Why am I passionate about this?

I moved from Germany to Botswana when I was a fledgling translator and then on to South Africa 2 years later. I fell in love with this part of Africa that had a hand in making me the person I am today. Since I used to travel a lot, not all of my books are set in Southern Africa, but I have a passion for sharing my African stories with the world. My latest project is the Charlie Proudfoot murder mystery series, which is set in South Africa. Being a translator, I also translate books into German/English and four of them so far, are my own.


I wrote

Singing Lizards

By Evadeen Brickwood,

Book cover of Singing Lizards

What is my book about?

Bridget Reinhold’s sister disappears in the southern African country of Botswana. Although she is the more reclusive of the sisters,…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Zoo City

Evadeen Brickwood Why did I love this book?

Zoo City is set in a fictional reality Johannesburg. I like how observant she is when it comes to describing Johannesburg, the city where I live. A very clever book and not what you’d expect of a book on Africa. Lauren Beukes inspired me to consider writing about Johannesburg myself.

By Lauren Beukes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Zoo City as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A new edition of Lauren Beukes's Arthur C Clarke Award-winning novel set in a world where murderers and other criminals acquire magical animals that are mystically bonded to them.

Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit, and a talent for finding lost things. When a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, Zinzi's forced to take on her least favorite kind of job -- missing persons.

Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a teenybop pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the…


Book cover of Maru

Evadeen Brickwood Why did I love this book?

When I moved to Botswana, I wanted to learn more about the country, where I should live for more than 2 years. Somebody gave me books by Bessie Head and I learned so much by just reading these books. Maru was not the only book I’d read by Bessie Head, but it was one of the best books on Botswana.

By Bessie Head,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Maru as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Read worldwide for her wisdom, authenticity, and skillful prose, South African–born Bessie Head (1937–1986) offers a moving and magical tale of an orphaned girl, Margaret Cadmore, who goes to teach in a remote village in Botswana where her own people are kept as slaves. Her presence polarizes a community that does not see her people as human, and condemns her to the lonely life of an outcast. In the love story and intrigue that follows, Head brilliantly combines a portrait of loneliness with a rich affirmation of the mystery and spirituality of life. The core of this otherworldly, rhapsodic work…


Book cover of Talk of the Town: Short Stories

Evadeen Brickwood Why did I love this book?

Talk of the Town is a collection of short stories. Although the author describes foreigners in South Africa and has a political slant, he is not preachy like many other books on such topics. His style is quite witty, observant, and informative from his point of view. All qualities that I admire in a writer.

Book cover of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Evadeen Brickwood Why did I love this book?

Okay, you might know this book series by Alexander McCall-Smith. Although I experienced Botswana differently, I must give him literary license when it comes dramatising life in this country. I like how he mixes facts about Botswana with his fictional stories and puts my country of choice (for a couple of years) on the map.

By Alexander McCall Smith,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Precious Ramotswe, a cheerful woman of traditional build, is the founder of Botswana's first and only ladies' detective agency. Here is a gentle interpretation of the detective role: solving her cases through her innate wisdom and understanding of human nature, she 'helps people with problems in their lives'. With a tone that is as elegant as that which is unfailingly used by his protagonist, Alexander McCall Smith tenderly unfolds a picture of life in Gaborone with a mastery of comic understatement and an evident sympathy for his subjects and their milieu. In the background of all this is Botswana, a…


Book cover of The President's Keepers: Those Keeping Zuma in Power and Out of Prison

Evadeen Brickwood Why did I love this book?

At the time this book hit the shelves, it was dangerous to write about the facts of state capture in South Africa. The courageous author was meticulous when doing his research and had to be careful at the same time not to be detected. He got the book published despite many threats against his life and attempts to discredit him. I’ll be forever grateful that the South African public was given this opportunity to learn more about corruption in politics. The book was sold out for months for a reason.

By Jacques Pauw,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The President's Keepers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Investigative journalist Jacques Pauw exposes the darkest secret at the heart of Jacob Zuma’s compromised government: a cancerous cabal that eliminates the president’s enemies and purges the law-enforcement agencies of good men and women. As Zuma fights for his political life following the 2017 Gupta emails leak, this cabal – the president’s keepers – ensures that after years of ruinous rule, he remains in power and out of prison. But is Zuma the puppet master, or their puppet? Journey with Pauw as he explores the shadow mafia state. From KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape to the corridors of power in…


Explore my book 😀

Singing Lizards

By Evadeen Brickwood,

Book cover of Singing Lizards

What is my book about?

Bridget Reinhold’s sister disappears in the southern African country of Botswana. Although she is the more reclusive of the sisters, she courageously heads out to live in Africa to order to find Claire. At first, she suspects that a crime was committed, but the more she is drawn into the spell of Africa, other possibilities begin to emerge. Bridget’s life takes unexpected turns and she begins to wonder what is real and what is not and what she is doing in Botswana in the first place.

Book cover of Zoo City
Book cover of Maru
Book cover of Talk of the Town: Short Stories

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Rooted in Sunrise

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Book cover of Rooted in Sunrise

Beth Dotson Brown Author Of Rooted in Sunrise

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I read and write to better understand people. Why do we do what we do, feel what we feel, hide what we hide? Any book that illuminates these questions and their answers draws me in. Reading and writing are ways that I can attempt to walk in someone else’s shoes and see the world through their eyes, expanding my own understanding of the world. Perhaps the books on this list will offer you the same opportunity.

Beth's book list on people who are pushed to change

What is my book about?

Ava Winston likes her life of routine in Lexington, Kentucky. Then a tornado blows it away. Ava is safe in the basement, but when she emerges, only one corner of her home stands. Rather than crumbling under the loss, she feels a load lifted. Maybe something beyond the familiar is calling to her. Ava seizes the opportunity to find the owner of a suitcase that landed on her lawn during the storm. Meanwhile, Juniper urges her to rebuild, Ava’s employer doesn’t want her to quit, and her ex-husband invites her back into his life. Ava must be courageous if she’s…

Rooted in Sunrise

By Beth Dotson Brown,

What is this book about?

"A loving coming-of-age story for women in mid-life. Brava!" -Adriana Trigiani, Author of The Good Left Undone

". . . captures the true meaning of resilience-something so many women strive to know in the depths of their inner-self." -Sister Robbie Pentecost, OSF former Executive Director of the New Opportunity School for Women

Ava Winston likes her life of routine in Lexington, Kentucky. Each day, she goes to the place she's worked for twenty years, then returns home. On Sundays, she has dinner with her daughter, Juniper. It's a little boring, but as Ava nears fifty-five, she deserves a bit of…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Africa, Southern Africa, and Botswana?

Africa 265 books
Southern Africa 15 books
Botswana 20 books