss… and you, well, nobody seems to notice the state you’re in.

This is where Iris Kelly finds herself. Sure, she’s happy for everyone and their storybook romances, she really is, but she has a problem even more major than her love lack: she’s a newly minted romance novelist – and there’s very little romance left in her. The irony is palpable. You see, any romantic inspiration she did have she used up completely on her debut novel. So now what?

Forget your problems, Iris says to herself, go to a bar, take your mind off things, dance to you can’t remember what you’re trying to forget. And that’s what she does. And that’s how she meets Stefania, with whom she spends the night making out and dancing – the night finally culminating in the worst one night stand of her life (possibly the worst of anyone’s life… the vomiting was an especially grim development). What can Iris do but forget about it?

But that’s not about to happen because when she auditions for a local play – a bit of drama to break the writers block – she runs straight into Stefania who, it turns out, is actually Stevie. And Stevie, too, has a problem. Frantically she begs Iris to play along as her girlfriend, just for the time being. Iris is astounded at first, but she soon realises that this could be just what she needs to pry herself from her creative dry patch: exactly what second novels might be made of. Soon Iris and Stevie aren’t sure where their fake relationship ends and their true one, the one that’s there but is not quite comfortable revealing itself, begins.

Iris is a relatable protagonist, Stevie is a compelling love interest, and Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date is a substantial romance that’s as comfortable with grand gesture as it is with thoughtful detail.

Something Wild and Wonderful
Anita Kelly

Helpful tags: Nature, solitude, grumpy-meets-sunny, M/M romance

Sometimes, in seeking solitude we find something else entirely.

It’s difficult to find a single bad word about the glorious new romance from the author of Love and Other Disasters. Two intensely loveable protagonists, relatable traumas, an incredible setting, deft pacing… it ticks all the boxes that count.

Having recently been completely cut off by his parents, Alexei is putting all his energy into hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Months of liberating solitude, wildlife and nature, peace and exertion. He’s ready for it all. 2500 miles of freedom, just him, just the trail. When he first comes upon the handsome, magnetic stranger, he notices him but he doesn’t think too much of it. But when they keep running into each other, Alexei finds it hard to ignore. Is this mere coincidence, or is the path bringing them together for a reason?

Ben has a history of allowing beautiful men to influence his decisions… and not very often for the better. He knows it’s something he needs to work on, knows he should be using his time alone on the trail to reflect by himself, and on himself. But there’s something about the gorgeous, quiet Alexei that he can’t bring himself to leave behind.

Alexei and Ben both were brought to the Pacific Crest Trail by the healing they hoped to find there, and the adventure that might await. They could not predict that they would become each other’s biggest adventure yet and did not foresee the healing they would find in each other. But the path has to end sometime and as their journeys begin to approach a crossroad, they start to wonder if it might be possible to hold onto the wonders they have found in the wilderness.

If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come
Jen St Jude

Helpful tags: dystopian/speculative, depression, religion, F/F romance

No matter how well you plan a thing, something else can always come along to ruin it. And no matter how well you keep your secrets, something can always come along to unearth them. The imminent end of the world could be considered one of those things.

Avery Byrne has undiagnosed clinical depression, she’s queer, and she’s in love. Nobody knows this but her. She has decided to end her life. She has it planned out: she’s chosen the day, she’s chosen the spot, she’s written her letters. But on that final day, she discovers, along with the rest of the world, that an asteroid is heading for earth. It’s big enough to end life as we know it and it will hit in just nine days. Can she, for the sake of everyone she loves and for all who love her, hold on for just that much longer? If she can, and if she’s going to try, it must begin with Cass, her best friend, the girl she has loved for as long as she can know.

But staying alive is going to mean facing the truth, coming clean, admitting that she needs support: it means attempting to have hope in something. Maybe there is a way to make it through this. Maybe the impossible beginning of Cass and Avery doesn’t also have to be their untimely end.

Split between the past and present, If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come beautifully and devastatingly explores the courage it takes to carry on and warring weights of hope and hopelessness. At once filled with action, emotionally raw and instilled with incredible tenderness, this is a big, emotional read that will not soon leave you.

Especially recommended for fans of They Both Die at the End.

The Sun and the Star
Rick Riordan and Mike Oshiro

Helpful tags: Greek mythology, gay, bisexual

We’re back in Tartarus with fan favourites Nico and Will! And this time the demigod boyfriends are braving the very darkest parts of the world to answer the call of a condemned old friend.

Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades, has been through a lot. His mother and sister were taken from him far too soon. He was outed against his will. He lost good friends during the infamous Trials of Apollo. But at least now he has his boyfriend, Will Solace, the son of Apollo. And together they’ve been able to best just about any deadly situation. But can they keep it up?

When Percy and Annabeth escaped Hades’s realm, they were forced to abandon a reformed Titan named Bob. Bob has been languishing there ever since. Now Nico has begun to have strange dreams and, confirmed by Rachel Dare’s latest prophetic visions, his sure that they are Bob calling for help. No matter what anyone else has to say about it, Nico knows he has to help. And, of course, Will is not about to be left behind. But Will, a being of pure light, has never ventured so far into the darkness or faced the terrors that wait there. With Rachel’s warning that in order to save Bob he will have to “leave something of equal value behind”, Nico gets the feeling that this quest will test not just the strength of his partnership with Will but also their ability to make it out alive.

A stand alone set in the legendary world of Percy Jackson, not only is this some of Riordan’s best character work yet, it is also a notable step into more mature territory.

I Wish You All the Best
Mason Deaver

Helpful tags: non-binary, family vs chosen family, coming out.

Heartfelt, moving and easy to get into, if you’ve never read a book with a non-binary protagonist, this is a great place to start.

The long moment that leads to coming out is one that’s overflowingly full of calculations. Minute assessments. There’s so much to anticipate.

Ben de Backer does not expect the reaction they receive when they come out to their parents as non-binary. They do not expect to be forced from their family home, to have the door firmly and permanently slammed on them. But that’s what happens. And that’s how they end up traipsing toward their sister’s house, hoping she’ll let them stay even though they haven’t seen her in ten years. Fortunately Hannah, along with her husband Thomas, is better than her parents and Ben is able to find some degree of stability in spite of everything.

But then there’s a new school to worry about – a senior year to survive. Only Hannah, Thomas and their therapist know what’s really going on. With an anxiety disorder and depression to overcome, all Ben wants to do is fly under the radar. Then Nathan – funny, charismatic, painfully adorable Nathan – comes along and makes that all but impossible. Nathan takes Ben under his wing and gradually, cautiously, a friendship starts to bloom… and then that friendship begins gently to change and deepen. With the trauma of the last time still so raw, can Ben risk rejection again? This could be their chance to make something beautiful out of a painful disaster. But what’s it going to take?

I Wish You All the Best absolutely teems with both heartbreak and joy and manages to communicate one of the touchstone queer experiences with considerable strength and tenderness.

Sorry, Bro
Taleen Voskuni

Helpful tags: Armenian culture, later life coming out, bisexual.

A glorious journey of self-discovery comes in many flavours with this laugh-out-loud debut, which follows an Armenian woman as she learns to fully love her heritage, to embrace defied expectations and to love in a new way.

Nareh can pinpoint the precise moment when she knew things had to change: the moment her boyfriend botches a misguided proposal in front of a roomful of San Francisco tech-bros. That’s when she knows she wants more out of life and romance.

Of course, her mother wants her to settle down with a nice Armenian boy – and she has a literal stack of candidates that she’s hunted down online. She convinces Nar to take part in Explore Armenia – a month-long series of events curated to celebrate and educate about all things Armenian.

But here it is not the approved doctor or the eligible engineer that catches her eye and holds her interest, it is Erebuni, an enigmatic, staunch defender of Armenian identity and a woman with an enticingly witchy vibe. With her in the picture, to act as a guide, the events come to feel less like an obligatory slog and more like a freewheeling adventure. Erebuni makes Nar feel a part of Armenia like never before, makes her feel seen in a way she has never felt. She’s never been quite so clear on what she wants. Only, no one knows she’s bi and Erebuni would certainly scupper her mother’s marriage schemes. But how much of a problem could that really be, in the end?

Cemetery Boys
Aiden Thomas

Helpful tags: Latinx, M/M romance, paranormal

You don’t get all that many books about a gay transgender ghost-summoning teenager, do you? Well here’s one with all that and more!

This entrancing debut is a queer paranormal Latinx mystery romantic adventure that charms and astonishes in equal measure. It just doesn’t make sense to skip it.

Yadriel comes from a traditional Latinx family. It’s been hard to get them to accept his gender. This will take time. But there is one thing he can do immediately to earn their respect: prove that he is a bona fide brujo. And to do that, all he needs to do is summon the ghost of his murdered cousin and guide him to the other side. Nothing to it.

Just one slight problem: the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz his school’s hottest rebel. And Julian’s not done living. He has no interest in joining the other side. He’ll be damned if he’s going anywhere!

To get rid of Julian’s ghost, Yadriel will have to help figure out who and/or what killed him. It’s a prickly agreement, but there are no other options. As they piece together as much as they can, spending more and more time together, Yadriel gets to thinking: maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Julian stayed.

Kanniedood
Joha van Dyk

Helpful tags: Afrikaans, SA culture, bisexuality.

A tense and gripping read that explores South African gang culture while examining if and how masculinity and sexuality fit into that world, Kanniedood treats us to two compelling and complex characters in an electrifyingly dangerous situation.

Like many matric students, Ben Palmer just wants to focus on getting through the year and doing what he needs to do. And he might have been able to do it, too, if not for an arrival that messed everything up.

An old gang leader is back in Breekwater and now Ben and his sister Kalla are forced to reckon with everything they thought they’d put behind them… and the possibility of all out war.

When Kalla was attacked in No Man’s Land, everything changed. But now that she has the chance to stop such a thing from happening again, she can hardly let it pass by. Taking that chance might leave a major trail of destruction. But it has to be worth it.

A Soft Landing
Wisani Mushwana

Helpful tags: South Africa, M/M Romance, local gay culture.

A debut of rare beauty that insightfully concerns itself with grief as much as with queer and racial identity, this is a local book that frankly examines tragedy without ever lapsing into pity-bait.

Andzani, a gay young Tsonga man has escaped a traumatic childhood in rural Limpopo and reforged himself in Cape Town. But his professional life has become stifling and he’s finding little fulfilment in the anonymous hookups he pursues out of habit. Life has become something of a prison and the traumas of his past still weigh heavily on him.

As Andzani languishes, we’re taken back to the events and losses of his early life, his coming of age and the pains that shaped him. Here Mushwana does not shy from exploring some disturbing themes or from heartbreakingly relating the terrors that are cruelly visited upon boys who don’t fit in with their oppressive communities. But by the final third of the novel, hope arrives in the form of Andzani’s new boyfriend Yolula – who has endured his own losses, and who helps Andzani to come to terms with the memories he has repressed for so long.

A Soft Landing is a profoundly moving debut from a local author with a keen understanding of people and the things that make us who we are.

Pageboy: A Memoir
Elliot Page

Boasting an emotive, lyrical style and deftly exploring the vital importance of discovering your innate self and being truly seen, Pageboy is an inspiring and essential tale of fame, family, faith and love.

When Juno was released to widespread acclaim, Elliot Page became an instantly beloved star. But behind the scenes, Page was vying with enormous pressure. The pressure to perform, the pressure to be something that did not feel right. On and off set, he was pushed into the agonising role of iconic young starlet, facing terrible scrutiny and struggling under the weight of all Hollywood’s unstoppable machinations. The whole apparatus of success and spotlight was forcing him into a painful binary. And he was unsure of how to respond to any of it… until it became powerfully clear.

What eventually followed was Page’s triumphant journey to fully embrace himself as queer and as trans, to gain the courage to pursue his dreams and real wants and to take his true place in a world that so often excels at harming and defeating.

Here he tells his groundbreaking story: a story that is both universal and intimately personal. Packed with enthralling tales about formative romances, body image woes, professional complications and personal success Pageboy is an important and uplifting read.

Happy Pride!

Another new month means another pair of books that warrant special attention. And in this case, they could hardly be more different. One is the moving new novel from an acclaimed voice in historical fiction while the other is a debut that’s distinctly contemporary; one is about the will to survive and one is about the will to… well… kill. And both are certainly worth adding to your TBR stack.

Without further ado: here are this month’s Book of the Month and Debut of the Month!

BOOK OF THE MONTH

Roald Dahl Month

At Bargain Books, this September is Roald Dahl month! And, yes, there are Golden Tickets up for grabs.

The children’s books of Roald Dahl, not that you needed telling, are among the most charming, memorable, and evergreen stories ever put to page. Barely is there a person out there who couldn’t tell you something about his books.

So, what are we up to?

 Well, firstly we’re making six of Dahl’s most popular books available at a special R60 discount, meaning that they’ll be just R159 each. If there are gaps in your collection or you and the youngsters in your life haven’t yet had the pleasure, now’s the best time to go grab them.

Here are the books on sale:

And What About Those Golden Tickets?

Much like Mr. Wonka himself, we’ve hidden 5 golden tickets in 5 different (tightly wrapped, of course) copies of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory across our 86 stores. All you must do is buy a copy from your local BB store and unwrap it at the counter so a bookseller can tell you what to do next in case you do catch a glimpse of gold. If you find one – and this is mostly because we sadly do not have any chocolate factories to give away – you win a most marvellous hamper valued at R990!

Books like Matilda, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The BFG, The Twits, James and the Giant Peach and The Fantastic Mr Fox, to name just a handful, are essential childhood reading and despite the fact that many of them are over fifty years old, they continue to find scores of new readers and regularly receive enchanting new adaptations (who’s excited to see Chalamet’s turn as the pre-chocolate-factory Wonka? That’s a trick question… everyone is, obviously).

Let’s leave off with one of our favourite Dahl quotes:
“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams, and you will always look lovely.” – The Twits

As always….Happy Reading

Get Ready for the World Cup!

With rugby’s most hotly anticipated contest now just weeks away, everybody’s asking the same question: can Erasmus and the Springboks do it again? We could debate it forever, of course, but we thought it might be more appropriate for us to bring you two brand new books from two of the most towering personalities in the sport. So, before the opening match kicks off in France on September 8th, take some time to soak up all the wisdom and insight that legendary coaches Nick Mallett and Rassie Erasmus have to offer.

Show your spirit by delving deep into two of the best rugby minds out there!

Check out these essential new reads for every kind of rugby superfan:

Rassie: Stories of Life and Rugby

By Rassie Erasmus and David O’Sullivan

Betrayal by Lesley Pearse

Because we couldn’t choose between these two exciting new releases, Pip Williams’ new novel, The Bookbinder of Jericho, is joined by the newest home-based suspense novel from one of the best household names in fiction.

Being one of the UK’s most celebrated and dependably engaging novelists, Lesley Pearse certainly needs no introduction. Readers everywhere are already familiar with her twisty evocations of toxic domesticity, inner turmoil, and long-buried secrets. And her expert storytelling, of course. Her newest slice of shattering suspense features all four of these things and is a guaranteed hit if you like your drama on the juicier side.

This book does come with a warning for depictions of domestic abuse and grooming.

It’s very unusual to marry a person without a single reservation. After all, who among us can say that we are always the best version of ourselves? Eve had some niggling worries about Don when she married him, but she was able to get past them. She had no way of knowing just how abusive he would become. It started with little things, small moments of uncontrolled temper, but soon she was ending up in the hospital. Leaving would mean uprooting her two beautiful children, Olly and Tabitha. And it would mean starting over with next to nothing. But staying would mean living with more fear and more pain.

Eventually, after another vicious beating, Eve resolves that this can go on no longer. She flees with her kids, moving to a seaside town before eventually being granted the legal right to move back into the family home. Don has moved on and is living elsewhere, but that doesn’t mean that she’s seen the last of him. Despite the legal arrangements, Don is hellbent on making life a living hell for Eve. He routinely turns up at the house, his bitterness and spite amplified by drunkenness, still tormenting her, ensuring that she can never fully heal, can never begin the next chapter in earnest, cannot devote her energies to crafting a new and better life for her family. Enough finally becomes enough and Eve decides it’s time to teach Don a lesson. But her act of retaliation goes disastrously wrong.

Now Eve has traded one crippling kind of fear for another. As she struggles to forge a new future for herself and her children, she is burdened with a secret that could ruin everything. A secret that forces her to ask herself: after having endured so much and having worked so hard to break free, has she betrayed the life that she, Olly and Tabitha might have been able to achieve?

A gripping and suspenseful work that also takes on some harrowing and hard-hitting topics, Betrayal is a domestic thriller from a master of the genre at the peak of her abilities.

Happy Reading!

The Bookbinder of Jericho
By Pip Williams

Imagine spending your life surrounded by the most mind-expanding books being written. Imagine spending your life in a city absolutely overflowing with knowledge and learning. And then imagine being told that it is not your place to read these books or to engage with all this knowledge because it is not your job to use your mind: it’s your job merely to do the handiwork. Now imagine all of this happening as the First World War devastates Europe and brutally remodels all of society.

This is the state of Peggy’s life when we meet her in Pip Williams’ new historical novel. You may remember that Pip Williams’ debut novel The Dictionary of Lost Words was one of our earliest Debuts of the Month. It quickly went on to become an acclaimed bestseller. Much like the book that came before it The Bookbinder of Jericho presents us with a lesser known snippet of history and retells it insightfully and memorably through the eyes of disregarded women.

Peggy and her twin sister Maude live on a narrowboat in Oxford. While they both work as bookbinders for the university press – gathering, folding and assembling pages day after day – and while Maude is content to live her life this way, Peggy desperately yearns for more. All around her, especially at Somerville College, students and scholars are making academic progress while she is constantly reminded: “your job is to bind the books, not to read them”. Since all the men are being shipped off to fight on the fronts of WWI, it falls to the women to keep the country running – and there is no time for one’s own ambitions.

Just as Peggy begins to feel as though her humdrum and frustrating future is locked in place, refugees arrive from Belgium’s ravaged cities and she starts to feel as though things really could change. As her whole world is reforged by the war and the wounded, Peggy spots a chance to unleash her curiosity and intellect… only to have that opportunity further complicated by love and all the difficult choices it precipitates.

The Bookbinder of Jericho, it could be argued, surpasses The Dictionary of Lost Words particularly in terms of weight and depth. Both of them are concerned with the ways in which knowledge is created, hoarded and traded – and particularly in how, even if they are not excluded outright from this process, women are certainly undervalued when it comes to the business of books and academia – but Williams’s newest thoughtfully navigates a period and a field especially subject to patriarchal bias.

Rousing and adept in its portrayal of strong female relationships and achingly deft in its depiction of the physical and psychic torment wrought by war, The Bookbinder of Jericho is essential reading for every book lover… and for every person who has ever suspected (hopefully that’s all of us) that the experiences of women are routinely under-estimated in popular history. Elegant, poetic and deeply moving.

Happy Reading!

Book of the Month June:

Killing Moon by Jo Nesbø

It’s been a little while since we’ve had anything new from Nesbø – who’s still, often convincingly, called the king of crime writers – and thus we’ve not heard from one of the book world’s most compelling and memorable detectives. Yes, Harry Hole is back! And with a bang too (albeit a gloomy and self-destructive one).

If there’s anything at which Nesbø particularly excels, and there certainly is (several things, in fact) it is the serial killer thriller. The killers in previous books like The Snowman and The Leopard are among the most memorable crime fiction villains recently created, and with Killing Moon Nesbø introduces us to one of his more twisted, fearsome and despicable creations. It’s no mean feat to continually project yourself into the worst and most appalling minds that humanity is capable of conjuring and to spin entertaining, often gruesome, narratives from those perverse psyches, but this is what Nesbø consistently does. And to such an extent that anyone with a taste for the grittier, more visceral and cerebral branches of crime fiction remains captivated by his work and its particular, peculiar flavour. As always, Killing Moon works perfectly well as a standalone novel and does not require you to have read any of the other Harry Hole books. Hole is, after all, a character who can be met at any point in his journey without any chance of being forgotten.

In Oslo, two young women have gone missing and the police are left with very little to go on. Seemingly the only thing that connects the two is that they both attended the same party – a party hosted by a real-estate magnate with a certain reputation. But when the body of one of the women is found, police quickly come to suspect that they have come up against a sickeningly unusual killer. A killer whose disturbing and unique signature – a signature that conjures some truly profound horrors – seems to suggest that he is just getting started. Against such an unusual foe, an equally unique detective is required. But Harry Hole cannot be contacted.

Harry Hole, having been fired from the police force, is determinedly drowning himself in drink somewhere in Los Angeles. And he has no intention of returning to Oslo – a place that holds nothing for him but haunted darkness. Until, that is, the life of the woman to whom he owes an enormous emotional debt is terrifyingly endangered.

Hole will not be able to stop this killer alone. He’ll need a team of his own assembling – a strange and talented posse of misfits that includes an ex-drug dealer, a corrupt police officer and a psychologist. But not everyone is happy to have them involved.

Delving deeply into and dwelling darkly within an insidiously depraved mind and conjuring as much palpable darkness as Nesbø’s best, Killing Moon delivers some serious shocks along with its sinister thrills. It’s as unputdownable as it gets. It even has cannibalism and some properly weird parasite activity… don’t pretend you aren’t intrigued!

Happy Reading!

Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt

By Lucinda Riley and Harry Whittaker

An epic family saga reaches its stunning, long-awaited conclusion.

 In crafting the epic, resonant Seven Sisters series, the late Lucinda Riley not only captured the hearts and minds of readers everywhere, but also really set the standard for the popular family saga.

Inspired by the Greek myth of The Pleiades – the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas who were eventually cast into the night sky by Zeus to become a comforting cluster of stars – the Seven Sisters series traverses time and place to tell the tale of the lives of the seven baby girls adopted by enigmatic Swiss billionaire Pa Salt. And it is with his passing that the main events of the series are set into motion. Upon Pa Salt’s death, each of the sisters receives a letter that contains tantalising clues about their individual origins. And thus, we embark on a tour of history and the world as we accompany each sister on her quest. Themes throughout include feminine strength, love and loss, heritage, completeness and romance, and each book sees Riley showcase her formidable storytelling talents, her knack for evoking history and her devotion to her inimitable characters.

The Seven Sisters series has truly become a juggernaut of historical fiction and now, at last, it draws to a close by revealing the secrets of Pa Salt, the mysterious, beloved father at the centre of it all.  

The story of this unforgettable family begins back in Paris, in 1928, where a boy on the brink of death is found by a good-natured family and taken in. Not long after he recovers, he quickly proves himself to be uncommonly talented and insightful for his age and under the care of his new family he starts to flourish. Encouraged by the love of his adoptive parents, he begins to see himself achieving the kind of life that he had always assumed was impossible for people like him. But no matter the securities and comforts of his new life, he will not, even when urged, reveal who he really is or describe the events that led him to this point. The horrors of his past remain well and truly buried.  

As a determined and ambitious young man, with a romantic leaning that leads him to fall quickly in love, he attends the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris, further reaching for the ideal life that seems more and more attainable. But even in moving so far ahead, in feeling the future creep toward his grasp, he still cannot forget the traumas of his early life… and the promise, the most important vow he has ever made, is becoming harder and harder to keep. When it becomes clear that a nascent and imperious evil is rising all across Europe, he fears that he must flee once again.

In 2008, in the heart of the Aegean Sea, six sisters board the Titan – their father’s cherished yacht – in order to say a final farewell to the father they all so deeply adored. But there is one sister missing, and it is she to whom all the truths of who they are and how they got there have been entrusted. The six gathered siblings are thus forced to reckon with the idea that they might not have known much about their father at all… and that the secrets he took with him into death continue to hold sway over their lives.

Co-authored and eventually completed by Riley’s son, Harry Whittaker, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt weaves all the threads together to form a beautiful, heart-rending denouement to this most magical and engrossing chronicle of love and family. If you’ve travelled this far with the sisters, you’ll absolutely relish the chance to slot in the final piece of the puzzle. It’s not to be missed.

Happy Reading, As Always!

That’s right we’re going to be at Comic Con Cape Town this year. And we’ll be bringing all the value, range, service and passion that make our stores the best.

Spend more than R400 at our Comic Con stall and stand a chance to win a Tokyo Ghoul: re box set!

Join us for a whole host of events celebrating the inimitable world of Pokémon and its many evolutions!
If you are a person of, let’s say, a certain age, you might just remember what it was like trying to explain Pokémon (and why you need all of them, like right now!) to your parents. Thankfully that’s not something one has to do much anymore. Because Pokémon. Are. Everywhere! And that’s just so cool.

The Trading Cards. The video games. The animated series. The apps. The movies. The characters. And the rest. The Pokémon franchise is absolutely iconic. Seriously, ask someone to name a Pokémon, any Pokémon. You might be surprised by how many can.

Anyway…

Today is Pokémon’s birthday!

And we think that’s worth celebrating. And we hope that you do too.

That’s why we’re hosting Pokémon events in more than a dozen of our locations between March 31st and April 4th! More on those in a moment, but first a little appetite whetting.

A Little Background

On February 27th, 1996, the very first iterations of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green were released on the Nintendo Gameboy (you remember those, right… their display was in black and white and they were only slightly more compact than your average brick!). And thus was born a mythically enormous realm that grew and grew to exist somewhere in the consciousness of every person in the world! Okay, perhaps not quite every person, but it really is hard to overstate the popularity and influence of these imaginative made-up creature-friends. Bet you have a favourite too. It’s worth mentioning, also, that the franchise originally set out to encourage connecting with each other and the world around us. In fact, the first games were apparently devised when designer Satoshi Tajiri wanted to find a way to connect Gameboys together. And this idea remains integral, so many generations and advancements down the line, to the Pokémon brand in all its forms.

And Now There’s Scarlet and Violet!

That’s right. We’re not just celebrating a birthday here. We’re also celebrating the launch of the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Trading Card Game expansion – which introduces ten new Pokémon ex, a bunch of glorious new artwork and almost 200 cards. You can see some of the products included in the Scarlet and Violet expansion:

So, Here’s What We’re Getting Up To

As part of our awesome Pokémon celebrations, our events will include the following activities:

● A card tournament. Come and find out how your deck stacks up against your fellow trainers and their tactics!
● Card trading. Because we all have those cards we’ve been yearning to add to our collections.
● Pokémon quiz. Do you know your Egg Moves from your Held Items? Your Grass Types from your Bug Types? Your Arceus from your Rayquaza? Your… well, you get the idea.
● Pokémon drawing competition. It takes a skilled artist to interpret those legendary designs. All creatives welcome!
● Best dressed competition. Costume opportunity! Some of us have been waiting for just the right moment to dig out those Pikachu ears. (Just kidding, we wear ours all the time.)
● Pop a balloon. Prizes are just better when they come with a bang!
● Lucky draw. Nothing says Pokémon quite like a “random encounter.”
● Find the Pokéball. It’s probably not going to be in the long grass – because most of our stores are, you know, indoors – but you never know!

Also, be sure to share with us all your best Pokémon memories, stories and observations between 27 February and 3 March 2023. We just know you’ve got loads!

Please tag @bargainbookssa

And hashtag #PokémonDay #BBPokémon #PokémonTogether

Celebrations are made of memories, so don’t hold back

Here’s the Schedule:

Download the schedule here

And Here Are Some Pokéfacts, Just for Fun

1. A lot of you already know this, but for those who don’t, the word Pokémon means “Pocket Monsters” (and there are quite a few layers of meaning there too). But specifically, it is an abbreviation of “Poketto Monsutā.”
2. There are 1008 Pokémon! Okay, there are probably disputes to be had here and things to interpret and debate, but essentially there are 1008. The first generation introduced us to just 151. There are now nine generations! How many can you name? How many have you caught? No, seriously, come and tell us and your fellow trainers.
3. The trading cards were released in 1998. Since then, more than 30 billion (!) have been sold world-wide. How many of those do you wanna bet are Fire Energy cards? Wink.
4. Many Pokémon were inspired by various spirits, or Yokai, found in Japanese mythology. Vulpix, for example, bears a certain resemblance to Kitsune – a famous, fiendish fox spirit found in many myths. For those of you who want to nerd out, here’s an interesting little list of Pokémon vs Yokai.
5. We don’t believe there’s anyone out there who has not at least once wished that Pokémon were real. We exaggerate, admittedly. But the fact that Pokémon Go has been downloaded by something like 750 million people, and that more than eighty billion Pokémon have been caught on the app, tells you that we are far from alone in that wish. And so are you.

Happy Pokémon Day!