Publications
This week we look at a new cookbook from Nigella Lawson, Greek mythology with Stephen Fry, a fun hair guide and advice about how to start a side hustle.
Cook, Eat, Repeat
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus
Britain’s queen of food is back with her 12th cookbook and this one’s a little different. Many recipe books entice the reader with glossy photography but in this compact-format volume the pictures, while lovely, aren’t main attraction.
Nigella uses her considerable flair with words to seduce the reader to mouthwatering effect. She waxes lyrical about food over the course of seven essays with titles such as A Loving Defence of Brown Food (her unctuous stews are to die for), and Much Depends on Dinner, in which she muses about lockdown and hankers for a time when we could invite hordes over for dinner without a thought, making this very much a book of its time.
Recipes are expansive, leisurely and chatty. Being a meat lover, I’m particularly drawn to her black pudding meatballs and oxtail bourguignonne, but there is so much here too for vegetarians. And, of course, her puddings and cakes are what we’ve come to expect from the Domestic Goddess.
This isn’t a book for those wanting a short, snappy Donna Hay-type experience. It’s an unapologetically rambling paean to food that makes you feel you truly have a friend in the kitchen. – Sandy Cook
Troy
By Stephen Fry
Michael Joseph
Was Helen really so beautiful that her face launched a thousand ships and sparked a 10-year war? And what was so amazing about the kingdom of Troy that made its fall so devastating?
If you've always wanted to understand this complicated classic tale with its long cast of characters then this is the book to help you do it. With his trademark wit and good humour, British comedian and entertainer Stephen Fry offers the definitive contemporary account and shows why this is one of the greatest tales ever told.
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The Big South African Hair Book
By Janine Jellars
Kwela Books
Thick. Unruly. Bushy. Frizzy. From the time she was a little girl, local journalist Janine Jellars had already absorbed the message that her hair was something that needed to be straightened and tamed. In this book she reveals how it took her years to liberate herself from "creamy crack" [damaging chemical relaxers] and go natural.
Packed with advice and practical hints from experts and veteran naturalistas, her fun hair guide, which is being billed as "a first of its kind in SA", offers plenty of inspiration, whether you're just curl curious or you're aiming for total 'fro freedom.
How To Start a Side Hussle
By Nic Haralambous
Tafelberg
Many people have ideas for what they are convinced would be lucrative businesses so why don’t they take the leap and make it happen? According to local entrepreneur Nic Haralambous it’s often not the case of a lack of time or money – it’s a fear of failure. In this book he offers some practical advice and exercises that can help you cut through the excuses and take the first steps to achieving your dream. The book also includes general tips about registering your enterprise, setting up a website, ecommerce, competitior analysis. Building a business from scratch is complicated so it’s impossible to cover everything in less than 200 pages - but if you’re looking for inspiration to help you break free from the cycle of procrastination and negative chatter in your head, then this is a great place to start.
Intelligence Isn't Enough
By Carice Anderson
Jonathan Ball
Having worked for local and international companies such as Deloitte, Google, the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation and McKinsey & Company, Carice Anderson has a wealth of experience at her fingertips. In this book, the respected leadership and executive coach shares what she wishes she’d known decades ago when she joined the cut-throat corporate world.
If readers take one thing from this book, she hopes it’s that they understand that intelligence isn’t enough to guarantee that you get ahead in the workplace. She says this is the mistake that many young people - and particularly black graduates make – they think they will just be judged and rewarded solely on the work they deliver.
But there’s so much more that is needed. In this book she explains how, instead of just leaving things to chance, you can take a strategic approach to building you career so you can make a real impact.
Read an extract from Carice Anderson's new book here
