Well-known bookworms share which books they’re dying to read these holidays, and which ones they’d love to give the book lovers in their own lives.
Paige Nick
Paige is an author and the host of radio show, Book Choice on Fine Music Radio, 101.3fm, DStv channel 838. She is also the founder of and curator for The Good Book Appreciation Society, one of the biggest online book clubs in South Africa. Find them on Facebook. Paige is on Instagram, @amillionmilesfromnormal
‘I have big plans for my December holiday. Big, huge, massive, 416 pages worth of plans. I cannot wait to step out of my inbox on the last day of work, and step straight into the new novel by Kate Atkinson, Shrines of Gaiety. What’s it about? Well, I couldn’t tell you. It could be about shrines, or maybe it’s mostly about gaiety. Either way, Atkinson is one of those authors I’ll always pick up, on any day of the week, without ever needing to read the back cover. So, I wish you all a very merry and bookie X-mas with plenty of Gaiety.’
Kym Argo
Kym is the National Group Editor for Get It local Magazines group, @getitnationalmagazines. Find Kym on Instagram, @readitonthegrapevine
‘It was so difficult to choose just one title, so I’ve picked three.
'Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things by Yotam Ottolenghi & Noor Murad: Would you think of taking left over lemon rind, baking at high heat until dry and charred, then grinding what are, to be completely honest here, the now shrivelled pieces of burnt rind, and using as a condiment with sweet and savoury dishes? Nope. Me neither. But I’m not Ottolenghi (obvs).
In Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things, it’s suggested that “Ottolenghify” should be a verb (‘I’m going to Ottolenghify my roasted aubergine with some feta’), and this sensational book is just full of delicious twists, flavour surprises, and flair. I’m going to Ottolenghify my foodie friends’ Christmas with copies of this cookbook, with best wishes for a year full of sauces, sprinkles, pickles and flavour.
'Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid: I was in the Wimbledon centre court crowd in 1982, when Jimmy Connors played, and beat, defending champion John McEnroe in the men’s finals. Major life highlight, right there! So there’s no doubt whatsoever that this December’s beach read is going to be Carrie Soto is Back. It’s all tennis and winning and losing and ambition and behind-the-scenes drama. On top of that, I adore Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books, which all have ties to one another. We first met Carrie Soto in Malibu Rising, and in this book, she’s reading a Daisy Jones and The Six biography. It’s like meeting old friends in unexpected places. It’s a game, set and match holiday read.
'All the Broken Places by John Boyne: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas broke my heart, and I have the feeling that John Boyne’s new follow up to the book, All the Broken Places is going to do it again. It’s the story of Gretel, sister of Bruno (the protagonist in the first novel), who was 12 when her brother disappeared. Now at 91-years-old, Gretel is living in London and when a couple move into the apartment below hers with their 11-year-old son, she has the chance to expiate the guilt, grief and remorse of what happened when she was a girl and take action to save the boy from threatening circumstances. Certainly not an easy holiday read, but quite possibly the one I’m looking forward to the most.'
‘Book of Night should be at the very top of your Christmas list (if not as a gift for someone else then definitely for yourself).’
Hadassah Soobramoney
Bookseller Hadassah is also a book blogger. Find her on Instagram, @hadassah.s_
‘Book of Night by Holly Black was one of my absolute favourite reads of 2022, and I’d love to gift a copy to all my bookish friends!
It's one of those reads that, once it’s sucked you in, will become seriously unputdownable!
Whether you buddy-read it with a friend like I did, or on your own, Book of Night should be at the very top of your Christmas list (if not as a gift for someone else then definitely for yourself).’
Sue Grant-Marshall
Sue is a journalist and author. She also hosts radio show Reading Matters, Tuesdays at 12pm on Radio Today 1485am, or DStv channel 869.
‘The Quality of Mercy by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu has all I look for in a book. It’s set in Africa – my best – has splendid prose; and a gripping story. It’s a tale that makes you think … and then think again.
Through the eyes of police officer Spokes Moloi, The Quality of Mercy tells the history of an unspecified country, moving from colonial times to the present. He’s searching for a possibly dead, certainly vanished, white man.
Cruelty, glamour, high society and bustling village life abound in a book bursting with characters and scenery that leap off the page.’
Pippa Hudson
Pippa is the host of radio show, Lunch with Pippa Hudson, weekdays from 1pm to 3pm on Cape Talk, 567am, DStv channel 885. Follow Pippa on Twitter, @pjchudson
‘If I could, I’d gift everyone I know a copy of Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. On the surface, it’s a delightful read about a woman determined to forge a career in science, defying prevailing social expectations of the 1960’s. But it is so much deeper than that, deftly tackling serious issues of systemic sexism. The heroine, Elizabeth Zott, is deliciously smart and subversive, but she’s almost upstaged by a dog named Six Thirty, whose inner narrative is both poignant and side-splittingly funny.’
Loesha Maharaj
Loesha is a #bookstagrammer. Find her on Instagram, @readingwithloe
‘The one thing I absolutely love about the December holidays is giving to family and friends. Plus, it’s a time where you can ultimately spoil yourself, and splurge a little on any book you want.
When I was asked which book I would be hoping to read during the holidays, it was a very tough choice! There are loads that I’d still love to read, but I’ve managed to narrow it down to one.
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han is an obvious choice for the summer holidays. I absolutely love Jenny Han’s books and I'm very excited to kick my legs up, sit by the pool side and really enjoy this one.’
