Sandton, Soccer Fever and the Sunday Times Literary Awards

Image via Beeld

World Cup fever has taken our minds,bodies, streets and country hostage (rightfully so) and will continue to do so for the next month. After the scenes from yesterday’s procession in Sandton and gatherings around the country, my heart beats yellow and green with a new sense of patriotism. It made me think that when on the precipice of crisis we retreat in a state of passiveness but when presented with the opportunity to unite and fire up spirits rather than arms we charge with new found purpose and for some brief moments declare ours a state of greatness. I hope that every visitor and even the mzanzi’s will indulge in all things home grown and brewed that our wonderful country has to offer. And perhaps some of them will pop into a bookshop and take home a new literary discovery.

The shortlist for the Sunday Times Literary awards is not a bad place to start looking for that treasure. They were announced this last weekend and feature some our finest writers who will compete for our most prestigious English literary prize. They are as follow:

Shortlist for Alan Paton (non-fiction) Award


Ways of Staying by Kevin Bloom (Picador Africa)

A Fork in the Road by André Brink (Harvill Secker)

Begging to be Black by Antjie Krog (Random House Struik)

The Honour to Serve by James Ngculu (David Phillip)

The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law by Albie Sachs (Oxford University Press).

Shortlist for the Fiction Prize


Summertime by JM Coetzee (Harvill Secker)

High Low In-between by Imraan Coovadia (Umuzi)

Saracen at the Gates by Zinaid Meeran (Jacana)

The Book of the Dead by Kgebetli Moele (Kwela Books)

Small Moving Parts by Sally-Ann Murray (Kwela Books).

The winners will be announced on the 24th of July

Local Hidden Treasure Trove: Bibliophile Clarens

Every time I visit Clarens and the Golden Gate area in the eastern Free State I fall in love with it all over again. Visiting it at different times of the year is like a private viewing of nature’s perfect seasonal colour palette, as if discovering the different personality traits and facets of someone you love but will never fully know. It has unmistakably become one of my favourite spots to visit in South Africa and lucky for me I have uncovered that its beauty does not only run skin deep .



Only a 2,5 hours drive from Johannesburg this coined little artist town nestled in the Maluti mountains is not only for gallery browsers and outdoor activity lovers but it comes equipped with its own little bookshop aptly named Bibliophile, for those days when the muscles need to recuperate and your thoughts seek their own adventure and deviation. The shop is situated just of the main street on a little dirt road and is packed with charm, character and above all a great selection of reads.

Friday Forecast

The SA weather service is predicting some cold weather coming our way this weekend and as murphy would have it I am going hiking in the Free State during this cold onslaught. This is probably going to be the first of many as winter is officially due within a couple of days. If I am to survive this weekend I am particularly excited about snuggling up with some of my favourite men and their long awaited novels during the next couple of months. So winter do your worst as I come armed with some serious (and not so serious) recommendations not only to wither the cold but to make you a winter to remember not only as the time when the Soccer World Cup came to South Africa

Solar by Ian McEwan


Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd
ISBN: 9780224090506
RRP: R220

Solar by Ian McEwan.
Solar has just won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic fiction. Not bad for a first time venture into comedy but then again this is Ian McEwan we are talking about, the same Man Booker winner who has decided to try his hand at writing an opera based in his novel Atonement. I was skeptical when this master of contemporary fiction announced that his latest novel would be a comedic effort centered around climate change but halfway through it I have discovered that the author who has an uncanny knack for stripping a human being to only his darkest impulses is equally talented when it comes to comedic timing. His Nobel prize winning protagonist has managed to make me laugh out loud at his antics at the same time as he has brought about the impulse to throttle him. A book about the warming earth should indeed be acquired for the forthcoming cooler days.

Another Man Booker prize winner as well as a former shortlisted finalist got me equally excited about their latest releases

Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel


Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781847677662
RRP R190

'Fate takes many forms. When Henry receives a letter from an elderly taxidermist, it poses a puzzle that he cannot resist. As he is pulled further into the world of this strange and calculating man, Henry becomes increasingly involved with the lives of a donkey and a howler monkey - named Beatrice and Virgil - and the epic journey they undertake together. With all the spirit and originality that made Life of Pi so treasured, this brilliant new novel takes the reader on a haunting odyssey. On the way Martel asks profound questions about life and art, truth and deception, responsibility and complicity.'

via Penguin. Click on the Penguin link for the chance to win a signed copy of the long awaited new novel from Yann Martel who brought us the unforgettable Life of Pi

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell


Publisher: Sceptre
ISBN: 9780340921579
RRP 190

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by enigmatic David Mitchell adds to what is already an amazing collection of titles that never seize to excite his readers and it would seem critics alike. He is the darling of British postmodern fiction and his latest novel tells the story of a turning point in history on a tiny island attached to mainland Japan, David Mitchell’s tale of power, passion and integrity transports us to a world that is at once exotic and familiar: an extraordinary place and an era when news from abroad took months to arrive, yet when people behaved as they always do - loving, lusting and yearning, cheating, fighting and killing.

'Bringing to vivid life a tectonic shift between East and West, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is dramatic, funny, heartbreaking, enlightening and thought-provoking. Reading it is an unforgettable experience'. Amazon.co.uk

Happy reading this winter and keep me informed of your winter literary finds, pleasures , wish list as well as your reviews on the above mentioned titles. And as a final tip I would reccommend that a bottle of good homegrown South African red would be a perfect companion to these international men and their writing, as indulging in their brilliance is sure to fire up the coldest of winter days.

Feeling Bookish

The last couple of months a lot of people have been asking me how I feel about e-book readers and their effect on the book industry and it has been a hard question to answer. As with any product (please excuse me for reducing the book to such a commercial driven term) or industry trying to survive in an ever changing and unpredictable economic climate it is vital to keep up to date and stay in trend with technology which seems to be the main driving force in industries. Refusing to do so could be detrimental. That said the bibliophile in me can not fathom how the sensory pleasure of book and bookshop could ever be digitized.

While some have been preaching the demise of both the tangible book and the independent bookshop, their influences are undeniable on our culture as well as on the way we dwell. Enough so to have brought about these amazing book inspired designs that have been showcased most recently this month at the BKLYN Design show and the ICFF in New York. These designs do not only speak volumes about the book as an aesthetically pleasing object but are ode like creations aimed at the book as symbolic representation of where we have been, what we have accomplished and the impact of their contents that have irrevocably shaped our lives.

It goes without saying that the e-book has some dauntingly large shoes to fill and after looking at these designs it makes me say with a hint of pleasure...kindle who?


Shelving system Hold on Tight by Colleen & Eric via Design Sponge


BookLight by Myungseo Kang via Elle Deco SA


Faktura bookshelf via Apartment Therapy



The Duo bookshelf by Ana Linares via Apartment Therapy and Supermarket

Calling all Jozi Bibliophiles

The Friends of Johannesburg Public Libraries are holding a book sale on 28 February from 9:00 - 17:00 at Marks Park Sports Club, Judith Rd, Emmarentia.
There are over 10 000 new and second-hand books, collectables and Africana on sale at very low prices (starting at R10 each).
There is secure parking and refreshments will be available.
Enquiries: 083 454 6312 / 082 777 0752.
All proceeds go towards supporting the activities of the public libraries in Johannesburg.

Why not pack a picnic basket and enjoy the surroundings at Emmarentia dam while you get yourself acquainted with the newest additions to your library. Hope to see you all there!

Holiday Wishes

We at the paperhousehouse review would like to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas. And for all of you that still need to do some last minute shopping, please visit your local bookshop for the perfect gift that suites every budget. After Christmas we can start counting down the days towards 2010 and the feverish book sales that are coming in January.

The paperhouse review is taking some time off to work on some great new ideas for the blog for 2010 so do come and visit us again next year when our great new features will be up and running. Happy reading until then.

Please watch the incentive below on why you should support your local bookshop this holiday season, courtesy of IndieBound

Some novel ideas from our favourite friends

It has been quiet on the blog front as the silly season with its hectic schedules has managed to consume our lives. But we at The Paperhouse Review have managed to keep sourcing some great innovative book-themed designs, courtesy of our favourite blogs and magazines. Luckily for us, they seem to appreciate book culture as much as we do, as they continue to wow us with each new, ingenious way to display our treasured reads.

Here are some of the best ideas we've seen the last few months.

Apartment Therapy


Lili Lite



Bookshelf-annotation by Lau Design



Bookrest by Lars Nilsson



October 2009 ELLE Decoration UK Edition




Slim Shelving



London Landmark Bookends by Susan Bradley Design