Mother's Day Gifts from Red Pepper Books

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Mother's Day is almost here (Sunday the 10th of May), and because we know how easy it is to lose track of time, we thought we'd send you a reminder to you to spoil the special woman in your life!

Why not buy her a book this year? Inscribe the first page of the book with a special message, telling her just how much she means to you, and know that every time she picks the book up, she will smile to herself knowing how much thought you put into the beautiful gift you gave her.

Red Pepper Books has put together a fabulous list of books for Mother's Day, ranging from the hilarious The Irreverent Mother's Handbook by Sam Cowen and Lee Van Loggerenberg, to the complete makeover hit Top to Toe: The Ultimate Guide to Becoming Who You Want to be by ex-South African Nicky Hambleton-Jones, to the beautiful The Mother's Book: The Only Gift Book You Hope to Get Back and the heart-wrenching story that every mother should read to her child at bed time Love You Forever - we are sure that you will find something to melt her heart! And because we know that every mother is different we've also included a mix of fiction, motivational books, cooking books and even The Girlfriend's Guide to Rugby (rugby explained in English, for the the girl who understands Prada a whole lot more than a "scrum" ), so there'll definitely be something here to suit your mother's particular interests!

If the gift recipient lives out of town and you would like us to ship the book to her directly, gift wrapped in Pepper-style, simply tick the "Gift" box when checking out (a nominal fee of R15 will apply). For last minute shoppers in the Gauteng area, please remember that you are more than welcome to collect your book from us in-store, Monday to Friday, provided we have the book in stock.

Most of the books listed are currently in stock, and if not, will be in shortly!

Click on the book's title or jacket for more information, or to place an order!

Love You Forever

Author: Robert N. Munsch, Anthony Lewis

A young woman holds her newborn son and sings to him: I'll love you forever.I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living My baby you'll be. This is the story of how that little boy goes through life and becomes a man and how his mother's love never wavers. The simple and powerful truth behind LOVE YOU FOREVER will strike a universal chord with parents and children alike - what better way to reassure your child of your love than to share this very special picture book.

Top to Toe

Top to Toe: The Ultimate Guide to Becoming Who You Want to be

Author: Nicky Hambleton-Jones

A total lifestyle makeover from TV's Queen of Transformation on Ten Years Younger. A more inspiring job. A flatter stomach. A better relationship! We'd all like to improve some aspects of ourselves, but it's hard to maintain good intentions or even to know where to start. Until now. Nicky Hambleton-Jones, presenter of hit TV show 10 YEARS YOUNGER, knows that that the gorgeous happy new you is just around the corner, and it's her job to get you there. From the small steps - a new haircut, a wardrobe overhaul - to achieving your bigger goals, she'll be beside you, helping you become the person you know you want to be.

If you're serious about transforming your life, Top to toe is the book for you. Insightful, friendly and funny this is all you need to inspire you to turn your dreams into reality!

The Irreverent Mothers' Handbook

Author: Sam Cowen and Lee van Loggerenberg

Co-authored by the bestselling radio and television personality Sam Cowen, this book emerged from the authors' hilarious e-mails to each other while housebound with their newborn babies, and grew into an ongoing dialogue on motherhood and all it entails: from pregnancy, childbirth and weight gain to toddler sex education, kiddies' parties, and how to reclaim the marital bed for oneself and one's partner. Interspersed with these e-mails are their letters of advice to readers of their column in Your Baby magazine and contributions by experts in every conceivable field, from GPs to dieticians.

With wicked wit and frank, down-to-earth advice, these two best friends offer a fresh perspective on motherhood that will keep the reader chuckling from beginning to end.

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Bad Mother's Handbook

The Bad Mother's Handbook

Author: Kate Long

The Bad Mother's Handbook is the story of a year in the lives of Charlotte, Karen, and Nan, none of whom can quite believe how things have turned out.
Why is it all so difficult? Why do the most ridiculous mistakes have the most disastrous consequences? When are you too old to throw up in a flowerbed
after too much vodka? When are you too young to be a mother? Both hilarious and wise, it is a clear-eyed look at motherhood - and childhood - in its
many guises, from the moment the condom breaks to the moment you file for divorce or, more optimistically, from the moment you hear your baby's first cry to the moment you realize that there are as many sorts of mother as there are children, and that love sometimes is the most important thing of all.

The Girlfriend's Guide to Rugby

Author: Jaco Louw

The Girlfriend's Guide to Rugby explains the basic rules of the game of rugby in a humorous and entertaining way, ensuring that an audience-ranging from the fanatic to the don't-understand-what-all-the-hype-is-about person-would enjoy the read. Without the feel of a rule book, it provides the reader with a basic understanding of the game, in a laugh-out-loud manner. Using analogies, such as shopping and relationships, which girlfriends (even blond ones), wives and the uninformed can relate to, coupled with vivid, hilarious cartoons of everyday characters, this is an ideal gift book-for the aficionado and the rugby ignoramus alike!

Eat, Pray, Love

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything

Author: Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert is in her thirties, she has a husband, a house, and they're trying for a baby - she doesn't want any of it. A bitter divorce and a turbulent love affair later, she emerges battered and bewildered and realises it is time to pursue her own journey in search of three things she has been missing: pleasure, devotion and balance.

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of The Great Railway

Author: Paul Theroux

In Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Paul Theroux retraces the steps he took thirty years ago in the best-selling and hugely acclaimed The Great Railway Bazaar. From the Eurostar in London, he once again sets out on a journey to the East, travelling overland through Eastern Europe, India and Asia.

ISBN-13: 9780241142547 | FORMAT: PAPERBACK | DATE: SEP 2008 | PUBLISHER: PENGUIN | COUNTRY OF PUBLICATION: UNITED KINGDOM | DELIVERY TIME: 24 HOURS | RED PEPPER PRICE: R206.80 (incl.)

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Songs of the Humpback Whale

Author: Jodi Picoult

Jane had always lived in somebody's shadow. Escaping a childhood of abuse by marrying oceanographer Oliver Jones, she finds herself taking second place to his increasingly successful career. However, when her daughter Rebecca is similarly treated, Jane's dramatic stand takes them all by surprise. Jane and Rebecca set out to drive across America to the sanctuary of the New England apple orchard where Jane's brother Joley works. Oliver, used to tracking male humpback whales across vast oceans, now has the task of tracking his wife across a continent. To do so he must learn to see the world - and even himself - through her eyes...

What To Do When Someone Dies

What To Do When Someone Dies
Author: Nicci French

'This is not my world. Something is wrong, askew. . . I am Ellie Falkner, thirty-four years old and married to Greg Manning. Although two police officers have just come to my door and told me he is dead . . . '

It's devastating to hear that your husband has died in a horrific car accident. But to learn that he died with a mystery woman as his passenger is torment. Was Greg having an affair? Drowning in grief, Ellie clings to Greg's innocence, and her determination to prove it to the world at large means she must find out who Milena Livingstone was and what she was doing in Greg's car. But in the process those around her begin to question her sanity and motive. And the louder she shouts that Greg must have been murdered, the more suspicion falls on Ellie herself. Sometimes it's safer to keep silent when someone dies.

Cross Country

Author: James Patterson

When Alex Cross is called to investigate a murder scene, he is shocked to find that the victim is an old friend. Cross begins the hunt for the perpetrators of this cruel crime. He is drawn into a dangerous underworld of Washington DC that leads him on a journey to the Niger Delta where heroin dealing, slave trade and oil and gas theft are rife.

ISBN-13: 9781846052576 | FORMAT: PAPERBACK | DATE: NOV 2008 | PUBLISHER: ARROW BOOKS | COUNTRY OF PUBLICATION: UNITED KINGDOM | DELIVERY TIME: 24 HOURS | RED PEPPER PRICE: R180.00 (incl.)

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Secret Gratitude Book

Rhonda Byrne

A beautiful personal journal, illustrated with aphorisms and blessings, that can accompany international bestseller, The Secret, or perform as a stand-alone package of aspirational stationary.

Going Green

Going Green: 365 Ways to Change Our World

Author: Simon Gear

This title will help readers 'go green' one day at a time. Filled with simple and easy-to-implement tips and steps on how to decrease your carbon footprint and make the world a more sustainable place, Going Green is the perfect beginner's guide.

500 Places to See Before They Disappear

Frommer's 500 Places to See Before They Disappear: A Celebration of the World's Fragile Wonders
Author: Holly Hughes

Presents landscapes, fragile ecosystems, rare bird habitats, places to see the last remaining species of big game in the wild, cityscapes in peril, vanishing cultural kitsch, and petroglyphs. This book allows travelers to locate attractions across the world.

Mother's Book

Author: Benrik Ltd

Finally, a stylish and edgy antidote to cheesy Mother's Day gifts, from the authors of the cult bestselling "This Diary Will Change Your Life". "The Mother's Book" is a funny, fully-illustrated treasury of everything the modern mother needs to fulfil her duties. It includes: ranking your children in order of preference; how to pick an appropriate babysitter; making kids love unpalatable vegetables using reverse-psychology; how best to criticise other people's offspring; a glossary to help decipher teenage grunting; dealing with bullies: how to bully them yourself; and much more. t is perfect for mothers with a sense of humour.

Good Enough Mother

Good Enough Mother

Author: Sam Cowen

If she thought throwing up in public was the pinnacle of humiliation, Sam Cowen hadn't counted on her son having The Penis Conversation on top of his voice in the queue at Woolies. Stretch marks fade, children are forever: as Sam discovers in the follow-up to Waiting for Christopher. Chris goes through all the milestones: starting nursery school, learning that hot plates are hot (the hard way), realising that mummy can't make the earthmoving equipment on the side of the road perform just for him and becoming addicted to Teletubbies. Chris also develops a mind of his own, almost as sharp as his mummy's, which makes for some amusing battles of will.

On top of a growing child and a successful radio show, Sam is offered a job presenting a show on a national TV station. Soon after taking on the position as presenter for Great Expectations, Sam finds out that she is pregnant. It's a difficult pregnancy, made harder by all Sam has to juggle professionally and personally, but eventually Gen arrives safely. Of course, Chris has something to say about that... Sam's incisive deadpan humour has leopard-crawled through the sleepless nights, walked the minefields of temper tantrums and sidestepped sticky little hands to write this hilarious frontline account of Chris's toddler years and the arrival Genevieve.

Oneness with All Life

Oneness with All Life: Inspirational Selections from a New Earth

Author: Eckhart Tolle

Your inner purpose is to awaken. It is as simple as that. You share that purpose with every other person on the planet ? because it is the purpose of humanity. Your inner purpose is an essential part of the purpose of the whole, the universe and its emerging intelligence. Your outer purpose can change over time. It varies greatly from person to person. Finding and living in alignment with the inner purpose is the foundation for fulfilling your outer purpose. It is the basis for true success.

Mushy Peas on Toast

Mushy Peas on Toast
Author:Laurian Clemence

Hook-ups, break-ups, stuff-ups and cover-ups. Peas is a typical Jo'burg girl - she works hard, plays hard, and leaves a trail of destruction in her wake. She's a drama queen, with high heels and a soft heart. Just as life is going along splendidly, Peas' long-term boyfriend (and possible fatherly candidate to her two perfect children) dumps her. And so begins a journey of self-discovery, aided by a flamboyant Italian flatmate, an eccentric father and copious amounts of alcohol. Join Peas as she comes to terms with life, love and her new found singledom.

ISBN-13: 9781770100671 | FORMAT: PAPERBACK | DATE: NOV 2008 | PUBLISHER: PAN MACMILLAN SOUTH AFRICA | COUNTRY OF PUBLICATION: SOUTH AFRICA | DELIVERY TIME: 5 DAYS| RED PEPPER PRICE: R126.90(incl.)

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Romance 101

Romance 101: How your relationship can survive your kids (and other passion-killers)

Author: Sarah Bullen

Throw away the rule book on relationships: Romance 101 is going to help couples find a way to put the va-va-voom back into their relationship, 21st-century style. Every couple remembers the great dates, great laughs and hot sex they had before the kids arrived, but she is now more intimate with her IUD than with her husband, and he would rather watch TV than have sex. But help is at hand. Romance 101 is every couple's unconventional yet practical and fun guide on how to make their relationship work. This book is set to become the new relationship bible for the Noughties' couple, because making a family work is about becoming more in touch with who you are and not about following an outdated formula for relationships. Covering topics such 'ten new rules for love', 'terrible sex', 'handling affairs', 'the Dalai Lama divorce code' and 'hormones and hate crimes', this is one book every couple should have on their bedside tables.

Peaks and Valleys

Peaks and Valleys: Making Good and Bad Times Work for You - at Work and in Life

Author: Spencer Johnson

From the No.1 New York Times bestselling author of Who Moved My Cheese?, a brilliant new parable that provides insight into how to be successful in good times and bad, in work and in life. Peaks and Valleys is a story of a young man who lives unhappily in a valley until he meets an old man who lives on a peak, and it changes his work and life forever. Initially, the young man does not realize he is talking with one the most peaceful and successful people in the world. However, through a series of conversations and experiences that occur up on peaks and down in valleys, the young man comes to make some startling discoveries. Eventually, he comes to understand how he can use the old man's remarkable principles and practical tools in good and bad times and becomes more calm and successful himself. Now readers can take a similar journey through the story and use what you find to your advantage in your own work and life.

ISBN-13: 9781847375490 | FORMAT: HARDBACK | DATE: MAR 2009 | PUBLISHER: SIMON & SCHUSTER | COUNTRY OF PUBLICATION: UNITED KINGDOM | DELIVERY TIME: 7 DAYS | RED PEPPER PRICE: R135.00 (incl.)

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Amazing Grace

Author: Danielle Steel

On a warm May night in San Francisco, a glittering, celebrity-studded crowd gathers for a charity event. Just minutes before midnight, the room begins to sway. Glass shatters, the lights go out, and people start to scream...In the earthquake's aftermath, the lives of four strangers will converge: Sarah Sloane, the beautiful wife of a financial star, watches her perfect world fall to pieces; Melanie Free, award-winning singer, comes to a turning point in her career; Everett Carson, a former war correspondent whose personal demons have demoted him to covering society parties, finds new purpose amid the carnage; and, Sister Maggie Kent, a nun who does her best work in jeans and trainers, searches through the rubble - and knows instantly that there is much work to be done.

The city staggers back to life, and a chain reaction will touch each of the survivors as they find the amazing grace of new beginnings.

ISBN-13: 9780552154734 | FORMAT: PAPERBACK | DATE: NOV 2008 | PUBLISHER: TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS | COUNTRY OF PUBLICATION: UNITED KINGDOM | DELIVERY TIME: 1 WEEK | RED PEPPER PRICE: R117.50 (incl.)

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The Mother's Book

The Mother's Book: The Only Gift Book You Hope to Get Back

Author: Elma van Vliet

On realising that her mother was seriously ill, Elma van Vliet sat down and wrote The Mother's Book, a collection of questions that would allow her to find out who her mother really was. She wanted to learn what she had been like as a girl, her childhood memories, what her dreams had been at 18, who she had fallen in love with first, how she had felt about the birth of her child...

Based on an old Dutch tradition of personalised memoirs, this book is one that every girl should give to her mother - a gift to be shared for life. Beautifully designed, and packed with inspirational poems and stories, this journal gives your mother the opportunity to find the "book" within her - to answer all those questions that one day it will be too late to ask. Don't let the opportunity pass to find out the story that matters most!

Breathing in Colour

Author: Clare Jay

'Your child is missing - presumed dead.' Hours after receiving the phone call that every mother dreads, Alida Salter flies to India to search for her backpacker daughter. The discovery of disturbing collages in Mia's hotel makes Alida suspect a connection between the disaster that fractured their relationship thirteen years ago, and Mia's recent, mysterious disappearance. Mia is no ordinary girl. Growing up with the sensory condition synaesthesia - where she sees the world in a kaleidoscope of shapes, colours and smells - she has gone through life with the vivid imagination of an artist, but for years she has shouldered an overwhelming burden of guilt. It has been a difficult relationship, but now comes the toughest test of all...Alida must find the courage to trust her maternal instincts, or lose her daughter forever.

The Wrong Side of 30

The Wrong Side of 30: When You Need to Believe in the Unseen!

Author: Lynne Torrente

From the author, Lynne Torrente:
My first book "The Wrong Side of 30" has been a while in the making, and at times I
wondered if I should actually "put it all out there", but I know that so many would love to have a baby, but are struggling with infertility that I really had no option but to finish it and pray that it will encourage women who are battling with this silent problem. I call it silent, because in my instance I kept it silent because I just did not feel "safe" to let everyone know how I much I wanted a baby. Well, now everyone will know how I was feeling :-) This is a baby book with a difference!

A special word this morning to those who have emailed me regarding the book. Thank you! And keep believing! You are special in God's eyes and He never slumbers nor sleeps and is concerned for you and all that's important to you. In this time keep close to His side as He will keep you as He kept me during my lonely time. I shall continue to pray that God will give you the baby that your heart so desires. If you are struggling with infertility, this is the baby book to read to encourage you to keep on believing!

The Whole Food Almanac

Whole Food Almanac: The Guide to Naturally Good Eating in the Cape

Author: Michelle Matthews

Imagine starting your meal with a hunk of traditional handmade cheddar with homemade fig preserve on a slice of artisan sourdough bread made from stoneground flour. Follow that with a leg of free range Karoo lamb seasoned with rosemary from your kitchen garden and slow-roasted with heirloom potatoes, washed down with a glass of organic Cabernet. And top it all off with locally grown strawberries and organic white chocolate ice-cream. Does it sound too good to be true? The whole food almanac is your ultimate guide to shopping for natural, healthy, honest food in and around Cape Town. With over 200 producers, shops, restaurants and markets; tips on choosing and preparing foods, and information on sustainable and safe food choices, you will find the Whole Food Almanac indispensable.

Reuben Cooks

Reuben Cooks: Food is Time Travel

Author: Craig Fraser, Reuben Riffel

Flavours, tastes, smells and textures have the power to transport you back to your childhood, to make you feel the way you did when you first tasted a peach, an orange or a caramelised onion and blue cheese tart. Reuben Riffel, 34-year-old South African sensation, grew up in humble Groendal and is now one of the country's best chefs. His restaurant, Reuben's, lies in the heart of South Africa's famous winelands in Franschhoek, a beautiful town fast becoming known as one of the world's premier food and wine destinations.

ISBN-13: 9780980265156 | FORMAT: HARDBACK | DATE: OCT 2008 | PUBLISHER: QUIVERTREE PUBLICATIONS | COUNTRY OF PUBLICATION: SOUTH AFRICA | DELIVERY TIME: 24 HOURS | RED PEPPER PRICE: R324.30 (incl.)

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The Karoo Cookbook

Author: Rose Willis

Reflecting the cuisine of this region, The Karoo cookbook, is filled with delicious recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation.

Say it Like Obama

Say it Like Obama: The Power of Speaking with Purpose and Vision
Author: Shel Leanne,

Persuasive presentation and communication techniques from a precedent-setting, history-making leader From individual emails, to town hall audiences of under thirty, to rallies of more than 20,000, Barack Obama's speeches, letters, and webcasts have fired up more new supporters than any other presidential candidate in U.S. history. But his innovative communication techniques aren't only usable in politics--they can be tapped to motivate and mobilize teams, companies, and organizations of every size. From constructing effective arguments and facing tough issues to inspiring a workforce to new levels of productivity, Say it Like Obama has tools you can use--whether you're a manager or an executive, to instill positive change at every level of your organization.

ISBN-13: 9780071615891 | FORMAT: PAPERBACK | DATE: SEP 2008 | PUBLISHER: MCGRAW-HILL EDUCATION - EUROPE | COUNTRY OF PUBLICATION: UNITED STATES | DELIVERY TIME: 24 HOURS | RED PEPPER PRICE: R288.58 (incl.)

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Little Ice Cream Boy

Author: Jacques Pauw

A terrifying South African crime story - based on true events 'My cell is hardly the size of a king-size bed. I would say slightly bigger than a shithouse... No way of getting out of it... And so you whirl and spin until your head explodes. You stick your fingers in a goon's bloodshot eyes. You grab a baton and swing it about until you feel and hear bones crush and splinter under its weight.' So begins the tale of an inmate of Pretoria Central Prison (known as the Bomb) condemned to serve three life sentences for murder, starting a gruelling journey back from the present into the depths of his childhood and through bloodcurdling events that led to his conviction. The author draws on his knowledge of the worst of the Apartheid assassins to paint this fictionalised account of one of their number. As the plot unfolds the reader is shown in gritty reality the seedy side of Johannesburg's West Rand suburbs in the 60s and the underbelly of Hillbrow's escort agencies and brothels in the 70s.

The story is told by Gideon Goosen and contrasts his debauched past with his growing romance with Debbie, who looks like Goosen's mother, and sends him perfumed letters full of sweetness and caring to prison. The book is a mixture of fact and fiction - the story is based on Pauw's extensive research into the CCB (Civil Co-operation Bureau) and the atrocities they committed, but the details of Goosen's childhood and the interweaving of the events are Pauw's own creation.

ISBN-13: 978143025924 | FORMAT: PAPERBACK | DATE: APR 2009 | PUBLISHER: PENGUIN | COUNTRY OF PUBLICATION: SOUTH AFRICA | DELIVERY TIME: 1 WEEK | RED PEPPER PRICE: R176.70 (incl.)

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We hope that you had fun going through our new titles and that you found something of interest!

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Please note that the price and availability of books advertised in this mailer were correct at the time that this newsletter was sent out, but that this information is subject to change based on publisher's availability and fluctuations in the rate of exhange.

Should you require more information, please check the latest information on our web site at www.redpepperbooks.co.za, or contact a Red Pepper Customer Care representative as per our contact details below.

Should you wish to place an order for any of today's books please visit us online at

www.redpepperbooks.co.za . Alternatively, you can email us at books@redpepperbooks.co.za or fax us on 0861 329 733.

Or of course, you can email your favourite Pepper person in our Customer Care Team: june@redpepperbooks.co.za, olivia@redpepperbooks.co.za ,
marwaan@redpepperbooks.co.za or karin@redpepperbooks.co.za.

Any other questions? Feel free to call us on 0861-000-733, or +27 (011) 958-2474 during office hours, Monday to Friday.

Phillipa Mitchell

Founder and CEO

Red Pepper Books