Nearly 70% of the chosen 25 books are local, testament to the post- lockdown publishing explosion at home and around the world.
Exclusive Books 28 recommended titles are merchandised in front of all their stores every month and are carefully curated in different categories – local authors, fiction and non-fiction, plus young adult and children’s. The aim is to assist customers to see at a glance, and in a short space of time, titles that are new, trending and have caught the eyes of the Exclusive Books buyers in among 1000’s and 1000’s of titles. There are choices for all age groups and genre tastes.
All 25 titles are presented on dedicated Exclusive Books Recommends display units where the books are grouped together with shelf talkers in-store for the entire month of June. Fanatics members also earn a whopping 200 bonus points on their purchases from the list during June.
In June there are nine fiction titles recommended. Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner is a fantastically addictive read. It’s so pacy, and there’s a real sense of dread on every page … fabulously unpleasant characters, and a beating feminist heart. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is an original, compelling, and fun voyage. Suitcase of Memory by A’Eysha Kassiem is a delicately wrought novel that cuts into the fabric of South Africa’s dark history. Utterly compelling and riveting. In The Promise, author Damon Galgut extends his extraordinary corpus with a rich story of family, history, and grief. The Dictionary Of Lost Words by Pip Williams is a gentle, hopeful story that will be a balm for nerves frazzled by the pandemic or patience fried by sexism.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Illustrated Edition by Douglas Adams is a beautifully illustrated edition of the New York Times bestselling cult classic celebrating the 42nd anniversary of the original publication—with all-new art by award-winning illustrator Chris Riddell. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is a celebration of the ordinary: ordinary revelations, ordinary people, and the infinity of worlds seeded in ordinary choices. The Seven Sisters series sees Lucinda Riley at the top of her game: she is a magical storyteller who creates characters we fall in love with and who stay with us long after we finish reading. Dazzlingly good her latest book The Missing Sister is what we’ve all been waiting for. The Scandalous Times of a Book Louse by Robert Muponde is a marvellous and deeply immersive memoir.
Eleven titles are on the non-fiction list for June. Remembering by Andile Gaelesiwe is a story of courage, truth, love and forgiveness… Join Ivan Johnson in his memoir But He Speaks So Well of an identity crisis as a high-spirited boy from a close-knit family on the Cape Flats who becomes a man amid the turmoil of ‘The Struggle’. Told with flair and irreverence, Ivan’s sharp eye and zest for life gives both food for thought and great entertainment. Consequences of Capitalism by Noam Chomsky and Marv Waterstone is an essential primer on capitalism, politics and how the world works. Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess by Dr Caroline Leaf reads like a manual to guide you to a better and healthier place [in life].
Put simply, Empire of Pain by will make your blood boil… Patrick Redden Keefe… paints a devastating portrait of a family consumed by greed and unwilling to take the slightest responsibility or show the least sympathy for what it wrought. Just A Moment: A Memoir by Schalk Burger Snr with Michael Vlismas is a glimpse into the life and times of one of the country’s most recognised figures, and told in the stories of the many lives that intersected with his. Notes on Grief is an exquisite work of meditation, remembrance, and hope, written in the wake of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s beloved father’s death in the summer of 2020. Expanding on her original New Yorker piece, Adichie shares how this loss shook her to her core. Based on the #1 New York Times bestseller Relationship Goals and the author Michael Todd’s wildly popular sermon series, this 30-day challenge helps you take your relationship from good to great!
The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell is a thought-provoking, accessible account of how people respond to difficult choices in difficult times… Gladwell’s easy conversational style works well… and his admiration for the Bomber Mafia shines through. His portraits of individuals are compelling. In this well-researched book The Economy on your Doorstep, author Ayabonga Cawe, a development economist, columnist and broadcaster, makes sense of the post-apartheid political economy through the lives of the many people who live and survive in it every day. The Great Pretenders: Race and Class under ANC Rule by Ebrahim Harvey is a timely and critical intervention in current public discussions on race and racism.
The last five titles are YA and Children’s. Legendary recording artist Billie Eilish shares an intimate inside look at her life—both on and off the stage—in this stunning, photo-filled book. Stepping nimbly among the liminal spaces and eerie real-world haunts of our heroine’s cipher-sister, this haunting modern fairy tale House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland will wrap you up like a glittering fog, before going for your throat. Terry Denton’s Really Truly Amazing Guide to Everything is a mini book of facts packed with maximum humour! Sure to engage anyone from the ages of 8 to 80 (and beyond), this is a funny, fascinating whistle-stop tour of the history and science of the universe. The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe is a non-stop thrill ride… This book is so INTENSE. It jumps back and forth from the robbery in progress to Nora’s earlier life with her mother, a con woman married to a dangerous man. It’s so well done, extremely cinematic. The Shadow Arts (Monstrous Devices Book 2) by Damien Love is a breathlessly paced adventure with rousingly eerie and icky notes.