Getting gifts for people particularly close to us is always a challenge. The challenge increases two fold when that person is a public figure as we may feel they “have it all”. Books are often the best gifts as because of their timelessness and the lasting impact they will likely have on the recipient. A book as a gift could be indicative of the thought and feeling that went into getting the gift.
“People do believe that giving a book is more valuable than a dress that is only in fashion for a season, but a book never gets old, the knowledge it carries stays relevant always,” says Exclusive Books deputy manager, Lerato Tshoswane. She says when you get someone a book as a gift you are quite literally investing in them. “When I get you a book, what I am doing is changing your life,” she said.
Botswana Life Chief Executive Officer, Catherine Lesetedi-Letegele an avid reader says she would prefer to be gifted a book over most things, “Books can be passed on from one generation to another, although with the advent of technology people are now resorting to eBooks, which is a cool way of carrying books around without having to worry about the weight, wear and tear! I have started using eBooks as well. I still prefer the feeling of a real book, flipping through the pages,” Letegele says. She recommends Speeches that Changed the World by Simon Sebag Montefiore, Conversations with Myself – Nelson Mandela and Sycamore Row by John Grisham.
Motswana Generations actor Lerato Motshwarakgole is also into books saying she recently left a party to read a book so she is all for books as gifts as this indicates understand the recipient. She says her father introduced her to reading and by the age of 11, she was already into novels. She has also gone through Nelson Mandela’s Long walk to Freedom.
Albert Lekgaba, Creative Director at Dee-zone Productions and popular Cartoonist boasts of having read over 2000 books in his 31 years. He says books are the greatest gifts as they follow the principle of the old Chinese proverb of teaching a man how to fish to feed him forever. “To make a gift worthwhile try make it suit the receiver’s dreams, goals, hobbies duties and interests that will reflect your thoughtfulness and love for the other person,” Lekgaba says.
When it comes to purchasing gifts and you are in doubt, buy a book. Within books lies the magic of being able to take a journey into people’s minds and the betterment of your own.
What they are currently reading
Catherine Lesetedi-Letegele: I’m currently reading The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck, Never Say Goodbye by Susan Lewis, Breaking Through – Implementing Customer Focus in Enterprises by Sandra Vandermerwe.
Lerato Motshwarakgole: “I just finished reading Zelda la Grange ‘Good Morning Mr Mandela’ today and Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts last week. I am moving on to ‘Americanah’ by Chimamand Ngozi Adichie. Looking forward to it!”
Albert Lekgaba: I am currently reading The Power by Rhonda Byrne, (author of The Secret)