Great African Reads discussion
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Welcome to new members!!... and introduction... if you want
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Hi! I just found this group. I've been an avid reader of books by African authors for a couple of years now. I've been reading mostly Nigerian and Ghanaian authors. I've lived in Ghana for a while and have visited several other African countries. I'm hoping to find more inspiration of different authors and books and especially a group I can engage with. Not a lot of people around me have any interest in reading diverse perspectives, especially those coming from Africa.
Mod
Welcome, Mellisa. We love having new members who enjoy African books!
I realised I've never introduced myself to the group and thought that still living in lockdown and having time to think I'd do it now. I was born in the US, have lived in the UK for 40 plus years. From my teens I've been interested in African music. Am ancient. I started reading African literature in the late 70's, early 80's when my local library began a paperback shelf for African authors.I think it was Penguin books over here that started publishing an African writer series. Read all the Achebe, Soyinka, and other great African writers s that I could get my hands on, then Gordimer and just continued. I didn't really start back on African literature per se until I found this group last year though I read many books by African writers in the meantime. I realised my experience of more modern African writers was sparse or non-existent and was so pleased to find you all. I dip in and out of the discussions to at least read the books and have been doing so for about a year, rarely comment, and am learning from you all.
Hi Ricki, pleased to see you visible here For a moment I thought I’d got FB and Goodreads mixed up :)
Mod
Oooh a long time reader of African Lit - cool! Hope you have fun finding new authors with the rest of us :)
Im Calla and just wanted to drop in and say hello.
Mod
Mod
Welcome to the group, Calla!
Akwaaba Everyone!My name is Kisha and I am a Jamaican-American woman and my husband is from Ghana. We live between Ghana and China at the moment but will be going home to Ghana in a year. I enjoy reading books about Africa and the diaspora. I hope to have some amazing discussions with you in the future!
I was wondering about the African Literature Goal Challenge. Is it just fiction books, or can you include non-fiction books also? Thanks very much.
Hi everyone! I'm Tamara. I am so happy to find this group. I'm currently working on a course on travel narratives and would love to include some from Africa (preferably by those with close connection to the continent), so if you have any suggestions, please let me know. I look forward to working my way through the lists of great books you have created!
The Adventurous Nun: Stories My Family Told Me: Biography of Sister Mildred Lungile MadlalaHi there, I am excited to join this group. I am a new South African author telling a stirring story about an african women that lived in several African countries.
More about the book:
The Adventurous Nun – Stories my family told me is a comprehensive biography of Sister Mildred Lungile Madlala, a Franciscan Missionary of Mary (FMM), born on Mistake Farm, KwaZulu-Natal south coast, South Africa. As a Sister, a nun, a Franciscan Missionary of Mary, she dedicated her whole life to God until the end. She wanted to tell her story to inspire, teach and motivate others. This book is written for anyone in the world, including people who do not belong to the Roman Catholic Church.
As a FMM, Sister Mildred worked and met people in many different countries including South Africa, Congo, Kenya, Mauritius, France, Upper Volta (Burkina Faso), Italy, Switzerland, England and Madagascar. She was a teacher by profession, and an interpreter as she was fluent in English, French and Swahili, and could converse in Italian, with isiZulu being her mother tongue. This biography is thus available in French, Swahili, and, importantly, in isiZulu, because she believed in communicating to people in their mother tongue.
Sister Mildred attended school at St Francis College Mariannhill with the late liberation struggle icon Steve Biko. In later life she wholeheartedly followed her calling as a nun which she first felt when she was just eight years old. Over the years she met and engaged with Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Otunga, and slept in the home of Mary of the Passion. Her adventurous journey with Jesus was not without danger, though; she was followed by a lion in Kenya, and survived the civil war in Zaire before finally succumbing to Covid-19 in Madagascar.
Although she didn’t spend much time with them, Sister Mildred’s love for her blood relatives never diminished. Throughout the book tales are woven of family interactions, to preserve the history of this family which produced such an extraordinary woman.
Practically, the book explains what a nun is as well as the work that nuns are involved in. When Sister Mildred was in Rome, she wrote about her life in the form of poems which are published here. In the book, she also shares lessons that she learnt throughout her journey.
It’s a stirring story of a woman’s passion for Jesus, but most of all for her passion to serve His people to the very best of her ability. Sister Mildred did this with alacrity until the very end.
Hi there, I am a new South African author looking forward to sharing, growing and learning in this group.
Hi everyone! I'm Danny, I'm new here. I am really pleased to find this group and I'm excited to get lots of interesting recommendations and connect and discuss with people.I've spent time living and working across Africa and now enjoying reading from authors on the continent which I've always wanted to do more of. This group is a great inspiration too!
Hello Everyone. I am Gracious Paul. I reside in Nigeria. Just been working on my book marketing over here. Judi Series is a crime series thriller. Hope to get reviews from this amazing community.
Hello, I hope you are all doing well. I am an African author. My name is Mahmoud Suleiman Abdi Dualeh. If you would like to look at my pages, I have some free stories on Wattpad and Inkitt. I also have my works up on Amazon. Here's my link address to check out my page on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Please let me know what you think about my work if you want. You can leave a review or simply rate it. You don't have to engage with my stories if my works don't seem enticing.
Anyways, I wish you all the best.
Mahmoud Suleiman Abdi Dualeh
Hello, I'm Joan from Kenya. I'm glad to find this group still active. Right now, I'm excited to read Lucky Girl by Irene Muchemi Ndiritu. Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu
Another Kenyan novel in my TBR list is The House of Rust by Khadija Abdalla Bajaber. Khadija Abdalla Bajaber
Nice to meet you all and happy reading!
Mod
Welcome to the group and thanks for sharing these interesting Kenyan novels with us.
Happy reading!
Pocket bio: Retired humanities teacher, residing in Tlaxcala, Mexico, with two dogs and six indoor cats. Passionate about literature, history, philosophy, classical music and opera, jazz, cinema, and similar subjects. Nostalgic guy. Politically centrist. BA in American Studies from Yale; MAs in English and Education from Boston University. Born in northern New Jersey. Have lived and worked in San Francisco, Chicago, northern Nevada, northeast Wisconsin, South Korea. More detail at Goodreads profile.
hi im new to the group, I am author/music artist from charlotte.check out my new book "Liquid Money".Liquid Money: LYQWYD MO{o}NEY
What is Money Exactly? Dive into the metaphysics of money and why it makes the world go round?
Mod
Welcome to the group - I hope you find some great books to read and share your thoughts with the rest of us. - you can start over here in the 'what are you reading'-thread https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Also please notice that any self-promotion should be kept to the assigned folder - over here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
Looking forward to reading with you all :)
Mod
Here is an overview of the group reads & activities:
Regional reads Nominations and Book discussions.
Buddy Reads Find someone to read along with!.
African Literature in Portuguese Portuguese Reads.
Share/discuss your current reading
All current polls Vote for the group reads here
Challenges, challenges, challenges!
Set up a personal challenge
Challenge: 50 Books By African Women That Everyone Should Read
African Lit TBR Takedown challenge
Bingo Challenge 2024
Hello! My name is Autumn Carolynn and I wanted to introduce myself! I had a goal to visit 30 countries in 30 years (I have a chapter specifically on Morocco!) I was a previous flight attendant, travel agent, and I am a travel photographer. I am launching my new book, Traveling in Wonder, which is about the 30 different countries, on February 24th. I am currently looking for ARC readers on a few sites!
https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review...
https://booksirens.com/book/GD3INU5/N...
https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/boo...
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/32via52r5j
Thank you so much for reading and have a great weekend!
Traveling in Wonder: A Travel Photographer's Tales of Wanderlust
Mod
My name is Autumn Carolynn and I wanted to introduce myself! I had a goal to visit 30 countries in 30 years (I have a chapter specifically on Morocco!) I was a previous flight attendant, t..."
Hi Autumn - welcome aboard if you are joining as a reader :)
- if you are just promoting as an author, please keep it to the folder 'promotion', thank you!
Hello everyone!I am Juuso, a 17 years old guy from Southern Finland and delighted to take part in this great community! I have a great interest in Africa and I find African literature to be some of the greatest pieces of literature so I am really looking forward to all the discussions I'll get to be a part of in the future!
Mod
I am Juuso, a 17 years old guy from Southern Finland and delighted to take part in this great community! I have a great interest in Africa and I find African literature to be some ..."
Welcome aboard! Check out the regional reads and the challenges to get started :)
hello group, my name is Claudia and I write from Italy. I have always been fascinated by the idea of learning through literature and I am interested in learning more about Sub-Saharan countries by reading.In 2024 I have started a personal project aimed at learning more of these literatures by reading books on literary criticism and history of literature and novels.
A sort of personal literature course :)
It is not easy because in Italy you do not find much and often things are published randomly. I started with Huit leçons sur l'Afrique (sorry, no English version available, I read the Italian translation).
In February in Italy this anthology was published: Africana: Viaggio nella storia letteraria del Continente (sorry, only Italian version available), which is organized as follows:
- Historic introduction for each period of time
- Short bio of author
- Short story of the author above
(for around five authors then it starts with the new period of history).
When available in Italy I read a novel by the author mentioned.
I now finished the first part, dedicated to the colonial times and will hopefully start the new one in September, on the beginning of independencies.
The book I would like to read in September is A Question of Power, that is no longer published in Italy, but I should be able to find it in the city library.
Sorry for the long introduction!
I am very happy for finding this group, I am sure I will find very interesting inputs :)
PS. My desire is also to connect travels to readings. So far I only visited South Africa as a tourist, but my current dream destination is Senegal. I hope I will be able to visit it sooner or later.
Hi, just joined here :)Hi Anetq, I recognize you from the Read Women group :) Didn't know you moderate this- cool!
I'm very interested in African reads. My first were only last year because someone handed down to me Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions trilogy. I read them back-to-back and they blew me away.
I'll pop over to the Bingo thread and share what I've read this year and I plan to read the Chinua Achebe current monthly read :) Funny, it was actually in my reading plans before I found this group.
Looking forward to learning and chatting books with you all.
Mod
Mod
Hi Anetq, I recognize you from the Read Women group :) Didn't know you moderate this- cool!
I'm very interested in African reads. My first were only last year because someo..."
And I REALLY enjoyed Nervous Conditions as well! Didn't get around to the third one yet, but at some point I will!
🌟 Hello Goodreads Community! 🌟I’m Terry Lister, the author of Let's Go to Gabon, Cameroon, and Namibia, and I’m reaching out for your assistance in adding some recent awards my books have received to the Goodreads lists.
Awards to Add:
🏆 Author Shout Reader Ready Award for Recommended Reads (2024)
Let's Go to Gabon, Cameroon, and Namibia
📚 Book Excellence Awards:
Immersed in West Africa – Finalist (2021)
A New Day Dawns – Finalist for Travel (2022)
Peace, Joy, and Love: Christmas in Africa – Finalist for Holiday (2023)
✨ Firebird International Book Awards:
Peace, Joy, and Love: Christmas Across Africa – Winner for Holiday (2023)
Let's Go to Gabon, Cameroon, and Namibia – Winner for Travel (2024)
If anyone could guide me on how to add these awards to the appropriate Goodreads lists, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your support!
Mod
I’m Terry Lister, the author of Let's Go to Gabon, Cameroon, and Namibia, and I’m reaching out for your assistance in adding some recent awards my books have receive..."
Hi Terry
Maybe ask in the Goodreads Librarian group if you are looking for technical help? And please keep any selvpromotion to the folder https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
But if you're here to read with us, welcome to the group?
Hello everyone! I joined the group a little while ago. I read widely from a variety of genres. I’ve read two of your recent group reads- The Moor's Account and The Shadow King, both excellent and engaging reads. Currently I’m reading Half of a Yellow Sun. Looking forward to more book recommendations from the group.
Hello everyone:) My name is Yuria, and I joined the group recently! Unfortunately, I have not read much African literature, and I decided to change it this year.
I currently have a challenge to read a book from every country in Africa, and I am steadily working my way! These are the books I am reading at the moment:
1. The Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt)
2. Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste (Ethiopia)
3. Guantanamo Diary by Mohamedou Salahi (Mauritania)
4. A girl is a body of water by Jennifer Nansubuga Nankumbi (Uganda)
I am open to any recommendations you might have, or if you'd like to chat!
Welcome Donna and Yuria!Palace Walk is one of my all-time favourites, Yuria!
The Shadow King is on my pile for this month, Donna. I hope I like it as much as you do!
Over the years, the group has read books set in most African countries, so a good place to start for recommendations is the Group Bookshelf, Yuria: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books... - the countries are listed on the left.
This thread should also give you ideas: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
Mod
Unfortunately, I have not read much African literature, and I decided to change it this year.
I currently have a challenge to ..."
Great challenge! I've been doing the same over a few years (and finished this year, Yay!) - that's how I found this group and ended up taking over the moderation. The group was originally reading Africa from A-to Z - so if you look in the archives (in Discussions) or check out the Group Bookshelf (books are tagged with country) you will find lots of suggestions from any African country. Or you can join us in the regional reads, where we read books from around the continent, one region at a time...
Mod
Over the years, the group h..."
Oh I see you already suggested the BookShelf - thank you!
Mod
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...
You can also take a look at the Nigerian shelf in our group bookshelf which you will find here:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...
Hope it helps!