Dana's comments (member since Jan 16, 2009)

Dana's comments from the Great African Reads group.

AJ wrote: "Dana,

You're going to have a great time in Tanzania. Have you decided which park/s to visit?

I read "Tales from Tanzania" which is hilarious. I would recommend reading it while on safari, or..."

Hi AJ,
Thanks for the book tips!
We are going to Serengeti, Tarangire, Ngorongoro crater, Olduvai gorge, Lake Manyara, and then Zanzibar!
My husband and I are ridiculously excited. He's reading John Reader's tome, and I'm reading Martin Meredith, though both are about the entire continent. I don't think we are going to make it through those, we might want to pause and read Tales from Tanzania instead. We also recently picked up a zoom lens so are going to the zoo soon to practice!

What did you think Marieke?

Melanie, that sounds like a great idea to compare native vs. non-native authors!

Shiloh wrote: "Also, I do agree that either going, or having been to a place greatly affects your choices in books and how they effect you. Whenever i read something about Botswana, it speaks to my heart in a wa..."

Wow Shiloh, you've been to so many places!
We did decide on Tanzania. We are going with Tanzania Odyssey for the tour operator after inquiring with 8 different operators. We'll be there in August. I'm so excited!
We've been watching a lot of National Geographic DVDs and reading books. Do you have any Tanzania related books to recommend?

Can we read multiple books over a one month period for Cameroon? How many people think they can pull that off if we pick books that are readily available for most?
Do we need a poll?

Manu wrote: "Shoshanapnw, I suggested skipping Burundi because I couldn't find a single work by a Burundian in English. If you're all happy to read non-African views of the country, so be it. "



David Nivonzima and Gilbert Tuhabonye are both Burundian and have written non-fiction about the recent history. Both books are available in English. I like the idea of not skipping countries because it forces me to learn more about each place even in the search to find books about it.

I would prefer to read from a native viewpoint, but don't have a preference for fiction or non-fiction. I think both can be enlightening.

* Unlocking Horns Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Burundi by David Nivonzima
Per Amazon.com: "David Niyonzima is superintendent of Burundi Yearly Meeting of Friends." He is FROM Burundi and lives there now. A short bio can be found here:
http://www.barclaypress.com/bpauthors.ph...

Gilbert Tuhabonye is from Burundi and I think might be better than reading the Robert Krueger book about the US Embassy. Tuhabonye no longer lives in Burundi.

In between Agotime and When Rain Clouds Gather, I read
Whatever You Do, Don't Run True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide,
Fodor's The Complete African Safari Planner, 1st Edition With Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa & Tanzania, and
The History of Love A Novel.
Right now I'm working on Sin Boldly A Field Guide for Grace which I think I picked up from one of Andrea's lists. Thanks Andrea. It's about how grace can be found everywhere and anywhere and that it's probably better to be noticing it than debating about it theologically.


Have you seen Rabbit Proof Fence Muphyn? Its interesting how "native" populations have been treated on various continents.

Andrea wrote: "I've just started Rain Clouds and find it interesting how much closer Head's style seems to "conventional" Western novel style than any of the others we've read. "

I had that same thought Andrea. She's originally from South Africa and moved to Botswana as an adult. I think that also gives her a different perspective in writing about the Motswana. I wasn't sure what year the fictionalized events were supposed to be taking place. It seems to be after independence but my book has a publication date of 1968. Botswana gained independence in 1966. That's a pretty narrow window.

Has anyone been to both Tanzania and Botswana? My husband and I are in disagreement of which one to visit for safari purposes.

I know it's Feb 1st, but this was such an easier read compared to last month it only took a day. I won't write my thoughts out just yet, but as soon as someone has read it, please post so I know you are out there!

Great point Andrea!

I also suspect what is taught now is different from my education. Kids already learn mathematics at an accelerated rate compared to when I was in elementary.

But it really is dependent upon your point of view and current cultural vantage point. In Agõtĩme they were sold by their own countrymen. There is mention of others such as the Englishman and Brazilians, but I don't remember any colonial talk at the beginning. Does anyone know if Dahomey was occupied at that time?
I'll try to look it up.

Despite the difficulty which is likely due to my current culture, I liked that it was different. It also made me pay more attention to the history of slavery and the geography of that particular region of Africa. Benin was named so because it was felt to have less of a negative history than the name Dahomey which was more associated with the slave trade. They picked it from the already named Bight of Benin (which is the bay there). I think I read that on wikipedia.
We don't learn much about world history in public education in the US. We get generally one year for all of world history (which usually starts with the Tigris and Euphrates) and we get over 2.5 years of American history (starting just a bit before Columbus). So even though I knew there is an Afro-Brazilian population with a variety of cultural influences, it did not overtly occur to me that was due to previous slave trading. Ignorance yes.
I think this book will actually give me more context in reading the history books by John Reader and Martin Meredith. Then I'd probably get even more out of Agõtĩme.

ps. I've gotten much better at African geography since joining this group by using this website:
http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/a...
and we went to the zoo this weekend and I could name the country of origin based on the highlighted portion of an outline of Africa! That was fun. Put it more into context.

I just finished it. There may be spoilers.


I was less confused by her refusal to return to Dahomey, (perhaps because I did go ahead and read your comment, Andrea, so knew it was coming), than I was surprised that she didn't stay in San Luis. For me, the chapter entitled "Rosinha's Shanty" was the point that she truly realized she is her own agent. Though she was strong-willed throughout the book, she became unchained in that chapter to the point that she was no longer bound to the destiny of returning to Dahomey.

It wasn't the easiest read. The Oddysey was at times comparatively easier. Sometimes I had trouble following what was going on. I'm looking forward to books that might be more explicit (though perhaps less poetic) in the explanations of ritual and anima.

The poll has enough to choose from. I had a hard time deciding between Malidoma Patrice Somé's books, then adding on Sobonfu Somé's as well.
Sankara's, Englebert's and Nnaji's books would be good for history but all 4 are harder to obtain. Even though I suggested Chernoff's, I think reading both volumes would make sense.

PS. My husband and I have been watching a lot of DVDs...older National Geographic, IMAX and Planet Earth. The new National Geographic Africa has been good so far (we are on the first disc) as it at least shows Nairobi and has humans in the series. Most other DVDs focus on animals (which has been good too but misses the culture).

PPS. I'm very happy this group is on Goodreads! And even happier that its an active group!

Shoshanapnw wrote: "I hear you, but I guess what I'm saying is that I don't know how we'd know there was interest without the poll. Maybe there's usually more talk before the poll? I don't know. I do know that Some is..."


Which Some?
Sobonfu Some
or
Malidoma Some

Marieke wrote: "Dana wrote: "Hello all,
I am also new to this group and new to reading about Africa as well as fairly new to reading African authors. (I've only read one book by Coetzee and one by Achebe.) I've ..."

After I wrote that I came across this:
http://www.africanwriter.com/articles/5/...

Which is just a short story of Maik Nwosu coming to the US and his initial experiences.

Of course, The Namesake! How did I miss that recent one!

I know a past thread has stated there should be a new thread started for discussing the book of the month, but there isn't one and no activity here. I'm just curious where people are in Agotime? I finally got it from the library and am at the beginning but hope to finish it in the next 9 days!

I don't know if this was already here, but I followed Shoshana's thread of Books of the World challenge in the Straight Dope GR group and came upon these links in Julie's comment. They might be helpful for us to come up with authors for polling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Afr...
http://www.africanwriter.com/authors

Muphyn,

We are looking at Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana, though not all three in one trip. Tanzania for sure but then to Kenya (how is the war going) or to Botswana (clear in the other direction). We are aiming for July/August for the migration though the prices are higher :(
We are also trying to figure out the eco-culturally friendly way to be tourists on safari.

I read you've been to Tunisia and SA.