Readers Recommends - 27 March 2023

by Meghan America

Reader's Recommends is our weekly live session, streamed live on Facebook, where we recommend the best, the popular and the latest Reads from all genres and WHY you should read them! 

Each week our representative, Thomas Bulpin, is joined by a few representatives from different publishing companies. In this week's edition, Thomas was joined by 4 amazing reps: Monica Dalby, Inge Van de Post and Julie Jones from Jonathan Ball Publishers, and Zenande Bidli from Pan Macmillan. 

Monica Dalby's Recommends:  

The Plot To Save South Africa by Justice Malala 

Acclaimed South African journalist Justice Malala recounts the riveting story of the next nine days - never before told in full - revealing rarely seen sides of both Mandela and de Klerk, the fascinating behind-the-scenes debates within each of their parties over whether to pursue peace or war, and their increasingly desperate attempts to restrain their supporters despite mounting popular frustrations. 

Violeta by Isabel Allende 

One extraordinary woman. One hundred years of history. One unforgettable story. 

Violeta comes into the world on a stormy day in 1920, the first daughter in a family of five boisterous sons. From the start, her life is marked by extraordinary events. 

Told in the form of a letter to someone Violeta loves above all others, this is the story of a hundred-year life - of devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, poverty and wealth, terrible loss and immense joy.  

The Man Who Shook Mountains by Lesley Mofokeng 

Journalist Lesley Mofokeng investigates the life of his remarkable grandfather, Mongangane Wilfred Mofokeng, a prominent Dutch Reformed Church evangelist.  

The journey takes him from Joburg’s Marabi-soaked townships of the 1930s to his childhood home of Gelukspan near Lichtenburg and then to the rural Free State and the remote mountain kingdom of Lesotho. In what becomes a spiritual quest, he traces the inspirational footsteps of his ancestors and the legendary King Moshoeshoe. 

Inge Van de Post’s Recommends: 

In a Thousand Different Ways by Cecelia Ahern 

Alice sees the worst in people. She also sees the best. 

She sees a thousand different emotions and knows exactly what everyone around her is feeling, every single day. But it's the dark thoughts, the sadness, the rage. These are the things she can't get out of her head. The things that overwhelm her. 
 
Finding your way is never a simple journey... Where will the journey to find herself begin? 

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner 

Kissen's family were killed by zealots of a fire god. Now, she makes a living killing gods, and enjoys it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skedi, a god of white lies, has somehow bound himself to a young noble, and they are both on the run from unknown assassins. 

All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham 

It’s been a year since Isabelle Drake’s son, Mason, disappeared from his bedroom. Since then, she hasn’t had a full night of sleep. Everyone else has moved on – the detectives, the press, her husband – but she can’t rest until she knows the truth. 

Teaming up with true crime podcaster Waylon Spencer, Isabelle investigates her son’s case. But Waylon has motives of his own and as long-forgotten memories of Isabelle’s past resurface, doubt begins to cloud her sleepless nights. 

Julie Jones’ Recommends: 

Maame by Jessica George 

Smart, funny, and deeply affecting, MAAME deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship.  

Jessica George's Maame explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures - and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong.  

The Dark Flood by Deon Meyer 

One last chance. Almost fired for insubordination, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido find themselves demoted, exiled from the elite Hawks unit and dispatched to the leafy streets of Stellenbosch. Working on a missing persons report on student Callie de Bruin is not the level of work they are used to, but it's all they get. And soon, it takes a dangerous, deeply disturbing turn.  

Promise Me by Jill Mansell 

One minute Lou is happily employed, with a perfect flat. The next, her home and job have gone. Suddenly she has to start over. 

Zenande Bildi’s Recommends: 

Fling by Joseph Murray 

Tara loved Colin at first sight. Colin loved Tara at first fight. That’s when they knew they were meant for each other. 
 
But after six years, their marriage started to crumble. Unable to recapture the spark they once had, it seems it’s all over. Until they meet their 100% match on a controversial new dating app – Fling.  

Homecoming by Kate Morton 

Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek on the grounds of the grand and mysterious mansion, a local delivery man makes a terrible discovery. A police investigation is called and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled in one of the most shocking and perplexing murder cases in the history of South Australia.  

One For My Enemy by Olivie Blake 

In New York City, two rival witch families fight for the upper hand. 

The Antonova sisters are beautiful, cunning and ruthless, and their mother – known only as Baba Yaga – is the elusive supplier of premium intoxicants. Their adversaries, the influential Fedorov brothers, serve their crime boss father. Named Koschei the Deathless, his enterprise dominates the shadows of magical Manhattan. 

Readers Warehouse Top 5:  

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes 

A story of mix-ups, mess-ups and making the most of second chances. 

Nisha, 45, lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband inexplicably cuts her off entirely. She doesn't even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in. That's because Sam - 47, middle-aged, struggling to keep herself and her family afloat - has accidentally taken Nisha's gym bag. 

Now Nisha's got nothing. And Sam's walking tall with shoes that catch eyes - and give her career an unexpected boost. Except Nisha wants her life back - and she'll start with her shoes...  

Atomic Habits by James Clear 

World-renowned habits expert James Clear knows that real change comes from the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions – doing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes early, or holding a single short phone call. 

He calls them atomic habits. 

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover 

Lily hasn't always had it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She's come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up - she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life suddenly seems almost too good to be true. 

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan - her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector.  

When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened. 

Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus 

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. 

But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Forced to resign, she reluctantly signs on as the host of a cooking show, Supper at Six. But her revolutionary approach to cooking, fueled by scientific and rational commentary, grabs the attention of a nation.  

Soon, a legion of overlooked housewives find themselves daring to change the status quo. One molecule at a time.  

23rd Midnight by James Patterson 

Detective Lindsay Boxer put serial killer Evan Burke behind bars. Now a new killer has recreated Burke's most infamous crimes-and disappeared without a trace. 

An obsessed fan is studying every detail-and committing fresh horrors that carry Burke's signature. Now Lindsay's tracking an elusive suspect, one who's penning a deadly playbook featuring Cindy's name in blood-red ink. 


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