Before checking emails becomes the sum total of a day's reading, squeeze in some me-time with these great books on shelf now
The end of the year turns really quickly into January and the holidays feel long and short at the same time. In between the office parties that give way to family gatherings and New Year’s Eve, the shopping and the frenetic pace of these holidays, it’s good to take some time out.
Feed your mind and your spirit with some quality you-time, and pick up a book. Any book, as long as you enjoy it. Few pleasures are as fulfilling as reading can be. Here are a few recommendations that may tickle your fancy.
Carnivore by K. Anis Ahmed
Set in New York’s unforgiving fine-dining scene, Carnivore follows Kash, a Bangladeshi-born chef whose exotic-meat restaurant collapses under debt and bad decisions. Enter a violent loan shark that’s, of course, demanding settlement.
It’s then when Kash learns about an invitation-only supper club for billionaires and figures that this may be his last chance at survival. To get the assignment, he plans to cook something no one has ever tasted.
So far, so good, but things turn brutal when the loan shark cuts off one of Kash’s fingers. After that, the story goes to a dark place. It’s a mix of ambition, how far anyone would go to meet their own ideals and what it feels like when there may be only one way out.
Carnivore is as dark as it is light, and it makes for totally immersive reading. It’s provocative and can smack you sideways if you don’t pay attention. An absolutely five-star book.
The Holy and the Broken by Ittay Flescher
This is a serious book. Make no mistake. The Holy and The Broken was written after the eruption of violence in 2023 and is a reflection on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
History, lived experience and years of peacebuilding work is assembled together in an argument that challenges readers to look beyond the hatred, the generational anger and zero-budge from both sides. It’s a look at people, people on the ground, faith and empathy.
Imagine if people could actually learn to live together and understand one another. What would it look like in the region? What if humanity was really shared and understood?
Flescher’s book is slow going because speed reading this work will not allow for the takeouts that present themselves. It’s also blunt. A tough read, but in a more universal sense, an essential treatise to comprehending some of the deep-set challenges that can prevent nations from being at peace with themselves, and their foes.
Bare Bones: Cold Cases from True Crime South Africa by Nicole Engelbrecht
What is it about True Crime that’s so delectably voyeuristic? Podcaster turned author Nicole Engebrecht’s collection of cold cases looks at a few unsolved crimes. There are disappearances, unidentified remains and murders without answers, both to families and authorities.
There are a dozen cold cases in the work, each detailed and well told. Her writing style is easy and doesn’t require the same kind of intensity as, for example, The Holy and the Broken. Yet the book can get pretty intense in places.
This is entertainment with a serious slant, it’s reality between pages and highly recommended as a great holiday or weekend read.
How The Hell Did This Happen? by P.J. O’Rourke
It’s not a new book but with Donald Trump’s return to the White House many people asked themselves the question, again, anyway. Only P.J. O’Rourke can turn political chaos into such brilliantly penned satire. How The Hell Did This Happen? was his take on the 2016 United States presidential election. The book unpacks the candidates, debates and campaign theatre, taking aim at everyone along the way.
The book asks the right questions, especially about the political direction of the purported leader of the free world. And, nine years later, reading this book with the wisdom of hindsight is alarming, because we’ve seen a lot of it roll out from the campaign trail to reality.
Highly recommended.
ALSO READ: 10 kids’ books that will save your sanity this festive season
Unlocked by Eben Etzebeth
Like his captain Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth has become a national sporting hero. In Unlocked, he shares his story, from growing up in Goodwood to becoming one of the most-capped players in South African rugby history. The book tells of the ups and downs, setbacks and leaps forward that led his career to where it is today.
It’s a really good addition to David O Sullivan’s Rassie biography, and read together, the shared value system that players and the coach seem to have is evident across the pages. It’s as much about discipline, personal growth and taking responsibility as it is about glory.
It also shares moments of personal sacrifice and the ache that becomes the opportunity cost of wearing the green and gold.
It’s a great book, and it’s really motivational without trying to be so. If you enjoyed Rassie, you’ll love Unlocked too.
Short History of Germany, China and England by various authors
History is not boring, It’s the past that helps us understand the future. And this collection of three short historical works turns back the clock in an entertaining and exceptionally informative manner.
Who would have thought that Julius Caesar came up with the German nation as we know it today, or that English is actually an offshoot of base German? The rise of China, its history through dynasties, wars and where the country is and leads today. It’s not a difficult read, and after every chapter, you’ll feel enriched with not just a better understanding of the world that’s ticked past, but why the puzzle pieces of geopolitics plug in together the way that they do.
Highly recommended.
NOW READ: Liberation to looting: Peter Hain on why freedom movements like the ANC can fail.
