A Day at El-Bulli by Ferran Adria
A diary and notebook and cook book in one! This masterpiece, allows, for the first time, an insight and unprecedented access to one of the world’s most famous, sought after and mysterious restaurants. Having held three Michelin stars since 1997, and regularly voted Best Restaurant in the World by a panel of 500 industry professionals, El-Bulli has been at the very forefront of the world restaurant scene since Ferran Adria became head chef in 1987. Aimed at food enthusiasts as well as industry professionals, the book documents all the activities and processes that make up just one day of service with stunning photography of the kitchens, staff, creative workshop, dishes, the restaurant itself and its striking surroundings near the town of Roses, north east of Barcelona. Since 2002 El-Bulli has not had a printed menu but rather offer the best of what has been created in the kitchen for that day. The restaurant closes for part of the year to allow staff to create a new range of dishes. Mouthwateringly beautiful.
Beauty’s Gift by Sindiwe Magona
Iqhubeka ekapa, le ncwadi ixela ngebali labahlobo abahglanu. omnye wabo waye walandulela ile ngenxa kagawulayo kwakunye nentsholongane yakhe. Abahlobo bakhe baye baqonondisana ukuba bokwenza konke okusemandleni ukuze abalingane babo bahlolwe intsholongwane kagawulayo, kwakunye nokuzinikezela kuhlobo lomtshato apho indoda ithi ibenomfazi omnye. Ngamafuthane babekwazi ukubonelela, ukunyaniseka nokwaphula intliziyo, singatsho ukuthi yeyona ncwadi ibalulekileyo kwezakhe zaveliswa ezithetha ngogawulayo nentsholongwane yakhe. Indebe esilva siyinika iBeauty’s Gift kukhuphiswano leyona-yona eBook Lounge.
The Big Fat Duck Cookbook by Heston Blumenthal
The authoritative must-have from the culinary genius behind The Fat Duck, the restaurant named best in the world by Restaurant magazine. This lavishly illustrated, stunningly designed, and gorgeously photographed masterpiece takes you inside the head of maverick restaurateur, Heston Blumenthal. Separated into three sections (History, Recipes and Science), Blumenthal chronicles his improbable background and unorthodox rise to fame and, for the first time ever, offers a mouth-watering and eyes-widening selection of recipes from his award-winning restaurant. What would I like to be when I’m a grown up book? An exquisite cloth bound cookery book with Dave McKean illustrations and a recipe for bacon and egg ice cream. Got to be seen to be believed.
Die Dag Toe Ek my Hare Losgemaak het deur Willemien Brummer
‘n Debuut bundel kortverhale wat inderdaad jou armhare laat regop spring van opgewondenheid. Brümmer skep een hoofkarakter, Mia Albertyn, wat deur die kronologiese verloop van die verhale haar kinderlike onskuld inruil vir volwasse gewaarwordinge en die gepaardgaande sinisme. Onderliggend in die verhale is die helende krag wat “storie” en verbeelding in Mia en haar pa se lewe speel: en ook haar redding is. Die dag toe ek my hare losgemaak het is ’n delikate en intense versameling; tegelykertyd literêr en toeganklik en soos Patricia Lewis sou se: My engel! Jou sterretjie skitter nog helder!
Endless City by Ricky Burdett
This superb and fascinating book takes six of the world’s key cities – New York, Shanghai, London, Mexico City, Johannesburg, and Berlin – and makes parallel studies of them. Focusing on growth, population, environment and architecture, beautifully illustrated, with enlightening graphics and essays by key figures in their field; this book has so much to offer to anyone interested in the built environment and the way our cities are changing. Plus it has a bright orange cover!
The Fred de Vries Interviews: From Abdullah to Zille
Fred de Vries – bilingual travel writer, journalist, music fundi, marathon runner and coffee shop intellectual – opens up a kaleidoscope of the brave and colourful in the arts, media, politics and literature in his interviews. The author has developed quite a following of Sunday brunchers and culture vultures who thoroughly enjoy the interviews published in The Weekender and other local and international media. Each interview contains three characters, the interviewee, the interviewer and the interview itself. A must read for anyone interested in top class journalism.
In a Different Time by Peter Harris
Harris was the defence lawyer for the Delmas Four – members of an Umkhonto we Sizwe cell that were arrested and tried on a variety of charges, including murder and treason, in the last years before our first democratic election. Harris expertly tells the story of Jabu Masina, Ting Ting Masango, Neo Potsane and Joseph Makhura, from the time when they went into exile after the Soweto uprising in 1976, to their staring down the death penalty in one of the most dramatic political trials of that era. Publishers often tell us that they are bringing us non fiction with the pace of an unputdownable thriller. For once, they were not exaggerating.
Khayelitsha by Steven Otter
What do you do if you are having rent issues in Cape Town? Move to Khayelitsha of course! That’s what Steven Otter did in 2001, staying for a total of four years. This brilliant book about his time there is at once a breathless adventure, a collection of funny stories, and an insight into a way of life that is unknown to most of us. The combination of warm, funny and colourful characters, and Steve’s own openness about examining his own residual prejudices make this a hugely entertaining and important book.
Laying Ghosts to Rest by Mamphela Ramphele
Inkokheli kwezamashishini,nezombangazwe,kwakunye nesifundiswa ugqirha Mamphela Ramphele uthethe wophela malunga nenqubo/imeko yobandlululo yexesha eladlulayo,ethetha echaphazela ncakasana ngocalulo ngokobuhlanga,ngokwesini, kwakunye nobonelelo lwabo babevinjwe amathuba,ingxaki yokuswela izakhono,nokuziswa kwenkonzo ebantwini.Wenze isambonono ebabongoza abemi beli lizwe ukuba basebenzise basebenzise konke abanako beze neendlela ezichubekileyo zokuguqulaimisindo,ngokucinga ngezinto ezinoba lulutho ebantwini.Kwincwadi yakh’enenkuthazo ethi (Laying Ghosts to Rest) ubongoza uluntu ukuba lithabathe inxaxheba ekwakheni isizwe kwaye sinovuyo nochulumanco ukubhengeza nokwazisa ukuba ibe yeyona ncwadi ithengise kakhulu kulonyaka uphelileya.
McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern edited by Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers and his gang are simply the undisputed Kings of Cool in American letters. This one is a huge staff favourite and takes the form of a Quarterly publication featuring short stories from talented up-and-coming American authors, as well as throwing in some well-established names every now and again. The design goes beyond inventive – jaw dropping is the only way to describe it. McSweeney’s Quarterly Concerns are seen by many as collectible items – affordable and endlessly entertaining pieces of art.
Moomin by Tove Jansson
If you are of the right age you might well have grown up watching the Moomin family on telly (some of us can still remember the theme song). The Book Lounge is definitely doing our bit to help Moomin go through a revival. Translated from the original Swedish, yet published in Finland, Tove Jansson’s novels about a memorable family of trolls continues to capture the hearts of many. The comic strip version was originally written in English and the illustrations done by first Tove and later her brother Lars. The Moomin family is so popular, they have their own theme park in Finland. Depending on your budget, the book might just be a better option that a plane ticket to Scandinavia.
Moxyland by Lauren Beukes
Set in a futuristic, eerily familiar Cape Town art-school dropout Kendra, ambitious AIDS baby Lerato, hot-headed activist Tendeka and rogueish blogger Toby are on a collision course that will rewrite their lives and the future of Cape Town. Moxyland brims with bold, infectious ideas and the result is a frighteningly persuasive high-tech fable for South Africa. And Lauren organised the craziest launch in the world ever here at the Book Lounge earlier this year. As far as Book Lounge Bestsellers go, Moxyland walks away with the bronze medal.
My Brother’s Book by Jo-Anne Richards
Lily is not happy about her brother Tom’s newly published memoir. His description of their nomadic childhood in which they were dragged from one small town to another by their father does not do justice to her memories. Nor does his description of the betrayal in later years that tore their sibling relationship apart. Much of the first part of this fantastic novel consists of Lily’s riposte to her writer-brother. The quality of the writing takes My Brother’s Book into rare territory. It combines the unputdownable elements of the best thrillers with an examination of weighty themes of contested memory, betrayal and identity in modern South Africa. In short, a brilliant read.
My Oupa Hoenders deur Flip Hattingh
Die liefde tussen grootouers en kleinkinders is enig in sy soort. Daar is ekstra bederf en minder raas. Flip Hattingh skep met sy hoogs oorspronklike reeks illustrasies ‘n plaaswêreld waar ’n jong seun sy geliefde Oupa aan die leser voor hou deur ‘n reeks pittige sêgoed en stories. Definitief baanbreker werk in Afrikaanse kinderboeke en een wat jou hartsnare sal roer of jou oupa nog leef, of nie meer daar is om vir jou stories te vertel nie.
Netherland by Joseph O’Neill
This astonishing and deeply elegiac novel sees Dutch businessman Hans van der Broek left floating when his wife returns to London with his young son. Unable to handle the tension of post-9/11 New York and in an effort at assuaging his loneliness he immerses himself in the rambunctious cricket scene flourishing on the fringes of the Big Apple. Here he meets larger-than-life entrepreneur Chuck Ramkissoon, with distinctly complex results. Told as a re-examination of this phase of his life from the comfort of hindsight, this is a potent examination of loss and memory, marriage and friendship, that which endures… and that which is lost.
No-One Belongs Here More than You by Miranda July
A collection of stories of seemingly ordinary people living extraordinary lives. Miranda July reveals how a single moment can change everything. Whether writing about a middle-aged woman’s obsession with Prince William or an aging factory worker who has never been in love, the result is startling, tender and sexy by turns. Miranda July is a brilliant new voice in fiction.
Notes from the Dementia Ward by Finula Dowling
Notes from the Dementia Ward deals in part with the tragic-comic effects of the inexorable and distressing collapse into senility and the way in which memory and yearning come to the fore as a mix of poignancy and wit. The balance between the grim and the touchingly comic is delicately maintained and the subject is imbued with dignity and grace. The collection is filled with wry, ironic and compassionate poems that are the hallmark of this remarkable poet.
Noudat Slapende Honde deur Ronelda Kamfer
Hierdie digbundel van Ronelda Kamfer is waarlik ‘n nuwe dagbreek in Afrikaanse poësie. Die gedigte is deurdrenk met opregte bedoeling en laat die leser toe om opnuut kennis te maak met die ‘n taal waarin jy kan skryf soos wat jy dit sê. Met die lees van Noudat Slapende Honde word mens herinner dat daar nog baie is wat ons in Afrikaans wil sê. Kamfer is ‘n Kaapse digter met ‘n skerp tong en ‘n slim pen. Al is sy nog jonk van jare verklap haar werk die letsels van vroeë wysheid.
Street Blues by Andrew Brown
This is a personal account of day-to-day life of a policeman on the beat. Award winning novelist Andrew Brown writes about his own experiences as a police reservist. Car chases, accident scenes, hijackings, gangsterism, prostitution, drug busts and fire fighting are just some of the dramas that the police face on a daily basis, and Andrew takes us there and reveals the reality and feel of what the rest of us merely read about in newspapers.
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
Shaun Tan illustrates with such emotional insight you might feel he has seen inside your heart and soul. His latest masterpiece, The Arrival, is a wordless graphic novel. Tan captures the struggles and joy of the migrant experience through clear, mesmerising images which tell the story of a man who leaves his homeland and his family to build a better life for his loved ones far away. It depicts the strangeness of that which is new and foreign and the sacrifices of being far away from that which you know and love. Pure pure brilliance. Hats off to Tan who is perfecting the art of telling a tale through emotion-provoking images.
The Book of Other People edited by Zadie Smith
“Dazzling,” “Scintillating,” “Hilarious,” “Arresting,” “Clever.” Just some of the words used to describe The Book of Other People. It features some of the top young writers in literature today – David Mitchell, Toby Litt, Jonathan Safran Foer, Miranda July, Dave Eggers and Jonathan Lethem, as well as top comic artists Chris Ware and Daniel Clowes. The emphasis is on characterisation in short fiction and the results are… well, “Dazzling,” “Scintillating,” etc…
The Book of Story Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup
The test of a great novel is if it can be read and enjoyed by all. And The Book of Story Beginnings might be aimed at a younger reader, but adults, you, will be the lesser for not joining in. Oscar Martin was fourteen when he vanished from his Iowa farmhouse home. His sister said that he rowed out to sea at night; but there are no oceans in Iowa. Nearly a century later, Lucy Martin and her parents move to that same farmhouse, where her father mysteriously disappears. When she finds the mystical “Book of Story Beginnings,” Oscar reappears and together they venture into a fantasy world filled with such brilliant magical realism it would make Garcia Marquez jealous.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
This is the long-awaited first novel from one of the most original and memorable writers working today. Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight, lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd. From his home in New Jersey, where he lives with his old-world mother and rebellious sister, Oscar dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the FukA – the curse that has haunted Oscar’s family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. This is a tale of the endless human capacity to persevere in the face of heartbreak and loss. A true literary triumph The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao confirms Diaz as one of the most exciting voices of our time.
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offer an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another’s capacity to love in return. The story is a short moral tale about a relationship between a young boy and a tree in a forest. The tree and the boy become best friends. The tree always provides the boy with what he wants: branches to swing from, shade to sit under, apples to snack on. As the boy grows older and older he requires more and more of the tree. In the ultimate act of self-sacrifice, the tree lets the boy cut her down so the boy can build a boat in which he can sail away. Is this a sad tale? Well, it is sad in the same way that life can be sad. Our selflessness is not something to be regretted or despised, however; it is what makes giving (and receiving) possible. And so this book, printed on paper from a tree, is indeed a true GIVING TREE.
The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers
An exciting picture book, featuring brand new characters from highly-regarded, best-selling, multi-award-winning talent, Oliver Jeffers. When life in the forest begins to change; when trees mysteriously lose their branches, when whole tree trunks start to disappear, when homes are lost, the only course of action for the forest dwellers is to begin a full scale investigation. Alibis must be proved, clues must be sought, but even so, blame is never far from anyone’s thoughts.
The Rowing Lesson by Ann Landsman
With breathtaking prose, Anne Landsman weaves a tale of three generations into the tapestry of one man’s life. Betsy Klein is summoned from her New York home to her ailing father’s bedside in Cape Town. Once caregiver and physician to a whole community, her father is slowly slipping away. Landsman uses Betsy’s bedside vigil as a platform from which she recreates her family’s intricate history. Some paragraphs are such word art that you want to frame them.
Three Letter Plague by Jonny Steinberg
In Three Letter Plague, Steinberg has produced a groundbreaking work of reportage about pride and shame, sex and death. The book sheds new light on the place the AIDS pandemic has come to occupy within African society, as well as providing a fascinating, almost ethnological account of the mores and values of an entire community. He follows the story of Sizwe, a spaza shop-owner in a remote village in the Transkei, and his attitude towards HIV-testing, AIDS and what it means to him and his culture. Moving and thought-provoking, with surprising touches of humour, this is a must-read.
This Carting Life by Rustum Kozain
This Carting Life collects poems that span more than ten years of writing. As the title suggests, a recurring theme in the volume is that of the personal, romantic and political losses attendant on a form of wandering. These find more specific meaning in the contexts of South African national history, the Islamic religion and music. While the poems are at times insistently political, the author’s style is also marked by an insistence on poetry as craft. The poetry shows the author in control of his language and rhythms and the volume attempts to shift our preconceptions of political art in South Africa.
The Whole Food Almanac by Michelle Matthews
If you are keen to shop for natural, healthy, organic food, which is all produced locally, then this is the ultimate book for you. Over 200 producers, shops, restaurants and markets are listed, none of them more than 2 hours from here. Charmingly written with recipes, tips on choosing and preparing foods, information on sustainable and safe food choices, recycling, gardening and feeding kids, this is an excellent book to carry with you in your quest to be greener, healthier and more organic.
Words etc Magazine
The only non-book on Lounge Books 2008, Words etc has proved a wonderful addition to the SA literary landscape over the last year. The brainchild of Phakama Mbonambi, Words etc provides much needed exposure to many of our top writers and includes fascinating articles, interviews and reviews that keep us all entertained and informed. And Phakama does this all outside of his day job. Much respect from all at the Book Lounge to a trailblazer who should be supported.