Dad, stop scrolling: grab a book

We Two from Heaven: A Memoir by James Whyle (Jonathan Ball Publishers)

In this memoir, Whyle weaves together his father’s WWI war letters, his own apartheid trauma, and the makings of himself as a writer. Ivan Vladislavić recommends it: “Whyle’s prose is finely tuned, unflinching in its approach to painful subjects, but also laced with wry humour and the sheer delight of being alive.”

Performing Masculinities: Izikhothane in a South African Township by Sifiso JG Mnisi (HSRC Press) 

This is quite heavily on the academic side, but it is essential reading for those who wish to delve into the complexities of township male youth identity in post-apartheid South Africa.

Journey Kwantu: Exploring African Spirituality and Identity by Vusumzi Ngxande (Jonathan Ball Publishers) 

This book is inspired by Ngxande’s popular podcast of the same name and examines South African spiritual beliefs and how they have all evolved. Perceptive stuff.

In a Rain of Dust: Death, Deceit, and the Lawyer who Busted Big Asbestos by David Kinley (Johns Hopkins University Press)

For nearly 90 years, British company Cape Asbestos mined and milled asbestos in South Africa. Poor, mostly black, women and children (some as young as seven) worked each day in a smog of asbestos dust, which caused appalling levels of death and disease. Kelly tells of the legal battle that took place to hold the company accountable. Impactful.

Strangers in Time by David Baldacci (Macmillan)

Baldacci is a master at historical thrillers and he makes this WWII novel set in London unique, with characters that are instantly believable. 

An Act of Murder by Tom Eaton (Penguin Books)

The premise: It hasn’t been a great week for struggling actor Arnold Prinsloo. His career has bottomed out, he’s about to be evicted from his Melville cottage and the love of his life Zelda has had enough and left him. But it gets even worse when he is accused of murder. The promise: laugh-out-loud cackling and a twisty murder mystery.

One Small Step: A Definitive Account of a Run that Became a Global Movement — from the founder of Parkrun by Paul Sinton-Hewitt (Macmillan)

Sinton-Hewitt is the international founder of Parkrun, which, for those who have not heard of it, started as a small weekly event for friends and has grown into an international phenomenon that takes place in over 23 countries every weekend with over nine million registered parkrunners. After the UK, South Africa offers the most Parkrun venues. Sinton-Hewitt writes about how his simple idea of coming together changed his own life and hopefully the lives of others.

Men & Mental Health: Shattering the Silence by Marion Scher (Bookstorm)

Men in South Africa are four times more likely to commit suicide than women, yet most men don’t talk about depression or seek help. Scher talks to men from all walks of life about how hard it is to admit to mental health challenges. She also gets valuable contributions from psychiatrists and psychologists and points towards solutions that could provide relief and support.

Walking Wild: Hiking the length of the Kruger National Park by José A Neves (HPH Publishing)

“A must read for anyone who loves Kruger and adventure,” says Australian author Tony Park, who lives near the Kruger and writes about it. This is not about your typical hike or safari with sundowner G&Ts. Rather, it's about 605km of dust and sweat as a group sets out to walk the entire length of the Kruger National Park. Over six stages and three years they travelled through blistering heat and violent storms. This captures the deep connection of people and nature.

Blood’s Inner Rhyme by Antjie Krog (Penguin Books)

Everyone should read this book by the legend. It’s an autobiographical novel in which she breaks the boundaries of genre to write about her complex relationship with her mother Dot, who in her nineties is frail and needs full-time care, but whose intellect is razor sharp and whose writing is comparable to her own. This is Krog’s most intimate book, yet most universal.

Faces and Phases of Resilience: A Memoir of a Special Kind by Tinyiko Maluleke (Tracey Macdonald Publishers)

In this collection of essays, Maluleke begins his memoir with his eventful boyhood in Soweto and his life-changing upbringing in Limpopo. He then traces his time in academia and weaves it into his personal narrative of South Africa.

The Nicotine Gospel by Sven Axelrad (Umuzi)

Axelrad takes bits of his own life to create this novel about two brothers Nathan and Danny who after their mom dies, are left in the care of their eccentric dad, Esben Muesli. Esben invents a new set of rules to make sense of the world, calling it the Nicotine Gospel. Nostalgic, moving and funny but sad.

Food Trail South Africa by Warren Mendes (Penguin)

Mendes, who now calls Australia his home, travelled back to his place of birth and the result is this cookbook filled with familiar local loves and an appreciation for South African kos. It has everything from how to make a Cape Masala mix, to koeksisters vs koesisters. Not difficult and very easy to follow, this is more than just the usual braai book to give dad.