Fave books and best looks of 2024

Hans’s #12 best movies and series 2024

Hans Pienaar, Vrye Weekblad's chief sub-editor, shares his best viewing of the year (the order is random).

#1 Presumed Innocent: Another series showing that American law is too complicated for anyone other than Harvard geniuses or committed liars. However, Jake Gyllenhaal's magnificent performance as a suspect in the murder of the woman who rejected him means all the clues are hidden on his face and that you don't know until the last few minutes whether he was guilty or not. On Apple TV+.

#2 The Boy and the Heron: This is about a young teenager's struggle to cope with his mother's death in Japan during World War II, guided by an untrustworthy heron in a fantasy world he creates for himself. Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki's probable swan song won an Oscar but was only seen in South Africa this year. On Netflix.

#3 Ripley: Every episode of Netflix's reworking of Patricia Highsmith's iconic criminal is a cinematic highlight. Andrew Scott's performance, the scene-by-scene finely composed photography, Ripley's repulsiveness, which is so well balanced by our fascination with him etc., etc. Already a classic.

#4 Baby Reindeer: What more can be said about the TV phenomenon of the year, about the unique premise of a man who has to defend himself against a female stalker? Not to mention the legal manoeuvres of the woman on whom it's based. Perhaps a metafictional sequel on the way? On Netflix.

#5 The Zone of Interest: Just when we thought we didn't need any World War 2 angsting about its atrocities anymore, along comes the Jonathan Glazer take on the Martin Amis bestseller about the head of Auschwitz and his family. May the past always be with us. For sale or rent only, which tells its own story.

#6 Three-body problem: Masterful condensation of Cixin Liu's science fiction trilogy about a solar system with millions of years of civilisations that grow tired of the randomness with which they rise and fall and prepare our stable solar system as an alternative. It could have been better according to readers of the books, but what there was worked well on Netflix.

#7 Grounded: The New York Met includes a modern opera in its annual repertoire for broadcast in movie theatres worldwide. This year, it was an adaptation of a play about a pilot who unravels when, due to her pregnancy, she must control drones in Afghanistan from a shed in the American Midwest – my highlight of the year.

#8 Strawman: Another person unravelling is a spy in Cold War Poland who must manipulate people to turn against Polish cardinal Karol Wojtyla and sabotage his candidacy as pope, with fatal consequences. On Netflix.

#9 Kinds of Kindness: Poor Things' Yorgos Lanthimos returns to the perversities of his early work in Greece in this black satire about corporate culture and our inexhaustible ability to let ourselves become addicted to absurd routines. On Disney, nogal.

#10 Do not expect too much from the end of the world: More satire on capitalism and our false obsession with each other's safety by Romanian maverick Radu Jude. On Mubi.

#11 Citizen Saint: This Bulgarian jewel about a missing statue of a worker is a highly insightful exploration of how mythology originates and works. Seen at the European Film Festival.

#12 Shōgun: I can't get too excited about James Clavell's pulp fiction reformed into multicultural machismo. However, it is a spectacular series with enough intellectual complications to enjoy and/or grumble about. On Disney.

Anneliese’s #10 fave books 2024

From Mexico to Palestine, from China to Zimbabwe: 10 books that took Anneliese on a journey this year.

#1 Simple Noodles by Pippa Middlehurst. Under my daughter's influence, we ventured more and more into Asian cuisine this year.  This collection of quick and interesting noodle recipes is a winner – check out these three meals that you can have on the table within 10 minutes.

#2 Simply Chinese: Recipes from a Chinese Home Kitchen by Suzie Lee. From the Coca-Cola chicken wings to the spicy Ma Po tofu with aubergine – we've cooked surprisingly many dishes from this collection of accessible dishes. Suzie Lee is a talented home cook; all her dishes are doable, accessible, and absolutely delicious. Nigella Lawson raves about the Pork Belly in Black Vinegar.

#3 I developed a full-blown obsession with tofu this year, and another fantastic cookbook that quietly rose to the top of my favourites list is One Wok, One Pot by Kwoklyn Wan. I've probably made the pan-fried tofu with ginger, spring onions, and garlic 10 times this year in a blazing hot wok using the fresh tofu available on Saturday mornings at our local Chinese supermarket. All the recipes in the book can be cooked in just one pot – a slow cooker, rice cooker, traditional clay pot, or, of course, the humble wok.

#4 Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling by Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral. A joyful book about the joyful art of Mexican grilling: I drew particular inspiration from the various types of salsas and vegetables cooked on the coals – an excellent addition to my cooking-with-fire collection.

#5 Isabella Niehaus and Louis Jansen van Vuuren's new cookbook, Earthling Food, is a very, very beautiful book with exquisite photography, but judging by the many colourful post-it flags I've added, I'll be cooking from this collection of vegan recipes for a long time. I've already made the rooibos muhammara hummus, which was a revelation. And so was Kobus van der Merwe of Wolfgat's red sweet pepper gravlax and the brilliant banana and sesame seed pancakes. I love this book. Well done, Isabella and Louis!

#6 Maria Kalman's The Principles of Uncertainty finally wound its way to me, and this collection of her New York Times columns gave me great pleasure. Part personal narrative, part documentary, part travelogue, part notebook, all interwoven with her wonderfully weird and whimsical paintings and drawings, ideas and images that initially appear random but ultimately form a profoundly moving idiosyncratic inner monologue. This book moved me deeply.

#7 All Fours by Miranda July tells the story of a woman's quest for a new kind of freedom. At times, the book feels delightfully absurd with a chick-lit flavour but at heart it is a tender rediscovery of the sexual, romantic life of a middle-aged woman. What began as homework for the book I am writing ultimately became one of my favourite reading experiences of the year.

#8 A Very Short History Of The Israel-Palestine Conflict by Ilan Pappe. Excellent.

#9 Exit Wounds by Peter Godwin. I have just started this book, but it is so beautifully crafted that I feel the need to ration myself to make it last longer. It is a deeply personal memoir about the many losses that make life both magnificent and unbearable, and it speaks to my heart. Godwin is masterful.

#10 I reread Eve Palmer's The Plains of the Camdeboo, this year, and fell in love with Palmer and the Karoo all over again.

Click here to register 📌

Peppermint Crisp trifle

The Fomolistas are making this Springbokkie pudding from Woolworths' Taste magazine for Christmas! Green jelly, cream, tennis biscuits, caramel, and crumbled Peppermint Crisp – what's not to love?

Kitchen tips

The Fomolistas are suckers for a hack video. Although we rarely follow through on the often silly tips, we remain mesmerised by a clever shortcut. 

Our motto for 2025

Just start.

Samsung started as a grocery store. Ikea as a pen. LG as a face cream. 

The wisdom of Brené Brown

#1 There is no innovation and creativity without failure.

#2 What is the greater risk? Letting go of what people think. Or letting go of what I feel, what I believe, and who I am?

#3 Shame is the most powerful master emotion. It is the fear that we’re not good enough.

#4 The courage to be vulnerable is not about winning or losing; it's about the courage to show up and let ourselves be seen when we can’t predict or control the outcome.

#5 We need to be the adults we want our children to be. We should watch our gossip and anger and model the kindness we want to see.

Laureen’s small life tweakments

Laureen made a list of easy adjustments for a better, healthier, and more relaxed life in 2025.

Lifestyle

• Drink more water.
• Work out a feasible exercise program and stick to it.
• Strength training and stretching are non-negotiable.
• Try a sauna three times a week.
• Use the stairs, not the elevator.
• Try to touch your toes or keep doing this daily – see how close you get by the end of the year.
• Remember, wine is a serving measure, not a goal. Drink slowly and drink water in between.
• Throw sugar out of the window this year.

Relax

• Set up a reading list for the year. Go to our Vrye Weekblad books page for inspiration.
• Call your family (especially your mom) regularly.
• Learn how to use emojis. It's not cool to be a boomer-fool.
• Listen when people talk to you.
• Get to know your neighbours.
• Put your hands in the soil – if gardening isn't your thing, start with herbs in pots on your windowsill. Growing things is good for the soul.
• Learn to make that complicated dish you've never dared to try.

Social media

• Learn to use Snapchat without looking like a grandpa.
• Use both hands when using WhatsApp.
• Finally, learn to use TikTok.
• Learn to take a selfie where you don't look like a duck.

And, if you can't keep to these simple New Year's tweakments, at least keep your sense of humour.

Have a lekker holiday.

♦ VWB ♦

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION: Go to the bottom of this page to share your opinion. We look forward to hearing from you.