In an endeavor to promote a larger audience of readers in Botswana and continue on their annual tradition of releasing new books, Exclusive Books, at Riverwalk Mall in Gaborone, launched their 2006 Publisher’s Choice List of best new reads for the festive season.
Exclusive Books’ reading enthusiasts and book savvy store managers diligently selected this year’s list, which was released on Thursday. It consists of 51 fresh and exciting new book titles from a variety of genres. The list is comprises of books that cover topics from Society & History, Inspiration, Humour & Satire, Business to Memoirs & Biography, Travel, and much more. There is enough diversity on this year’s Publisher’s Choice List to stimulate and satisfy the assortment of tastes of the intellectual mind that exists in today’s society.
Of this year’s releases, approximately a third are South African releases. This is a significant achievement for South African writers and an inspiration for African writers as a whole. During Thursday’s launch, South African author, Muzi Kuzwayo, made a personal appearance to launch his newest piece of work titled There’s a Tsotsi in the Boardroom. This piece is also featured on this year’s Publisher’s Choice List.
There’s a Tsotsi in the Boardroom is a book that is written with the spirit of Black Empowerment in mind. The book discusses the need for Africans to step up to the platform of the global marketing and economic world through effective branding of authentic African products.
“The key to the success of Black Empowerment is through branding of African products on a global scale,” said Kuzwayo. “Africans need to create brands that can be respected all over the world.”
Kuzwayo believed that Africa has a “huge” role to play in the world of international business and marketing.
Although the subject matter of his book is thought- provoking, Kuzwayo doesn’t shy away from the usage of colloquial language to express his opinions. This is exemplified by his choice of language in the provocative title of the book; There’s a Tsotsi in the Boardroom. Kuzwayo explained that he wanted the youthful, vibrant, up and coming success stories of Africa, to whom his book is mainly targeted towards, to understand his ideas in their own language. “A business book from an African perspective,” said the author.
According to Kuzwayo, there is a wealth of information on the shelves of bookstores and libraries that discuses marketing and international branding. However, he felt that there was a minimal amount of business books that carried a model that is applicable to Africa.
According to Kuzwayo he did not use the word ‘tsotsi’ in its negative connotations, instead, he said, he interpreted the fundamental meaning of the word ‘Tsotsi’ to mean someone who is intellectually cunning. Through his work, Kuzwayo is trying to emphasize that it is this type of ‘Tsotsi’ who has made it to the boardroom. This attention-grabbing Business interest book is an example of the wealth of fine reading material available on this year’s Publisher’s Choice List at Exclusive Books.
Other note-worthy titles on the list include: Mandela: The Authorized Portrait by Mike Nicol, Tim Couzens et al., Days That Changed the World by Hywell Williams, Spit ‘n Polish by Barry Ronge, who is one of South Africa’s most celebrated columnists; Christopher Hope’s masterwork, My Mother’s Lovers and Living with Purpose: God’s power to Change Your Life written by the author of the popular The purpose driven life, Rick Warren.
