Chimamanda Adichie Loves to Read in Bed + 8 Other Things We Learned from Her Recent NYT Interview

April 24, 2020

Chimamanda Adichie was recently featured on New York Times’ “By the Book,” an interview series that explores the intimate lives of authors as readers.

The questions asked tend to be revealing, which is how we know that Adichie loves to read in bed and that one of her favorite villains is Lady Macbeth.

Here are some of other insights about Adichie’s reading life that came up in the interview.

One Day I will Write About this Place by Binyavanga Wainaina is one of the 11 books on her nightstand.
She recently reread The Joys of Motherhood.
Ideal reading experience: “I love to read in bed curled up and comfortable, usually early in the morning or late at night, with quiet in the air and my ipad or a book propped on a pillow.”
Of the 28 people on her list of most admired novelists, playwrights, critics, journalists, poets,” the two African writers are Leila Aboulela and Nawal El Saadawi.
When she’s writing a book, she likes to read poetry.
She would like to see Lola Shoneyin’s The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives adapted to TV as a tragic-comic mini-series.
She and Binvavanga first bonded over their mutual love of Camara Laye’s The African Child.
Lady Macbeth is one of her favorite villains.
She’d love to meet Marechera.