Book picks similar to
Sister-Sister by Rachel Zadok
south-african
beautiful-writing
sa-fiction
kwela-books
Catch Me a Killer: Serial Murders: A Profiler's True Story
Micki Pistorius - 2001
I am familiar with his feelings of emptiness, loneliness, depression, death, omnipotence and fear. I dive deeply to get a grip on his torment..." A profiler who wants to understand the mind of the serial killer must have been prepared by life experiences before he or she can dare to venture into the abyss. A person who has led a protected life will not survive.
19 with a Bullet: A South African Paratrooper in Angola
Granger Korff - 2009
Apart from the 'standard' counterinsurgency activities of Fireforce operations, ambushing and patrols, to contact and destroy SWAPO guerrillas, he was involved in several massive South African Defence Force (SADF) conventional cross-border operations, such as Protea, Daisy and Carnation, into Angola to take on FAPLA (Angolan MPLA troops) and their Cuban and Soviet allies. Having grown up as an East Rand rebel street-fighter, Korff's military 'career' is marred with controversy. He is always in trouble--going AWOL on the eve of battle in order to get to the front; facing a court martial for beating up, and reducing to tears, a sergeant-major in front of the troops; fist-fighting with Drug Squad agents; arrested at gunpoint after the grueling seven-week, 700km Recce selection endurance march--are but some of the colorful anecdotes that lace this account of service in the SADF.
The Fever Tree
Jennifer McVeigh - 2012
1880 South Africa is a country torn apart by greed. In this remote and inhospitable land she becomes entangled with two very different men—one driven by ambition, the other by his ideals. Only when the rumor of a smallpox epidemic takes her into the dark heart of the diamond mines does she see her path to happiness.But this is a ruthless world of avarice and exploitation, where the spoils of the rich come at a terrible human cost and powerful men will go to any lengths to keep the mines in operation. Removed from civilization and disillusioned by her isolation, Frances must choose between passion and integrity, a decision that has devastating consequences.
The Africans Who Wrote the Bible
Nana Banchie Darkwah - 2000
Did you know that Jews originated from black African tribes? Did you know that Jesus and the people of the Bible were black people? Did you know that the names of authors of the Old Testament are African tribal names? Did you know that modern Jews still carry tribal names. Did you know that the word Israel is an African word? These are some of the ancient secrets this book reveals to readers.
In the Company of Angels
N.M. Kelby - 2001
Marie Claire is a young French Jew in a Nazi-occupied Belgian town, cared for by her grandmother, who cultivates flowers. A shattering of glass, and Marie Claires village is in rubble. Her grandmother is dead, everyone is dead. She flees to the root cellar of her grandmothers house and waits....
They Did What!?: The Funny, Weird, Wonderful, Outrageous, and Stupid Things Famous People Have Done
Bob Fenster - 2002
Author Bob Fenster has captured all their hilarious, behind-the-scenes antics in They Did What!? Consider, for example:o The Beach Boys originally wanted to call their group the Pendletons, so they could get free shirts from the Oregon clothing manufacturer.o At her wedding, movie star Lana Turner had "I love you" spelled out in pimentos in the sides of baked hams.o Before they hit it big in the movies, Angelina Jolie studied to be a funeral director and Sean Connery polished coffins.Filled with hundreds of fascinating escapades and interesting idiosyncrasies, They Did What!? also looks at issues associated with fame, such as "Why do famous people marry other famous people?" and includes tongue-in-cheek lessons we can learn from celebrities, like "How to become famous and still get into heaven."
When God's Ways Make No Sense
Larry Crabb - 2018
But when things get hard and we don't understand what God is doing, what is our first impulse? Is it to resist him and run away like Jonah? Or is it to trust him even while trembling in fear of suffering like Habbakuk? In this powerful exploration of God's often mysterious and counterintuitive ways, Dr. Larry Crabb challenges readers to seize the opportunities for growth and maturity that come our way when we experience troubles and failures. Rather than pushing back against adversity, he invites us to look closer at what God is doing in our lives when it feels like he is far from us. Unpacking the stories of two very different prophets, Crabb lights the way to a life of resting in the goodness of a God who is always working out his plan for our lives.
Patricia St. John Tells Her Own Story
Patricia St. John - 1995
John's books already knows how her stories come alive, and this account of her own life is no exception. Her powers of description make the story leap from the page and the reader is transported to far off places and times; and the people and the things she describes can almost be touched, smelled and seen. Patricia was not just a gifted story-teller, though; she was also a deeply committed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose spiritual journey began when she was only six years old. 'My name is Patricia, ' she prayed, 'and if You are really calling me I want to come and be Yours. ' Out of that small beginning there issued a river of life and light and blessing that went on increasing right up to the end of her life. Although she always thought of herself as 'an ordinary sort of girl', her life was extraordinary because of her supreme love for Jesus Christ. The life portrayed here is not that of the self-conscious saint, concerned only with her own saintliness. On the contrary these pages offer us an inside view of someone utterly human, prone to mistakes and failures like the rest of us, yet suffused with the love of God and a contagious joy and peace that was like the bubbling up of a perpetual fountain.
Confessions of a Gambler
Rayda Jacobs - 2004
On the one hand she is a pious mother of four sons, but under the veil she is a daring, independent-minded woman with a sexuality, and a liking for risky behavior, that she keeps secret from those closest to her. We follow her story in two different time frames. As a woman in her forties, dealing with the tragic death of her son from AIDS, Abeeda is drawn into the world of casino gambling and quickly develops a gambling addiction, in which she convulsively wins and loses large amounts of money. In a serious of flash backs we also trace her life as a woman in her twenties, from the time when her husband left her, through a torrid affair with her younger sister's fiance (and then husband) Imran. The episodes in the casino are intense - the compulsive attraction and the nightmare of gambling are made vivid to the reader. On the other hand, Abeeda's involvement in her community, and her genuine spiritual seeking, are also very clear. Weaving together these captivating main story lines are numerous subplots involving her family, religion, friends and her life in the community.
Release
Patrick Ness - 2017
Relationships will change, he’ll change, but maybe, just maybe, he’ll find freedom in the release.Time is running out though, because way across town a ghost as risen from the lake. Searching, yearning, she leaves a trail of destruction in her wake…
A God Named Desire
Ty Gibson - 2010
We are creatures of intense desire. We emerge from the womb longing for touch and affection. Desire pulsates within us every waking moment of our lives. Our hearts are fueled by hungry yearnings for connection, for relationship, for a sense of belonging. We plunge into life, giving ourselves away to him or her, to this or that, drinking in every promise of fulfillment. And yet, we always emerge from the quest for love still feeling a persistent and insatiable desire for something more. A God Named Desire is about that something more. There are some books that speak with an unusual level of clarity to the deepest issues that press the human heart. This is one of those rare books. You will never see god, or yourself, the same after the insights of A God Named Desire are introduced into your mind.
Energy
M.J. Schutte - 2011
Before they can explore their feelings for each other, a dark secret about Lilian’s past rips their world apart. Brighton finds himself fighting for the girl he loves as well as his own life while simultaneously discovering an even bigger secret about himself.Brighton has to overcome great odds and even death itself if he is going to save himself and Lilian from the evil determined to destroy them.
Possess
Gretchen McNeil - 2011
Unfortunately for Bridget, the voices are demons - the Biblical kind, not the Buffy kind - and Bridget possesses the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from. Literally.Terrified to tell her friends or family about this new power, Bridget confides in San Francisco's senior exorcist, Monsignor Renault. The monsignor enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession, but just as she is starting to come to terms with her freakish new role, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. And when one of her oldest friends is killed, Bridget realizes she's in deeper than she ever thought possible. Now she must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone else close to her winds up dead - or worse, the human vessel for a demon king.
The Demon Catchers of Milan
Kat Beyer - 2012
Now her cousins Emilio and Giuliano say the only way to keep her safe is for her to come back with them to Milan, to live, to learn Italian, to fall in and out of love, and to master the family trade: fighting all demons with the lore of bell, book, and candle. Milan is not what Mia expected, but it will change her forever, in this stunningly well-written novel about an American girl who, fleeing an ancient evil, finds her only salvation in her ancestral home.
Bom Boy
Yewande Omotoso - 2011
He develops strange habits of stalking people, stealing small objects and going from doctor to doctor in search of companionship rather than cure. Through a series of letters written to him by his Nigerian father whom he has never met, Leke learns about a family curse; a curse which his father had unsuccessfully tried to remove. Bom Boy is a well-crafted, and complex narrative written with a sensitive understanding of both the smallness and magnitude of a single life.