Hemingway, Steve Biko and Jazz - #BooksoftheWeek: September 2, 2013

Looking for a good book to read? Every week, ZODML spotlights three great books from our extensive collection to inspire readers to try out books they might not have previously heard of. The selections fall under three major categories – fiction, non-fiction and children and young adult literature – so there’s a book to suit every taste. All of the books selected are available to borrow at our Community Library. Also check out our archives to see which books have been selected in the past. 
Fiction: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Set in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Havana, Cuba, Hemingway's magnificent fable is the story of an old man, a young boy and a giant fish. In a perfectly crafted story, which won for Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature, is a unique and timeless vision of the beauty and grief of man's challenge to the elements in which he lives. Non-Fiction: I Write What I Like: A Selection of His Writings by Steve Biko "The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." Like all of Steve Biko's writings, those words testify to the passion, courage, and keen insight that made him one of the most powerful figures in South Africa's struggle against apartheid. They also reflect his conviction that black people in South Africa could not be liberated until they united to break their chains of servitude, a key tenet of the Black Consciousness movement that he helped found. I Write What I Like contains a selection of Biko's writings from 1969, when he became the president of the South African Students' Organization, to 1972, when he was prohibited from publishing. The collection also includes a preface by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and an introduction by Malusi and Thoko Mpumlwana, who were both involved with Biko in the Black Consciousness movement; Children and Young Adults: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis Bud is a motherless boy on the run. He's determined to find his father but doesn't really know where to start. The only clue his late mother left him was a bunch of flyers about Herman E Calloway and his famous jazz band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression! Bud's search for his dad is a tough one, but just occasionally he hits a note as high as even the Dusky Devastators can play! Share your #BooksoftheWeek with us in the comments, and explore more Hemingway, African writing and children's books in the ZODML Catalogue!