Features

A word or two with ... Anne Rice
Q: How long did it take you to write your first book, Interview with the Vampire? A:It didn't really take very long -- I would say about five weeks during one year, and about 10 weeks during the following year when I revised it. And it took about...

Best sellers
FICTION: 1. City of Bones by Michael Connelly 2. The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel 3. 1st to Die by James Patterson 4. Sea Glass by Anita Shreve 5. Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs 6. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 7. Warlock by Wilbur Smith...

It's sale time
ONE of the best ways to shake off the winter blues is to crawl into bed or snuggle in front of the heater with a good book. Exclusive Books' annual winter sale -- which kicks off on Thursday morning -- promises to be even more exciting than last ...

Chasing the ghosts of the past
THE SLEEP OF THE DEAD by Tom Bradby Random House R115 A WAR hero, a 15-year-old murder and a devastating family secret -- these are the explosive ingredients of Bradby's latest bestseller. Part Cold Squad-murder mystery, part psychological dr...

Win a copy of The Home Advisor
Saturday giveaway NEED TO fix something at home? This practical, well-illustrated book, jampacked with useful hints and tips, will show you how to fix most household problems yourself. The Home Advisor (Human & Rousseau, R160) will teach you...

Hybrid Morant history
SHOOT STRAIGHT, YOU BASTARDS by Nick Bleszynski Random House R169 THE Anglo-Boer conflict has been termed the last gentlemen's war, but prisoners were murdered on both sides. The Australians raised an anti-commando unit, the Bush Veldt Carbin...

Casting couch
The next installment in the Harry Potter series is set for release in November. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets once again stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, and also boasts notable performers Kenneth Branagh, Shirley Henderson, and Julian ...

Thumping collection
GOAL! Various Artists R120 With the quarter finals of the World Cup 2002 in progress, there's plenty to get excited about but if you decide to take a break from the telly, the spirit of the tournament doesn't have to come to an end. Goal! is on...

Pruning pointers
YESTERDAY was our winter solstice, which means that the darkest day of the year is gone and from now until just before Christmas, the number of hours of sunlight per day will steadily be increasing in length. Like a stretching cat warmed in a sp...

Aida returns to Mother Giza
GIUSEPPE Verdi's opera Aida will return to its spiritual home, the pyramids of Giza later this year after a two-year break, Egyptian Culture Minister Faruq Hosni announced. The love story of a slave girl and an Egyptian commander has not been pe...

Nature's secret ingredients
BY JUSTINE GERARDY PUTTING a spring into one's step and protecting the bloodstream against snake-bites are two regional uses of Catha edulis -- igqwaka, Bushman's tea or khat -- that demonstrated the relevance of local knowledge in modern science...

The Green flexes its festival muscles
THE VILLAGE Green Craft Fair at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown has received a new vote of confidence. Transport giant Transnet has confirmed sponsorship to the value of R300 000 for use by the Village Green Fair in 2002. The Village Gr...

Planting seeds for better and brighter children
ONE OF the seminal lectures of our time on the poor state of health of children in the Eastern Cape has just been given in East London. I was unable to attend the particular lecture but I spent a couple of hours with Dr Gerry Boon as he took me th...

Healing Herbs
Description PARSLEY is a biennial herb, which means it can last for two years before being replaced. It has a sturdy taproot and the leaves are divided into curled, triangular segments with toothed edges. Healthy plants are a vibrant green and ca...

What in the world happened to ...
Remember the cute kid that used to make us laugh in the 1980s TV comedy, Webster? He's now in his early 30s, a theatre-arts graduate from Clark Atlanta University in the United States and founder of his own music label, Emmanuel Lewis Entertainmen...