While we might live in the internet era where everything is digitized and super-efficient it doesn’t mean that our love affair with literature is over. People still love to read an old fashioned, printed book and no matter your interests there is a genre for you: thriller, comedy, horror, suspense, romance, fantasy, mystery, etc. The holiday period offers the perfect opportunity to tuck into a good book, but with so many options available how do you know which books are worth picking up this festive season? Here are our suggestions for must-read books this holiday season.
Silence of the Sea, by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Crime and thrillers are the most popular genres with Scandinavian crime fiction having become increasingly popular over the past 10 years. Beginning in the ‘90s with Maj Sojöwall and Per Wahlöö’s ‘Martin Beck’ series, the genre took off with Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy which includes the popular The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo. Yrsa Sigurdardottir, aka the Queen of Nordic Noir, follows on from her peers’ literary successes with her award-winning crime novel Silence of the Sea. It’s been acclaimed as Yrsa’s most chilling novel yet and uncovers the plight of a cursed yacht whose occupants are found to have mysteriously disappeared as it docks in Reykjavik harbour. Yrsa’s known for her spooky writing and bloody horror. She attributes this to her Icelandic upbringing where tales of boiling children and eating them alive are common. Ironically Iceland statistically only has one murder a year.
Softening the Edge by Mimi Nicklin
You may recognise Mimi Nicklin from her popular podcast, ‘Secrets of the Gap’ or her much-loved weekly breakfast show, ‘Empathy for Breakfast’. And now, her long-awaited book is finally here in South Africa! Already a best-seller in the USA, Canada, Australia and the UAE, Softening the Edge addresses empathy in all its facets and explores how humanity’s oldest leadership trait is changing our world. A great gift for a book worm who loves self-improvement-style guides, Softening the Edge will make for the ideal stocking stuffer this festive season.
Waiting for the Barbarians by JM Coetzee
If you’ve already read JM Coetzee’s critically acclaimed work, Disgrace, then you’ll want to move onto the Booker Prize winner’s 1980 masterpiece, Waiting for the Barbarians. This gripping novel tells the story of an unnamed magistrate at the edge of a remote frontier town as he grapples with the imperial forces of which he is a part of. And, while many might think that Disgrace is Coetzee’s best work it is Waiting for the Barbarians that truly sets Coetzee apart one of the world’s most politically astute writers.
Mile 8 by David Higgs
Inspired by one of chef David Higgs’ childhood stories where his food journey began, Mile 8 is sure to delight both your palate and your mind. Namibia’s coast is lined with mile markers running north through the country for 108 miles. Mile 8 is where Higgs caught his first fish and where he fell in love with the art of food. The book is a great read for those with a sense of adventure and follows Higgs’ story from the coastal town of Walvis Bay, through the kitchens of Cape Town in the 90s, to the winelands and ending at Marble restaurant in Johannesburg.
The New Success Paradigm by Stephen Engels
Stephen Engels’ new book The New Success Paradigm: “A Personal Leadership Discovery Platform” is centred around a metaphor of the ‘River of Life’ and in using this metaphor he develops the book’s key theme of personal leadership strategies. Whether you’re seeking guidance or are looking for a way to derive meaning from your life, or your business, this self-help guide by Engels is sure to be an inspiring holiday read. The book takes on the form of a very effective personal leadership programme, offering the tools you need to make a change in your professional or personal life now. With its step-by-step, interactive approach, this book makes it enjoyable to contemplate success. Designed to be used alongside a very practical workbook and the highly interactive ELS LeaderApp, this book is ideal for anyone who wants to use the holiday season as an opportunity to better themselves before the start of a new year.
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