A friend of mine connected me to Eve Thompson, who, among other things, is the author of the book 'Leading Women of Africa'. When i heard how the book had come about, due to a lack of black women being mentioned in educational materials, i was very excited to connect with Eve and hear a little more of her story and she has graciously shared it here... Leading Women of Africa Hi. My [...]
i am busy reading the book Community - The Structure of Belonging, by Peter Block. It is very similar to The Art of Possibility which i read recently and shared some thoughts from over here - by Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander - in theme at least, but it is a little more of a dense book, requiring multiple rereadings of paragraphs and sections. But i am enjoying it. Particularly the invitation to [...]
i just finished reading The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander. While a lot of the work in this book echoes the "Yes, Let's!" principles of Improv that i have been playing around with for 20 plus years, i found the principles and story-telling to be quite inspiring. This is definitely a book i would recommend. No surprise really that the short stories - and there are many of them [...]
What are you busy reading? Or what was the last book you read? And who was the author? These questions may seem quite innocuous and innocent, much like the unnecessary 'How are you?' we throw at someone we haven't seen for years when we bump into them in a supermarket [if we really cared how they were doing, the time since our last meeting might have been a lot shorter?]. But i want to [...]
i finally finished reading the Voices of Liberation series book on Steve Biko by Derek Hook. And i can highly recommend it. i honestly believe that if you are a South African [especially if you are white] then you really need to read 'How can man die better?' [by Benjamin Pogrund] which is the story of Robert Sobukwe, and either one of 'I write what I like' or this version of Biko's writings and [...]
Do you have children who love Dr Seuss stories? Or maybe just any stories read out in a bad german accent and often shouted at the screen? Well, if this is you, you may just be in luck. My old friend, and alter ego, Erik [with a K!] who is known more for shouting people's favourite poems at the screen in bad german, is back. And this time he is armed with Dr Seuss... [...]
i have wanted to read some Martin Luther King, Jr. for the longest time. So when tbV gave me 'The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. edited by Clayborn Carson' as part of our Christmas book exchange i was super stoked. My serious journey towards becoming conscientised [an ongoing work, by the way] began largely in America when i lived there for three years and i saw [and still see] so much overlap between the [...]
i have just finished reading Melusi Tshabalala's 'Melusi's Everyday Zulu' which was one of the books my wife gave me for Christmas. It is funny, it is irreverent in places, it is jaw-drop-he-didn't-just-say-that in others, it is inspiring and challenging in terms of understanding South Africa and South Africans and mostly it is educational and just a really fun read. Get yourself a copy. From the back cover: Six days a week, Melusi Tshabalala, [...]
i recently read 'Thoughts on the New South Africa' by Neville Alexander which my friend Ashley Visagie lent to me. Now for anyone who doesn't know Ashley Visagie, if the term 'thought leader' applies to anyone in South Africa with regards to education and poverty and identity and so much more, it would have to be him. So when he gives you a book, you read it. i'm not sure if i would have read [...]
