"Surviving Your Serengeti" by Stephan Swanepoel

A first glance at this book may make readers think they are holding a creative self-help book that uses animal comparisons. Well, that's true, but only up to a certain degree. While there are many life tips and business strategies implemented on the pages, this book does not read like a work of non-fiction. Rather, there is a story. At the end of certain chapters, there are short synopses of "tips" for the reader. However, besides those, the reader is immersed into the Serengeti as they follow travelers in Africa being led by a charismatic and sagacious leader who not only shows them exotic animals but what traits the animals possess that help make them successful. While the setting is in Africa, Swanepoel is careful not to point out any races, which is nice. The animal descriptions are not incredibly detailed, but they do the job. As for the literary style, the writing flows very well and is suitable for its genre; if the "tips" were omitted and the spacing were worked out, this could be more of a novella or longer short story. Even though this is published by Thomas Nelson, it is not overtly religious at all, which is a bit sad. Anyway, at the end of the book, Swanepoel provides a link to his website where one can take a quiz to see which animal they are most like. I am apparently a graceful giraffe.