September 2019

The Secret Life of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin  – 288/288 pages (4/5 stars)
Stay with me by Ayobami Adeyemi  – 260/260 pages (5/5 stars)
Reading Rate – 18.2 pages a day. 

This month was a pretty good month. I was still transitioning between lazy summer reading and more intense reading for school. I read a lot of African literature. I stand corrected actually, I ready only African literature. I’ve embraced this new side of me that allows me to connect to my books through the common heritage. Based on the ratings of these books, I would say I had a great month of September, reading wise. 

The first book I read was The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s wives. This is a story of the trials of polygamy in modern-day Western Nigeria. We are taken through the eyes of Funmi, Baba Segi’s fourth wife initially, which establishes her as the main character and the outcast. Then when Shoneyin had established the story, she takes us through the story of every other wife and Baba Segi, therefore humanizing them. In the end she brings us to a climax which reveals everything to the other characters. I gave this book 4/5 stars because I felt extremely connected to every single character despite their flaws. I absolutely love the story line because that is the truth of several families.

The second book I read was Stay with me. Where do I start? This is probably on the best books I’ve ever read. It is a very close second to Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun. Ayobami Adebayo has simply left me speechless. She wrote this intricate story of university lovers who finally got married but struggled with conception. She takes us on a story of love, deceit, surprise, heartbreak and truth. The truth was prevalent in the pressure in African families to have a child as soon as you get married. This is something that happens every day. I could bet my mom has talked to someone in the past week and asked if they were already expecting a child. The pressure is insane. It is simply unrealistic and invasive. This pressure forced the family in this book to take to unrealistic measures and lie to each other. In the intricacy of her dramatic irony, lies the beauty of this novel. The subtle revelations of truth that cause you to re-read a paragraph to be sure you believe what you just read, had my mouth hanging agape. I cannot wait to read this book again. It is precious and it is worthy. 

 

October 2019

A walk to Remember – Nicholas Sparks (146/224 pages) (4/5 stars)
Purple Hibiscus – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ( 427/427 pages) (5/5 stars)
Little Bee – Chris Cleave (149/266 pages) (1/5 stars)
Reading Rate- 19.8 pages a day.

I am very happy with my reading this month. My reading rate went up a page and that’s a big deal for me because grade 12 is a busy year, and I still made time for reading. 

I have rated A Walk to Remember 4/5 stars because it really made me cry. It is a really sincere and heartfelt story. This a story of love, true and genuine love. It actually had me in tears. I felt their pain and love through the pages. It is also an easy read.  Highly recommend. 

I rated Purple Hibiscus 5/5 stars because it has always made me genuinely happy. It resonates with my soul. It is also written so stylistically and with so much creativity that I am stunned. Also, after reading this book constantly for several years, I just realized this time that it had a full circle going on. This story also inspired a play I recently wrote. It is a story of love, concealed abuse and family. 

Finally, I rated Little Bee 1/5 stars, only because I wasn’t sure if giving 0 stars was okay. This book has sparked genuine anger in my soul, not only for the awkward writing and choppy sentences, but for its lack of originality. This is a story about a Nigerian girl, written by a British man who has never been to Nigeria. His repeated use of words like “jungle” and “the killers” are wrong and not true. I do not recommend.

 

November 2019

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions. Chimamanda Adichie. 64/64 pages. 5/5 stars.
Purple Hibiscus. Chimamanda Adichie. 427/427 pages. 5/5 stars.
Americanah. Chimamanda Adichie. 496/496 pages. 4/5 stars.
We should all be feminists. Chimamanda Adichie. 32/32 pages. 5/5 stars.
Reading rate – 33.9 pages a day.

The only reason my reading rate could be this high in November of my grade 12 year was because of Chimamanda Adichie. I also had a week off school and I happened to be sick, so I found solace in her words. I also had my writers seminar which was about her, It implored me to dedicate my November readings to her. The two books I hadn’t read before were, Dear Ijeawele and We should all be feminists. 

Dear Ijeawele was a very short read for me. It was originally a letter written to her best friend about how to raise her daughter as a feminist. I think it’s very important and relevant. Every parent should read this.

We should all be feminists. Literally. But this was also a very short read. It is an adaptation from a Ted Talk about why we should all be feminists. It defines feminism and explains the issues with not being a feminist. 

 

December 2019/January 2020

“Night Road”- Kristin Hannah. Page 385 of 385. (5/5 stars)
“The Best of Me” – Nicholas Sparks. 200 of 285. (2/5 stars)
“Safe Haven” – Nicholas Sparks. 340 of 340. (4/5 stars)
Reading Rate – 18.1 pages a day.

Night Road- This is without a doubt the best book I’ve read in a while. I may or may not have cried while reading this. Kristin really took me on a journey through the eyes of Lexi, Jude and Grace. It was very excellent and captivating. This is a story of love, friendship and parenting woven together through the many experiences of the various characters. I would definitely read it again. Another tearjerker.

The Best of Me- It goes without saying that my love for Nicholas Sparks runs deep. Sadly, The Best of Me wasn’t one of my favourites. I felt this book was a little bland and slightly basic, but very interesting regardless. There just wasn’t enough to challenge my weird mind. It felt ordinary, but not terrible, just not enough.

Safe Haven- This is a tale of two, intensity and emotions become one. A story of an abuse survivor. A story of a widow. Their stories becoming one. This is a very interesting book because I had previously watched the movie, but reading it gave me chills. It is definitely one of my favourite works by Nicholas sparks. It was overwhelmingly great. I actually cried. It was an incredible with an amazing author. You could predict what was happening, but the imagination of Nicholas Sparks made it difficult to predict accurately. There were a lot of plot twists too. Definitely one of my favourite pieces.