EW BLOG ebook Issue 1. 2020: a collection of Book reviews and Opinion pieces

The year 2020 has started well for the EW Blog family. EW Blog has managed to secure a spot at YOU FM. All EW Blog contributors will have an opportunity to review the books they have read live on the radio on selected Thursdays. It is yet another achievement for this baby, which will be turning three years later this year.

It is also an honour to announce that EW Blog has 10 contributors. I am so glad and happy the team continues to grow at a very rapid pace. I owe my sincere gratitude to Haafizah Bhamjee, Thembi Mazibuko, Rego Mputle, Boitumelo Thage, Makhosizana Mavundla, Ntando Sindane, Refilwe and Lucy Sekhota. A big thank also goes to our in-house photographers, Thabang Malatji and Maria Maake.

It is my pleasure to announce our first EW Blog eBook edition of the year. The edition is dedicated to the late Elsie Kekana. This year marks exactly two years since God decided to call Elsie to heaven. It is on this edition that her friends remember her for the spiritual warrior she was. I would like to thank Thapelo Mercy, Dr Zwivhuya Tshivenga, Dr Nthabiseng Rapeta, Linda Tjale and Kutullo Mapheto for honouring their friend.

As per usual, there are exciting reviews from the latest books in the market, including Adriaan Basson’s Blessed by Bosasa, Born Freeloaders by Phumlani Pikoli and Siren by Kuli Roberts among others. The primary objective this year is to increase our readership base and also sign more writers. We would also be printing T-shirts, caps in order to grow the brand. EW Blog continues to be amongst the best book reviewing websites and it is all thanks to our loyal subscribers. I still urge each and everyone to continue subscribing to the blog, so as to not miss any latest posts. As the year is still in its infancy, I encourage everyone to keep oiling their brains by reading books, especially African literature. I special thank you to our friends at Jacana Media, Jonathan Ball Publishers, Pan MacMillian and foxwrite publicity . I hope this year will continue to be a great one for our working relationship. Enjoy our first instalment of the year and let love reign supreme this month of love.

Table of content

1. Editor’s Note
2. Letter to a Spiritual Warrior: Elsie Matlhako Kekana
3. Boardroom Dancing: A much-needed reminder that there’s always something to stand up for
4. One Day in Bethlehem will Shake You to the Core
5. A House Divided reads like a carefully orchestrated assault on Patricia De Lille’s legacy
6. Dr T ignites a fire to good sexual health and pleasure …
7. Yusuf Daniels’ Living Coloured is a Rare Gem
8. Born Freeloaders fails to live up to its title
9. Sue Nyathi digs the horrific and success stories of Zim immigrants in The Gold Diggers
10. Stand Against Bland is a voice for good in alleviating consciousness in Corporate SA …
11. Alex Van Tonder’s ‘A walk at Midnight’ is Immersive and Captivating
12. An Image in a Mirror: A literary plea for society to self-reflect
13. Reclaiming The Soil demands for the searching of one’s cultural roots
14. Letters Home is a bridge into a time of elegant language, forbidden love, and haunting politics.
15. The Broken River Tent ignites a fire to discover African roots
16. An Elephant in my Kitchen is Captivatingly Adventurous
17. HomeGoing depicts the triumph of a human spirit in the face of adversities
18. Siren mirrors the evil and good of South Africa’s entertainment industry
19. Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe: New Reflections is a Political Firecracker
20. Parcel of Death honours a man who truly died for the black cause
21. Democracy Works Delivers Only Hype and No Essence
22. The Stellenbosch Mafia opens up a dialogue about white privilege
23. Blessed by Bosasa is brave, insightful and well-researched
24. The absence of the Springboks’ success in the book makes Beast’s story incomplete
25. Siya Kolisi’s story is indeed an embodiment of the nation’s potential
26. The Educated Waiter narrates a familiar story but told from a different perspective
27. Coconut reflects on how the dawn of democracy disrupted ‘normality’
28. Khaya Dlanga reminds us that we all have our unique stories to share
29. Breaking a Rainbow fiercely interrogates inequality in SA
30. I Choose To Live is a motivational source to enjoying life to the fullest
31. Eskom should just be Ramaphosa’s SONA address not empty job creation promises
32. Ramaphosa should partially privatise Eskom and SAA to limit political interference in their operations
33. Only apolitical board will save Eskom more than just firing Pravin Gordhan
34. The political quagmire at Tshwane House proves to be the last straw of how coalition governments failed dismally
35. We should be wary not to produce another Jacob Zuma in Zandile Gumede
36. Back to School: this is the time for the government to end ‘period poverty’