Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Hi! I'm Mike - this is Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance. Welcome! Celebrate my BookTube milestone with this in-depth BookTube Q&A marathon with Steve Donoghue, covering books, authors, South African literature, music lyrics as poetry, and some passionate literary debate. From Damon Galgut to Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Stoner, and Anthony Burgess, this wide-ranging conversation explores what we read, why we read, and how books shape a life. The conversation explores:
- Why some readers never reread books
- Childhood reading influences & storytelling
- Book buying in South Africa 🇿🇦 (local bookstores, Amazon, charity shops)
- Essential South African authors & books (Nelson Mandela, Damon Galgut)
- Agatha Christie, Frederick Forsyth & Wilbur Smith
- Organizing overflowing bookshelves (or not 😄)
- Whether song lyrics count as poetry (Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Jethro Tull & Gilbert & Sullivan)
- Reading, time, aging, audiobooks & literary legacy
- Heated but joyful debates on Stoner, The Turn of the Screw, and literary taste
- How to organize a massive personal library
- Greatest live concerts ever seen
- Book buying, book piles & “organized chaos”
- Reading habits, rereading, classics & unpopular opinions
- Living with monkeys, dogs & wildlife in South Africa
Authors Discussed
Wilbur Smith • Damon Galgut • Alan Paton • Nelson Mandela • Henry James • John Williams • Anthony Burgess • Alexandre Dumas • George Eliot • Jane Austen • Wilkie Collins • Bob Dylan • Paul Simon • Homer • Shakespeare • Chaucer • C.S. Lewis • Richard Dawkins • Christopher Hitchens • and many more.
Books mentioned :
The Cricklewood Dome - Alan Coren
Agatha Christie - all 88 books
Frederick Forsyth - The Day of The Jackal, the Odessa File, the Dogs of War
The Long Walk To Freedom - Nelson Mandela
The Promise - Damon Galgut
Indaba My Children - Credo Mutwa
Mhudi - Sol Plaatje
Native Life in South Africa - Sol Plaatje
Coconut - Kopano Matlwa
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
The Prisoner of Zenda - Anthony Hope
Rupert of Henzau - Anthony Hope
Adam Bede - George Eliot
Nothing Like the Sun - Anthony Burgess
Earthly Power - Anthony Burgess
If you love BookTube discussions, long literary conversations, classic books, cultural debate, or thoughtful disagreement, this video is for you.
📌 Subscribe for weekly videos on classic literature, global reading projects, and thoughtful BookTube discussions.
Questions kindly curated and presented by Steve Donoghue @saintdonoghue tomwhich I owe a great debt of gratitude.
Questions provided by the following wonderful people:
HANNAH @HannahsBooks
ALISON @alisontalksbooks
RANDY RAY @LiterateTexan
ANGELINA @700poodles
JULIE @juliehughes1258
DEREK @DerekGreen1
HEATHER @heathergregg9975
JOSEPH @JosephFrancisBurton
GARETH @bookssongsandothermagic
JAMES HOLDER @jamesholder13
CATHERINE @theliterarylatte
@ColoniaAgrippina2023
SHELLY @Shellyish
SANDRA @sandrahollins3520
SEAN @SeanPatrick-v1o
JACK @jackwalter5970
@Ell_tell
AARON @AaronReadABook
@jahhreads
@TrashToClassics
YouTube links to songs I want you to hear:
Blind Willie McTell - Bob Dylan
youtube.com/watch?v=_uf5gi3E_rQ
You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon
(marvel at Bakithi Khumalo's monstrous bass guitar lead break at 03:40 AND again ayt 04:32 )
youtube.com/watch?v=PS-sE9xCb-g
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction & 500+ Subscriber Milestone
01:43 My Dogs, BookTube & Personal Space
04:52 Childhood Reading, Why I Never Reread Books & Agatha Christie
09:07 Book Buying in South Africa - retail, online, Amazon & Bobshop
13:13 Ike's Independent Bookstore & Charity Shops
16:25 How I became a reader, Agatha Christie, Frederick Forsyth
21:45 The thinking behind Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance
27:00 Essential South African Books to understand South Africa
28:02 Why I love Damon Galgut’s “The Promise”
31:28 My "Read The Beloved Country" South African literature project
44:21 Organizing My Books & Bookcase Dreams
50:27 Lyrics as Poetry? (Jethro Tull)
52:12 Gilbert & Sullivan lyrics
54:02 I inflict Bob Dylan on Steve!
01:00:44 Paul Simon Lyrics as Storytelling
01:03:19 Greatest Live Concerts & meeting Paul Simon
01:09:24 Simon & Garfunkel in Amsterdam
01:11:58 How I Organize My Library
01:17:35 BookTube Influences & Starting the Channel
01:18:33 Unpopular Opinions (Turn of the Screw, Stoner)
01:22:53 Formative Reading in South Africa in the 60s & 70s
01:24:22 Favorite Books, Snacks & Meals
01:26:34 Wildlife, Monkeys & Living in South Africa
01:30:25 Politeness, Personality & BookTube Culture
01:32:09 Bringing Anthony Burgess back to life
01:36:33 Thanks & Community Appreciation
01:40:53 Postscript - Springbok rugby & music biographies
01:44:29 Final sign-off and thank you
And for the almighty algorithm:
#BookTube
#ReadingCommunity
#SouthAfricanLiterature
#BookDiscussion
#ReadingLife
#WorldLiterature
#BookishConversation
#SteveDonoghue
Hi! I'm Mike - this is Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance. Welcome! Celebrate my BookTube milestone with this in-depth BookTube Q&A marathon with Steve Donoghue, covering books, authors, South African literature, music lyrics as poetry, and some passionate literary debate. From Damon Galgut to Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Stoner, and Anthony Burgess, this wide-ranging conversation explores what we read, why we read, and how books shape a life. The conversation explores:
- Why some readers never reread books
- Childhood reading influences & storytelling
- Book buying in South Africa 🇿🇦 (local bookstores, Amazon, charity shops)
- Essential South African authors & books (Nelson Mandela, Damon Galgut)
- Agatha Christie, Frederick Forsyth & Wilbur Smith
- Organizing overflowing bookshelves (or not 😄)
- Whether song lyrics count as poetry (Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Jethro Tull & Gilbert & Sullivan)
- Reading, time, aging, audiobooks & literary legacy
- Heated but joyful debates on Stoner, The Turn of the Screw, and literary taste
- How to organize a massive personal library
- Greatest live concerts ever seen
- Book buying, book piles & “organized chaos”
- Reading habits, rereading, classics & unpopular opinions
- Living with monkeys, dogs & wildlife in South Africa
Authors Discussed
Wilbur Smith • Damon Galgut • Alan Paton • Nelson Mandela • Henry James • John Williams • Anthony Burgess • Alexandre Dumas • George Eliot • Jane Austen • Wilkie Collins • Bob Dylan • Paul Simon • Homer • Shakespeare • Chaucer • C.S. Lewis • Richard Dawkins • Christopher Hitchens • and many more.
Books mentioned :
The Cricklewood Dome - Alan Coren
Agatha Christie - all 88 books
Frederick Forsyth - The Day of The Jackal, the Odessa File, the Dogs of War
The Long Walk To Freedom - Nelson Mandela
The Promise - Damon Galgut
Indaba My Children - Credo Mutwa
Mhudi - Sol Plaatje
Native Life in South Africa - Sol Plaatje
Coconut - Kopano Matlwa
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
The Prisoner of Zenda - Anthony Hope
Rupert of Henzau - Anthony Hope
Adam Bede - George Eliot
Nothing Like the Sun - Anthony Burgess
Earthly Power - Anthony Burgess
If you love BookTube discussions, long literary conversations, classic books, cultural debate, or thoughtful disagreement, this video is for you.
📌 Subscribe for weekly videos on classic literature, global reading projects, and thoughtful BookTube discussions.
Questions kindly curated and presented by Steve Donoghue @saintdonoghue tomwhich I owe a great debt of gratitude.
Questions provided by the following wonderful people:
HANNAH @HannahsBooks
ALISON @alisontalksbooks
RANDY RAY @LiterateTexan
ANGELINA @700poodles
JULIE @juliehughes1258
DEREK @DerekGreen1
HEATHER @heathergregg9975
JOSEPH @JosephFrancisBurton
GARETH @bookssongsandothermagic
JAMES HOLDER @jamesholder13
CATHERINE @theliterarylatte
@ColoniaAgrippina2023
SHELLY @Shellyish
SANDRA @sandrahollins3520
SEAN @SeanPatrick-v1o
JACK @jackwalter5970
@Ell_tell
AARON @AaronReadABook
@jahhreads
@TrashToClassics
YouTube links to songs I want you to hear:
Blind Willie McTell - Bob Dylan
youtube.com/watch?v=_uf5gi3E_rQ
You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon
(marvel at Bakithi Khumalo's monstrous bass guitar lead break at 03:40 AND again ayt 04:32 )
youtube.com/watch?v=PS-sE9xCb-g
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction & 500+ Subscriber Milestone
01:43 My Dogs, BookTube & Personal Space
04:52 Childhood Reading, Why I Never Reread Books & Agatha Christie
09:07 Book Buying in South Africa - retail, online, Amazon & Bobshop
13:13 Ike's Independent Bookstore & Charity Shops
16:25 How I became a reader, Agatha Christie, Frederick Forsyth
21:45 The thinking behind Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance
27:00 Essential South African Books to understand South Africa
28:02 Why I love Damon Galgut’s “The Promise”
31:28 My "Read The Beloved Country" South African literature project
44:21 Organizing My Books & Bookcase Dreams
50:27 Lyrics as Poetry? (Jethro Tull)
52:12 Gilbert & Sullivan lyrics
54:02 I inflict Bob Dylan on Steve!
01:00:44 Paul Simon Lyrics as Storytelling
01:03:19 Greatest Live Concerts & meeting Paul Simon
01:09:24 Simon & Garfunkel in Amsterdam
01:11:58 How I Organize My Library
01:17:35 BookTube Influences & Starting the Channel
01:18:33 Unpopular Opinions (Turn of the Screw, Stoner)
01:22:53 Formative Reading in South Africa in the 60s & 70s
01:24:22 Favorite Books, Snacks & Meals
01:26:34 Wildlife, Monkeys & Living in South Africa
01:30:25 Politeness, Personality & BookTube Culture
01:32:09 Bringing Anthony Burgess back to life
01:36:33 Thanks & Community Appreciation
01:40:53 Postscript - Springbok rugby & music biographies
01:44:29 Final sign-off and thank you
And for the almighty algorithm:
#BookTube
#ReadingCommunity
#SouthAfricanLiterature
#BookDiscussion
#ReadingLife
#WorldLiterature
#BookishConversation
#SteveDonoghue
