The Book Lounge
Story time Join us tomorrowat 11am for story time about Ninjas. They are so fast and can hide so well, it will be amazing if you did. Stuart will be in charge of all the ninjas and will read some amazing new ninja stories – and you can show him your ninja moves if you want to. And then we will do a sleuthy activity together. Book launch
Join us for the launch of The African Renaissance & the AfroArab Spring: A Season of Rebirth? on Tuesday at 5.30pm for 6pm. Edited by Charles Villa-Vicencio, Erik Doxtader and Ebrahim Moosa. The African Renaissance and the Afro-Arab Spring addresses the often unspoken connection between the powerful call for a political-cultural renaissance that emerged with the end of South African apartheid and the popular revolts of 2011 that dramatically remade the landscape in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Looking between southern and northern Africa, the transcontinental line from Cape to Cairo that for so long supported colonialism, its chapters explore the deep roots of these two decisive events and demonstrate how they are linked by shared opposition to legacies of political, economic and cultural subjugation. As they work from African, Islamic and Western perspectives, the book’s contributors shed important light on a continent’s difficult history and undertake a critical conversation about whether and how the desire for radical change holds the possibility of a new beginning for Africa, a beginning that may well reshape the contours of global affairs. Published by UCT Press.
OnWednesday at 5.30pm for 6pm, we will be launching Holy Cows: The Ambiguities of being South African by Gareth van Onselen. From initiation ceremonies in the Eastern Cape to Helen Zille’s Twitter account, South Africa is a land ripe with contradiction. It is a place where first world aspirations often clash with third world realities. Commentator Van Onselen takes a fearless look at some of these faultlines. He also asks why we have seemingly become a nation that bends over backwards to accommodate mediocrity, settling for that which is only good enough. Published by NB.
Join us on Thursday at 5.30pm for 6pm for the launch of The Limits of Democratic Governance in South Africa by Louis Picard. In the transition from apartheid rule to democratic governance in South Africa, what has been the impact on South African society at its base – on the people in the country’s cities, towns, villages and farms? Louis Picard and Thomas Mogale offer answers to this fundamental question, tracing historical trends and measuring change (or the lack of it) in the dynamic between the promise of local participatory governance and the realities of a hierarchical state. Published by UCT Press. Holiday activities Can you believe it is the winter holidays already? And with the holidays brings our crafty afternoons where we read stories and then do an activity together. For the first one we are reading some tree stories and then making our own notebooks with some cutout bits and glue sticks. Please join us on July 1 at 2.30pm for Holiday Crafternoon! Book Lounge, 71 Roeland Street, Cape Town. To RSVP e-mail booklounge@gmail.com or call 021 462 2425.