The Local Lit Scene

celebrating South African Literature beyond our past

Apologies!

The Book Club Blog has been quite silent since our last give aways. First it was school holidays, then, we all got ill, well, me in particular, which is strange in itself as I don’t usually get ill, but for a week, there I was, stranded in my bed, luckily I had a few books to read when I had an hour where I felt awake enough to read;-)

 

So, I don’t have any give aways at the moment, but I thought, seeing as though it is half way through the year, HALF WAY!!!,  I would share with you the books that I have read so far. I am aiming for 100 books this year and I am pretty much half way, which is a good thing, though there is still so much to read and I am definitely on the market for a kindle. If I happen to end up going to the UK next year, that will be my first purchase….

 

So, back to books, here is my first half of the year books:

 

2011 January
1.  Helen of Troy – Margaret George*
2. Mr Toppit – Charles Elton
3.  Hindi-Bindi Club – Monica Pradhan
4.  Brown Owl’s guide to life – Kate Harrison
5.  The Sugar Queen- Sarah Allen Addison*
6.  Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
7.  The Journey – Brandon Bayes*
8. Heart and soul – Maeve Binchy
9.  The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield*

February

10. The Cookie Club – Ann Pearlman
11.  After the Party – Lisa Jewell
12. Glitz – Louise Bagshaw
14.  The Devil you know – Louise Bagshaw
15.  The girl with the dragon tattoo – Steig Larson*
16.  The girl who played with fire – Stieg Larson*
17.  The Passage – Justin Cronin
18.   The Girl who kicked the hornets nest – Steig Larson*
19.  Dark Visions – LJ Smith

April
20  When God was a rabbit – Sarah Winman*
21  Time to smell the roses – Michael Hoeye*
22 Sin, Sushi and survival – Erla-Mari Diedericks
23 Under a blood red sky – Kate Furnivall
24  The girl who chased the moon – Sarah Addison Allen*
25 The Sisters Grimm – Michael buckley

May
26 Sepulchre – Kate Mosse*
27 Ants in the Big Onion – Annica Foxcroft*
28 The Flood -David Maine
30 For one more day – Mitch Albom
31 Garden Spells – Sarah Addison Allen*
32  Louise Bagshaw- Desire

June
33 Lucy Willow – Sally Gardner
34 The undrowned child – Michelle Louric*
34 Have a little Faith – Mitch Albom*
35 The Manservant Mysteries – Lee herrmann

July
36 Halo – Zizou Corder
37 The Winter Ghosts – Kate Mosse
38 The Game – Diana Wynne Jones
39 Garlic and Sapphires – Ruth Reichl*
40  Louise Bagshaw – Destiny
41  The Place of Secrets – Rachel Hore
42. Mini shopaholic –  Sophie Kinsella

 

The books with a star next to them I found were particularly great stories and the rest were good. I have a Jodi Piccoult book awaiting my perusal, she is not my favourite author but we will see how this book goes and I am eagerly awaiting an author interview with Kate  Mosse, I find her books very interesting and enjoyable, it will be great to get to know the author behind the books! Only two books I really really didn’t enjoy are the ones in bold. Have you read them, what were your thoughts?

 

So, what have you been reading this year, and anything which stands out?I am always looking for my next book hit, so please tell me what you have sunk your teeth into and enjoyed.

 

Happy reading all!

2 Comments »

Need something to read?

MY MOTHER KILLED CHRIST BUT GOD LOVES ME ANYWAY-Katie Roberta Stevens

Sent in by Katie Rickert

The title of this book caught my attention because it was a bit shocking.  However, after reading the Amazon description I was intrigued.  When I read the Prologue, I was hooked.  The writing was so powerful, I had to put the book down to catch my breath.  It’s the story of a girl raised by a mentally ill mother who thought she killed Christ.  But it is an inspiring, uplifting book.

This was the first time in 20 years that I read a book so well-written that I could not put it down and go to bed.  The beginning is tough to read, but in the middle I was laughing out loud.  By the end, I didn’t want it to be over.  The only bad part about the book was that it was over.

I highly recommend this book.  The writing was breathtaking.

 

Thanks Katie, for sending in the review,I have to admit to being very intrigued to read this book, the name, the review, so if any one else has read it, I would love to know if you found it as good as Katie did. This book only seems to be available on Kindle at the moment, so those of you with Kindles, go get yourself a new book to read!


 

1 Comment »

WOW!

What a fantastic, overwhelming response to the literary give away blog hop!

I certainly entered many give aways so here’s hoping I win one…

but, there are many people who have entered to win either The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood or Have a little faith by Mitch Albom and I am sure that you are all itching to know who the winners are. Well,before we get there, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who visited The Book Club Blog, who took the time to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. I look forward to keeping in touch via books. And also a huge thank you to Judith for organising the whole shebang, it was an honour to be part of something so fabulously bookish, even down here at the tip of Africa!

So, with no further ado, the winner of THE PENELOPIAD is…

 

 

 

 

Rebecca from Rebecca Reads

 

 

 

And the winner of HAVE A LITTLE FAITH is…

 

 

 

Darlene   from Darlene’s Book Nook

 

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS AND HAPPY READING! I would love it if you would let me know what you think once you have read them, always nice to know other reader’s opinions on a specific book.

I will have notified you of winning via email and if you could get back to me with postal addresses within the next 48hours, that would be hugely appreciated. Please also note that the books will be coming through international postings so may take a couple of weeks to arrive.

Once again, congrats! It was great to play along:-)

1 Comment »

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop

The blog hop, which is being hosted by Judith at Leeswarmes, is open from June 25th to June 29th and I have two books to be given away and both internationally! So, you get to choose your title and because there is nothing nicer that receiving a gift in the post, I am throwing in a book mark too.

There are many other book bloggers who are taking part in this blog hop so if you fancy your chances of winning yourself a book, take a blog hop around, you will find a list of the participating bloggers at the end of this post,  you never know, you may just find yourself a fabulous new blog to read as well.

So, without any further ado, the first book I am giving away is… drum roll please…

 

HAVE A LITTLE FAITH – MITCH ALBOM

I recently read this book and it is a nugget of a book. In fact, any of Mitch Alboms books are little gold nuggets.

I particularly enjoyed this book as it is a true story, his first non fiction book since Tuesdays with Morrie and the story begins with and unusual request: an 82-year-old rabbi from Albom’s old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy.

This book is about a life’s purpose; about losing belief and finding it again; about the divine spark inside us all. It is one man’s journey, but it is everyone’s story.

A beautiful poignant story which even the most hardened atheist would enjoy!

I also have a copy of… another drum roll please…

THE PENELOPIAD-MARGARET ATWOOD

I really enjoyed the retelling of the myth of Penelope and think that it should be one book that everyone should read, hence my reason for adding it to the literary giveaway blog hop.

 

“Now that all the others have run out of air, it’s my turn to do  a little story-making.”

In Homer’s account in The Odyssey, Penelope – wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy – is portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife, her story a salutary lesson through the ages. Left alone for twenty years when Odysseus goes off to fight in the Trojan war after the abduction of Helen, Penelope manages, in the face of scandalous rumours, to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, bring up her wayward son, and keep over a hundred suitors at bay, simultaneously. When Odysseus finally comes home after enduring hardships, overcoming monsters and sleeping with goddesses, he kills her suitors and – curiously – twelve of her maids.

In a splendid contemporary twist to the ancient story, Margaret Atwood has chosen to give the telling of it to Penelope and to her twelve hanged Maids, asking: ‘What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to?’. In Atwood’s dazzling, playful retelling, the story becomes as wise and compassionate as it is haunting, and as wildly entertaining as it is disturbing. With wit and verve, drawing on the storytelling and poetic talent for which she herself is renowned, she gives Penelope new life and reality – and sets out to provide an answer to an ancient mystery.

All you need to do to enter this give away is to

a) like us on Facebook

b) follow us on Twitter and tweet about this give away (let us know when you have tweeted about it)

c) tell me which book you would like to win and why in the comments section.

If you do all three that gives you three chances to win! Nothing like making it extra easy, now is there??

So, go on, tweet, facebook and blog hop to your hearts content, it is weekend after all!

And on the morning of the 30th I will notify the winners.

 

List with all the Participants:

  1. Leeswammes (Int)
  2. The Book Whisperer (Int)
  3. Kristi Loves Books (Int)
  4. Teadevotee (Int)
  5. Bookworm with a View (Int)
  6. Bibliosue (Int)
  7. Sarah Reads Too Much (Int)
  8. write meg! (USA)
  9. My Love Affair With Books (Int)
  10. Seaside Book Nook (Int)
  11. Uniflame Creates (Int)
  12. Always Cooking Up Something (Int)
  13. Book Journey (Int)
  14. ThirtyCreativeStudio (Int)
  15. Col Reads (Int)
  16. The Book Diva’s Reads (Int)
  17. The Scarlet Letter (USA)
  18. The Parrish Lantern (Int)
  19. Lizzy’s Literary Life (Int)
  20. Read, Write & Live (Int)
  21. Book’d Out (Int)
  22. The Readers’ Suite (Int)
  23. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (USA)
  24. Ephemeral Digest (Int)
  25. Miel et lait (Int)
  26. Bibliophile By the Sea (Int)
  27. Polychrome Interest (Int)
  28. Book World In My Head (Int)
  29. In Spring it is the Dawn (Int)
  30. everybookhasasoul (Int)
  31. Nishita’s Rants and Raves (Int)
  32. Fresh Ink Books (Int)
  33. Teach with Picture Books (USA)
  34. How to Teach a Novel (USA)
  35. The Blue Bookcase (Int)
  36. Gaskella (Int)
  37. Reflections from the Hinterland (USA)
  38. chasing bawa (Int)
  39. 51stories (Int)
  40. No Page Left Behind (USA)
  1. Silver’s Reviews (USA)
  2. Nose in a book (Int)
  3. Lit in the Last Frontier (Int)
  4. The Book Club Blog (Int)
  5. Under My Apple Tree (Int)
  6. Caribousmom (USA)
  7. breienineking (Netherlands)
  8. Let’s Go on a Picnic! (Int)
  9. Rikki’s Teleidoscope (Int)
  10. De Boekblogger (Netherlands)
  11. Knitting and Sundries (Int)
  12. Elle Lit (USA)
  13. Indie Reader Houston (Int)
  14. The Book Stop (Int)
  15. Eliza Does Very Little (Int)
  16. Joy’s Book Blog (Int)
  17. Lit Endeavors (USA)
  18. Roof Beam Reader (Int)
  19. The House of the Seven Tails (Int)
  20. Tony’s Reading List (Int)
  21. Sabrina @ Thinking About Loud! (Int)
  22. Rebecca Reads (Int)
  23. Kinna Reads (Int)
  24. In One Eye, Out the Other (USA)
  25. Books in the City (Int)
  26. Lucybird’s Book Blog (Europe)
  27. Book Clutter (USA)
  28. Exurbanis (Int)
  29. Lu’s Raves and Rants (USA & Canada)
  30. Sam Still Reading (Int)
  31. Dolce Bellezza (Int)
  32. Lena Sledge’s Blog…Books, Reviews and Interviews (Int)
  33. a Thousand Books with Quotes (Int)
34 Comments »

Another successful giveaway winner…

And here is the winning mystery:

My detective story goes back many many years. My best friend started dating my now husbands best friend. Her dad – a pastor – found out about him and grounded her and wouldnt let me see her for days! Me, being the fantastic detective that I am, shoved a cooler box of food into my car, got my now hubby and her boyfriend into the car and then we drove through to her house and started “investigating”. We parked up on this hill just outside her house, with the car lights off, just edged up enough to view the house. All the lights were off in the house, so her then boyfriend and I decided to sneak around the propery to see if she was ok. This included us jumping over the wall, trying to keep oogies (her tiny maltese poodle) quiet and then knocking on her bedroom window, very quietly.

She wasnt there. They went camping for the weekend!

 

Well done,Lauren, from Life or Something Like it! Please send me your details so I can get the book to you asap!

 

And keep your eyes open for our next give away which is international and is part of the LITERARY GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP.  I am just one of sixty blogs which will be giving away a book between the 25th and 29th June. So head on over here and there next week and see if you can win a book!! Happy book blog hopping!

 

1 Comment »

BOOK DRIVE FOR NEWCASTLE

Remember this post when we did the Book Drive for Bambelela Ministry School …?

Well, its time for another one and would love all the help that you are willing to give.

It turns out that the winner of  ‘Ants in the Big Onion’ is a journalist and on a book drive for a group of teens to adults in Newcastle. Nafisa is aiming to get a little library and book club going for this group of people in order to help them to read and become more literate. I, of course, believe that everyone should be able to read and if I can help, will help in making this a reality.

So, we are looking for books. The age group we are looking for is from teens to adults and if you have been looking for an excuse to clear out your bookshelves, here one is, presented to you on The Book Club platter. We don’t have much time as the book drive is running from the 7th June until the 30th June, and to be handed over on the 5th July so we really can use all the help we can get.

You can post any books that you have to:

P O Box 619
newcastle
2940

Or there is a collection point here:

Newcastle Express
51 Ayliff street
CBD

You also have the option to purchase books from Kalahari and send them to this address:

P O Box 619
newcastle
2940

How ever many books we manage to raise we get a special mention in the newspaper Newcastle Express, that Nafisa works at, and that would be like, totally awesome! So, come on Book Club readers, lets get some books out there. Are you in?

Leave a comment if want any more information or when you have gathered some books and posted them or if you just fancy leaving a comment;-)

The group we are aiming to help

2 Comments »

The Manservant Mysteries Give Away!

So, a little birdy told me about a new South African author who resides in Pretoria and has just recently published his first book. Yep, you guessed it, its called The Manservant Mysteries and it is written by Lee Herrmann. I was lucky enough to receive a book sent to me kindly from his publisher and I have just finished reading it and now, I get to tell you all about it:-)

Inspector Beauregard Pilkington is a retired Scotland yard detective. He and his loyal manservant Marmaduke are invited for a weekend away at an old friend’s summer retreat and while there, is called apon to solve a murder. This book is humerous and engaging. It is a short and easy read and  as the back cover says: ‘And absurdly funny mystery that involves a detective. His Manservant . And an African Nile parrot’.

And a little about the author…

Lee Herrmann was born and raised in South Africa. He has been heavily influenced by comic books, movies, television and popular culture over the years and finally decided to make his ideas a reality with this book. He originally conceived the characters as a radio serial titled Murder in the Morning at the University of Pretoria while working on the breakfast show at the campus radio station TuksFM (2001-2003). The adventures were wildly popular and Lee knew he would make use of them again someday. He has a varied writing background and has experience in copywriting, writing for web, radio and magazines. Hopefully this is the start of many more adventures to come. And yes, hopefully it is just the start as I really enjoyed his first one!

Lee lives in Pretoria with his wife Dina and son, Max and can be found going to the movies every Saturday night with his friend Steve-Dave.

And just to end off this Fabulous Saturday, I have one copy of The Manservant Mysteries to give away. Yes, to you, my loyal readers all you need to do is leave a comment in the comments section telling me when you had to be detective like… in any way shape or form. From sneaking out when you were a teenager to solving the mystery of who ate the last chocolate biscuit which you were certain was left in the biscuit tin…I will get a third party to read through them and the most absurdly funny comment will win! Winner will be announced on Saturday 17th June.

This offer is unfortunately not international, keeping it within South Africa! Good luck and happy commenting!

3 Comments »

The Five People you meet in Heaven – Review

I LOVED this book. Out of Mitch Albom’s three books that I have read ‘Tuesday’s with Morrie’ and ‘For One More Day’ this is by far my favourite!

All endings are beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time…’

This is a book about death. This is a book about Eddie’s death and Eddie’s life. And the five people that he meets in Heaven. These five people explain Eddie’s life to him and why certain things occured or why they did not.

It is a beautiful book. It offers solace and hope without being cheesy. It offers a simple explanation and a different way of looking at death. It had me in tears twice with joy and with sadness, both emotions in one heart, the tears had to leak out somewhere!

It also made me think about my life and about my choices. About what we consider to be set in stone for one reason or another. It broke through my defences, this little book.

I enjoyed it so much, I think everyone should read it. From hardened cynic to the most spiritually aware person.

 

 

 

2 Comments »

Winner!!!

And the winner to our Ants give away is Nafisa! Congratulations!! If you could let me know your contact details and I will get the book to you ASAP!

Thanks to all of you who entered and better luck next time:-)

 

Keep your eyes open for some more give aways , there will be more in the coming month.

No Comments »

Ants in the Big Onion Give Away!

I received my copy of Ants in the Big Onion last Monday and I finished it on Thursday.  Yes, it was that good. The best bit? Smaller print than normal, which means… more to read!

May and Annica run a B&B called the Fox ‘n Zulu in Meyerton (Which is a small town lying 15 km north of Vereeniging in Gauteng, South Africa- just in case you were wondering- I did) and it details all the trials and tribulations of the group of individuals which live there.

You get to re meet some of the original characters and if you were wondering where some of them had got to and how on earth May and Annica came to be running a B& B, don’t fret, it will all be explained in the first couple of pages.

It is hilarious! The characters had me giggling at their antics and gasping at some, but really what else can happen when you throw a bunch of unique individuals into a small abode, oh and a lonely snake.

As it says on the back cover: “Ants… is enough to taunt every cultural perception and strain even the most enduring friendship, but all visitors check in for a bakkieload of laughs.”

And so, seeing as though its the end of the world and all, I have a give away of one copy of Ants in the Big Onion and it is open to every one. Yes, you read correctly and Yes, because that’s what we are like over here at The Book Club Blog, feeling the love and giving it back…

So, to enter:

1) jot something down in the comments section and tell me what your favourite book of all time is.

2) follow us on twitter @thebookclubblog.

3) like us on Facebook. I will then get random.org to choose a winner next Saturday the 28th (that’s if we are still all here…;-)) and I will announce the lucky person.

Good luck and happy commenting!

Ants Give away!

Open worldwide!

4 Comments »