Burn after Reading Launch Edition: Top 10 Books in SA, what Pieter-Louis Myburgh is reading

No Images? [Click here]( Welcome to Burn After Reading Dear {NAME}, It’s a bright cold day in May and the clocks are striking – well, they’re striking Book o’Clock. That’s right: the DM Books newsletter, Burn After Reading, is here. Here’s what you can expect in our monthly offering for the well-read: the current SA Top Ten Best Sellers, notes on new and trending books, interviews with authors, browsing and buying tips for your weekend pilgrimage to your favourite bookshop, and more. Oh, and a [column from me](, Ben Williams, former literary editor of the Sunday Times, former head of marketing at Exclusive Books, and current publisher of [The Johannesburg Review of Books](. The Maverick Life books newsletter is co-produced with [The Reading List](, a boutique website that brings you books news, daily. We look forward to your feedback on our newsletter – and to incorporating this feedback into our next novel, where you turn out to be either the hero who conquers all, or the villain who meets a bad end. You know, depending. Meet you soon in the blank white spaces at the edges of print – Ben Daily Maverick Best Sellers List Meet the bestselling books in the land, courtesy our new, exclusive Top Ten Best Sellers list. Here’s a countdown. Drumroll please… Ten. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Fiction) ... Nine. Manage Your Money Like a F*cking Grownup by Sam Beckbessinger (Non-fiction) ... Eight. Fighting for the Dream by RW Johnson (Non-fiction) ... Click [here]( for our official Top Ten Best Sellers. We invite all political parties, religious institutions, civil society organisations and the public at large to come together in the defence of press freedom. [Book your free ticket via Quicket here.]( The grapevine: Books that have South Africans talking 1. My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. It’s been causing murmurs in SA book clubs for months and has just jumped onto the Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist. Lagos comedy in a minor key. 2. The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe, translated by Lilit Thwaites. Just as books with “The Girl Who…” in their titles were published by the bushel after the whole Stieg Larsson thing, so now the keyword “Auschwitz” rises, following the success of The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Librarian is a novelisation of a true story. 3. The Boy Who Followed His Father Into Auschwitz by Jeremy Dronfeld. See what we mean? Regarding this (non-fiction) book, it’s what it says on the label. Brutal but – thankfully – uplifting. 4. The Zulus of New York by Zakes Mda. The great Zakes’ latest novel, on everyone’s lips. (Did you see the story about the man who read it while running a marathon?) 5. Sex, Lies & Stellenbosch by Eva Mazza. Who says self-promotion doesn’t work? Mazza’s relentless on Twitter, but it’s paying off. 6. Rebels and Rage by Adam Habib. He wasn’t the rebel, but he certainly raged. Writing is a kind of therapy, right? Daily Maverick turns ten On October 30 this year, Daily Maverick will turn ten. To mark this auspicious occasion, we will be releasing a book out into the wild. It will be a Daily Maverick tell-all: how we came to be, our highs and lows, the biggest stories that have hit South Africa and the personal stories of how the first rough draft of history came into our guardianship. Within its pages, we will tell how tip-offs have mushroomed into investigations and, in some instances, a Commission of Inquiry. We will reveal what it takes for our journalists to be out there every day, plumbing the depths of corruption. How it felt to walk on to the Marikana killing fields – how they had to hold it together long enough to report to the world what had just happened. The book will also reveal the business of being a startup in a digital news era undergoing major disruption, and just how tough it was to keep the doors open. Daily Maverick turns 10: not just a birthday, but also a book. We can’t wait for it and if you'd like to be kept up to date with the progress and launch, you can [do so here](. On my bedside table: Pieter-Louis Myburgh Each month a Daily Maverick writer shares what they’re reading, starting with the most (in)famous writer currently going, Pieter-Louis Myburgh. 1. The Little Drummer Girl by John le Carré I’m about to finish this one. I’m a devoted Le Carré nut. This is one of his books that takes us away from George Smiley and “the Circus” and instead revolves around a clandestine operation involving international terrorists and Israeli spies. Le Carré is a master. 2. Biko: A Biography by Xolela Mangcu I’ve just started reading this book. Mangcu grew up in Steve Biko’s hometown and is therefore ideally positioned to document his life and contribution to the Black Consciousness movement. It’s informative and accessible, a must-read for anyone with an interest in South Africa’s recent past. 3. The Afrikaners: Biography of a People by Hermann Giliomee More SA history. Giliomee’s monumental work turns 16 this year. It sits on my bedside table like an anvil. When I feel strong enough, I lift it up and digest it in small doses. I’ll hopefully finish it in less time than it took Giliomee to write. The dog ear: notes on forthcoming books 1. The Beautiful Ones by Prince A new official book by Prince, The Beautiful Ones, will be published in October 2019, featuring Prince’s original handwritten treatment of “Purple Rain”, as well as the early pages of the memoir he began writing before his untimely death three years ago. For Prince fans, this book promises to be the Ultimate. 2. The Love Song of André P Brink by Leon de Kock The first biography of one of South Africa’s most renowned novelists, set to hit shelves later this month. De Kock had access to a literary treasure: Brink’s journals, going back 54 years. “Brink does not spare himself,” says the publisher, “or anyone else for that matter, as he narrates the ups and downs of his five marriages and his compulsive affairs with a great number of women.” (Read: this book will “disturb the universe” of SA literature.) 3. Undercover with Mandela’s Spies: The Story of The Boy Who Crossed the Square by Bradley Steyn and Mark Fine As a teenager, Steyn witnessed the Strijdom Square massacre, then joined the navy, and from there was enrolled by the apartheid regime’s Security Branch. It was not long, however, before he was recruited into the underground ANC and tasked with infiltrating the sinister Third Force destabilising South Africa. Touted as an “astonishing true-life thriller” by the publisher. The column: Bin Before Reading Ben Williams mulls whether the rampant piracy of Jacques Pauw’s The President’s Keepers had anything to do with its record-breaking sales. “A key reason, I think, that wide-scale piracy didn’t prevent Pauw’s book from becoming a bestseller is that it worked like an ebook in a publisher’s marketing campaign, and fuelled the only mechanism for selling books that the world has ever known: word of mouth.” [Read more](. The interview: Ian Hawkey We sat down with Ian Hawkey, co-author of the newly-released book Vuvuzela Dawn: 25 Sports Stories that Shaped a New Nation, to chat about SA’s sporting highs and lows. [Read the interview here.]( The ticket: May litfests Here’s our pick of events not to miss at this month’s [FLF](, which runs 17 – 19 May in sleepy Franschhoek, and the Kingsmead Book Fair, which takes place on Kingsmead campus, Joburg, 25 May. The FLF Event No. 2. Author and activist Greg Mills and former finance minister of Zimbabwe Tendai Biti discuss their new book, Democracy Works. Event No. 9. A masterclass on historical research and writing history with none other than Simon Sebag Montefiore – ? Erm, yes, please. (Also: read his book The Romanovs like, today.) Event No. 31. Harris Dousemetzis, author of The Man Who Killed Apartheid, sits with Wandile Ngcaweni (We Are No Longer at Ease) and the DM’s own Zapiro (WTF) to talk comfort zones and taking risks with Tom Eaton. [Click here for all of our FLF 2019 picks.]( Kingsmead Book Fair The Comedy Channel, 9.30am: Hagen Engler, Melusi Tshabalala, and the DM’s Rebecca Davis and Zapiro crack wise. An Ancestry of Activism, 11am: Malebo Sephodi speaks to Lukhanyo Calata, Rekgotsofetse Chikane, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi and Rehana Rossouw about South Africa’s intergenerational tradition of protest. New Visions, 4pm: Meet some of the contributors to New Daughters of Africa, the international anthology of writing by women of African descent. With Phillippa Yaa De Villiers, Reneilwe Malatji and Yewande Omotoso, and chaired by Efemia Chela. [Click here for all of our KBF 2019 picks.]( The shopping list: What to buy this weekend Hint: not a newspaper. Three suggestions from us on what to look out for during your weekly pilgrimage to your favourite bookstore. 1. Fiction: Don't buy The Mister by EL James, instead buy The Friend by Joakim Zander. Scandi thrills galore, kicking off with intrigue in Beirut. 2. Non-fiction: Don't buy The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson, instead buy How to Manage Your Money Like a F*cking Grownup by Sam Beckbessinger. This is the real guide on how not to f*ck up your sh*t, not the other one. 3. Children’s: Don't buy Yes Deer by Benjamin Leeper, instead buy Yes, Yanga! by Refiloe Moahloli, illustrated by Mogau Kekana. A charming new book about a young cricket star, also available in isiXhosa as Yheke Yanga! The long & short of it: Current literary awards Several major literary awards have announced their lists. 1. The Sunday Times Literary Awards longlists What are they? The Alan Paton Award for Non-fiction and the Barry Ronge Prize for Fiction. Why do they matter? They’re South Africa’s most prestigious literary awards, full stop. How much? Each comes with a cheque for R100,000. How many books? Twenty-five per list. Next up? The shortlists, announced later this month. 2. The Women’s Prize for Fiction What is it? An annual UK-based prize given for the “best eligible full-length novel in English” by a woman. Why does it matter? Shaddup and siddown. (Also: there’s no cooler list.) How many books? Six. How much? £30,000 (about R555,500). Next up? The winner, announced in June. 3 and 4. The 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize shortlist, worth £5,000 (about R90k) and featuring writers from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia; and the 2019 Man Booker International Prize shortlist, worth £50,000 (circa a cool R900k) and featuring five women authors and their five women translators. Get all the details of the prizes in time for tonight’s dinner party [here!]( The recipe: Lamb shank moussaka from Marlene van der Westhuizen’s Plate Just in time to add cheer to chilly winter evenings, this dish steps it up a little – it’s perfect for a special occasion or entertaining friends. “Here I take a well-loved recipe and deconstruct it,” says the author. Try not to read her recipe in public, lest your mouth water overmuch, leading those around you to wonder if they should summon a medic. [Click here for Marlene van der Westhuizen's Lamb shank moussaka.]( Enter our newsletter competition and stand the chance to win great prizes! Help us #spreadthenews and enter our newsletter competition. Get bonus entries when you refer friends. [Click here to see the prizes and enter.]( [The Reading List]( Visit [readinglist.click]( for South African book news daily. Copyright 2019 Daily Maverick, All Rights Reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Maverick Life subscriber list. [Like]( [Tweet]( [Share]( [Forward]( [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](