2018 Africa Reading Challenge

Tags

Africa, Africa Reading Challenge, Ghana, Kinna, Reading Challenge, West Africa

Welcome to the 2018 Africa Reading Challenge.

This is the sixth time my dear friend  Kinna is hosting the Africa Reading Challenge. Details and requirements are the same this year as for 2012 when she started. And she says, “I have absolutely no reason for hosting nor urging you to participate in this challenge save for the joy of discovering and reading African literature!” Are you in? 🙂 I’m in,and this time I sincerely hope I will make it cos I have loads of books on my TBR and this sounds like the perfect opportunity to read the African writers among the lot and review. 🙂

Here are the details:

Challenge Period

January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018

Region

The entire African continent, including its island-states, which are often overlooked. Please refer to this Wikipedia “list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa”. Pre-colonial empires and regions are also included.

Reading Goal

5 books. That’s it. There will be no other levels. Of course, participants are encouraged to read more than 5 books.  Eligible books include those which are written by African writers, or take place in Africa, or are concerned with Africans and with historical and contemporary African issues. Note that at least 3 books must be written by African writers.

Genres

• Fiction – novels, short stories, poetry, drama, children’s books. Note: You can choose to read a number of individual and uncollected short stories. In this case, 12 such stories would constitute 1 book. Individual poems do not count but books of poetry do.
• Non-fiction – memoirs, autobiographies, history and current events

Reading Suggestions

• Cover at least two regions, pick from North Africa, Southern Africa, East Africa, West Africa and Central Africa
• Include translated fiction from Arabic, Francophone and Lusophone literature
• You can mix classic and contemporary fiction
• If you are intend to read mostly non-fiction, then please include at least one book (out of the five) of fiction

No particular reading philosophy is being suggested, however participates are encouraged  to broaden their knowledge of African literature. The most important thing is to have fun and to explore Africa through books.

Other Details

1. Overlap with other challenges is allowed.
2. E-books and audio books are allowed.
3. There is no need to make a list beforehand.  Although most of us love lists, don’t we?

To Sign up:

Leave a comment here to sign-up. You can list the books you intend to read if you’ve already decided. For those with blogs: write a post on your blog about the challenge (with or without your list) and link to this post.

Please for more details read here

2014 Africa Reading Challenge

Tags

Africa Reading Challenge, Kinna

My dear friend Kinna is hosting the 2014 Africa Reading Challenge form January 1 to December 3. Now read on and be sure to participate for a fun time. As Kinna says, “I have absolutely no reason for hosting nor urging you to participate in this challenge save for the joy of discovering and reading African literature!”

Are you in? 🙂

Region

The entire African continent, including its island-states, which are often overlooked. Please refer to this Wikipedia “list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa”. Pre-colonial empires and regions are also included.

Reading Goal

5 books.  That’s it.  There will be no other levels.  Of course, participants are encouraged to read more than 5 books.  Eligible books include those which are written by African writers, or take place in Africa, or are concerned with Africans and with historical and contemporary African issues. Note that at least 3 books must be written by African writers.

Genres

• Fiction – novels, short stories, poetry, drama, children’s books.  Note: You can choose to read a number of individual and uncollected short stories.  In this case, 12 such stories would constitute 1 book.  Individual poems do not count but books of poetry do.
• Non-fiction – memoirs, autobiographies, history and current events

Reading Suggestions

• Cover at least two regions, pick from North Africa, Southern Africa, East Africa, West Africa and Central Africa
• Include translated fiction from Arabic, Francophone and Lusophone literature
• You can mix classic and contemporary fiction
• If you are intend to read mostly non-fiction, then please include at least one book (out of the five) of fiction

Kinna is not inclined to push any reading philosophy but would however like to encourage participants to broaden their knowledge of African literature. Broadly then:

For the novice, if you have not read any African lit or if you’ve read one book (E.g. Achebe’s Things Fall Apart):  a mix of at least two regions, two languages, classic and contemporary, with both male and female writers is suggested.  A sample reading list could be:

• Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih (North Africa, Arabic, classic)
• Maps by Nuruddin Farah (East Africa)
• Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga (Southern Africa, contemporary)
• So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba (West Africa, classic, Francophone)
• Zoo City by Lauren Beukes (Southern Africa, contemporary, modern fantasy)

For the advanced reader of African literature: perhaps there is some gap (country, region, language, theme, gender) you want to fill or author(s) whose works you want to explore further?

You could also, for example:

• Read only collection/anthologies of short stories
• Stick to the literary tradition of one country
• Explore literature written in African languages
• Read only Lusophone literature
• Explore the literature of contemporary South Africa
• Read the books of North African countries of the Arab Spring
• Read wherever the urge takes you!

These suggestions notwithstanding, the most important thing is to have fun and to explore Africa through books.

Other Details

1. Overlap with other challenges is allowed.
2. E-books and audio books are allowed.
3. There is no need to make a list beforehand.  Although most of us love lists, don’t we?

To Sign up:

Leave a comment here to sign-up. You can list the books you intend to read if you’ve already decided.

For those with blogs: write a post on your blog about the challenge (with or without your list) and link to this post.

Please for more details read here

Flashback on March – Hello April

Tags

Africa Reading Challenge, Ama Ata Aidoo, Back to the Classics Challenge 2012, Doctor Faustus (play), Flashback, Poetry, The Classic Club

Flashback on March

One too soon, March has sailed by, and April has landed. Hmm. Looking back I didn’t do too badly for March at all, oh yes. For starters, I got my blog in good shape, thanks to Nana Awere Damoah, switching from blog.com to WordPress. (Kinna was so busy) And then the poet in me reared its beautiful head and there I was, playing at poetry. Long ago in Aburi Girls Secondary School (now it is Senior High) I used to write poems for my avid followers of a classmate, which they devoured voraciously. And then, for some reason after we left school, all that vim fizzled out and other not so savory pursuits took over. But never say never! And so, here I am, playing poetry which some people think they like well enough to keep the encouraging words flowing and for me to keep playing at poetry.

And the book reviews? Though I promised in February to pay more attention to reading and reviewing especially for the challenges I had entered, hmm, don’t go there. I could review only Changes, by Ama Ata Aidoo for the Africa Reading Challenge hosted by Kinna Reads, The Tragedy of Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe, for the Back to the Classics Challenge hosted by Sarah Reads Too Much and Excursions in my Mind from my TBR pile. Frankly, I admire fellow bloggers like Geosi and ImageNations who just seem to churn out review after review. I wonder at their reading rate and pace! When I read their reviews, which I do often, then I am like Celestine, are you serious? Ha ha ha! But this is no race. It’s all fun and learning, right?

Even, though I could not do lots of reviews, I blogged avidly, visiting other blogs and commenting here and there. Maybe I should do less of that, so I can get down to the business of reading and reviewing.

Sunshine Blogger Award

On a good note, I was the recipient of the Sunshine Blogger Award, having been nominated by Nicole of bareyournakedtruth.

The Classics Club

In March, I became a member of The Classics Club, hosted by Jillian of A Room of One’s Own, where I have pledged to read 50+ plus Classics for the next five years. Pretty steep? This brings to three the number of Challenges I’ve joined.

My statistics for the Challenges are a downer, though:

Africa Reading Challenge            1/5

Back to the Classics Challenge   1/9

The Classics Club:                      0/51

2012 Reading Challenge            0/50  (This is something I’m doing for myself, to read as many books as I can for 2012, outside, the three challenges I’ve signd up for.)

 

Hello April

So, Welcome April and do promise me that you will be a more productive and inspiring month, will you?

April will be dedicated to playing more at poetry (April being the month of poetry I read somewhere) and catching up on my reading and reviewing for the challenges. I will also start to read more African authors on my own, (outside of the challenges) at least the modern ones I’m not familiar with (Not to sound boastful I’ve read quite a huge number of African authors both classic and contemporary in the recent and not so recent past when I hadn’t started blogging and I find it a bit lazy to go back and re-read them for reviewing this time.) I may end up posting on these if I find time.

I won’t say much, for fear I’m not able to deliver, though, because I want my blog to do the talking for me so my dear friends out there do visit more than you have done for your reading pleasure. Ciao!

Wonderful Wednesday

Tags

Africa Reading Challenge, Back to the Classics Challenge 2012, IPS., Kinna Reads, Lists

Hello, I just had an interesting visit from Kinna of Kinna Reads, right in my office at IPS. She is a very good friend and we go back a long way. She is helping to welcome me into the world of book bloggers. Yeah, I’m still learning and it’s been an interesting hour and a half. I know what you’re thinking, yes, that long. We were so engrossed, I mean I was so keen on all the good bits she had to offer that we lost track of the time. Thanks, Kinna for the gems. Old friends are the best.

I am tidying up my list for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2012 and Africa Reading Challenge, hosted by Sarah Reads Too Much and Kinna Reads respectively. You won’t believe it, I had to scout through an old chop box from secondary school days, rummaging for precious books for both challenges. Below are my two lists for the Challenges. Mind you , these are provisional:

Back to the Classics Challenge 2012

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus  by Christopher Marlowe    –  Classic Play

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy   –  19th Century Classic/Classic Romance

Dracula by Bram Stoker  –  Classic Horror/Mystery/Crime Fiction

Enemy Within  by Steve Jacobs  –  20th Century Classic

Nicholas II, The Last of the Tsars by Marc Ferro – (Non-Fiction) – Classic set somewhere you are unlikely to visit (That’s it for now. More will be added later)

Africa Reading Challenge

Chaka by Thomas Mofolo (translated by Daniel P Kunene) – South Africa-Non Fiction

Distant View of a Minaret by Alisa Riffat – North Africa – Fiction

Changes by Ama Ata Aidoo – West Africa – Fiction

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola – West Africa-Fiction

Weep Not Child  by Ngugi Wa’ Thiong’o- East Africa – Fiction

Currently I’m reading Tales from Different Tails by Nana Awere Damoah, for review. The book has been on my TBR list since I was given a complimentary copy for review by the author. So, dear friends, look out for the review of this book very soon. Ciao!