Great African Reads discussion

To get us started, we'll be reading A History of Nigeria. We are pairing it with Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria, which is likely a much quicker read. I am hoping these two books will help us decide how to approach this project. Happy Reading!

I have A History of Nigeria. Yes, Looking for Transwonderland is a quick read.

Beverly, do you plan to read this one all at once?

Marieke wrote: "Beverly, do you plan to read this one all at once?"

Oh no - I do not do good with reading a NF book all at once. I did not know if we were going to have a reading schedule. The book has 279 pages of text and then there are the notes pages and bibliography.

Oh no, we don't need to have a schedule. I haven't decided how I will approach this one but I doubt I will get the whole thing read in January. It covers a lot of ground and I am thinking I'll need time to digest stuff because so much will be new.

Marieke wrote: "Oh no, we don't need to have a schedule. I haven't decided how I will approach this one but I doubt I will get the whole thing read in January. It covers a lot of ground and I am thinking I'll need..."

That's good because my library doesn't have a copy of a history of Nigeria so I'll need to order it in

That's great you'll join in Sally!

I'm beginning to think we should start generating a list of titles and maybe not make this project too structured. we probably would like to read a novel in february but don't want to wait until we are done reading this book of history.

One book i'm anxious to read is Daughters Who Walk This Path.

Marieke, I read that in December, and it was excellent. One of my favourite novels of the year.

Daughters Who Walk This Path was one of my top reads for 2013. I am hanging out for her next book due to be released sometime this year ( A Deep and Distant Shore) but no date yet.

I just ordered the book and should receive it in a few days. The reviews are compelling.

Marieke wrote: "That's great you'll join in Sally!

I'm beginning to think we should start generating a list of titles and maybe not make this project too structured. we probably would like to read a novel in febr..."

Can we have a separate thread set up where we can post Nigerian books that we would like to read?

And yes, reading a novel in Feb sounds fine and Daughters Who Walk This Path is also on my tbr list.

I just started the book and then found this group.

Welcome Akinwale! I hope I spelled your name right because I'm typing on a phone app and can't see your post at the moment.

I just started reading the book yesterday. And I have some ideas about our year of Nigeria now; I'll post in the appropriate thread later from a real computer. :)

Beverly, yes I will set up that thread in a little while. :)

Larry, have you had a chance to start reading? Sally, any luck getting a copy?

I've just finished the first chapter and I'm finding this book to be very readable.

Marieke wrote: "I've just finished the first chapter and I'm finding this book to be very readable."

I am almost finished with the first chapter.
Yes, very readable.
This is the part of history that I do not know as well so when an area is mentioned I stop and look to see where it is on the map. So after reading much of the first chapter have a much better understanding where places are by name but I have to be able to visualize where places/locations are relative to each other.

We should probably post images and maps here. I have at least one site she mentioned that I'd like to find a picture of.

Marieka, I have not started it yet. I got sidetracked with The Sheltering Sky. Daughters is next.

Ive picked up my copy from the library today - did a quick flick thorugh and there are lots of pictures and maps. Looking forwards to reading a formalised history of Nigeria. I only have the book for 2 weeks - and as it was an inter library loan I cannot extend - so will have to read it straight through - not my preference at all - I like to dip, read and mull my non-fiction.

Marieka, I just started Daughters today and am already impressed with the writing. The subject of the book was an instant hook. I will be interested how she treats the subject.

Larry I'm going to get some threads set up today...there is so much from Nigeria that I believe we will have lots of "free reading" and discussion this year as well as official group reads. I can also see if Yejide is available to join us here. :)

Sally, I know what you mean but hopefully you'll feel that the book is not so dense that you can read and enjoy it within two weeks. And we will be here to jog your memory!

The presidential elections in Nigeria will holding in less than one month (Feb 14) and one of the presidential candidates is a former military head of state. My intention when i bought this book was to know more about the history of Nigeria since her independence and clarify some facts. I am currently in chapter 3 and I am not sure if the book will answers all my questions but its been enlightening so far.

And here is a short story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie titled "Olikoye" https://medium.com/matter/olikoye-b02...

Akinwale wrote: "And here is a short story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie titled "Olikoye" https://medium.com/matter/olikoye-b02..."

Cool, we now have a couple of links to this story, as I posted in another thread earlier today! It's a very nice story.

I need to get on a real computer and then I will start making new threads here, like one dedicated to Adichie, and I'll include this link. And Nina had another great suggestion so it will be linked to in yet another spot in this group :)

Akinwale, has anything in the book been surprising to you so far?

Akinwale, Thank you for the link. I do love Chimamanda's writings. I have read everything she has written. I also had the honor of meeting her at a reading here in Northern Virginia 2 years ago.

I am on chapter 4. I try to read at least 10 pages a day so can finish by end of Feb.

I am learning a lot and become more familiar with names/places/times which is helping me in my understanding of the complexity of Nigeria.

When reading the free short story by Adichie - I recognized names that I would not have known about before reading A History of Nigeria. I would have gotten the message of the story but it was more meaningful understanding the references.

I hope we will be doing another country in depth next year. :)

The January cover story for National Geographic Magazine was Lagos - Calling it Africa's First City (not in a historical sense).

Here is a link to the articles, photos, & video.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/201...

The Nigerian Presidential elections have been postponed from Feb 14th to March 28th.

Here is a link from BBC re: the election postponement and links to other related information on the election, candidates, etc.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-...

I have not read this, but Adichie has also written about the postponement:

http://m.theatlantic.com/internationa...

I have finished "A History of Nigeria"

Here are my thoughts:

• Who is Nigeria and how did she come to be? That is what I wanted to know as I prepared for a year-long read of Nigerian authors both past and present. The authors provide a comprehensive look at the past and present and does a very good job of showing how the past influences the present and how the area that was to become known as Nigeria was affected by the cultural and mores before the colonizers came, how and why the colonizers did what they did when they did it and what also was going on in the world that influences these actions.
• I found the history of the early states and societies before the British the most fascinating. I enjoyed how the authors informed of how the threads of independence are embedded deeply into the fabric of all in this area and the road to independence started when the “foreigners” came to the area.
• My attention often waned when I thought the minutiae of the political parties went on too long for my interests.
• This book is written as it could be a “textbook” so that also slowed my reading.
• But overall I appreciated the authors research to put this vast amount of information into an easy to follow format in under 300 pages especially for an area as complex as Nigeria.
• While I was not totally unaware of Nigerian history before reading this book it did fill in some blank spots in my knowledge.
• I recommend this book to anyone interested in global history and trade especially as Nigeria is becoming a more influencing factor not only in Africa but in world politics.

Beverly wrote: "I have finished "A History of Nigeria"

Here are my thoughts:

• Who is Nigeria and how did she come to be? That is what I wanted to know as I prepared for a year-long read of Nigerian authors both..."

wow! well done, Beverly. I am jealous that you have finished it! I really should pick it up again and keep at it regularly.