As social media detoxes trend at the start of the year, the founders of the Gaborone Book Festival share that real clarity isn’t found in algorithms but in pages deliberately chosen
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
As January ushers in vision boards, resets and renewed intentions, many people are quietly stepping away from endless scrolling. The question is: what fills the silence once the phone is put down? According to Gaborone Book Festival founders Kenanao and Keikantse Phele, the answer remains timeless—books.
“It all boils down to how intentional one is in cutting down screen time and being absorbed by the pages of the book they are reading,” they said in an interview, noting that deep reading has become a radical act in a world trained to swipe.
BOOKS IN A SCROLLING WORLD
Unlike short-form content designed to hook attention, books demand presence. “Reading is immersive, gives full context and is engaging, which is the exact opposite of short-form content,” they explain. More importantly, books are chosen—not assigned by an algorithm. “It’s what you are proactively choosing to feed your mind.”
WHAT TO READ, AND WHY IT MATTERS
The duo encourage readers to start with what excites them, then stretch beyond comfort zones. “Being a multi-dimensional reader is joyful and rewarding,” they say, especially for those who’ve long avoided fiction.
Their evergreen book recommendations include: How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair, Gothataone Moeng’s Call and Response, works by Motswana speculative fiction author Tlotlo Tsamaase, Caster Semenya’s The Race to Be Myself, Mariama Bâ’s feminist classic So Long a Letter, Nana Darkoa’s The Sex Lives of African Women, and branding insights from Thebe Ikalafeng. For young readers, GBF Setlhare Sa Learogi, a free children’s anthology by Batswana writers, is a gentle gateway.
HABIT OVER RESOLUTION
Treating reading as a once-a-year vow is the quickest way to abandon it. “Consistent reading is discipline built by intention,” they advise. One chapter a day, a few pages nightly—small rituals that turn reading into lifestyle.
“When reading is a practice then unlike a resolution one keeps going because it becomes part of one’s lifestyle.”