In celebration of August’s Women’s Month, Exclusive Books Recommends showcases a myriad of female protagonists, so very different from one another, each unique in her own way, some acting alone but some joining forces to create an almost unbreakable tie.
Murderers, mourners and mothers, book-binders and artists, lucky girls and lost souls, this August (2023), you’ll find every kind of woman on the shelves of Exclusive Books.
There isn’t a booklover anywhere who didn’t fall in love with Pip Williams’ first novel, The Dictionary of Lost Words. Her new book, The Bookbinder of Jericho is another little-known slice of history seen through women’s eyes – sisters Peggy and Maude. A story about knowledge – who gets to make it, who gets to access it, and what is lost when it is withheld – it’s evocative and memorable.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone went onto its 9th reprinting and sold millions of copies. Here is another stunning new epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, spanning the years 1900 to 1977, and following three generations of a family. The matriarch of this family, known as Big Ammachi—literally “Big Mother”—will witness unthinkable changes at home and at large over the span of her extraordinary life, and we will also meet artist Elsie and Doctor Mariamma as we traverse the saga. The story is so rich, wide and deep, that Oprah has dedicated a six-part podcast series just to this spectacular book.
From internationally bestselling author Bryn Turnbull comes a breathtaking novel The Paris Deception about art theft and forgery in Nazi-occupied Paris, and two brave women who risk their lives rescuing looted masterpieces from Nazi destruction.
Soila is a lucky girl by anyone’s estimation. Raised by her stern, conservative mother and a chorus of aunts, she has lived a protected life in Nairobi. Longing for independence, a young sheltered Kenyan woman flees the expectations of her mother for a life in New York City that challenges all her beliefs about race, love, and family. Lucky Girl by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu is a perfect book-club pick.
In this book Dearest MaRiky, mother Louisa Zondo takes the first small steps into facing her grief after the death of much-loved music star Riky Rick, who died by suicide in 2022. She finds herself speaking to her son in a series of letters, and gradually unearths the words to express her love for him, and the pain of losing him. In voicing that love, she tells the story of her life and the experiences that shaped her. This journey through grief is both heart breaking and heartwarming.
Mother. Nurse. Gold-digger. Cause célèbre. When Daisy de Melker stood trial in 1932, accused of poisoning her son and two husbands, the public couldn’t get enough of her. Crowds gathered outside court baying for blood, and she waved to them like a celebrity. Against the backdrop of Johannesburg in its golden age, the story is told in the style of a thriller and with riveting, kaleidoscopic detail. Daisy de Melker – Hiding among killers in the City of Gold, by Ted Botha is a true-crime page-turner.
In addition to Exclusive Books Recommends’ focus on female characters, a price promotion of some of the most popular books by female writers will make Women’s Month the perfect time to stock up on bestsellers you may have missed. Michelle Obama The Light we Carry, Edith Eger’s The Choice and Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead are but some on the price-promoted selection.
Other Fiction titles
- Betrayal by Lesley Pearse
- The Interpreter by Brooke Robinson
- Everyone here is Lying by Shari Lapena
- Lost Property by Megan Choritz
- The Book of Gifts by Craig Higginson
- The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner
- Vendetta by Tony Park
- Vita And The Birds by Polly Crosby
Other Non-Fiction titles
- Not Without My Dogs: A South African’s tale of fleeing Ukraine by Kobus Olivier with Hilda van Dyk
- Woman Thou Art Loosed: Healing The Wounds by T.D. Jakes
- Hidden Genius by Polina Marinova Pompliano
- Khanyisa – A Culinary Storyteller by Khanyisa Malabi
- Rassie: Stories oor Rugby en die Lewe deur
- Risking Life For Death by Ryan Blumenthal
- Leadership Lessons from Emperor Shaka Zulu the Great by Prof Phinda Mzwakhe Madi
Young Adult
- Where the Light Goes by Sara Barnard
- Bitterthorn by Kat Dunn
- Five Survive by Holly Jackson
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- Kompleks deur Louis Pretorius
- You’re Not Supposed To Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
10 – 12
- A Word a Day by Julia Murray
- Erik vs. Everything by Christina Uss
- Faansie’s Bird Book 2 – A Fully Fledged FIeld Guide For Kids Faansie Peacock
- Interdimensional Explorers Book 1 by Lorraine Gregory, Jo Lindley
- Escape to the River Sea by Emma Carroll
- Greenwild: The World Behind The Door by Pari Thomson
- Fable House by E.L. Norry
- Minerva Keen’s Detective Club by James Patterson and Keir Graff
6 – 9
- Terry Denton’s Bumper Book of Silly Stuff To Do! by Terry Denton
- My Eerste Wilde Eiland Avontuur deur Riaan Manser met Murray Williams & Chantal Tarling
- My First Wild Island Adventure by Riaan Manser with Murray Williams & Chantal Tarling
- Stories of Tails and Whiskers by Enid Blyton
Picture Books
More on Exclusive Books
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Exclusive Books is one of South Africa’s largest bookselling chains with stores throughout South Africa, and one store in Gaborone, Botswana and in Namibia.
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