There’s been lots of noise about Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, and for good reason. It’s a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick (and who are we to argue with Reese?) and a cracking (and rather steamy) read for a cold night. When Shane and Eva meet at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but also the eyebrows of the Black literati. What no one knows is that fifteen years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. While they may be pretending not to know each other, they cannot deny their chemistry or the fact that they have been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years. And over the next seven days, during a sultry Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect. Quercus • Another perfect book club read … How To Save A Life by Eva Carter. Structured around the simple steps involved in CPR, this book kicks off with Joel, who collapses at a New Year’s Eve party. Enter Kerry, who performs CPR until the ambulance arrives, and Tim, who wants to be a doctor but freezes when it’s his turn to help. The book, which was inspired by the author’s own experience of giving CPR to her partner, and by her mum’s stories of when she worked as a trauma nurse, follows the trio, and shows there’s more to being a hero than a split second decision … it’s all about how you live your life afterwards. Pan Macmillan
Our book of the month … from talented local author Fiona Snyckers
Let’s here it for local. Loud applause and big whoops for local author Fiona Snyckers, who’s just released her latest novel, The School Gates … the PERFECT book club read. This is the third in a loose trilogy – the first two, Now Following You and SPIRE both fabulously successful. This one sees Ella Burchell, burnt out after years as a professional dancer, move to a small KwaZulu Natal North Coast town, where she gets a job teaching dance to children at a private school.
The children she can handle … but she had no idea, when she took the position, about the mums. The private-school mums … who run the school as their own personal fiefdom. Circling the cliques at the school gates, they’re a force to be reckoned with. Even when a gorgeous new cricket coach arrives, she’s too busy fielding their demands to pay him much attention. Great fun … particularly since there’s more than one mum we know who could fit easily into this school-gate clique! Modjaji Books
Oh. A new Sheila O’Flanagan book. Bliss. In Three Weddings and A Proposal, Delphie attends the first wedding – that of her brother – and there’s a shock. The second wedding is unexpected. By the third, she thinks nothing could surprise her. But she’s wrong. Throw in a proposal and you’ve the perfect weekend read. Witty, warm, and with really wonderful characters … loved it! Headline
Blush pink, fresh & crispy, this Groote Post Pinot Noir Rosé Limited Release 2021 looks sweet – think Turkish Delight, while you’ll taste watermelon, rhubarb and custard flavours. You’ll find it for R85 from groote-post-wines.myshopify.com
Reading your thriller on a device?
Blue lights are good for police cars and crime scenes, not for your eyes!
We all know, by now, how bad blue-light emitting screens are for our eye-health and sleep. So we’re keeping a pair of these new offugo Blue Block readers next to our beds for late night reading on our Kindles, as well as on our office desks and in the lounge, allowing us to use or phones, computers, tablets and watch TV knowing our eyes are protected. The glasses, by David Green Eyewear, are designed in SA, and developed to selectively block blue light source. They’re stylish, there’s also a lens for those with 20-20 vision, there are four designs and loads of colours to choose from and they’re made with optical standard hinges and rubberized finish for superior comfort. Want to know which style will suit you? Click on greeneyewear.com and use the offugo state-of-the-art technology to ‘click and see yourself’.
They cost from R495 from leading optometrists. And remember – no matter how engrossing the book, always practise the 20/20/20 rule when using your digital device … every 20 minutes, focus on something 20 feet (about 6 m) away for 20 seconds.
