Shade Lapite's Blog, page 2

Video Review: Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad by Damilare Kuku

12 short stories about relationships make up this lively fiction collection. Cheating husbands, a mummy’s boy, an impotent husband, closeted men, life-long players – the stories analyse the various archetypes women are likely to encounter in the Lagos dating scene. I found the author’s wit and acerbic tone elevated this to pure gold!

Read more: Video Review: Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad by Damilare Kuku

Video Review: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

A baby girl is born in Japanese occupied Korea and the incredible twists and turns of her life used to illuminate the trials and triumphs of the human condition.

Min Jin Lee explores the legacy of imperialism through ordinary Koreans forced by circumstance to live in Japan. For me, this dazzling novel was about the children of colonialism and the search for belonging.

Video Review: Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury

Two young women desperate to escape their mothers find their lives intertwined with a strange mansion in Timmins, Ontario that harbours dark secrets.

This gripping horror / psychological thriller is told through two compelling narrators and has multiple layers of mystery that keep you guessing until the very end.

Video Review: I Almost Forgot About You by Terry McMillan

When Dr. Georgia Young realizes she’s stuck in ‘cruise’ mode with no target destination, she slams on the breaks and calls a time out to re-evaluate her life and the choices that have led her to it. Her daughters, ex-husbands, mother, colleague and best friends worry that she’s lost her mind, but Georgia is over prioritizing the opinions of others above her own. She commits to overhauling her life and being intentional about making choices that revitalize and feed her spirit. The death of a university crush also inspires her to seek out all men she has loved over the years with the goal of letting them know that they mattered.

Terry McMillan’s 2016 novel is a story of reinvention and second chances and it challenges all of us to consider whether we are living our most optimal life or simply going through the motions.

The 2023 Reading List

I started a ton of books in 2022 but finished only a handful. Here’s the (very short) list of completed books:

The Sweetest Remedy – Jane Igharo

XOXO – Axie Oh

Shine – Jessica Jung

Dread Nation – Justina Ireland

The Emma Project – Sonali Dev

The Comeback – Lily Chu

The Stand-In – Lily Chu

Pachinko – Min Jin Lee

My absolute favourites were Pachinko and The Comeback.

My reading theme for 2023 is ‘heartwarming’. Books that feature friendship, family, love, kindness and joy. On the surface that might sound painfully boring but I think some of the most popular stories resolve around these themes. I’d argue the Marvel films are so successful not just because of the super hero powers, hot actors and fiendish villains but because they’re a collection of stories about unlikely friendships and found families. Troubled people in search of peace and joy.

This year I’m not going to use the latest releases by Black authors as a starting point for my reading. Instead, Google tells me the 12 books below feature the themes I’m after so I’m going to give them try. No promises on finishing them though.

Swing Time – Zadie Smith

The Women of Brewster Place – Gloria Naylor

Silver Sparrow – Tayari Jones

Simone Breaks all the Rules – Debbie Rigaud

Blood Like Magic – Liselle Sambury

It’s Not All Downhill from Here – Terry McMillan

I Almost Forgot About You – Terry McMillan

Pride: A Pride & Prejudice Remix – Ibi Zoboi

With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Where the Rhythm Takes You – Sarah Dass

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine – Maika Moulite & Maritza Moulite

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute – Talia Hibbert

What’s on your reading list for 2023?

Video Review: The Comeback by Lily Chu

One of my favourite books this year has been ‘The Comeback’ by Lily Chu. It’s a sweet, romantic comedy about a workaholic, corporate lawyer – Ariadne Hui – whose life is upended when her roommate invites her gorgeous cousin to stay in their small apartment. Unknown to Ari, the quiet, artistic South Korean guy loafing on her couch is one of the biggest k-pop musicians in the world.

Lily Chu has created two compelling, charming characters whose growing relationship propels them to liberate themselves from the expectations of others and discover what they really want from life. It’s a joyful, thrilling ride of a story that I whipped through in record time.

Getting to Know West Africa – 3 Books I’m Reading

I’m on a mission to learn more about life in pre-colonial Africa. I’ve started with West Africa, specifically the Yoruba peoples and it is a fascinating journey so far. Here are three books I’ve been reading and how they come at the subject matter from different angles.

10 Black Books I plan to read in 2022

I haven’t read many books over the past few months. I’m not sure if my lack of motivation is down to the general busyness of life, the onslaught of one global crisis after another, the distracting influence of Korean dramas, or the general meh-ness that seems to have infected us all. Whatever the cause, I’ve found myself stuck in a silo, rereading my favourite authors and lacking the energy to try anything new.

It’s a cul-de-sac I’d like to escape. Like Whoopi, I’m ready to get back in the habit. To give myself a push I’ve selected 10 books that I’d like to read or listen to (hello audio books) in 2022. Since I’m obsessed with Black Joy, I’ve tried to choose titles that have more light than dark.

As I read I’ll come back and update this page with a short review of each book.

1. Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

Toronto-based teen, Voya Thomas has spent years waiting for her Calling—a trial every witch must pass to come into their powers. She is shocked when she fails the test and leaps at an unprecedented chance to retake it. When she learns the task requires she kill her first love she is horrified. However, if she refuses or fails, every witch in her family will be stripped of their magic. Can she find a way to fulfil the test requirements without killing her chance at love?

Liselle Sambury is a Trinidadian-Canadian YA author and vlogger from Toronto.

2. The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu

Ropa doesn’t have time to track down a missing child. She dropped out of school to become a ghost stalker and her work carrying messages from Edinburgh’s dead to the living is barely keeping a roof over the heads of her younger sister and grandmother. However, whispers suggest it’s not just one child missing, someone is sucking the life out of the neighbourhood kids and leaving empty husks. When Ropa starts investigating the disappearance she finds herself forced to call on her Zimbabwean magic as well as her Scottish pragmatism to survive the evil she uncovers, a darkness that will change her world.

T. L. Huchu (he/him) grew up in Zimbabwe but has lived in Edinburgh for most of his adult life. He is the author of The Hairdresser of Harare and The Maestro, The Magistrate and the Mathematician.

3. ‘Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?’ by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

Yinka is a thirty-something, Oxford-educated, British Nigerian woman with a well-paid job, good friends, and a mother whose favourite question seems to be: “Yinka, where is your huzband?”

The discomfort of Yinka’s singledom is compounded by:

aunties who pray incessantly for herwork friends who complain Yinka’s no sex rule is a turn-off for potential matesgirlfriends who think she needs to get over her exthe uninspiring men in her life…

Despite the difficulties, Yinka is confident true love will find her eventually. When her cousin announces her engagement, Yinka decides to go full tilt after her dreams and launches Operation Find-A-Date for the wedding.

Author, Lizzie Damilola Blackburn was born and raised in London. She is a British-Nigerian writer who endured years of ‘where is your husband?’ questions before meeting her partner.

4. The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo

Hannah Bailey has never known her father, the Nigerian entrepreneur who had a brief relationship with her white mother. When he dies, she’s invited to Nigeria for the funeral. Though she wants to hate the man who abandoned her, it’s a chance to learn more about her Nigerian identity so she boards a flight to Lagos, Nigeria.

In Banana Island, one of Nigeria’s most affluent areas, Hannah meets the Jolades, her late father’s prestigious family–some who accept her and some who think she doesn’t belong. During the chaotic days leading up to the funeral, secrets unfold, Hannah discovers a culture she never thought she would understand or appreciate, and meets a man who steals her heart and helps her to see herself in a new light.

Jane Igharo was born in Nigeria and immigrated to Canada aged twelve. She has a journalism degree and works as a communications specialist and voice over actress.

5. Black Girls Must Be Magic by Jayne Allen

In part two of the Black Girls Must Die Exhausted series Tabitha Walker discovers she is pregnant. She throws herself into the world of “single mothers by choice” juggling her job, doctor’s appointments, and baby plans. She’s soon exhausted and that’s before her boss at the local news station starts getting complaints from viewers about her natural hair.

When an unexpected turn of events draws her ex-boyfriend back into her world, and the situation at work deteriorates further, Tabitha has to make some tough decisions about her and her baby’s future.

Jayne Allen is the pen name for Jaunique Sealey, a graduate of Duke University and Harvard Law School. Outside of writing, Jayne is a serial entrepreneur and a Harvard-trained attorney and engineer.

6. Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle

At seventeen Prince Jones has his own segment on Detroit’s popular hip-hop show, Love Radio, where he dishes out advice to the brokenhearted.

Dani isn’t checking for anybody. She’s focused on her plan: ace senior year, score a scholarship, and move to New York City to become a famous author. But her college essay keeps tripping her up and acknowledging what’s blocking her means dealing with what happened at that party a few months ago.

When the romantic DJ meets the ambitious writer, sparks fly. Prince is smitten, but Dani’s not looking to get derailed. She gives Prince just three dates to convince her that he’s worth falling for.

Ebony LaDelle is a marketer by day and storyteller by night.

7. Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, told the story of Sogolon the Moon Witch and Tracker as they battled to find a missing boy across a mythical African landscape. The highly anticipated sequel presents Sogolon’s version of events. It traces the 177 year-old-witch’s triumphs and failures as she searches for the boy, her reasons for challenging Aesi, the powerful chancellor to the king and the resulting century-long feud.

It’s part adventure tale, part chronicle of a formidable woman who bows to no man.

Marlon James is an award-winning Jamaican writer. He is the author of five novels: John Crow’s Devil, The Book of Night Women, A Brief History of Seven Killings, Black Leopard, Red Wolf, and Moon Witch, Spider King.

8. In Every Mirror She’s Black by Lola Akinmade Åkerström

Three Black women find their lives linked to the same influential white man in Stockholm.

Successful marketing executive Kemi Adeyemi has been lured from the U.S. to Sweden by Jonny von Lundin, CEO of the nation’s largest marketing firm, to help fix a racially tone-deaf campaign. Kemi sees the move as a final effort to salvage her love life.

A chance meeting with Jonny in business class propels former model-turned-flight-attendant Brittany-Rae Johnson into a life of wealth, luxury, and privilege. Is she being fetishized? Should she care?

Refugee Muna Saheed works hard cleaning the toilets at Jonny’s office as she tries to establish her residency in Sweden and find a place to call home.

Lola Akinmade Åkerström is a Nigerian-American author, speaker, and photographer based in Sweden.

9. Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tola Okogwu

Onyeka has a lot of hair – the kind that makes strangers stop in the street. She’s always felt uncomfortable with her copious curls, until she makes an important discovery: she can control her hair with her mind!

Her mother swiftly dispatches her to the Academy of the Sun, a school in Nigeria where Solari – children with special powers – are trained. But Onyeka and her new friends soon have their powers tested when they find themselves caught in a momentous battle between truth and lies . . .

Tọlá Okogwu is a British-Nigerian Children’s Author and Hair Care Educator.

10. Wahala by Nikki May

Ronke is dating Kayode and is dreaming of babies and forever. Her friends think he’s just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends.

Boo has everything Ronke wants—a kind husband, gorgeous child. But she’s frustrated, unfulfilled, plagued by guilt, and desperate to remember who she used to be.

Simi lives a charmed life. No one knows she’s crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her “urban vibe.” Her husband thinks they’re trying for a baby. She’s not.

When the close knit friendship is first infiltrated by the charismatic, glamorous Isobel she seems to bring out the best in each woman. But the more Isobel intervenes, the more chaos she sows, and soon the friendship begins to crack.

Born in Bristol and raised in Lagos, Nikki May is Anglo-Nigerian. Her debut novel WAHALA is due to be turned into a major TV serial.

Are you planning on reading anything new this year? Share in the comments.

Video Review: 7 Days in June by Tia Williams

7 Days in June comes from former beauty editor Tia Williams. I have gushed about her novels before and this new release deserves nothing but accolades. It is a second chance romance about two successful writers – Eva Mercy and Shane Hall – who survived brutal childhoods, an epic romance that ultimately crashed and burned in their teens, and now need to survive a reunion that has rekindled feelings hot enough to incinerate a rainforest. the novel is funny, modern, powerfully moving and delicious as cake on a beach at sunrise.