Kim Kardashian West reads. That it in itself sounded a revelation. Is Kim K rebranding?
She recently announced she’d be starting a book club with her pals Chrissy Teigen and celebrity stylist Jen Atkin.
She says the book she selected was recommended to her by her late father Robert Kardashian.
Embraced By The Light written by Bettie Eddie recounts her near-death experience and journey into the spirit world.
The social media queen definitely isn’t going for an Oprahesque audience.
We’ve enlisted the help of some well-known South Africans to find out what they think Kim should be reading and no doubt, advocating to her public. Here’s what they had to say...
Prof Jonathan Jansen
Jonathan Jansen is Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State (UFS) and currently president of the South African Institute of Race Relations. His book Knowledge In The Blood: Confronting Race And The Apartheid Past was listed as one of the best books of 2009 by the American Libraries Association.
- Airhead, by Meg Cabot
- The Dumb Book, Editors of Readers Digest
- Curvology, David Bainbridge
- Intellectual Morons, Daniel Flynn
- The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Etiquette, Mary Mitchell
- The Great Longing: A Book For Vain People, Alan Mickle
- I See Stupid People, Cheryl Caldwell
- The Lazy Person’s Guide To Success, Ernie Zelinski
- Willie Masters’ Lonesome Wife, William Gass
- You’re Not Crazy—It’s Your Mother, Danu Morrigan
Meneesha Govender
Books editor and writer Meneesha Govender has her own blog called justmeneesha.com which documents her life as a Durban girl.
- Down Second Avenue by Esekiel Mphahlele
- Woman At Point Zero, Nawal el Sadawi
- You Can't Get Lost In Cape Town, Zoe Wicomb
- Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
- Mornings In Jenin, Susan Abulhawa
- The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
- Nervous Conditions, Tsitsi Dangarembga
- Nadia Hashimi – A House Without Windows
- Different Class, Joanne Harris
- Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
Carol Campbell
Author of highly acclaimed novels My Children Have Faces and Esther’s House, Carol now is now a full-time journalist.
- The Little Karoo by Pauline Smith
- The Plains Of Camdeboo, Eve Palmer
- All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
- Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
- Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- A Strangeness In My Mind, Orhan Pamuk
- The Guest, Hwang Sok-Yong
- The Cardinal, Henry Morton Robinson
- Caravans, James Michener
- The Horsemen, Joseph Kessel
Yaaseen Barnes
Known as the prince of one-liners, the Cape Town born comedian was first noticed when he won the Joker’s Comedy Championship in 2013.
- Speed Reading For Dummies by Richard Sutz
- The Earth, My Butt And Other Big Round Things, Carolyn Mackler
- Some Of My Best Friends Are Black, Tanner Colby
- Confessions Of A Sociopath, M. E. Thomas
- Gangsta Rap Coloring Book, Aye Jay
- Born A Crime, Trevor Noah
- To Quote Myself, Khaya Dlanga
- Point Your Face At This, Demitri Martin
- Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
- Some Of My Best Friends Are White, Ndumiso Ngcobo
Prof Sally-Ann Murray
The author of Small Moving Parts, Sally-Ann Murray is a practising poet and is currently with the University of Stellenbosch.
- Half Of A Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Everyday Psychokillers: A History For Girls, Lucy Corin
- All About Love, Bell Hooks
- The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston
- Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
- Citizen: An American Lyric, Claudia Rankine
- Bluets, Maggie Nelson
- Speedboat, Renata Adler
- Unconfessed, Yvette Christiansë
- Emma, Jane Austen
* Embraced By The Light by Bettie Eddie is available on www.loot.co.za
The celebrity bookclub to aspire to
Perhaps, the most successful celebrity bookclub of our time, Oprah’s Book Club was launched in 1996. It became somewhat of a phenomenon for virtually unknown writers.
As soon as the former talk show host mentioned a title of an obscure book, it made it on to the best-seller’s list.
According to Nielsen figures, she sold more than 22 million copies of books bearing her Book Club branding. For example, the Oprah trade paperback edition of A Million Little Pieces by James Frey sold 2.7 million copies and her edition of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road sold 1.4 million copies. Publishers estimate that her power to sell a book is from 20 to 100 times that of any other media personality. In total, the club recommended 70 books during its 15 years.