Zahrah Nesbit-Ahmed truly has a heart spellbound by books. The brilliant curator of Bookshy blog recently shared the road map of an epic literary adventure she plans on taking into the universe of African books. She was inspired by Book Riot’s Global Reading List to assemble a one-of-a-kind catalogue containing one book selected from each […]
Tag Archives: african books
The New Yorker Profiles Kenyan Online Bookseller Magunga Williams
A LITTLE over a week ago, The New Yorker ran a story on Magunga Williams, Kenyan bookstore owner and blogger, in their Page-Turner section. The feature, penned by Daniel A. Gross, a Boston-based writer and radio producer, focuses on Magunga’s efforts to do something that hadn’t existed before him in Kenya–create an online bookstore for […]
The Science of African Sex! Why We Love Jalada’s New Collection
Every once in a while, stories come along that surprise critics and readers who claim to know African literature. Jalada’s recent compilation about sex strikes me as that kind of work. Jalada Africa is a literary collective committed to reshaping the way writing is published and circulated within the continent. Their recent collection titled Sext […]
African Novels Worth Loving — Poor Christ by Mongo Beti | African Summer Reading
Summer is for finding new novels to love. And I’m pleased to introduce Poor Christ of Bomba, a novel by the Cameroonian author, Mongo Beti, to Brittle Paper readers looking to spice up their summer reading list with African titles. The novel’s airy, flirty, and comical take on sex and 1930s Cameroon makes it such a […]
The Puzzling Business of Self-Invention — Review of Chela’s Caine Prize Story by Ainehi Edoro
Here is the last of the Caine Prize story reviews. It’s been pretty amazing featuring reviews—of the shortlisted story—written by bloggers and writers of note in the African literary community: Orem Ochiel’s review of Oduor’s “My Father’s Head” , Richard Ali’s review of Diane Awerbuck’s “Phosphorescence” , Aaron Bady’s review of Billy Kahora’s story , Kola Tubosun’s review of Tendai Huchu’s “Intervention” […]
Angry Fan Says Achebe Wouldn’t Approve of Adichie’s Pro-Gay Stance
A man calling himself Chinedu Ezigbo of Abatete posted this piece on Village Square about a week ago. He calls out Chimamanda for writing her novels solely in English and for her political views on feminism and homosexuality, saying that Achebe would not approve of the Nigerian novelist’s pro-gay stance. “I have followed Chimamanda everywhere, […]
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