Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls has been sitting on my shelf for a while, (terrible, I know.) In my defense I had a book to finish, short stories to hand in and a workshop to plan. But once I had finished relaunching my website, it was the first book I reached for. To sum up my thoughts – it’s just magical.
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My shelf of South African poetry can hardly be called a collection. Strange Fruit by Helen Moffett, Please, Take Photographs by Sindiwe Magona, Ingrid Jonker’s Black Butterflies translated by Andre Brink, The Tempest Prognosticator by Isobel Dixon, Doo-Wop Girls of the Universe by Finuala Dowing, Matric Rage by Genna Gardini. I’m ashamed that I don’t own more. Continue reading “Book review: Collective Amnesia by Koleka Putuma” →
Edited by Jared Shurin and Mahvesh Murad, this gorgeous anthology features a diverse array of authors, including Nnedi Okorafor, Neil Gaiman, EJ Swift and James Smythe.
The collection comprises dreamy tales with a palpable middle-eastern flavour, reminiscent of One Thousand and One Nights. Many of the stories are set in the middle east. What holds them together is that they all feature the legendary djinn, a creature from Arabian mythology – commonly known as the genie from Aladdin’s lamp.
Continue reading “LEGO book review: The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories” →
I don’t have the most refined palate. Growing up, meals were a rotating conveyor belt of toast, spaghetti, mac and cheese, stew and braai (charred to a crisp, the way my father liked it.) Take-aways like KFC were a weekend treat, and on special occasions, and I mean, really, really special, we went to Spur.
I consider this a blessing. Being raised without a silver spoon in my mouth helped me understand the value of hard work and getting what you pay for. Which is why these days, when I do have a little extra to spend on eating out, I try to get my money’s worth.
Continue reading “Open Book Festival: RSVP for my Short Story Workshop” →
As a fan of theme parties, cosplaying, and all-round geekery, I have in my adult years thrown more than one Harry Potter party. There is no shame in this. After all, I am a huge fangirl, so are my friends, and with recent headlines dominated by racist mob violence, corruption, and impending nuclear war (and that was just this week) sometimes a night of light-hearted fun is needed to lift the spirits.
Continue reading “How to throw a Harry Potter party” →
The Fifth Mrs Brink is the memoir of writer and academic Karina Szczurek, the fifth wife of author Andre P Brink.
The book describes their romance and happy marriage, but it also offers a portrait of the woman behind the title. Karina writes that to know her, you must visit the places close to her heart, and in this book she shares some of the moments that have defined her.
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Living in Cape Town means you don’t have to venture out very far to see breathtaking scenery. It’s a permanent backdrop.
As someone who doesn’t enjoy summer very much (this pale complexion takes years of avoiding the sun) winter is my favourite time to explore The Cape of Storms. The world comes alive, like a dog shaking off its wet fur. Just look outside to see how vivid green the grass has become as it waits expectantly for the rumbling black clouds to release more rain; how the skies are never anything less than dramatic.
It’s so wonderfully gloomy.
Here are some of my favourite places to go when it’s cold outside.
From the archive: 5 June 2014
I read The Fault in Our Stars over Christmas (it was a gift to myself). In fact, I very rudely sat outside in the sun, while my partner and his family were inside in the middle of Christmas lunch celebrations. I couldn’t put the book down, not even on Christmas Day.
(See this picture? That’s me stretched out between two camping chairs while trifle is being served inside.)
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For the recent Trade Secrets anthology, I wrote a story entitled Kitchen Witch about a witch who can do magical things with baked goods. Sadly I’ve never been much of a baker. My scones come out flat and dry and my cookies lack crunch.
Continue reading “How to make a black metal cake” →
Sally Partridge