Great African Reads discussion

I was curious today so I made a list of the books I've read by country in Africa. I wasn't sure where to put it so I placed it as a comment on my profile. Has anyone else done this? How far have you gotten past the Tour d'Afrique?

It was interesting to see it laid out regionally. I've read at least one book for almost every country in North Africa and the Horn, and for about half the countries in West Africa. The southern half of the continent, though, not so much.

My list.

This could be a nice thread for sharing that information. Why don't you post yours here and others can follow?

Sure. Here goes:

North Africa & Horn
Algeria
- Women of Algiers in Their Apartment
- A Wife for My Son
Chad
Djibouti
Egypt
- Distant View of a Minaret and Other Stories
Eritrea
Ethiopia
- The Chains of Heaven: An Ethiopian Romance
- The Barefoot Emperor: An Ethiopian Tragedy
- Amedeo: The True Story of an Italian's War in Abyssinia
- Ethiopia: Power and Protest: Peasant Revolts in the Twentieth Century
- The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
- The Emperor
Libya
- South From Barbary: Along the Slave Routes of the Libyan Sahara
- [book club 2013]
Morocco
- Dreams Of Trespass: Tales Of A Harem
- [book:Scheherazade Goes WestGirlhood|177335]
- [book club 2013]
Somalia
- The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity
- Desert Dawn
- Links
Sudan
- Darfur: A Short History of a Long War
Tunisia
- Tunisia: A Journey Through a Country That Works
Western Sahara

West Africa
Benin
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
- The Radiance of the King
Cape Verde
Cote D'Ivoire
- Aya
Gambia
Ghana
- The Prophet of Zongo Street: Stories
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Liberia
- This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President
Mali
- Segu
- Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa
- Women Farmers In Africa: Rural Development In Mali And The Sahel
- Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (Longman African Writers Series)
- [book club 2013]
Mauritania
- [book club 2013]
Niger
Nigeria
- Aké: The Years of Childhood
- A Month and a Day: A Detention Diary
- The Joys of Motherhood
- Things Fall Apart
- Anthills of the Savannah
Senegal
Sierra Leone
- Women and Collective Action in Africa: Development, Democratization, and Empowerment
Togo

Central Africa
Angola
- Another Day of Life
Burundi
Central African Republic
Congo, Democratic Republic of (Kinshasa)
- King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa
- A Bend in the River
Congo, Republic of (Congo-Brazzaville)
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon
Rwanda
São Tomé and Príncipe
South Sudan
Zambia
- Musungu Jim And The Great Chief Tuluko

East and Southern Africa
Botswana
Comoros
Kenya
- Petals of Blood
- Weep Not, Child
- Replenishing the Earth: Spiritual Values for Healing Ourselves and the World
- Unbowed
- My Maasai Life: From Suburbia to Savannah
Lesotho
- Singing Away the Hunger: The Autobiography of an African Woman
Madagascar
- [book club 2013]
Malawi
- [book club 2013]
Mauritius
- [book club 2013]
Mozambique
Namibia
- Namibias Liberation Struggle: The Two-Edged Sword
Seychelles
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanzania
- The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories
- Freedom & Socialism Uhuru Na Ujamaa
Uganda
Zimbabwe

Thanks Millicent! This is a great resource.
and it reminds me i need to update our "Where We've Been" thread. ;)

Which of these have been your favorites?

Great list- and what a fun idea to make it!

One suggested change- I think that Things Fall Apart and Anthills of the Savannah are both Nigeria- at least Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria.

Elizabeth wrote: "Great list- and what a fun idea to make it!

One suggested change- I think that Things Fall Apart and Anthills of the Savannah are both Nigeria- at least Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria."

OH YEAH. Thanks! *sheepish*

Marieke wrote: "Which of these have been your favorites?"

No specific favorite (maybe Ethiopia?) but it certainly makes a difference reading multiple books from different perspectives about any one place.

i have only read one of your ethiopia books...

now i'm inspired to put together my own list like this. :)

Here's mine, following Millicent's format. My rule is that the author [or narrator if it's an ethnography] has lived in the country for at least two years if it's possible to find something. In some cases it hasn't been so I'll continue substituting new books as I encounter them. Benin is my last book left for Africa.

North Africa & Horn
Algeria: Yasmina Khadra: In the Name of God
Chad: Joseph Brahim Seid: Told by Starlight in Chad
Djibouti: Abdourahman Waberi: In the United States of Africa
Egypt: Sana Hasan: Enemy in the Promised Land: An Egyptian Woman's Journey into Israel
Eritrea: Senait Mehari: Heart of Fire: From Child Soldier to Soul Singer
Ethiopia: Dinaw Mengestu: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
Libya: Hisham Matar: In the Country of Men
Morocco: Malika Oufkir: Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail
Somalia: Fadumo Korn with Sabine Eichhorst: Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival
Sudan, Republic of the: Tayeb Salih: Season of Migration to the North
Tunisia: Aïcha Ben Abed: Tunisian Mosaics: Treasures from Roman Africa
Western Sahara: Thomas Hollowell: Allah's Garden: A True Story of a Forgotten War in the Sahara Desert

West Africa
[Benin: Olympe Bhely-Quenum: Snares Without End]
Burkina Faso: Malidoma Patrice Somé: Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman
Cameroon: Calixthe Beyala: The Sun Hath Looked Upon Me
Cape Verde: Germano Almeida: The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araújo
Cote D'Ivoire: Kouassi P. Soman: Abongui My People Cote D'Ivoire My Country America My Home: The Ethno-History of a Small African Kingdom
Gambia: Phyllis Wheatley: Poems on Various Subjects: Religious and Moral
Ghana: Ama Ata Aidoo: Our Sister Killjoy, or Reflections from a Black-eyed Squint
Guinea: Camara Laye: The Dark Child: The Autobiography of an African Boy
Guinea-Bissau: Amílcar Cabral: Revolution in Guinea: Selected Texts
Liberia: Helene Cooper: The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood
Mali: Kris Holloway: Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali
Mauritania: Samuel Cotton: Silent Terror: A Journey into Contemporary African Slavery
Niger: Paul Stoller: In Sorcery's Shadow: A Memoir of Apprenticeship among the Songhay of Niger
Nigeria: Amos Tutuola: The Palm-Wine Drinkard
Senegal: Ken Bugul: The Abandoned Baobab: The Autobiography of a Senegalese Woman
Sierra Leone: Ishmael Beah: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Togo: Tété-Michel Kpomassie: An African in Greenland

Central Africa
Angola: Ondjaki: Good Morning Comrades
Burundi: Gilbert Tuhabonye and Gary Brozek: This Voice in My Heart: A Genocide Survivor's Story of Escape, Faith, and Forgiveness
Central African Republic: Makombo Bamboté: Daba's Travels from Ouadda to Bangui
Congo, Democratic Republic of (Kinshasa): Larry Devlin: Chief of Station, Congo: Fighting the Cold War in a Hot Zone
Congo, Republic of (Congo-Brazzaville): Alain Mabanckou: African Psycho
Equatorial Guinea: Donato Ndongo: Shadows of Your Black Memory
Gabon: Daniel Mengara: Mema
Rwanda: Paul Rusesabagina with Tom Zoellner: An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography
São Tomé and Príncipe: Donald Burness: Ossobó: Essays on the Literature of São Tomé and Príncipe
South Sudan, Republic of: Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak, Judy A Bernstein: They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan
Zambia: Josh Swiller: The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa

East and Southern Africa
Comoros: Samantha Weinberg: A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth
Kenya: Wangari Maathair: The Challenge for Africa
Lesotho: Mpho M'Atsepo Nthunya & K. Limakatso Kendall: Singing away the Hunger: The Autobiography of an African Woman
Madagascar: Fanj Andriamialisoa, Ian Sinclair, & Olivier Langrand: A Photographic Guide to the Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands: Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion and the Comoros
Malawi: Paul Tiyambe Zeleza: Smouldering Charcoal
Mauritius: Nathacha Appanah: Blue Bay Palace
Mozambique: Lina Magaia: Dumba Nengue: Run for Your Life: Peasant Tales of Tragedy in Mozambique
Namibia: Neshani Andreas: Purple Violet of Oshaantu
Seychelles: Jennifer Toussaint-Cali & A. Nathalie Essomba: Meet Vannah of the Seychelles
South Africa: Alan Paton: Cry, The Beloved Country
Swaziland: Sarah Mkhonza: Weeding the Flowerbeds
Tanzania: Tepilit Ole Saitoti: The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior
Uganda: Doreen Baingana: Tropical Fish: Tales from Entebbe
Zanzibar (semi-autonomous region of Tanzania): Emily Ruete [Sayyida Salme]: Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar
Zimbabwe: Alexander McCall Smith: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Elizabeth wrote: "Great list- and what a fun idea to make it!

One suggested change- I think that Things Fall Apart and Anthills of the Savannah are both Nigeria- at least Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria."

That's correct.