THE end of 2010 is nigh and looking back it has been a soccer year with the first World Cup on African soil - though it has also been a good year for books.
This much is abundantly evident from the number of books about the beautiful game.
But if you have to buy any one book on soccer and it is not former Kaizer Chiefs, Leeds United and Bafana Bafana captain Lucas Radebe's biography, it definitely has to be Fifa: Bribes, Vote-rigging and Ticket Scandals by renowned British investigative journalist Andrew Jennings.
The book details the underhanded dealings that have come to define Fifa under the leadership of Swiss strongman, Sepp Blatter. By reading the book you will no doubt gain greater insight into the controversial decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cup editions to Russia and Qatar, respectively.
Another sports offering flying off the shelves is cricketer Herschelle Gibbs' memoir To the Point. It is as entertaining as it is brutally honest. It will continue selling well into the new year.
Things were not quiet either on the political front. Many of the 1956 treason trialists used the year to tell their own tales and, for a change, the iconic Nelson Mandela took a back seat.
Well, he nearly did, until Conversations with Myself hit the book shelves. Published in no less than 20 languages, it is the book to have.
The two warheads that took the world headlong into Iraq in search of the elusive weapons of mass destruction, George W Bush (Decision Points) and Tony Blair (The Journey), wrote books to justify a myriad mist akes marking their terms in office.
For their content alone they count among the year's must-reads.
But the best in politics has to go to Michela Wrong, whose book It's Our Turn To Eat, stands as a monumental eyesore to all corrupt politicians, not only in Kenya, but around the continent.
Says political editor Ido Lekota: "The book succinctly captures the vagaries of corruption and power mongering in the context of the African Union's African Renaissance."
If it does not win awards, Sowetan will go and steal some trophies and present them to Wrong!
A large number of South African writers weighed in with their contributions to politics and each has found its place in the sun for a number of reasons.
Adriaan Basson's Finish and Klaar does not stand out as such, but it will find favour because of the subject matter: the Jackie Selebi trial.
According to colleague Penwell Dlamini, who writes on business, some of the best books on his beat "were those about small business development".
He lists three that really rocked his boat: Risk and Reward by Thabani Zulu, The Ultimate SA Business Companion by Lesley-Caren Johnson and the biblical Best Employers South Africa 2010-11, compiled by the CRF Institute.
Local writers continue to make headway on the literary scene and Zukile Wanner, with her Men of the South, led the pack.
They have come into their own, yes, but at what point do our local writers move the reader to the verge of tears like Maaza Mengiste has done in Beneath the Lion's Gaze?
It is not easy to talk about this book, you gush.
"It is a brilliant debut novel. in which Mengiste captures the tension during a revolution in Ethiopia beautifully. Despite the tragedy and the unhappy ending, it remains the most captivating book I have read this year," says colleague Namhla Tshisela, who insists it is one of the best books of 2010.
Tshisela also thinks highly of The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill.
"Sarcastic, astute and funny" are some of the adjectives she uses about the book.
Coming very late towards the end of the year, master storyteller John Grisham's The Confessionwill give many titles in his genre a run for their money.
Finishing the year off as an award nominee, Scott Turow is another serious contender in courtroom fiction.
"Turow writes in such an effortless and realistic fashion that readers are never bored," says colleague Lindi Obose.
A Thousand Sisters by Lisa J Shannon is another book that gets the nod from the Sowetan review team.
Please be warned: If you make an effort to read half the books listed here, you could end up wishing we had a 2010 encore.
Sadly, it comes only once but it has been a good year.
It's been a very good year for books
THE end of 2010 is nigh and looking back it has been a soccer year with the first World Cup on African soil - though it has also been a good year for books.
This much is abundantly evident from the number of books about the beautiful game.
But if you have to buy any one book on soccer and it is not former Kaizer Chiefs, Leeds United and Bafana Bafana captain Lucas Radebe's biography, it definitely has to be Fifa: Bribes, Vote-rigging and Ticket Scandals by renowned British investigative journalist Andrew Jennings.
The book details the underhanded dealings that have come to define Fifa under the leadership of Swiss strongman, Sepp Blatter. By reading the book you will no doubt gain greater insight into the controversial decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cup editions to Russia and Qatar, respectively.
Another sports offering flying off the shelves is cricketer Herschelle Gibbs' memoir To the Point. It is as entertaining as it is brutally honest. It will continue selling well into the new year.
Things were not quiet either on the political front. Many of the 1956 treason trialists used the year to tell their own tales and, for a change, the iconic Nelson Mandela took a back seat.
Well, he nearly did, until Conversations with Myself hit the book shelves. Published in no less than 20 languages, it is the book to have.
The two warheads that took the world headlong into Iraq in search of the elusive weapons of mass destruction, George W Bush (Decision Points) and Tony Blair (The Journey), wrote books to justify a myriad mist akes marking their terms in office.
For their content alone they count among the year's must-reads.
But the best in politics has to go to Michela Wrong, whose book It's Our Turn To Eat, stands as a monumental eyesore to all corrupt politicians, not only in Kenya, but around the continent.
Says political editor Ido Lekota: "The book succinctly captures the vagaries of corruption and power mongering in the context of the African Union's African Renaissance."
If it does not win awards, Sowetan will go and steal some trophies and present them to Wrong!
A large number of South African writers weighed in with their contributions to politics and each has found its place in the sun for a number of reasons.
Adriaan Basson's Finish and Klaar does not stand out as such, but it will find favour because of the subject matter: the Jackie Selebi trial.
According to colleague Penwell Dlamini, who writes on business, some of the best books on his beat "were those about small business development".
He lists three that really rocked his boat: Risk and Reward by Thabani Zulu, The Ultimate SA Business Companion by Lesley-Caren Johnson and the biblical Best Employers South Africa 2010-11, compiled by the CRF Institute.
Local writers continue to make headway on the literary scene and Zukile Wanner, with her Men of the South, led the pack.
They have come into their own, yes, but at what point do our local writers move the reader to the verge of tears like Maaza Mengiste has done in Beneath the Lion's Gaze?
It is not easy to talk about this book, you gush.
"It is a brilliant debut novel. in which Mengiste captures the tension during a revolution in Ethiopia beautifully. Despite the tragedy and the unhappy ending, it remains the most captivating book I have read this year," says colleague Namhla Tshisela, who insists it is one of the best books of 2010.
Tshisela also thinks highly of The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill.
"Sarcastic, astute and funny" are some of the adjectives she uses about the book.
Coming very late towards the end of the year, master storyteller John Grisham's The Confessionwill give many titles in his genre a run for their money.
Finishing the year off as an award nominee, Scott Turow is another serious contender in courtroom fiction.
"Turow writes in such an effortless and realistic fashion that readers are never bored," says colleague Lindi Obose.
A Thousand Sisters by Lisa J Shannon is another book that gets the nod from the Sowetan review team.
Please be warned: If you make an effort to read half the books listed here, you could end up wishing we had a 2010 encore.
Sadly, it comes only once but it has been a good year.
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