With a talented journalist and a professor of botany as co-authors, this book has the right credentials for an informative, well-written read.
Heather Dugmore was first drawn into the spiritual world of muthi and myths by a sangoma who gave her shelter during a storm on the Wild Coast.
Intrigued by her wise host’s tales of mermaids and spirits, Dugmore says it nonetheless took a while before she realised the full significance of the encounter. The sangoma, it seems, realised at once.
Dit is nogal ’n uitdaging om ’n tuinboek te publiseer wat werklik al die uiteenlopende streke van Suid-Afrika in gedagte hou.
Marianne Alexander se Tuinmaak in Suid-Afrika deur die jaar slaag in ’n groot mate daarin om iets vir tuiniers oor die land heen te bied.
Die boek bied ’n maand-vir-maand-gids van wat in die tuin gebeur, tuintake vir die spesifieke maand, wat om in die kombuis- en vrugtetuine te doen, die geurtuin, plae wat in daardie tyd beheer moet word en wat daardie maand blom.
Verdict: a triple carrot feast for three BOOK SA members
Cross the searing emotional wrench of Pauline Smith with Kazuo Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day, and you’re more or less in the 1950s Cape Town that writer and medical doctor – Garisch, has created for the middle-aged Phyllis.
Her life ruined by a family from hell who horribly mishandled her falling pregnant at the age of 16, Phyllis, like Ishiguro’s butler, has submerged herself in a life of service.
Fundis may find this book fascinating but it’s not for ordinary folks.
The authors are a medical doctor (David Cumes) who is also trained as a sangoma; Rael Loon who is an ecologist/conservationist/and birder specializing in the Lowveld; and Dries Bester, an sociology academic, multilinguist and an environmental impact assessor and a registered tour guide specializing in the Soutpansberg region.
AYURVEDA may be 5000 years old, but it is proving to be as relevant for health today as it was all those millennia ago. The Indian holistic healing system has been described as “one of the world’s most ancient and venerated healing and lifestyle modalities”.
Its popularity is growing in SA, in the wake of the launch of the SanAquam Urban Sanctuary day spa in Durban North last year headed by an orthodox-trained medical doctor, Dr Rajen Cooppan, who is also a doctor of Ayurvedic medicine.
The aim was to combine traditional healing wisdom with the best of modern, western medical science.
The Ayur Veda Handbook: Find the right diet and lifestyle for your dosha by Lisa Fromsdorf, Marie Opperman EAN: 9781770200241 Find this book with BOOK Finder!
Though she quotes one authority as saying that in one sense it’s all downhill from the age of 19, Marlene Wasserman, aka Dr Eve, offers advice on management and adaptation. She’s frank about many doctors having as much difficulty as their patients in dealing with sexual and relationship issues, and suggests ways to overcome this.
Book banning is nothing new here. This anthology was banned here by British authorities after its publication in London in 1902. These are, after all, poems by English men and women condemning the mother country and siding with the “heroic” Boers, fighting for their freedom.
There goes the notion that the Anglo-Boer War was purely a fight between Afrikaner and Englishman.
A lot of money for 5 500 words on Malema, followed by pages each containing one of the ANC Youth League leader’s remarkable statements, briefly contextualised.
If we buy, it will be because of our fascination with this unguided missile.
It’s springtime, which means we’re on our way to balmy afternoons and well deserved holidays. This year Struik and Oshun have published two lifestyle books to get you ready – which have each garnered a quickie carrot from IOL. First up is The Ayur Veda Handbook, with lots of tips for healthy living; and second La Petite Ferme ,with recipes that will make you want to dine in:
Verdict: carrot
It’s time to reassess our lifestyle after winter’s eating and sitting around.
Ayur Veda, the “science of longevity”, is a traditional system native to India.
The elements of earth, fire, air and water are central to this belief system, and combine to make up doshas, or body types.
Be inspired to bring out-of-the-ordinary dishes to your table.
From traditional Cape fare with a twist to exotic venison dishes, the recipes in this book include firm favourites of regulars at the restaurant La Petite Ferme (The Little Farm), situated in the gourmet capital of the Western Cape – Franschhoek.
The Ayur Veda Handbook: Find the right diet and lifestyle for your dosha by Lisa Fromsdorf, Marie Opperman EAN: 9781770200241 Find this book with BOOK Finder!
Verdict: carrot A Touch of Rooibos, a product of the company Rooibos Limited contains recipes that are innovative as well as easy to follow, according to reviewer Anél Lewis. And it makes a great gift for tourists!
Who would have thought that the Western Cape’s most popular natural export – rooibos – could be used in a multitude of delicious recipes? The plant’s curative qualities are well-known, from calming babies with colic to soothing stomach ailments.
But 14 of South Africa’s top chefs have compiled more than 100 recipes using the caffeine- and additive-free plant. Rooibos is suitable for food preparation as it can be used as a healthy substitute for water or milk. It is also a natural tenderiser, which makes it ideal for use in meat and chicken marinades.
Steve Matthewson, meanwhile, liked what he saw when dipping into the book:
WITH the prevalence of diabetes increasing each year (nearly one million South Africans already suffer from the condition) it is becoming a fact of life for many families.
And while the condition can be treated effectively with drugs, Johannesburg-based clinical dietician Ria Catsicas makes the point that an overall lifestyle change is essential for those with the condition to enjoy long, healthy and normal lives. She has written a comprehensive no-nonsense guide to virtually every facet of the relationship between nutrition and diabetes.
She approaches the issue with a degree of realism and makes practical suggestions to help diabetics and their families their lifestyles and their habits. The fact that the book is written by a South African and deals with the types of food and products available here, makes it all the more valuable for this audience (though there is no reason to think the book shouldn’t do well elsewhere).
Verdict: carrot
Verdict: stick
