9 Booklovers Recommend
- Mbali Sebokedi
- Mar 29, 2021
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 30, 2021
From young adult fiction to travel memoirs, choose your next read from these booklovers’ favourites!
Have you ever walked into a bookstore, picked up a pamphlet with recommendations and realised "Nope, this is not what I want." Well I have and I realised that the perfect remedy to my problem was curating a space in my little corner of the internet filled with diverse people and this recommendation list is an extension of that. Below you'll find a diverse list of books, by diverse people recommending their favourite books.
From young adult fiction to travel memoirs, choose your next read from these booklovers’ favourites!
Mbali
Mbali is student of literature, currently doing her Masters in Literary Theory at the University of Pretoria. She also writes book reviews on Instagram under the hashtag #booksaslewks where she creates makeup looks inspired by book covers. 99.9% of the time you'll find her reading and reviewing African/Black literature and prioritising women and LGBTQIA+ writers of most genres.
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
Boasting themes of cultural imperialism and erasure, historical revisionism, and fragile masculinity, amongst other things, we are transported to the world of Aritsar. There we meet Tarisai who was raised in isolation by The Lady, her mysterious and often absent mother, for one purpose and one purpose only - to get Tarisai on the Prince’s council and kill him.
Why Raybearer?
Every time I think of this read, I just let out a squeal. What an outstanding debut by Jordan Ifueko. The world building? Amazing. The characters? Brilliant. The way the magic works? Fascinating. I have so many reasons as to why I loved this offering by Ifueko but the most personal one was Mbali the griot. I have always enjoyed fantasy books but I slowly fell out of love when the stories lacked representation. So to see a character with MY name in a fantasy book was literally the best thing ever and made me shed a tear or two.
Lefa
Lefa Nkadimeng is a Sales Representative, a book collector, a reader & Bookstagrammer who currently resides in Pitori mahlanyeng. A proud Pedi babe who loves everything Limpopo especially the delicious avos. She's currently pursuing an Honors degree in Publishing. When she's not reading, Lefa can be found in her bed watching horror movies or sitcoms, daydreaming about Yahya Abdul-Mateen II or trying out new recipes while listening to the latest Amapiano hits.
Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett
Full Disclosure follows Simone an HIV positive teen who basically has it all : great friends, supportive leaning towards nosey parents, directing musicals and making out with the hottest boy in school. However one of Simone's schoolmates doesn't like that she gets to kiss the hottest boy in school and they know she hasn't told anyone so they threaten to out her HIV status.
What made you pick Full Disclosure?
I'm not usually a fan of YA, but sometimes it stays with you. I found this book to be multi-faceted, nerdy and sex positive, things that resonate with who I am. Its the inclusion of bisexual characters and other queer characters, it's the exploration of interracial couples outside of the white/black binary and the inclusion of older queer people, which is not a common occurrence in media. I learnt so much, and felt that Camryn Garret handled all these topics well.
Precious
Precious Lesupi is a film honours student at the University of the Free State. They also work as a freelance writer and photographer. In their spare time, they play basketball, read whatever book they can get their hands on and tutor French.
Things the Fire Left Behind: For You Still Burning by Bokang Maragelo
Things the Fire Left Behind is an anthology encompassing themes such as depression, suicide, loss, abuse, trauma and love. It is an account of what it feels like to navigate life, adulthood and relationships while there are pieces of oneself lost in traumatic experiences. The author takes us into places where we find ourselves burning to feel whole, release the pain or yearn for a sense of freedom and belonging. It ends in a rhetoric that leaves the reader introspecting on whether to actively deal with the abovementioned themes in order to preserve the sanity of perhaps their children or future relationships.
Why did you pick this collection?
The first reason why I picked this is because it's by a self-published author and often times they aren't seen on lists like this because people are apprehensive about taking the leap and buying their work. The second being that this collection hits close to home, Bokang speaks about depression, suicide and childhood trauma in such a relatable way.
Monique
Monique Atouguia is a writer and researcher. She is the Project Manager for the African Leadership Institute’s Project Pakati, a Ford Foundation grantee, and in partnership with the African Union’s Office of the Youth Envoy, is advocating to shift young African leaders to the centre of African development. Monique’s professional experience is in public policy analysis, socio-economic research and advocacy while her academic background is interdisciplinary and wide ranging. She is completing her Masters in Organisational and Institutional Studies at the University of Witwatersrand, part-time. Monique’s research is exploring political cultural shifts on the African continent through the lens of youth demands on governance. Monique is driven by the belief that impactful policy, inclusive development, good governance and successful institutional reform require an understanding of the complexities of many different disciplines.
The Paper Menagerie and other stories by Ken Liu
The Paper Menagerie and other stories by Ken Liu is an anthology of short stories that really vary in genre, honestly some of the most original, thought-provoking and beautiful writing I have ever read. It's known as the highly awarded short story for breaking so many boundaries. According to the blurb: “sixteen stories that invoke the magical within the mundane, by turns profound, beguiling and heartbreaking.”
What made you pick this collection of short stories?
I chose this collection because I truly believe that it would appeal to so many readers - it's truly a book for everyone. It moves from contemporary writing and historical fiction to sci-fi and crime fiction. His writing is really convincing and well-thought out and feels really grounded even while exploring eternal questions such as who we are and who will become.
Thiruna
Thiruna is a multidisciplinary artist, author and visual creative interested in the intersections of human rights law, advocacy and the arts. Specifically, she is keen on how these intersections relate to the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons and other vulnerable groups such as migrants and persons of the female gender. She is currently pursuing an LLM Degree in Multidisciplinary Human Rights at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria.
Thiruna's most recent work as a creative/multidisciplinary artist has come in the form of a book of poetry and art, which was self published in late 2018.
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
The book is loosely based on real life events that the main character experienced. In 1978, Gregory is sentenced to a 19-year imprisonment in Australia after being convicted of a series of armed robberies of building society branches, credit unions, and shops during a heroin-addicted phase of his life. In July 1980, he escapes from Victoria's Pentridge Prison in broad daylight over the front wall and goes on the run. He arrives in Bombay carrying a false passport in the name of Lindsay Ford. Bombay (Mumbai) was supposed to only be a stop-over on a journey that was supposed to take him from New Zealand to Germany, but he decides to stay.
Why do you recommend Shantaram?
This book is special to me, because even while it's the telling of a white man's time in India, there is something about the way he chronicles his adventures and experiences in the country. There is something poetic in his descriptions of things, his life experience and even the socio-economic issues of the 80's and 90's. I think it's an interesting adventure book, and it comes highly recommended by me.
Omphile
Omphile Raleie is the founder and curator of Bookamoso Book Club. She is a technologically savvy and a social media fundi-extraordinaire. Her hobbies include health and fitness and of course, collecting and reading books, the driving force behind Bookamoso Book Club.
Vagabond: Travelling through Africa on Faith by Lerato Mogoatlhe
When Lerato Mogoathle left South Africa for a planned three-month break to West Africa little did she know that those three months would turn into five years. Vagabond is her hilarious and honest account of her five years of living as a drifter in Africa. In between the borders, foreign architecture and interesting new ways of life, Mogoatlhe found passion, love, laughter and heartbreak. On these pages you will find capsules of time spent in 21 countries in five regions of Africa. You will be regaled by the tales of how she tries to worm herself into hotels when she has no money because of unpaid invoices back home. You will be mortified and proud of how she navigates herself out of difficult situations like being misread by a man who tries to force himself on her. Mogoatlhe’s book is a travel memoir driven by the belief that whatever else Africa is, it is first and foremost a home. It is punctuated with a deep urge to know the continent differently.
Source: Blackbird Books
Why did you choose to share Vagabond today? I wanted to bring something different to this list, it's often the case that you don't find memoirs and non-fiction outside of the political, so I wanted to choose something different. I wanted to share Lerato's travel memoir because I love how she showed the realness and Ubuntu of Africa. And while I haven't yet received the opportunity to travel Africa like her, I have learnt to be less judgmental and be open-minded about being in certain spaces by seizing the moment.
Lwazi
Lwazi (they/them) is a self-described bookworm trying to rediscover their love of books. At some point, after mentally begging 30 something-year-old Potterheads to read any other book, dear God, they realised that it had been a while since they had actually read something. At 23, this is their first pandemic, and they hoped to spend most of that time reacquainting themselves with the worlds of fiction and creative non-fiction, but apparently, major historical events are demanding and exhausting so they haven't read as much as they wish they had. They would like a heads up the next time the world decides to metaphorically collapse on itself.
Lwazi is a freelance copyeditor, and aspiring storyteller - although they're still exploring which medium they'd prefer to do so in. They work from home and shall continue to do so once they've received a vaccine.
The Quiet Violence of Dreams by K Sello Duiker
The Quiet Violence of Dreams is set in Cape Town's cosmopolitan neighborhoods - Observatory, Mowbray and Sea Point - where subcultures thrive and alternative lifestyles are tolerated. The plot revolves around Tshepo, a student at Rhodes, who gets confined to a Cape Town mental institution after an episode of 'cannabis-induced psychosis'. He escapes but is returned to the hospital and completes his rehabilitation, earns his release - and promptly terminates his studies. He now works as a waiter and shares an apartment with a newly released prisoner. The relationship with his flatmate deteriorates and Tshepo loses his job at the Waterfront. Desperate for an income, he finds work at a male massage parlour, using the pseudonym Angelo. The novel explores Tshepo-Angelo's coming to consciousness of his sexuality, sexual orientation, and place in the world.
What made you pick this book?
There's something about the way that K Sello Duiker writes, you feel like you're vividly participating in the story but at the same time there's a feeling that the characters' lives continue even when the story ends. His writing fundamentally changes you, how you view things, it's changed how I even think about feminism. In his writing, Duiker was able to bring the margins to the centre and for that I am eternally grateful, may he rest in peace.
Lebogang Tiego
Lebogang Tiego Legodi is a lecturer as well as a PhD candidate in International Politics at the
University of Limpopo. She holds an MA in International Politics (2019) from the University of
Limpopo and a BA Honours in Political Science (2016) from the same institution. Legodi also obtained
a Bachelor of Social Science in Political Science and International Relations (2015) from the North-
West University. She has presented papers at both national and international conferences and has
published scientific papers in numerous accredited and non-accredited journals. She remains
interested in the decolonisation and Africanisation of education at South African universities.
No Roses from My Mouth by Stella Nyanzi
No Roses from my Mouth is a poetry collection of Stella Nyanzi published last year 2020. Stella was prisoned for 18 months for writing a poem on Facebook about Museveni- the president of Uganda Museveni.
Why this specific poetry collection? Poetry is not usually my go-to but I am a fan of political books, so that's why I decided to pick up this collection. I find this collection to be very deliberate in its confrontation of Ugandan leadership. I also enjoyed how Nyanzi explores sexism, gender rights and LGBTQIA+ rights.
Murray
Murray is a thinker, reader, watcher of films and general lover of beauty and literature. Hailing from the great city of Rustenburg, he now lives in Cape Town, where his favourite activities include sitting in parks, exploring bookshops and consuming way too much wine. Currently pursuing his teaching degree, he hopes to brainwash young people to be good to each other and, always, to read more.
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
‘Real Life’ follows Wallace, a postgraduate Science student, over the course of the last weekend of Summer break, as he navigates both his queerness and his Blackness around a group of friends that often overlook both. As he falls in and out of love with each of them, he struggles with his place in a degree and a world that makes him doubt himself and the intentions of everyone around him.
Why Real Life?
I chose Real Life because I'm a lover of campus novels, and have only come across ones that are fun explorations of campus life. In this book there’s this deep sense of alienation amidst an atmosphere of surface level fun. I found it to be very relatable because it tackles these very human feelings in an almost anthropological manner.
In closing, Booklovers Recommend would like to extend a thanks to the sponsors of this list, Goethe Institute and Library Aid Africa, with their help we were able to bring together these different voices and have them share their love for books.
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