The Namibian's Jean Sutherland aka
Meme J takes a unique look at Big Brother through the pages of the books they're reading in a special guest column. Stacks of thanks Meme'.
No, no, no this is not about the shenanigans between Lomwe and Kim, or Karen and Zeus - though they’re more about on top of the covers - or Luclay and whoever.
We’re turning over a new page - of sorts - it’s all about books! OK, some housemates have been booked out of the house for spending too much time with their heads in a book, but that’s because it’s about all they did … errrrrrr no names mentioned!
If you’re going to read in the Big Brother Amplified house, do it in full view of the cameras and make dayum sure that you’re reading something with an interesting title.
That aside, one thing you can be sure of is that in any BBA show, The Bible’s going to be prominent.
Otherwise, one of the books that’s been doing the rounds this year is ‘I Don’t Mean to Be Rude, But …’ by former ‘American Idol’ judge Simon Cowell. Have seen Weza and Vimbai, among others, digging into it.
Another book that’s been prominent is ‘The Fate of Africa’ by Martin Meredith. Noticed Hanni, Vimbai and Vina engrossed in the pages.
We’ve drawn up a couple of suggested or required fun reading lists for both housemates and viewers. Hope you enjoy them.
A list of books that, Rob Parker, one of The Namibian’s sub-editors thinks fans of Big Brother should read:
- ‘1984’ - George Orwell
- ‘Brave New World’ - Aldous Huxley
- ‘Fahrenheit 451’ - Ray Bradbury
- ‘Hard Times’ - Charles Dickens
- ‘Surveillance’ - Jonathan Raban
- ‘The Panopticon’ - Jeremy Bentham
- ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ - Margaret Atwood
My suggested reading for housemates:
Given the nature of the show - and what goes down, if not up and out - some books Big Brother housemates might find useful to read:
- ‘The Art of War’ - Sun Tzu
- ‘Paranoia’ - Joseph Finder
- ‘The Big Fat Bitch Book for Girls’ - Katy Figes
- He’s Just Not That Into You’ - Greg Behrendt
- Essential Manners for Men’ - Peter Post
- Kardashian Konfidential’ - Kim Kardashian
- ‘Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus’ - John Gray
- ‘Gossip Girl’ - Cicely von Ziegesar
- ‘The Prince’- Niccolo Machiavelli
- • ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ - Ernest Hemingway
- • ‘Catch 22’ -Joseph Heller
- • ‘Go The F**k to Sleep’ - Adam Mansbach
- • ‘Dances With Wolves’ -Michael Blake
- • ‘Dirty Dancing’ - Gordon Volke
- • ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ - Spencer Johnson
- • ‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Exotic and Pole Dancing’
- • ‘Crime And Punishment’ - Fyodor Dostoevsky
- • ‘Things Fall Apart’ - Chinua Achebe