Great African Reads discussion

Read:
Jan: 4 At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
Feb: 24 In the End, It Was All About Love by Musa Okwonga
Mar: 21 Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller
May: 11 The Language of Languages by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Not Read yet:
Apr: 3 The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
June: 15 Dreams in a Time of War by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
July: 5 The Spider King's Daughter by Chibundu Onuzo
August: 13 The Living and the Rest by José Eduardo Agualusa


The TBR Takedown list:
Ready for a fresh start with the 2024 TBR Takedown list:

1 Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
2 The Curious Case of Dassoukine’s Trousers by Fouad Laroui
3 The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
4 At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
5 The Spider King's Daughter by Chibundu Onuzo
6 Ripples in the Pool by Rebeka Njau
7 No Sweetness Here and Other Stories by Ama Ata Aidoo
8 Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
9 Arrows of Rain by Okey Ndibe
10 The Radiance of the King by Camara Laye
11 The Language of Languages by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
12 The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin
13 The Living and the Rest by José Eduardo Agualusa
14 The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini
15 Dreams in a Time of War by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
16 A Girl Called Eel by Ali Zamir
17 I Do Not Come to You by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
18 Welcome to Lagos by Chibundu Onuzo
19 Year of the Elephant: A Moroccan Woman's Journey Toward Independence by Leila Abouzeid
20 The Return by Dulce Maria Cardoso
21 Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller
22 The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz
23 In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar
24 In the End, It Was All About Love by Musa Okwonga

Bonus:
The rest of Africa 39 ed. by Ellah Wakatama Allfrey
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

Some may recognize titles off my 2020 and 2021 list, but that only means they need to get off the TBR even more :)

Also I've decided not to 'save them, for when their number comes up' so I am hoping to get to some of these before their time if possible!

Also, since Januarys number is no secret, I am putting in Diop - as I have been trying to finish that for a while!

Finished #4 January: At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop - a tough read, but also interesting. More thoughts here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Great list! I loved, loved, loved Americanah!

That was my feeling exactly about Half of a Yellow Sun - don't know why I've been putting off Americanah for years...

February: I'll be reading:
24 In the End, It Was All About Love by Musa Okwonga

I read In the End, It Was All About Love by Musa Okwonga and liked it. Not only a fine meditation on love, loneliness and alien-ness in a strange city - but also interesting from a personal perspective (Have lived in Berlin, have Uganda-related people in my life)

March:
21 Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller

March was close to ending, so I finally managed to read it! I liked it quite a lot - think I had been putting it off because I'd lumped it in with the 'white people travelling in Africa'-memoirs which I have little interest in.

April: #3 The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

Anetq wrote: "April: #3 The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma"

I've been considering this one for a while, look forward to your thoughts.

Carolien wrote: "Anetq wrote: "April: #3 The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma"

I've been considering this one for a while, look forward to your thoughts."
It's been on my shelf forever!

May: #11:
I'll be reading The Language of Languages by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

And I read The Language of Languages by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o it and liked it - my notes/review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Still behind on these:
Apr: 3 The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
June: 15 Dreams in a Time of War by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
July: 5 The Spider King's Daughter by Chibundu Onuzo

August: The Living and the Rest by José Eduardo Agualusa - I usually really enjoy his books, so looking forward to that!

Obviously I only made it kind of halfway through - but that's some of those books off my TBR at least, so WIN! The rest may have to go on next years TBR buster, or get off the list, if they are just not happening :)

Hello,
I’m late to finding this challenge.
Is there one foe 2025?
Thank You
Nan

Nan wrote: "Hello,
I’m late to finding this challenge.
Is there one foe 2025?
Thank You
Nan"

Sorry no Diane has been running them and she did not put one up for 2025 - maybe due to lack of engagement?