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Reading Pleasure

~ A Blog of Books and Literature

Reading Pleasure

Monthly Archives: April 2015

Thursday Shadorma: Joy

30 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by readinpleasure in Challenges, Haiku, Poetry

≈ 41 Comments

Tags

cotton clouds, joy, Melody, Music, Nature, Song

The photo is by kind permission of Gilly. Today is a very special day for me. 🙂 My first boy completed his Senior High education with his last paper at 3.30 pm. 🙂 To God be the Glory. 🙂

DSC_0379

Joy

3-5-3-3-7-5

cottony

clouds afloat on blues

fluffy whites

seek my praise

and one with the firmament

I croon out this joy

Copyright © Celestine Nudanu
30/04/15
 
I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom

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Haiku Horizons: Short

29 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by readinpleasure in Challenges, Haiku, Poetry

≈ 35 Comments

Tags

Nature, Rainbow, short

Done for Haiku Horizons.

Short

climbing up

to catch the rainbow

short of breath

Copyright © Celestine Nudanu
29/04/15
 
I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom

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Poet At Play – Madness

23 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by readinpleasure in Events, Non-Fiction, Poetry

≈ 37 Comments

Tags

Apartheid, Apathy, blacks, Hatred, racism, South Africa, xenophobia

Madness

madness took over certain streets in South Africa

black-skinned clad blacks got fed up with playing second fiddle

brothers and sisters from the diaspora were now pariah

in a frenzy of hatred, like fiends from Hades

they hacked, butchered, mutilated, maimed and wounded.

their assegais dripped red

the caked earth

a mirror of the economy, grew soggy with red.

but tell me

but how can you play second fiddle

when you are not even a first fiddle

Chaka would have puked in envy.

And the stars blinked in confusion.

mad men urged them on

and they raged on

black-skinned clad black bodies glittering with red sweat

while the whole world cried xenophobia!

we have now got  a new word in our lexicon,

with so many

dissections, analysis, explanations, commentary and deciphering.

and on they raged;

Genghis Khan would have clapped at their ferocity.

And with xenophobia on all our lips,

we do nothing!

We are too busy chewing on the word into a smooth paste;

or else it chokes us in the swallowing

and we regurgitate apartheid.

Copyright © Celestine Nudanu
23/04/15

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Haiku Horizons: Pass

20 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by readinpleasure in Carpe Diem, Haiku, Poetry

≈ 29 Comments

Tags

blooms, chant, colours, eveing walk, Nature, pass, shimmer

Done for Haiku Horizons. A rather difficult challenge! 🙂

Pass

on evening walk

passing by the hedges

shimmer of colours

Copyright © Celestine Nudanu
20/04/15
 
I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom

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Haiku My Heart: Silver Web

17 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by readinpleasure in Carpe Diem, Challenges, Haiku, Haiku My Heart, Poetry

≈ 57 Comments

Tags

darkness, Joan Halifax, light, Nature, observations, Silver, Spider web

Done for Carpe Diem Haiku Shuukan. And also for Recuerda Mi Corazon. 

The emphasis is still on GRACE (enlarge your capacity of compassion) as defined by Joan Halifax, a Zen Buddhist, with greater emphasis on “being one with nature.”

Silver Web

looking closely

in the velvety darkness

 glint of silver web

NEW LOGO HAIKU SHUUKAN

Copyright © Celestine Nudanu
17/04/15
 
I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom

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Thursday Shadorma: Surrender

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by readinpleasure in Challenges, Haiku, Poetry, Romance

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

breath, fever, hrizons, Nature, orgasm, romance, sensuality, setting sun, Total Surrender, twilight

The photo is by kind permission of Gilly.

boats

Surrender

(1-2-3-4-1)

when

I close

my fevered eyes

I feel the sun

setting

3-5-3-3-7-5

on the lids

its fading warmth a

mere whisper

of a kiss

a breath really, as it bids

farewell over horizons

(1-2-3-4-1)

I

can only

then open them

and  exhale in orgasmic

surrender

Copyright © Celestine Nudanu
16/04/15
 
I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom

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Haiku Horizons: Needle

13 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by readinpleasure in Challenges, Haiku, Poetry

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

blood, love, needle, thorns

Done for Haiku Horizons.

Needle

steel thorns

amongst the roses

parting gift

2

lips bleed

on the roses

steel thorns

Copyright © Celestine Nudanu
13/04/15
 
I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom

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Haiku My Heart: Grace

10 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by readinpleasure in Carpe Diem, Challenges, Haiku, Haiku My Heart, Poetry

≈ 63 Comments

Tags

dandelions, Grace, Nature

Done for Carpe Diem Haiku Shuukan. And also for Recuerda Mi Corazon. The emphasis is on GRACE (enlarge your capacity of compassion) as defined by Joan Halifax, a Zen Buddhist.

G Gathering attention
R Recalling intention
A Attuning to self other
C Considering
E Engaging

Grace

light rain

the scent of dandelions

budding in the palm

NEW LOGO HAIKU SHUUKAN

Copyright © Celestine Nudanu
10/04/15
 
I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom

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Review: Keeping Secrets by Kiru Taye

08 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by readinpleasure in African Women Writers, Fiction, Publication, Romance

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

betrayal, dynasty, Finance, Forgiveness, Keeping Secrets, Kiru Taye, love, Nigeria

 
Image description

Title:    Keeping Secrets (Essien Trilogy Book 1)

Author: Kiru Taye
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Edition: Kindle
Publisher: Decadent Publishing Company
Pages:    294
Publication date:  May 2014
Reasons for reading: Received this as free ebook from the author.
 

Blurb

Have you ever loved someone and didn’t even know it? That’s the dilemma facing Felix Essien when he wakes from a coma to find he is married to the most beautiful and sensual woman he’s ever known. He cannot remember her or their wedding; he who had sworn never to get married or to give his heart to another. Yet, he feels an intense bond with her that he intends to explore fully.

Ebony can’t believe her good fortune when her paper husband wakes not remembering the temporary marriage arrangement with no intimacies he’d proposed, and is now the adoring husband she’s always dreamt of. She plans to make the most of the passion blossoming between them. However, would he still feel that way when he regains his memory and realises she’s been keeping secrets and their marriage is not what he thinks it is?

My Thoughts

I must admit that while this is not the first of Kiru’s books I’ve read, Keeping Secrets is the first of her books to hook me from the word go. Well that is not entirely true. Her other books I read hooked me but Keeping Secrets did so in a forceful way. The book actually forced you to take a big note of it.! It is that very well written, with rich and poetic settings in Lagos, Nigeria. Maybe that was one factor that got to me; I mean Ghana and Nigerian are sisters so to speak but hei, we are no where near the grandeur and opulence of the nouveux riche in Nigeria! 🙂 And this was well displayed in Keeping Secrets with the opulence understated!

The Essiens are the kings of African finance. A close-knit family, their father is the patriarch of a finance dynasty that ranges from retail to investment banking spanning the African continent. Yet all is not as it seems.
.

The story of Ebony and Felix, one of the Essien sons, is so gripping and fast paced, unfolding as you read along in flashback, thus the suspense and intrigue very well maintained till the end. As we all know, keeping secrets in any relationship especially marriage might be a big recipe for disaster and both Felix and Ebony have secrets that threaten their new marriage. Felix’ memory loss works to Ebony’s advantage but she is never at ease for fear that her husband would regain his memory. Nevertheless, she takes advantage of his obvious concern and passion for her.

The characters are flawed, but naturally and humanely so and therein lies the beauty of the characterization. I love them for the passion and love they show towards each other. The chemistry between them is so palpable, even with Felix’ memory loss. Perhaps, because of his deep love for her,  he is able to see that things just do not seem to add up. Both characters are strong and stubborn; Felix, hot, masterful and always in control; Ebony sexy, elegant and independent. In the end, secrets, betrayals and manipulations gave way to love and forgiveness.

I don’t think I have really done justice to this book, honestly. You need to read it and see what I mean. 🙂 Kiru Taye is an expert storyteller in the romance genre; throwing in Igbo words here and there with doses of of Igbo culture and tradition to give the novel an authentic but contemporary African feel.

Keeping Secrets comes highly recommended to all lovers of romance and even more. I’m actually looking forward to reading the Books 2 and 3 in the series, Making Scandal and Riding Rebel respectively. 🙂

About Kiru

A lover of books, as a teenager Kiru Taye used to read novels under the blanket during lights-outs in boarding school. These days, with a young family to take care of, she’s still sacrificing sleep for the pleasures of a good book. During the day though, she transforms her wildly vivid imagination into sensual, atmospheric romance stories with passionate characters.

When she’s not writing or reading, she’d hanging out with family and friends or traveling. Born in Nigeria, she currently lives in the UK with husband and children.

You reach her via her blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or Pinterest
Follow her blog for latest news and giveaways: http://kirutayewrites.blogspot.com

Read book excerpts and free short stories on her website: http://www.kirutaye.com

 
 

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Haiku Horizons: Fire

07 Tuesday Apr 2015

Posted by readinpleasure in Challenges, Haiku, Poetry, Romance

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

Fire, Poetry, romance

Done for Haiku Horizons.

night aglow

with dancing words

soul poetry

Copyright © Celestine Nudanu
07/04/15
 
I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom
 

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