Bookle Insights
Interesting things we've noticed as books found new homes.
Every secondhand book has a history before it reaches its next reader. Bookle Insights is our ongoing record of those journeys through South Africa’s secondhand book marketplace. Each month we share interesting trends, unusual finds, memorable moments and the occasional statistic from the Bookle community. From forgotten childhood favourites to remarkable vintage discoveries, these are the stories that make our marketplace unique.
The observations on this page are based solely on activity on Bookle and are not intended to represent the South African secondhand book market as a whole.
January
- Two copies of Blizzard’s Wonderful Wooden Toys by Richard Blizzard found new homes with different readers.
- Books exploring Christianity and other belief systems enjoyed a particularly strong month.
February
- Among the notable sales was a limited subscriber’s edition of The Birds of Prey of Southern Africa, featuring the celebrated artwork of Claude Gibney Finch-Davies.
- One reader added several Afrikaans books by Karen Kingsbury to their bookshelf.
March
- One reader built an impressive graphic novel collection over three orders placed within a few days, purchasing 14 hardcover DC and Marvel titles.
- A reader built an impressive children’s library in a single order, including ten books from the I Wonder Why… series.
- Afrikaans Christian nonfiction stood out as one of the strongest-performing genres.
April
- Someone was able to replace a well-loved copy of Cook and Enjoy from around 1965 with an identical edition.
- Among the more unusual sales was Pescentum: A History of the Prince Edward School, 1898–1998 by Len Hollands.
- Business self-help titles enjoyed a particularly strong month.
May
- Among the notable sales was a signed copy of The Military Badges and Insignia of South Africa by Colin R. Owen.
- More ready-made book bundles were purchased this month than in any previous month.
June
- A well-preserved 1975 copy of MER’s Karlien en Kandas found a new home during the month.
July
- Coming soon
August
- Coming soon
September
- Coming soon
October
- Coming soon
November
- Coming soon
December
- Coming soon
January
- Nonfiction outsold fiction this month, driven largely by demand for textbooks as learners prepared for the new school year.
- A beautiful hardcover copy of The Complete Illustrated Stories, Plays and Poems of Oscar Wilde began its next chapter in Somerset West after travelling from Pretoria.
February
- Books by Vera Wolmarans were the most popular Afrikaans titles this month.
- Several health-related books, including titles on weight loss and cancer, featured prominently among nonfiction sales.
March
- Suspense and historical fiction were the most popular fiction genres.
- Among the books sold were classic fiction titles, including Lord of the Flies.
- The Oxford English-Afrikaans School Dictionary / Skoolwoordeboek attracted more views than any other listing.
April
- More than a century after it was first published in 1923, Loeloeraai by C.J. Langenhoven continued its journey to a new reader with the sale of a 2007 edition.
- One order stood out for its generosity: two recovery books were purchased and shipped directly to an organisation as a donation.
May
- A buyer shared that their newly purchased copy of Nils Holgersson would soon be read to their grandson.
- More books by Clive Cussler changed hands than those of any other author.
June
- Even highly specialised books can find the right reader. One of June’s more unusual sales was Kunsmatige Inseminasie en Aspekte van Beheerde Teelt by Beeste by Schutte and Dicks.
July
- Murder Squad by William B. Joyner attracted more views than any other listing before selling later that month.
August
- Fiction dominated sales, with suspense proving the most popular genre.
- The marketplace became a little more international with the arrival of Bookle’s first German-language fiction and nonfiction books.
September
- Fiction continued to dominate sales, with Afrikaans romance emerging as the most popular genre.
- Among the month’s more unusual sales was How We Made Rhodesia by Arthur Glyn Leonard, published in Bulawayo in 1973.
October
- Children’s books enjoyed their strongest month yet. Among the books finding new homes were several Barry Loser titles and a copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales by John Cooper.
November
- Books by Deon Meyer were the month’s most popular, with readers choosing both his Afrikaans and English titles.
- One reader came to Bookle looking for a replacement after a five-month-old Staffy made short work of a borrowed business book.
December
- One reader added several different George MacDonald Fraser Flashman titles to their bookshelf during the month.
- Another reader purchased two consecutive Beano Book annuals from 1987 and 1988.
- July saw Bookle’s very first order: Hoofmeisie Kobie by Stella Blakemore, sold by My Owl Bookshop to a reader in Gauteng.
- Bookle’s first province-to-province order travelled from Gauteng to the Western Cape and included a bundle of nine books — the marketplace’s first multi-book order.
- December became Bookle’s busiest month of its first year.
- Bookle’s very first listing was Een, Twee, Drie – Slimkoppe Lees!. More than two years later, it was still waiting for a new home.