Great African Reads discussion

Joining the TBR takedown challenge this year, trying to get to read books that collect dust on my shelves and hoping to advance on the 50 books by African women.

1. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin
2. Efuru by Flora Nwapa
3. The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif
4. Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire
5. Black Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed
6. The Spider King's Daughter by Chibundu Onuzo
7. African Love Stories: An Anthology by Ama Ata Aidoo
8. Our Sister Killjoy by Ama Ata Aidoo
9. Distant View of a Minaret and Other Stories by Alifa Rifaat
10. On Black Sisters Street by Chika Unigwe
11. Butterfly Burning by Yvonne Vera
12. Everything Good Will Come by Sefi Atta
13. Patchwork by Ellen Banda-Aaku
14. The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
15. Secret Son by Laila Lalami
16. Sundowners by Lesley Lokko
17. Bitter Leaf by Chioma Okereke
18. This September Sun by Bryony Rheam
19. Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila
20. Desertion by Abdulrazak Gurnah
21. Mali Blues - Je chanterai pour toi by Lieve Joris
22. Le génocide voilé: Enquête historique by Tidiane N'Diaye
23. Mandela's Way: Fifteen Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage by Richard Stengel
24. Il n'y a pas de petite querelle : Nouveaux contes de la savane by Amadou Hampâté Bâ

Great list, Wim. I bought Le genocide voile a few months ago and am really keen to read it.

Brilliant list. Lots of great titles

Just started my Jan read which is Desertion. I bought it a couple of years ago when it was a group read, but it arrived with delay and I never got to reading it.

I finished Desertion by Abdulrazak Gurnah and liked this heartbreaking book of two connected love stories in 1899 and the 1950s in and around Mombasa and Zanzibar. Here is my review.

In February, I'll be reading Black Mamba Boy.

I finished Black Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed and liked this novel on the incredible journeys her father made as a child, in the 1930-40s Horn of Africa. Here is my review.

Just finished March's read: Bitter Leaf, the wonderful debut novel of Chioma Okereke. See my review here.

Wasn't sure to be able to finish the 685 pages of Lesley Lokko's Sundowners before the end of the month when I picked it up less than a week ago. Couldn't put it down! Here is my review.

Wow - sounds amazing!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!!

Wim wrote: "Wasn't sure to be able to finish the 685 pages of Lesley Lokko's Sundowners before the end of the month when I picked it up less than a week ago. Couldn't put it down!..."

I'll need to move this one up on my reading list!

I finished May's read The Spider King's Daughter by the young Nigerian author Chibundu Onuzo. You can find my review here.

And in June I read the beautiful short poetry debut Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth of Somali author Warsan Shire.
July will be for Ama Ata Aidoo's Our Sister Killjoy. It enjoyed her book Changes: A Love Story, so I am looking forward to this one as well!

Finished my July read Our Sister Killjoy, another short and insipiring read!

Finished number 18 for August: This September Sun, a pleasant and flowing read on the coming of age in white post-dependence Zimbabwe.

Finished number 10, On Black Sisters Street, is an impressive novel, on the tragic lifes of four young women that end up as prostitutes in Antwerp.

This on my never-ending TBR list and it look really good.

Carolien wrote: "This on my never-ending TBR list and it look really good."

It was on my TBR list for years. I can really recommend it!

Interesting how this game evolves isn't it - I have many of your books on my TBR, but have only read Desertion and your June/July reads. Well there is always next year :)

Forgot to update this last month, when I finished Mali Blues - Je chanterai pour toi by Lieve Joris (number 21, short review here).

I just finished the last book of this challenge, number 13 that is, Patchwork by Ellen Banda-Aaku (very short review here).

I enjoyed this challenge as it made me read books that were waiting on my shelves for a long time and allowed me to make good progress on the 50 books by African women challenge (read 30 out of 49 so far). I definitely will participate in this challenge in 2021, am already thinking of the list to propose.

Well done! I agree with you that these challenges pushes us to make progress and in my case, to read beyond my comfort zone. I've got Patchwork on my list for next year.

Congrats!!! I am also looking forward to participating in this challenge in 2021 and have already got my list ready :))) I have On Black Sisters Street on my list.