Hoe leer jy skryf?

Loer oor die skouers van ambagsmense. Dis die maklikste en lekkerste manier.

Hier’s ’n boek in Afrikaans om jou daarmee te help.

Johannesburg was - and is - the Frontier of Money. Within months of its founding, the mining camp was host to organised crime: the African ‘Regiment of the Hills’ and ‘Irish Brigade’ bandits. Bars, brothels, boarding houses and hotels oozed testosterone and violence, and the use of fists and guns was commonplace.

Beyond the chaos were clear signs of another struggle, one to maintain control, honour and order within the emerging male and mining dominated culture. In the underworld, the dictum of ‘honour among thieves’, as well as a hatred of informers, testified to attempts at self-regulation. A ‘real man’ did not take advantage of an opponent by employing underhand tactics. It had to be a ‘fair fight’ if a man was to be respected.

This was the world that ‘One-armed Jack’ McLoughlin - brigand, soldier, sailor, mercenary, burglar, highwayman and safe-cracker – entered in the early 1890s to become Johannesburg’s most infamous ‘Irish’ anti-hero and social bandit. McLoughlin’s infatuation with George Stevenson prompted him to recruit the young Englishman into his gang of safe-crackers but ‘Stevo’ was a man with a past and primed for personal and professional betrayal. It was a deadly mixture.

Honour could only be retrieved through a Showdown at the Red Lion.

In ’n Tyd om lief te hê keer Marina Joubert uit Griekeland terug na haar geboortedorp. Sal die dorpsmense haar ooit vergewe vir die fout wat sy jare gelede begaan het?

In Lelie van die laagte moet die jong Mia Dijkstra vrede maak met die feit dat sy moet blom waar sy geplant is.

In Die skadubelofte keer dr Pierre Greeff terug na sy tuisdorp en word heinner aan die belofte wat hy destyds aan Madel gemaak het.

Mo & Phindi Grootboom believe that God created marriage primarily for the purposes of restoring the totality of the His image in the human race, as well as reflecting His relationship with His bride, the church.

They share the 13 things they wished they knew before they got married:

1. Marriage is a divine mystery with a spiritual purpose, it is more than an emotional connection
2. Marriage today is different from marriage back then, but God’s original design and purpose for marriage does not change
3. Achieving oneness in marriage is 100% possible, prioritise and relentlessly pursue your spouse in total transparency
4. Being “in love” is not enough to marry someone. You won’t feel “in love” every day
5. The worst and unexpected does happen in marriage. It’s important to understand what you mean when you vow to love someone “for better or worse”
6. Never sweat the small stuff, not every conflict in marriage is worth resolving
7. Unbroken soul ties will ruin marriages, you cannot be fully joined to your spouse while you’re still emotionally entangled to unhealthy previous attachments
8. Forgiveness is a lifestyle, when you run out of forgiveness in your marriage you run out of relationship and you run out of you
9. Marriage isn’t primarily designed to make you happy, when you expect that your spouse makes you happy, not only are you placing an unfair expectation on them, but you’re also making them an idol
10. Great sex is neither constant nor automatic, it is cultivated
11. It’s possible to lose yourself in marriage, and it is quickest and most painful way to kill your marriage
12. We marry the in-laws and the rest of the family too
13. Being on the same page financially can save your marriage, it’s about being joint-stewards over resources trusted to us irrespective of the type of our marriage contract

This practical book can possibly help to save your marriage.

Seks, skoonma’s en skuld is ‘n blik op eietydse verhoudings se grootste uitdagings en oplossings deur iemand wat die seerder kant van die lewe en die liefde ken.

Elize Parker kyk met wysheid en insig na die tipiese uitdagings wat in briewe aan haar troostantekolom sowel as in navorsing en onderhoude vir verhoudingsartikels na vore gekom het. Seks, skoonma’s en skuld is van die grootste brandpunte en sy spreek die fynere detail hiervan aan.

Lees oor:

• Verhoudings met ekse en hoe om na die opbreek van verhoudings te herstel
• Die invloed van tegnologie op verhoudings soos Facebookaffairs
• Hoe om familiekrisisse af te weer en skoonfamilies te hanteer
• Hoe om ouers en kinders se soms stormagtige verhoudings te navigeer
• Hoe om veilig uit die greep van verslawings te kom
• Hoe om te maak as dinge in die slaapkamer verkeerd loop

In this title, Seven Steps To Heaven, this streetwise philosopher of the shebeens and entrepreneur par excellence takes the back seat as her son Kokoroshe, street urchin turned lawyer, takes centre stage.

This is a multilayered family saga, a riveting tale of love, betrayal, and a search for identity - sexual and otherwise.

Dark and understated, but sometimes boisterous and with the in-your-face humour that made Bitches' Brew a hit with readers and critics alike, is the engine that drives Seven Steps To Heaven to a painful yet satisfying climax.

Whetsho-otsile Joseph (Joe) Seremane is the founding federal chair of the Democratic Alliance in South Africa. Joe’s story spans six decades and tells of a visionary who survived incarceration at Robben Island, exile to Bophuthatswana and further incarceration at Fort Glamorgan.

Joe starts out as a champion of the banned People’s Africanist Congress but gradually develops a more holistic viewpoint. He concludes that he can contribute to the new democracy by helping to swell the ranks of the opposition. Eventually, in 2002, Joe finds his way to the Democratic Alliance as their founding federal chair. Hurt and disappointment come his way as he is seen as a traitor and a coconut by erstwhile comrades and co-prisoners.

As democracy in his beloved homeland starts to shed its skin of idealism and hope, he has to grapple with grave personal loss and a compelling question: Who is the enemy really?

In his foreword Tony Leon, erstwhile leader of the DA, notes: "I commend Fly the Tattered Dream Coat, both for its deep dive into this country’s history-in-the-making and the human story it describes of one of the more significant but underappreciated fighters for South Africa’s freedom."

In this engaging and authentic record of Joe’s storied careers and background, Dr Maske recounts Joe’s presence in my life at both its happiest and saddest…

Hoe kleiner die plek, hoe groter sy geheime

Lekespeurder Ludo Labuschagne sit saam met ’n vriendin af na die Overberg. Kort voor lank verdwyn mense daar tussen neus en ore. Net om weer hul opwagting te maak. As lyke …

Die spanning kring uit. Aanvalle. Afpersing. ’n Berekende blik agter ’n gemoedelike plattelandse glimlag.

Kan die bose vastrapplek in so ’n idilliese landskap kry? En sal Ludo oorleef om die waarheid oop te krap?

The South African Aid is a comprehensive reference guide for any individual – old and young, local or foreign – seeking information on South Africa.

The guide offers a bit of everything: the history of our land, our fauna and flora, game reserves, sport statistics, tips on saving money, buying a car, good manners, wedding etiquette, etc.

This guide is a must-have for every house, book shop, hotel, tourism office, library and school.

Mosibudi Mangena has been a life-long member of the Black Consciousness Movement, which led to his incarceration on Robben Island from 1973–8. After his release, he went into exile in 1981, spending time in Botswana and Zimbabwe, before returning to South Africa in 1994.

Triumphs & Heartaches provides fascinating insight into Mangena’s varied life, including his time as the leader of AZAPO and his service in government as the deputy minister of Education and then the minister of Science and Technology.

Mangena provides an insider’s view of life in exile as a political refugee, followed by the hardships of repatriation and the hard-won successes of democracy. He reflects eloquently on the role of Black Consciousness and its potential place in the future of South Africa, and does not flinch from exploring the disappointments of the liberation struggle and the challenges that lie ahead for the country.

Jerzy Koch, vertaler, digter, akademikus, is hoof van die Afdeling Nederlandse en Suid-Afrikaanse Studies by die Fakulteit Engels van A. Mickiewicz-Universiteit in Poznań. Hy doseer veral Nederlandse literatuur, koloniale literatuur en Afrikaans. Hy is ook die skrywer van ’n omvattende literatuurgeskiedenis oor Afrikaans. Hy besoek Suid-Afrika gereeld sedert 1992 en het die Afrikaanse taal sodanig sy eie gemaak dat hy dit vlot praat en gedigte daarin skryf.

Hy het werke vertaal van H. Claus, J. Bernlef, H. de Coninck, S. Hertmans, G. Kouwenaar, Lucebert, H. Mulisch, Multatuli, L. Nolens, P. Rodenko, F. Timmermans e.a. Vir sy vertaal-oeuvre het hy in die Lae Lande die M. Nijhoff-prys ontvang. Hy het ook Ingrid Jonker (1993) vertaal en sy onlangse vertalings in Poolse is bloemlesings uit Antjie Krog (2017) en Breyten Breytenbach (2018) se gedigte.

In sy digbundel Pleks van plaas skryf hy onder meer oor sy familiegeskiedenis in Pole, maar die grootste deel van die bundel word in beslag geneem deur verse oor Suid-Afrika. Indrukwekkend is veral die seegedigte. Dit is nie net die branders wat sy “oor vang en oorrompel” nie, maar ook die Afrikaanse taal.

They’re back, and better than ever!

This year sees the release of the twenty-second Madam & Eve, and it is another winner from this sharp and witty creative team.

Featuring the humour South Africans have come to know and love, this Madam & Eve promises to be a laugh a minute, and it is sure to be a family favourite and welcome addition to any bookshelf.

Sithole problematises the signifier X, as a marker of the dehumanization of the black subject. He argues that post-1994 South Africa retains the markers of its colonial past, and remains a territory of unfreedom for blacks. He offers a new imagination for a liberatory project through the idea of Azania as a site of true emancipation.

In Black X: Liberatory Thought in Azania, Tendayi Sithole elaborates on the problematic signifier X, a marker of the dehumanization of the black subject, and presents the struggle for Azania as a liberatory project.

Sithole argues that post-1994 South Africa retains the markers of its colonial past and remains a territory of unfreedom for blacks. He shows how the colonial contract still stands, with the land question unresolved by the new constitutional dispensation. His thesis is that being and land are indissoluble, and the denial of the centrality of land restitution is a denial of the black being. Drawing on the Black Consciousness philosophy of Steve Biko, he critiques the manner in which Marx and Marxism evade the reality of antiblack racism and landlessness as drivers of colonial conquest and ongoing forms of oppression, and emphasises existential struggle of the black subject through Mabogo P More’s African philosophy.

Sithole foregrounds these iterations under the mark X, and shows how the black subject, as a dehumanized figure, must continue to radically insist on alternative forms of being in an antiblack world, and on Azania as the true form of liberation.

Rehana Rossouw’s unique voice gives life and drama to this family saga. It is the story of the Fourie family, residents of Hanover Park in the Cape Flats during the height of the struggle era. The main characters include Magda, the churchgoing mother, who doesn’t see what’s going on in front of her; Neville, the concerned and loving but not always effectual father; Suzette, the oldest daughter, who is bound and determined to get away and make a better life for herself via a career in modelling; Nicky, the smart and sensitive middle child, who proves herself capable of making unselfish choices; and Anthony, the naive and doomed son, who gets caught up with a gang and meets a sad end. In What Will People Say the setting is everything, and the author doesn’t stint on the details of the world her characters inhabit. Readers who have never set foot in Hanover Park will feel they are there, and those who know the place will nod in recognition of the sensory details the author loads into her writing. Nor does the author shy away from the difficult issues faced by those living in this marginalised and disadvantaged community, which came into being as a result of the forced removals from Cape Town. How these issues affect the members of a particular family and their relationships with one another are the focus of the author’s close-up lens. Generously spiced with Cape Flats slang; lots of vivid and gritty description that give an authentic feel to the story; plenty of plot – the writer draws us in and makes us curious about what will happen next; and very human characters we come to care about.

Has South Africa ‘done well’ at limiting illness and deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic? Academic and political commentator, Steven Friedman, thinks not. While the country’s mainstream media believes it has, in his view the evidence tells another story. South Africa has experienced by far the most cases and deaths in Africa – at one point as many as the rest of the continent combined.

One Virus, Two Countries offers a searing analysis of government and expert scientists’ responses to the pandemic. Friedman argues that South Africa is two societies in one – a ‘First World’ which resembles Western Europe and North America, and a ‘Third World’ which looks much like the rest of Africa or South Asia. The South African state, the media and the scientific community have largely tried to deal with the virus through a ‘First World’ lens in which much of the country was either invisible or a problem – not a partner. Friedman argues this approach prevented the country from responding in a way which would have protected most citizens. This is why case numbers and deaths are so high: South Africa has done worse than the rest of Africa not despite the fact that it has a ‘more developed’ health system, but because it does.

One Virus, Two Countries is a controversial book that will rouse much needed debate about South Africa’s health and economic system in a context of serious inequality.

Emma Bekker se debuutpundel Skryn (poësie) is goed ontvang en die eerste druk het uitverkoop. Hierdie bundel kortverhale getuig van dieselfde fyn waarneming, musikaliteit, verbeeldingrykeid en sensualiteit. Dit gaan hier oor struktuur, oor lae van betekenis en gevoel, oor die skelette van stories wat met vel oorgetrek word. Die verhale is soms donker, soms humoristies, altyd vreesloos en eroties gelaai. Die onderwerpe strek van ’n porn-ster se hartseer oor sy ma se dood tot ’n uitbundige relaas van ’n skoolkonsert.

Many of us yearn for “success” – a longing driven by a materialistic and comparison-rife world. How to be (un)successful: An Unlikely Guide to Human Flourishing offers the perfect antidote to the world’s skewed view of success by asking you to have an in-depth look at how you live.

It challenges you to relook at your longings and dreams, choose God’s plan for you instead of your own good ideas, vote for relationships over relevance and focus on depth over meaningless noise. You are invited to find inspiration in Jesus’ life and teachings.

He is calling you to experience the success that can truly satisfy your soul. Choosing to truly follow Jesus might just be the most (un)successful thing you have ever done in your life.

• Provides an answer to the soul-searching question: ""What do you have to show for your life?''
• Offers a redefinition of what success is
• Content is easy to read and understand
• Will also be enjoyed by a younger market

Stefaans Coetzee se pa was ’n alkoholis. Toe hy ses was, het sy ma hom kafee toe gestuur. Met sy terugkoms was sy weg. Van kleins af moes Stefaans veg vir aanvaarding en liefde, by die huis en in die kinderhuis.

Sy storie begin in die Vrystaat, loop deur donker dade in Worcester, via verskeie tronke, tot op Klerksdorp. Dit is die verhaal van ’n seun wat die heel ergste sou doen, vir aanvaarding.

Dit is ook ’n verhaal van hoop, genade, en tweede kanse. Dit wys dat enigeen kan verander. Jy ook.

The Covid-19 pandemic changed the way we think about work – we’ve had the great resignation, the quiet quitters and those determined to always work from home. But not everyone can afford to quit, what happens to those overwhelmed by a work environment that leaves them feeling defeated or maybe just resigned to putting up with it?

Judy Klipin draws on years of coaching people through problems in their work environment to offer practical ways to make sure that your work works for you, asking questions like:

• Is the physical work environment sapping your energy?
• Are the toxic office politics driving you mad?
• Is relentless stress pushing you to the point of burnout?
• Do you have burnout as a result of ongoing stress and distress?
• Are your values reflected in the work you do?

By looking at what is and isn’t working for you at work, you can draw up a list of what needs to change. Using the Wheel of Work tool, Judy helps you identify the choices you have in how to respond to the situations you find yourself in at work. Case studies show you how other people have successfully developed the skills to improve their working experience.

Can people who live in shantytowns, shacks and favelas teach us anything about democracy? About how to govern society in a way that is inclusive, participatory and addresses popular needs? This book argues that they can.

In a study conducted in dozens of South Africa’s shack settlements, where more than 9 million people live, Trevor Ngwane finds thriving shack dwellers’ committees that govern local life, are responsive to popular needs and provide a voice for the community. These committees, called ‘amakomiti’ in the Zulu language, organise the provision of basic services such as water, sanitation, public works and crime prevention especially during settlement establishment.

Amakomiti argues that, contrary to common perception, slum dwellers are in fact an essential part of the urban population, whose political agency must be recognised and respected. In a world searching for democratic alternatives that serve the many and not the few, it is to the shantytowns, rather than the seats of political power, that we should turn.

There has been a huge revival in home-made or artisanal products. People are moving away from manufactured products, returning to the tastes and memories of yesteryear. This book is an exploration into the world of forgotten sweets and candies - among the recipes are many well-loved favourites as well as some that have been rediscovered or simply created through the combination of retro flavours. While most recipes keep the spirit of the original candy, interesting new interpretations have also been included for the modern cook. This is what's on offer: Essential information about equipment, ingredients and techniques; Loads of hints and tips throughout; More than 50 foolproof recipes for toffee, caramels, truffles, fudge, filled chocolates, marshmallows, nougat and much more; Decorating ideas and packaging suggestions. There is plenty of detailed information for the beginner and lots of new ideas and mouthwatering recipes to inspire the seasoned candy maker. The magnificent photographs of the various sweets will soon have you drooling and raring to start boiling sugar. Whether you are making these delicious indulgences for friends and family, as gifts or to sell at craft or farmers' markets, this book is essential to ensure success. And everybody deserves a little something sweet.

‘There are moments in life that are pure, and which seem to hang in the air, unhitched from the everyday world as we know it. Suspended for a few seconds, they float in their own space and time with their own hidden prospects. For want of a better term, we call these moments “magical” and when we remember them they are cloaked in a halo of special meaning.’

For 14-year-old Johnny Clegg, hearing Zulu street music as plucked on the strings of a guitar by Charlie Mzila one evening outside a corner café in Bellevue, Johannesburg, was one such ‘magical’ moment.

The success story of Juluka and later Savuka, and the cross-cultural celebration of music, language, story, dance and song that stirred the hearts of millions across the world, is well documented. Their music was the soundtrack to many South Africans’ lives during the turbulent 70s and 80s as the country moved from legislated oppression to democratic freedom. It crossed borders, boundaries and generations, resonating around the world and back again. Less known is the story of how it all began and developed.

Scatterling of Africa is that origin story, as Johnny Clegg wrote it and wanted it told. It is the story of how the son of an unconventional mother, grandson of Jewish immigrants, came to realise that identity can be a choice, and home is a place you leave and return to as surely as the seasons change.

From the best-selling author of How We Buried Puso, Three Egg Dilemma is set at a homestead overlooking a valley and around a bar in the Kingdom of Lesotho. The story follows the life of EG (short for ‘Example’) and a group of ill-assorted friends and neighbours as they attempt to survive a breakdown of civil certainty.

A visionary novel, Morojele has built worlds and characters with his dazzling prose. It is set to become a classic of Southern African literature.

What is a Springbok without his spring? Just a ... bok?

When poor Springbok loses his spring, it is up to his friends to help him find it again - with hilarious consequences.

A humorous and touching story about recognising what makes you special, and the power of friendship.

Durban men’s hostels are a relic of the apartheid government used as settlements formery for migrant workers. Over the years they have morphed into dangerous territory where killing, extortion and allied crimes thrive. A local research paper by the Germany-based Global Initiative Against Organised Crime suggests that between March 2014 and January 2019, more than 120 people died as a result of violence perpetrated by hitmen based at Glebelands Hostel in Umlazi, a former ‘township’ in south Durban. The killings have bled beyond the hostel, throughout KZN and even into neighbouring provinces. This is a staggering statistic for a community of around 22 000 people living in a housing complex that covers less than two square kilometres. The paper further reveals that one of Durban’s largest hostel complexes, Glebelands consists of 71 blocks. Accommodation varies from large, very old, dilapidated blocks, to the much smaller, newer family units. Crime is well-embedded here and it is often reported as fact that police and politicians alike also benefit with contract killers and the abundance of hitmen often hired from the bloody hostel. Hitmen are groomed from an early age especially by those in the taxi industry.

Blood, Blades and Bullets follows the story of Mazwi Nxumalo, a naïve school dropout teenager from rural Nongoma who is unwittingly recruited into the dark world of Glebelands hostel hitmen. Coming from a poverty-stricken family, the odds are stacked against him. He is also running away from a mysterious man and his goons that he busted executing a man in a local forest. After getting in tune with the ways of the Durban taxi ranks and industry, he is soon trained in shooting, surprisingly by rogue cop friends of his handler, Zenzele. He returns one more time to Nongoma where, in a rage, kills his friend, former schoolmate and striking partner in the local football team after learning he had impregnated his high school sweetheart.

Angry at his protégé and fearing that he would soon be out of control, Zenzele decides it’s time for the traditional cleansing and strengthening ceremony, ukuthwala. Mazwi emerges almost invincible from this ritual and rite of passage to become an unstoppable but flawed killing machine. As the bodies pile up, including of those cops investigating his crimes, so is his irrepressible obsession with his doctored bullets and one woman whom his handlers believe will be his Achilles heel.