Great fiction and non-fiction books to lose yourself in this holiday

Jillian Green, editor-in-chief

DM: Where will you be reading this holiday?

JG: From my childhood bed­­room in Pietermaritzburg and on a beach in the Eastern Cape.

DM: What is your fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

JG: I have two: Jodi Picoult’s latest novel, By Any Other Name, and Terry Hayes’ second novel, The Year of the Locust. Both writers are excellent storytellers who keep you hooked from the first chapter – no slow burns for me when I am looking to lose myself in a book and not the news.

DM: What is your non-fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

JG: They say life is too short to read the same book twice, but sometimes the moment when you should be reading some­­thing only presents itself later. So given the moment, I will be rereading Maria Ressa’s How to Stand Up to a Dictator and Tina Brown’s The Vanity Fair Diaries.

Emilie Gambade, Maverick Life editor & head of multimedia

DM: Where will you be reading this holiday?

EG: In the Karoo, lying on an airbed beneath a tree, with watermelon within arm’s reach (and a net on top to keep the ants at bay).

DM: What is your fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

EG: Wellness by Nathan Hill – where to start? It’s a love story, complicated, light and fun and heartbreaking, important, all-consuming, real, moving, delicious. But it’s also a human story about how we grow into this world, the things we show and the things we prefer to hide. A must-read.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. You won’t put it down until you’ve read the final page.

The Future by Naomi Alderman envisions an apocalyptic scenario in which tech ­billionaires wield unchecked power, a premise both eerily familiar and timely. The narrative is gripping and unsettling, yet it celebrates human resilience and hope.

DM: What is your non-fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

EG: I loved reading again The Vanity Fair Diaries by Tina Brown. Written between 1983 and 1992, it captures the heyday of magazines through a mind-blowing journey with an A-list world of personalities, Manhattan gossip and zeitgeist-defining stories.

Janet Heard, outgoing managing editor

DM: Where will you be reading this holiday?

JH: In the Overberg, Western Cape.

DM: What is your fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

JH: Lost Property by quirky and multitalented South African artist Megan Choritz, who describes herself as spending “all her life involved in making things up”. In her debut novel released in 2023, she weaves a compelling narrative to reveal realistic truths about growing up in South Africa, and the complexities of adulting and loss.

DM: What is your non-fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

JH: Marion Sparg’s Guilty and Proud. To understand the present and the future, you must explore the past. This memoir takes readers on the former MK operative’s journey as a soldier in the trenches of the underground ANC – an extraordinary story for a white South African in the apartheid era.

Ray Mahlaka, Business Maverick associate editor

DM: Where will you be reading this holiday?

RM: In Johannesburg. The city usually dies down as most people prefer to go to the coastal parts of South Africa.

DM: What is your fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

RM: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. I’ve read this book five times and will always reread it. It’s about love, loss and social discrimination – all relatable to readers from all cultures. I always come away with new lessons each time.

DM: What is your non-fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

RM: Capitec: Stalking Giants. Author TJ Strydom cleverly tracks the story of Capitec – how it was founded and is now taking on the big four banks. It’s a masterclass on entrepreneurship.

Rebecca Davis, Daily Maverick senior journalist

DM: Where will you be reading this holiday?

RD: Any beach I can, whenever a very active five-year-old boy gives me a moment’s peace.

DM: What is your fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

RD: Here’s one I’ve already read: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. I love time travel as a concept in fiction and this one deals with it in a really rollicking way. Perfect holiday read.

And then I’ve been saving Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo for this holiday, because I didn’t want to waste a page. She is my fa­­vourite novelist of our age, and her ability to chronicle the inner lives of slightly angsty millennials like me is just unparalleled.

DM: What is your non-fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

RD: I have two fantastic South African books released in 2024 to recommend. The first is Hedley Twidle’s second essay collection, Show Me The Place. In my humble opinion, Hedley is our country’s greatest essayist.

The second is Sandra Swart’s The Lion’s Historian. Sandra is a truly unique thinker, and this book is unlike any by a historian that you’ve ever read. It is South African history told through its animals and their entanglements with humans.

Sarah Hoek, deputy newsletter editor

DM: Where will you be reading this holiday?

SH: I will be making the most of summer in Cape Town.

DM: What is your fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

SH: The Child by Alistair Mackay is a heart-wrenching exploration of life in modern-day South Africa as we navigate the lingering effects of apartheid while charting a path forward.

Shubnum Khan’s The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil is a vibrant novel set in colourful Durban. This novel has everything: mystery, mysticism, romance and family, past and present.

DM: What is your non-fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

SH: To my shame, I have only completed one non-fiction book in 2024, which I would not recommend to my worst enemy. I am still working through Michelle Elman’s The Joy of Being Selfish, about how to set good boundaries in every aspect of life. I’ll be taking this one through to the new year with the goal of completing it soon.

Nicola Amon, Daily Maverick intern

DM: Where will you be reading this holiday?

NA: I think I owe it to myself and my books to set aside an entire day to read beside a large body of water, or somewhere under anything but a roof.

DM: What is your fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

NA: Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. I read this book many years ago, but thinking about it still moves me. Guterson tells a love story in the midst of the Japanese-American internment during World War 2. With a Romeo and Juliet component, he skilfully satisfied my craving for a dose of heartbreak while telling a story that has a far deeper historical background.

DM: What is your non-fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

NA: The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto “Che” Guevara. His personal account of his travels across South America as a medical student in his early twenties left me inspired not only to live a more adventurous life, but to recognise the adventure that already exists in it. It was fascinating to enter the mind of a young man in the 1950s and see how the world and people’s ways of thinking have both changed and remained the same.

Shérie Vollenhoven, DM168 intern

DM: Where will you be reading this holiday?

SV: At my gran’s house, a place with no Wi-Fi and a terrible data connection – perfect for getting lost in a book.

DM: What is your fiction holiday read recommendation and why?

SV: Tis the Season for Revenge by Morgan Elizabeth. It’s the ultimate holiday romance with a Swiftie vibe. A scorned woman seeks revenge on her ex in the most entertaining ways. It’s light, fun and sure to get you in the festive mood.

DM: What is your non-fiction holiday read recommen-dation and why?

SV: Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow, which recounts his investigation into the Harvey Weinstein scandal. It reads like a suspenseful spy thriller and is filled with jaw-dropping moments that keep you on edge. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.