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Lande Botha

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Inventory of small pleasures. “Our work, in times as urgent as these, is to unlock the pockets of joy that have kept us surviving for so long.”

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Fully in my #tradwife era, except I’m not a wife and I work in investments- more corporate I could not get 😂.But those sorts of minor details have never stopped anyone in our beloved bookclub, the @mothercitybookclub, from full immersion!

While this year’s reading programme has included the likes of Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon” , Anjtie Krog’s “Country of My Skull”, and a current adventure even includes Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina”, we do contain multitudes (thanks @helencoetz 😉). And so when @gabriella_pinto_ soft launched the idea of tucking into a more current and popular read, we were all in for Caro Claire Burke’s debut novel “Yesteryear”.

Our immersion included a home cooked meal replete with home baked bread (which could have done with a bit more rise- but even tradwives can’t always make the perfect loaf). Responses were varied, but the most resonant was “brilliant and topical themes but really needed some editorial tightening”.

Although there were many threads left dangling and some very disgruntled readers given the ending, none of that stopped us from hours of discussion late into the evening. Themes of feminism, homesteading, capitalism, the manosphere, familial relations, religion, and social media.

Something that stuck with me as an overarching idea was our conclusion that the performative nature of the tradwife influencer phenomenon is capitalism reaching its logical end point: the self as the final commodity.

But so so so so much said and felt, and I can only do disservice to the thoughts of 20 very intense and deliberate readers- what a privilage it was to gather with them!

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The fourth @franlitfest since the inception of the @mothercitybookclub … and we’ve enjoyed it together in different guises every year!

The 2026 cherry on the top was being crowned victors of the Literary Quizz- the table next door asked us in earnest whether we were all nerds. To which we responded with a resounding ‘YES!’. After 2025’s not so literary quizz where we placed 2nd, we felt vindicated (we knew none of the sports questions 😏).

We’ve loved establishing a tradition of staying together for the weekend, and Saturday nights after the bulk of the sessions have been experienced, are particularly sweet! Long discussions into the night on love, literature and life, next to a roaring fire… I couldn’t think of better food for a book loving community.

Thank you to @heyjoebrewingco, @porcupine_wines and @winetram for our prizes this year!

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I am willing to put good money on the line that the @mothercitybookclub is the only bookclub who has work by Barbara Kingsolver in the lowest quartile of our reads together, of which there have been over sixty since 2023! But here we are.

We love the author, but this particular work, Prodigal Summer, didn’t quite hit home for us. Deeply satisfying in many ways… for me that feeling of waking up to watch the sun rise, seeing the world begin anew- the crisp air, and dawn chorus of birds. But much of it left many of us unsatisfied and we can’t quite figure out whether absence of depth in character development was deliberate or genius by coincidence as it left us musing about the place of the various characters in the greater ecosystem.

The book may have disappointed but our meetup sure didn’t! An afternoon enjoying farm to table cuisine at @meusefarm ,really getting into our May theme, “Of Soil, Sea, and Sky”. The farm tour as a close out for our afternoon was a special treat.

Our May meetup reminded me of what a privilage it is to have community. And how incredibly privileged I feel to have found myself in the presence of the most intelligent, earnest, and funniest women. We bade farewell to two gems as they embark on new life chapters- @pixbyaya and @sarahjcrichmond , you have left indelible marks on my life and the life of @mothercitybookclub . Thank you.

As @ibtisaam__ahmed put it: “_Prodigal Summer_ may have been in the lower quartile (😂) but this meet up was one for the books ❤️”

Most of these gorgeous photos were captured by @janienduplessis - thank you!

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She’s back! Took some time to be overwhelmed and lowkey but I’m ready to be overwhelmed and high key again 💖 👀🌱🎉✨

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“Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë has been with me longer than I realised (see what I did with the inverted commas- iykyk 😉).

I found an inscription in my old copy this week -I chose it as a school prize when I was 12. Somehow it’s followed me all this time, quietly waiting on my shelf.

I’m so glad I only read it now. I don’t think I would have understood it then -not the extremity of it, not the ego and cruelty and longing, not the way love can be both transcendent and deeply destructive.

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

That famous line was a sucker punch to the heart.

This book left me an absolute wreck - in the best way. Wild and obsessive, tender and brutal, full of misunderstanding and the terrible ways we wound the people we feel bound to.

I’ve been struggling to read for a while, but this was the kind of book I wanted to race home to after work. I haven’t felt that in a very long time.

Some books wait for you. I think this one did.

And of course always precious to have such an experience alongside the wonderful readers of the @mothercitybookclub

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I don’t know whether I should be alarmed that my return to socials feels like a sign I’m finally feeling a bit better about life 😏 …but here we are — with a little catch-up.

Of all the things 2025 gave me, a growing @mothercitybookclub is right at the top. Sjoe. What a year it was.

We wrapped up the official Mother City 2025 calendar with a Bookmas party at @soilforlife — complete with a quiz nogal (thank you, @helencoetz 👏- for the photos too 😉).

I’m so deeply grateful for this community: the people I’ve met, the reading I’ve explored, devoured and loved, and the chance to build something together. Community feels more precious than ever these days. And then — cue the tears — the group surprised my fellow co-founder and me with the most thoughtful thank-you gifts 🥹💛.

In 2025 we read 25+ books together:
📚 11 official monthly reads
🧭 15 “side quests” (our affectionate name for the many extra, enthusiastic read-and-discuss meetups)

Standout official reads included local love, How to Be a Revolutionary by CA Davids and, Booker-longlisted Endling by Maria Reva. Side-quest favourites? Drive Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (we loved her so much we’re continuing with her this year) and Decolonising the Mind by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o.

So excited to see what this year holds. Our first three meetups are already lined up, and we can’t wait to share them with you - and hopefully spark a little inspiration along the way 😘

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✨ The Booker Prize Soirée 2025 ✨

What began as a little dinner in 2024 has become one of our favourite traditions -the Mother City Book Club Booker Prize Soirée! 🍷📚

This year’s shortlist had us reading, debating, and (maybe not) swooning over some truly brilliant books:

📖 Flashlight — Susan Choi
📖 Flesh — David Szalay
📖 The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny — Kiran Desai
📖 Audition — Katie Kitamura 💫 our fan favourite!
📖 A Land in Winter — Andrew Miller
📖 The Rest of Our Lives — Ben Markovits

So many opinions, so much good wine, and endless laughter at our beautiful venue @156kloof , with divine food by @thegeneralstore_sa and organic wines by @germanier_wines

Who’s your pick for this year’s @thebookerprizes winner? 🏆

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Fresh film friday 💖✨🥹😍

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Film diaries from a girl trying her best 💖✨

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“It is a truth universally acknowledged…” that the @mothercitybookclub knows how to do Pride and Prejudice in style. ✨

A private viewing at the @thelabia , a sparkling mini-lecture by our very own @ashleighjadereads , and enough smirks, longing glances, and lace gloves to make even Lady Catherine take notice.

We came for the wit, stayed for the slow-burn tension, and left wondering: which Pride and Prejudice line lives rent-free in your head?

Mine? Very cliched but who cares:
“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”
or maybe more cheekily…
““There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others.”

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We got a puppy 🥹 apologies in advance for all the spam 💌
His name: Tofu Kite 🪁
What we’ve called him: pumpkin, babka, knoffel, korrel, my guy, shroompie, long john, shongololo, marshmello, silly sausage, silly goose, muffin, bebe, baby, baby face, sausegi, patat, outjie, pewpew, crazy guy, horrog, nugget👀

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