Great African Reads discussion
Welcome
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Welcome to new members!!... and introduction... if you want
Diane wrote: "Ken wrote: "Muphyn wrote: "Just wanted to say hello and welcome to the group to all people who have just join!Feel free to start discussing any book dealing with Africa at any time, or join in th..."
It was a posting to West Africa or Malawi, and the author of Livingstones Lake described the people as gentle and the country as serene and after some hard times in Nigeria, .....well I had no choice.
Ken Melber
Margaret wrote: "I am Margaret. I am now retired but in my work as a publisher (NISC) I travelled extensively in Africa. NISC is an academic publisher of bibliographic databases and academic journals focusing on Af..."I am Ken a retired headmaster who spent 11 years in Africa working in education for the UK government. I visited South Africa many times as part of my job in Malawi
Mod
Hi, Margaret! Welcome to the group! What is your favorite part of Africa to travel to?
I'm Joe, and I just joined. Also, I am going to give the Great African Reads Challenge a try this year.
Mod
Hi, Joe! Welcome to the group! I hope you will discover many great books and authors in your challenge.
Hallo everyone, I'm Verena, a German living in Western Germany (near the Dutch border). I only just joined because I would like to participate in the Great African Reads Challenge.My special interest is Mali and West Africa.
Mod
My special inter..."
Hi, Verena! Welcome to the group!
Hi, I'm Peterson Ojieson the author of the new non-fiction book:Finding Europe through Africa’s Deserts and Seas, tells about the story of a young African who had become disillusioned with situations in his home country of Nigeria, and the raging poverty in his immediate family, and as a result decided to migrate to Europe for economic reasons.
However, due to the lack of sufficient funds and other pre requisites, realizing his migration dreams legally, had seemed unrealistic. He therefore, opted to travel through the deserts and seas of Africa, onwards Spain via Morocco.
This book tells about the many perils and deaths, he survived in the course of this life-altering journey. You’d read about how the Author ended up at a cemetery, and stayed the night on a grave for lack of a shelter in the middle of nowhere, and how he helped a pregnant fellow traveller who had gone into labour in the desert deliver successfully.
The Author also tells about how he eventually crossed over into Europe, and soon realized the grass wasn’t greener on the other side after all, and how he ended up in the criminal underworld of online scamming of innocent victims to get rich quick, and the karma that followed his actions.
The story is a first-hand account of the Authors experiences and makes for an interesting read.
Hi, I'm Letitia Mason. I write novels on South Sudan and am looking for reading ideas, particularly from East Africa. I live near London and work part-time for Flame International, teaching on reconciliation conferences in South Sudan.
Mod
Hi, Letitia! Welcome to the group!
Mod
Finding Europe through Africa’s Deserts and Seas, tells about the story of a young African who had become disillusioned with situati..."
Hi, Peterson! Welcome to the group!
Hi, I'm Benjamin from Cologne in Germany. My English isn't great, sorry. :0( The reason I joined this group is a book which I'm currently reading: Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi. I read the German Edition: Süßwasser. It's one of the most stunning and extraordinary books I've ever come across. The author is from Nigeria and there's a lot of African folklore and mysticism in the book and I wish to know more about this fascinating continent and to read more of such amazing books. I also hope to maybe find a reading buddy for the title, as it's a challenging read about a girl with multiple personality disorder and it would be great to have someone to discuss the book with.
Benjamin, once you start reading african literature, is a no end. I'm totally absorbed and in love with some writers, and currently I'm reading Bessie Head, you should try, she is a fascinating writer :-)
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Kansas wrote: "Benjamin, once you start reading african literature, is a no end. I'm totally absorbed and in love with some writers, and currently I'm reading Bessie Head, you should try, she is a fascinating wri..."Thank you so much for your recommendation. I just had a look at the book on Amazon and it's totally my cup of tea. :0)
Hi all,Latetely I read more and more African (& diaspora) authors and I am always looking for inspiration and recommendations. My particular interest is Sierra Leone and West Africa.
I am from Germany but living in Rome.
Hello, I'm from Algeria, and I'm feeling like I'm missing a lot by not knowing the different works about the rich African cultures, so anything that you might recommend would be welcomed.
Mod
Hello, Houssem! Welcome to the group! I hope you will discover many new books and authors from Africa here.
Diane wrote: "Houssem wrote: "Hello, I'm from Algeria, and I'm feeling like I'm missing a lot by not knowing the different works about the rich African cultures, so anything that you might recommend would be wel..."Welcome Svea, Houssem and other new members. I've learned more about good African literature in this group and I think you will also. My last Africa read was Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga of Zimbabwe and I really liked it. My next will be one of our group reads for November-December, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah of Sierra Leone. I'm also going to read our other book for this time, So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba (of Senegal). Maybe you can join us in reading one of them.
Hey everyone. I am very new here. As an African author how do I add my book to the list of books from Liberia? My book is called Catching Ricebirds, A story of Letting Vengeance Go. Would love to discuss it in a forum like this one.
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I am very new here. As an African author how do I add my book to the list of books from Liberia? My book is called Catching Ricebirds, A story of Letting Vengeance Go. Would love to ..."
Hi, Marcus! Welcome to the group! I added your book to the bookshelf. I am also going to add it to the bookshelf in my other group. I wish you much success with your book.
Hello Everyone,I discovered this group yesterday while I was searching for African Lit from Eastern Africa. My last Africa read was "Tears of the Desert" by Dr. Halima Bashir.
I am currently very much interested in African non-fiction and will be reading a handful of those in 2019.
Happy new year!
Cheers.
Thank you and happy new year.Diane wrote: "Marcus wrote: "Hey everyone.
I am very new here. As an African author how do I add my book to the list of books from Liberia? My book is called Catching Ricebirds, A story of Letting Vengeance Go...."
Diane wrote: "Marcus wrote: "Hey everyone.
I am very new here. As an African author how do I add my book to the list of books from Liberia? My book is called Catching Ricebirds, A story of Letting Vengeance Go...."
Mod
I discovered this group yesterday while I was searching for African Lit from Eastern Africa. My last Africa read was "Tears of the Desert" by Dr. Halima Bashir.
I am currently ver..."
Welcome to the group, Sookie!
Hello All,I've been on Goodreads for a couple of years. I can't believe I have only just found you.
I was born in Iraq, raised in England (I haven't lost my British accent yet!), and have lived in the U.S. for the last 40 years. I'm a retired academic (18 years as a former professor of English; 4 years as an academic dean; and 5 years as the VP for Academic Services). My husband and I are empty nesters living in Kansas.
I've published a couple of books, two are non-fiction (one of which is a text for women in religion classes) and 3 novels. My novels are based on mythology. The latest one is the story of Gilgamesh of Uruk.
I saw you have a thread for book recommendations. I love African reads and have a ton of books I can recommend. I like to write reviews of books I read and post them on Goodreads to help me remember them. Is it ok to post a link to my Goodreads book reviews, or is that a no, no?
I'm looking forward to participating in discussions and getting lots of recommendations. I read The Fishermen not too long ago and really enjoyed it. I'll be picking up his An Orchestra of Minorities as soon as I can navigate my way through all this snow.
I'm glad I found you.
Mod
I've been on Goodreads for a couple of years. I can't believe I have only just found you.
I was born in Iraq, raised in England (I haven't lost my British accent yet!), and have lived..."
Hi, Tamara! Welcome to the group!
Tamara wrote: "Hello All,I've been on Goodreads for a couple of years. I can't believe I have only just found you.
I was born in Iraq, raised in England (I haven't lost my British accent yet!), and have lived..."
Welcome, Tamara!
Greetings to all!I've been in this group awhile but didn't get around to actively participating more until I became a senior in college. Since my initial join, I've visited Ghana & Rwanda soaking up plenty of knowledge & interest in the African experience to be followed by more. Whereas before, my exposure to African literature was limited to my class on African Women Writers, Sadaawi-Emecheta-Ba were the main references. Now, as a college senior and future peace corps volunteer, I'm interested to see other perspectives to explore in these one of a kind narratives, even if I prefer non-fiction.
If anyone wants recommendations on texts involving Rwanda & Ghana, shoot me a message! :)
Mod
I've been in this group awhile but didn't get around to actively participating more until I became a senior in college. Since my initial join, I've visited Ghana & Rwanda soaking..."
Welcome to the group, Austin!
Hi,Anyone who wants to read my new book: Career Limiting Moves: Ghetto Tuition, Corporate Ambition.
Please email me at faheemtareem@gmail.com
I am an African author and radio presenter. Originally from Cape Town and living in Johannesburg.
Synopsis:
‘Career Limiting Moves' follows 'Simon Evans' a clever and ambitious young man from ghetto on his journey through the growing BPO Call Center Industry in Cape Town, South Africa.
Coming from an impoverished background, Simon is optimistic and sees great opportunities for himself in this new industry. Simon dreams of becoming a CEO or a big Executive in the industry and having the charmed life of the ‘white people’ living in the affluent areas of Cape Town. Simon’s ambitious nature leads him to quickly accomplish great career jumps.
However envy, jealousy, office politics and power hungry managers are lurking at every corner make his journey to the top harder.
Simon uses his ghetto survival tactics whilst being tested by the industries morally corrupt ‘white collar’ thugs. Simon realizes that he is no longer in the ghetto, yet the 'corrupt racket' and daily 'fight for survival' is still the same. These ‘thugs’ may look respectable in their suits and fancy clothes, but they are not any different from the ‘thugs’ in the ghettos. Simon despises dishonesty, corruption and unfairness to his core. He might be from the ghetto, but he is an honest person and courageously fights the unfair policies which ‘Traders BPO’ had implemented and eventually beats them into submission; ghetto style.
With no degrees or formal studies in management, Simon teaches the Senior Managers of Traders BPO how to do their job and manage their people and call center effectively. Amazingly Simon saves the Call Center and Traders from losing the lucrative GiigaNet contract. Simon’s ideas earn Traders BPO new and continued business with GiigaNet. The ‘positive changes’ are used as a 'blueprint for BPO call center success' by ‘Traders BPO’.
Enter Todd Macintosh, the antagonist in the story. Todd is and power and money hungry Scotsman who quickly capitalizes on Simon’s ideas and grows his own career and reputation in the industry.
Now locked in a battle with fate to create his career and financial future the honest way; Simon has to deal with daily corrupt policies in his workplace.
Will Simon achieve his goals of wealth and corporate success? Will he be just as 'successful' as Todd was using his ideas? Or will the unfairness and injustice triumph over goodness?
‘Career limiting Moves’ explores the 'explosive' South African racial perceptions through the eyes of a ‘previously disadvantaged person’ 25 years after the fall of apartheid, in a 'no holds barred' exposé of corporate corruption. It gives the reader an insider view of the ghetto life, the BPO Call Center industry and challenges to race perceptions still prevalent in South Africa today.
Simon’s daily interaction with GiigaNet’s ‘white’ Australian staff and customers teaches him valuable lessons about race perception, ambition, greed, kindness, envy, justice, corporate values, corruption, motivation, psychology, his own heritage and his ultimate place in the grand scheme of things.
The authors who did best, however, did everything except pay for reviews: They gave away review copies, submitted to book review blogs and the mainstream press, sought popular reviewers on Amazon and asked their readers through email lists etc.
Hi everyone, I'm Dani and I live close to Hamburg/Germany. Like Diane I want to read (at least) one book from every country in the world but I'm far away from Diane's status. Here is my map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?...Currently I'm focussing on Africa because it's the continent I am most interested in. But somehow the books that I come across often come from the same few countries (mostly Nigeria) so I hope to find recommendations from other countries here. My personal rule for this challenge is that the author must live in the specific country or at least must have lived there for a long time. That doesn't make it easier. And the story must take place in that country. The reason is that I want to get an authentic image of the country and not the view of an outsider who just visited or lived there for a year or two.
Luna81de wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm Dani and I live close to Hamburg/Germany. Like Diane I want to read (at least) one book from every country in the world but I'm far away from Diane's status. Here is my map: https:..."Welcome Dani. You wrote " My personal rule for this challenge is that the author must live in the specific country or at least must have lived there for a long time." Mine is similar, I say they must have been born there and lived there at least til their teen years, though I have made exceptions for those who moved around a lot.
I looked at your map. I see you don't have any countries from Latin America or Asia yet on it- there are a lot of good books from those regions, but it's fine if you want to focus on Africa for now. I did the opposite and came to African literature sort of last. You haven't read any from Egypt yet? Good books I've read from Egypt are Distant View of a Minaret and Other Stories, Midaq Alley and Woman at Point Zero. From Ghana I liked The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born and from Senegal God's Bits of Wood and So Long a Letter. From Kenya the books of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o are interesting. These are all by writers native to the countries.
Mod
Glad you joined our group Dani. You can find lots of book suggestions and discussions. Feel free to join the group reads: we are now reading books from Eastern Africa (Kenya, Mauritius and Burundi) before heading to Northern Africa for July and August.
Mod
Hi, Dani! Welcome to the group! A few of the countries are really challenging. Here is my list of countries and authors read so far. Africa is toward the top.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Off topic, but I will be visiting the Hamburg area in a couple of weeks. Do you have any suggestions of things to see and do?
George wrote: "Luna81de wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm Dani and I live close to Hamburg/Germany. Like Diane I want to read (at least) one book from every country in the world but I'm far away from Diane's status. Here ..."Hi George, thanks for the recommendations! They all sound really good and I added most of them to my reading list. It's really not easy sometimes to find authors who apply to my rule so sometimes I make exceptions too.
True, I haven't read anything from Asia and Latin America yet, but I'm currently reading a book by an Indian author so there's a start. I suppose Latin America will be my next focus once I need a change from African literature.
Diane wrote: "Luna81de wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm Dani and I live close to Hamburg/Germany. Like Diane I want to read (at least) one book from every country in the world but I'm far away from Diane's status. Here ..."Wow, that is an impressive list! I'm sure I'll find many books on it that apply to my rule :)
Sure, I will send you some suggestions for Hamburg in a direct message.
edit: I just realised that I can't send you a direct message, so I post suggestions here.
1. Elbphilharmonie & Plaza: You've probably heard about our new opera house directly at the river Elbe. It has a platform from which you have a great view over the city and the harbour and the entry is free. You have to get a ticket at the register though but only to take care that not too many people are on the platform at the same time. The Elbphilharmonie is at U3 Baumwall.
2. Miniaturwunderland: Perfect for a rainy day: the world's largest model railway. It's really amazing, you should calculate at least 3 to 4 hours I think. You can get an impression on their website: https://www.miniatur-wunderland.de/ It's also located at U3 Baumwall.
2b. If you prefer something more exciting you can instead visit the Hamburg Dungeon which is next to the Miniaturwunderland.
3. Once you are already in that area you can enjoy some nice tea, British tea time (with scones of course) and other snacks at Meßmer Momentum café: https://www.messmer.de/messmer-momentum
4. If you don't want to spend tons of money on a harbour boat trip you can take one of the HVV ferries (HVV is the public transport system of Hamburg). They are included in the HVV AB tariff and leave every 15 minutes from Landungsbrücken and Elbphilharmonie (different lines and directions, you can take both to see different parts of Hamburg). If you want to go the beach take line 62 in direction Finkenwerder and leave at Neumühlen/Övelgönne. It's a roundtrip so you can also take it till Finkenwerder and leave at Neumühlen on the way back.
5. Next to Landungsbrücken you can find the old Elbtunnel. It used to be a tunnel for cars but now it's only open for pedestrians and bicycles. From the other side you have a nice view over the city.
6. If you want to watch cruise ships you can find the timetable here: https://www.hafen-hamburg.de/de/schif...
The AIDAsol leaves every Saturday at 6 pm. Good locations to see her pass by are Altonaer Balkon, the Dockland and the beach (see no. 4)
7. One romantic highlight is the Wasserlichtkonzert in the park Planten & Blomen: https://plantenunblomen.hamburg.de/wa... It's a fountain with a choreography and illumination to music. The concert starts every evening at 10 pm but usually it's quite full so you should be early (maybe for a picnic) to get a nice spot. You should bring a blanket to sit on. The entry is free. The closest stations are Stephansplatz and Dammtor, even closer are bus stations Universität/Staatsbibliothek and Hamburg Messe.
8. If you have time for a day trip you can take the train to Lübeck, Kiel (both at the Baltic Sea), Husum (at the North Sea) oder Lüneburg (no sea but a nice old town). Lübeck of course is the home of Heinrich and Thomas Mann and you can visit the Buddenbrook House. If you are more into a beach day you can take the ferry from Kiel Hauptbahnhof to Laboe.
I hope you find these suggestions interesting. If you need more information or in another subject (museums, sports, whatever) let me know.
Mod
Dani, this all sounds fantastic! Thanks so much for the suggestions. I prefer to get recommendations from the people who live there rather from the tourist guides, so this is awesome!
Hey everyone, glad to find this group! I'm reading the Penguin Mini Modern series and am on Chinua Achebe's volume now with one by Cyprian Ekwensi soon to follow, and I want to read my copy of These Bones Will Rise Again around the same time. History wise, I've read Roland Oliver's The African Experience (some mixed feelings but very informative) and sometime soon I want to read Precolonial Black Africa and The History of the Maghrib (both by authors native to the respective regions). I've been to Morocco twice in the last two years and read Laila Lalami's Secret Son before going the first time. She recommends a ton of books and authors in an interview at the end of that, and I want to read almost all of them, besides her own later book The Moor's Account. Looking forward to recommendations and discussions!
Diane wrote: "Luna81de wrote: "Diane wrote: "Luna81de wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm Dani and I live close to Hamburg/Germany. Like Diane I want to read (at least) one book from every country in the world but I'm far ..."You're welcome :) I hope you'll enjoy your time in Hamburg.
Cody wrote: "Hey everyone, glad to find this group! I'm reading the Penguin Mini Modern series and am on Chinua Achebe's volume now with one by Cyprian Ekwensi soon to follow, and I want to read my copy of [boo..."Hi Cody, welcome from another (sort of) Newbie! You have awesome reading plans! I haven't heard from all of them and will check them out.
Mod
Hi, Cody! Welcome to the group. Sorry for the late welcome. I have been traveling for the last few weeks with limited internet access. You have read some great books. I am hoping to get to Secret Son soon.
Hi everyone! My name is Tiffany. I have been working and living in West Africa for almost five years (brief stunts in Ivory Coast and Niger, and now in Mali), but recently realized that I was not reading much African literature, or books on Africa so I joined this group to change that fact.I am interested in fiction, non-fiction and memoirs and I read in English, French (my mother tongue) -- and a little bit in Spanish.
I'm looking forward to discovering some great books!
Mod
Welcome to the group, Tiffany! I hope you will discover many great books and authors.
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-> Please help us out over here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Thank you!
Has anyone read Dictates of the Heart by Nigerian author Chinyere Obinna Onwuchekwa? It is a beautifully written book and everyone should read it. It has a total of 5 stars from all reviewers. What do you think of it? Discussions, please?
Hi everyone, I'm Hannah, I'm from the UK and I love reading diverse perspectives from around the world. Due to health concerns reading is, for me, my main source of connection with others and the wider world so I hope to get some great inspiration from this group!
Hey there! Nice to have found this group! :) I've been looking at buying some African literature recently as my partner is part Nigerian, and I would love to surprise him with some books from his culture, and learn more about it myself as I do so. I believe his family are Yoruba; are there any recommendations on books you can give? Thanks! (:
Great African Reads
Books mentioned in this topic
The Shadow King (other topics)The Moor's Account (other topics)
Half of a Yellow Sun (other topics)
Huit leçons sur l'Afrique (other topics)
Africana: Viaggio nella storia letteraria del Continente (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Tsitsi Dangarembga (other topics)Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu (other topics)
Khadija Abdalla Bajaber (other topics)
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (other topics)
Yefon Isabelle (other topics)
More...
It's from the 60's I see- by looking it up (click on this: Livingstone's Lake you can see that it has only been read and rated 4 times on Goodreads. The readers mostly gave it 4 or 5 stars.
It was subtitled "The Drama of Nyasa". An apparently shortened version of it was published in the Geographical Journal in '67, which my university library has.