Great African Reads discussion
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Sounds like we will have an exciting time and I am looking forward to the discussions.At this time - I do not have specific ideas on how to organize our Nigeria in 2015 tour other than the basic one of doing in chronological order. Maybe after we have read the two overview books we will have ideas on how to organize, where our interests are, and where we want to delve into more.
That's kind of what I'm thinking, too, Beverly. I'll note down ideas as they come to me and share them here and I hope others will as well.
Sounds great. it would be really good if we had a variety of authors from all walks of Nigerian life - Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba and other groups
That's what I'd like too, Laura. I don't want any one area or group to dominate the year. It's such a diverse country.
i'm going to set up threads for our first two books. I'll label them January since that is when we will begin, but we can figure out "schedules" later. I'm hoping these first two books will inspire us and guide our year-long adventure.
Marieke wrote: "i'm going to set up threads for our first two books. I'll label them January since that is when we will begin, but we can figure out "schedules" later. I'm hoping these first two books will inspire..."Thanks for setting up the threads!
My library has both and I'm ready to start whenever!
I was reading an email regarding what I thought was an interesting subject for essays.A groundbreaking new series from Restless Books called The Face, in which a diverse group of writers takes readers on a guided tour of that most intimate terrain: their own faces.
It turns out that Chris Abani is one of the authors.
The Face: Cartography of the Void.
In The Face: Cartography of the Void, acclaimed poet, novelist, and screenwriter Chris Abani has given us a brief memoir that is, in the best tradition of the genre, also an exploration of the very nature of identity. Abani meditates on his own face, beginning with his early childhood that was immersed in the Igbo culture of West Africa. The Face is a lush work of art that teems with original and profound insights into the role of race, culture, and language in fashioning our sense of self. Abani’s writing is poetic, filled with stories, jokes, and reflections that draw readers into his fold; he invites them to explore their own “faces” and the experiences that have shaped them.
I enjoyed this 56 page essay and especially as he informs of the concept of beauty in Igbo.
i decided to poll for featured authors instead of specific books...if we end up not liking this format, we can change it up!I just figure we will be all over the place and some authors have written many books...we can do a type of free read and discuss each author's work as a whole, rather than focus on specific books.
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...
Chigozie Obioma will be featured in April! here is the thread:https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Buchi Emecheta will be featured in May!I've just started a thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Marieke wrote: "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will be our featured author in June!"Another wonderful choice.
I know I have been MIA but I am in the process of moving from North Carolina to Alabama and it is certainly taken up much more of my time than I expected.
But I do have all of the books I need to catch-up in a separate tote and not packed - so hopefully it will make it easier for me to catchup then waiting to unpack the boxes.
wow, Beverly! moving is the pits but i hope you get settled quickly and happily.Funnily I am reading Americanah right now...i had a hold on the e-version at my public library and it became available so i had to read it right away! hopefully it will be fresh in my mind for discussing her work next month. :)
i will be sending out a group message with links to everything, but for now here is the link to the poll for our August featured author:https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...
Hi guys...i dropped the ball in September so i selected an author via the random list generator. I also made a poll for the October selection:https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...
Great African Reads
Books mentioned in this topic
The Face: Cartography of the Void (other topics)A History of Nigeria (other topics)
Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (other topics)Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (other topics)
Buchi Emecheta (other topics)
We will start with A History of Nigeria and Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria. I think these will give us a good overview of the country's history and regions, peoples and landscapes. Nigeria is a HUGE country.
In my mind we will read more fiction than non-fiction for the rest of the year, and I'd like to focus on Nigerian writers, but mostly I want us to really explore this country, so I also picture us keeping this somewhat flexible.
In this thread we can discuss ideas about how to organize this so that we can start picking books out ahead of time. Like other projects, we can poll for an "official" group read, but also have side-reads for extra books for those who want to read more and to allow members to participate when they can't access or have no interest in any particular selection.
So let's see who is interested in participating and what your ideas are! :)