(THE NEVER-ENDING) THINGS TO READ LIST

I have come to the realisation that I have an actual problem. Does anyone else keep buying books even when their bookshelf is overcrowded? Does bookshelf overcrowding give you anxiety? Surely I can't be the only one that has 343 items in my save for later on Amazon (majority of them books and counting)? Sigh. Writing here is also I guess an expansion of my bookshelf...

So, I know all the books I want to have read by the end of the year and even though the list keeps growing, I think putting it on here will help me to achieve this goal for myself whilst being realistic. We have 45 days left of the year.

If you have read or plan to read anything on my list pop me a message so we can discuss whilst reading or catch up after about any of the titles. 

TO READ

BORN LIARS by Ian Leslie

THE LONELY CITY by Olivia Laing

MINDFULNESS by Ed Halliwell

WHY I AM NO LONGER TALKING TO WHITE PEOPLE ABOUT RACE by Reni Eddo- Lodge

NEVER LOOK AN AMERICAN IN THE EYE by Okey Ndibe

HAN KANG

Yeong-hye turns vegetarian overnight after having a weird dream and this decision to cut meat out of her life so drastically has devastating effects on her relationships. I laughed to myself when her frustrated husband asked her why she no longer desired him sexually and her response was something along the lines of "you stink of meat." Her obsession and behaviour in her vegetarianism is an act of subversion and slowly manifests itself into mental illness and quickly gets dark.

The Vegetarian is split into three acts: the first being Yeong-hye's decision to become a vegetarian and how her family react, the second part focuses on her brother in-law, an artist who is obsessed with Yeong-hye sexually because of her Mongolian mark. The third part is her sister In-hye's experience in dealing with her husbands incomprehensible obsession with her sister and all the craziness around her. This book won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016. Absolutely well deserved. It is a short thriller, incredibly written (translated from Korean by Deborah Smith) and the story is one you cannot predict.

What does the book make you think about the relationship between power and food ?
If you take away someones ability to make decisions about the food they consume then you take away their power.

Obviously, eating disorders are real and certain precautions should be taken to make sure people have a healthy relationship with food. However, the supernatural element to this story means that even without food, Yeong-hye still has superhuman physical strength and power. Thus making it hard to distinguish where the line blurs between mental stability and normal preference.

When you are able to unlock the power of your mind, you are able to be yourself and make a difference. Yeong-hye's relationship with food made her a resilient character.

How is imprisonment represented throughout the book ?

The theme of imprisonment is so pertinent in this novel as well as the failure to comprehend the very people we should be closest with. Yeong-hye is happy living her life with her aspirations of becoming a tree and at one with nature. ("A tree?" I hear you ask. Read the book is my response.) But it seems that in life, there is a way of doing things and a way of living and if you want to do anything out of what is deemed "normal behaviour" the people around you will try and steer you towards what they think is right for you. This is evident when her and her husband go to dinner and she decides to not wear a bra because she finds them uncomfortable and restricting. If the girl doesn't want to wear a bra... who is anyone else to tell her she has to? Society has a way of making people conform to standards by not giving you a chance to take a minute to ask yourself if you agree with them! Character wise, Yeong-hye's fearlessness is inspirational.

The reality of this story is that Yeong-hye is imprisoned in her body. Not a lot of people will understand that. She does not care about what people think and even though towards the end of the book she was definitely imprisoned physically. She still lived freely within her imprisonment. Standing upside down against a wall because her head is the roots and her body is the trunk of her tree...

GEORGE ORWELL

26/04/2017
So I started a new job last Monday (yay me - finally a working babe lol) and I am so excited to join their book club! Found out on Wednesday that they all just finished reading 1984 by GEORGE ORWELL and the discussion is happening next Thursday. That gives me just over a week to read a 300 page book! Baring in mind I am such a slow reader, I have no idea why I tasked myself with such a task - probably just super excited haha. Either way, I am thrilled to be reading with others... and this will also give my blog some structure and widen my choice of literature. Amazon Prime helped a sister get a head start giving me the option to read some before it arrived but I am about to get stuck in and will let you all know how it goes.

Note: I am writing this post in two parts. I will update this post once I have finished reading it and have met to discuss so I can include some of the discussion within the review. 

ANIETIE ISONG

(I didn't take this picture)

I went to an IN CONVERSATION WITH CHIBUNDU ONUZO and ANIETIE ISONG event towards the end of January in Waterstones Piccadilly. I was actually there for the launch of CHIBUNDU's latest novel WELCOME TO LAGOS and was glad to see the event was also supporting the launch of another author's first published book. I bought it to support the cause, it is inspiring to see new authors on the scene getting their work published! It was a short read too so I decided to read it before the book I actually went there for.

In short, this book is about Ifiok, a young journalist who works for a government radio station in Lagos. His weekly radio show gets cancelled because the government abruptly cut the funding so he is exploring other ways to get it financed in a very hectic Nigerian backdrop. His troublesome workmate Boniface encourages him to cheat on his longterm girlfriend with a beautiful intern - behaviour that majority of workers are known to dabble in from the way he speaks - but Ifiok is horrified by the suggestion and tries to maintain a strict business relationship with her... until she comes to his house uninvited to bring him food whilst his girlfriend works late (smh). The story is written in first-person past-tense through Ifiok's point of view and is quite a short story, only 188 pages long. It definitely sheds light on the unethical practise in journalism of accepting a "brown envelope" in exchange for reporting stories. Corruption being rife in Nigeria, I was not surprised.

Towards the end of the novel, he travels to his hometown to make a documentary about a group of ex-militants. Meanwhile his mother and father are getting old and are constantly asking him when he will marry and give them grandchildren...

I wish I had great things to say about RADIO SUNRISE but I don't. I was left uninspired and uninterested by the end of the first few chapters and as I have mentioned before, I appreciate a book that gets to the point quickly and where every chapter adds something: whether that be character development or growth in the plot. There were some parts I read and thought to myself why was that included? Or how is this relevant to the storyline ? ? ? What irked me the most was the fact the main character had a dry personality, was not true to himself and was at the point in his life where proper commitment to his longterm girlfriend was the next step but he was just dulling and for no real reason. Karma does show itself true as the plot unfolds but still... I was bored by then.

I got halfway through and contemplated putting it down... I don't like dropping books midway but after forcing myself to finish this I have realised that life is way too short to finish books I am not enjoying. If I am not gripped by halfway then in my opinion the book is not doing its job.

Wouldn't recommend this book. Brutal but honest. Maybe I am being quite harsh for someone's first published work but after hearing him speak that evening, I felt as though he came across as someone who woke up one random day and decided to write a book hahaha...

I guess that is the beauty of literature. Everyone is free to create and through creating you are able to grow and refine your voice. I wish ISONG all the best with his future writing!


RATING: 2/5

If anyone has read this... I am keen to know your thoughts! Message me or drop me a comment!

IJEOMA UMEBINYUO

Cheekily, I bought this book as a gift for my cousin for her birthday and read half of it before I gave it to her. Don't worry I didn't bend the spine lol! What had happened was... Amazon gave me the option to read some of it online before the delivery came and I thought I may as well because I had no clue what it was about but found the poetry was so powerful that when it came I just carried on... lol. Anywho, I stopped halfway and said to myself that I will read the second half when I buy it because it is definitely a book of poems that I need to own, have on my bookshelf and discuss its importance with my daughters in the future.

Questions for Ada - from the heart wrenching narratives of heartbreak to poems about love, culture and oneness told through IJEOMA's graceful relationship with words, this collection of poems is unbelievable. When I really deep it, this is probably the first book of poetry I have read that was not for education - shout out the AQA English Lit Anthology! But I wish I had something like this when I was younger because it is enriching and edifying. Questions for Ada tells phenomenal stories, poems that will resonate deeply with black women as it explores the importance of loving yourself and your skin in a world that is designed to make us despise it. Written by a woman for women. Her poetry is described as "a flower that will blossom in the spirit of every reader" and I couldn't agree more! It feeds the soul. 

Some of the poems I loved were only one line long... 

YAA GYASI

Firstly, a major shout out to my cousin Mistura who bought me this book as a Christmas present from LA - grazie mille e ti amo! Honestly such an amazing gift because yes, I do love reading but it was also around this time that I was inspired to create this blog, keep track of what I am reading and hopefully get a conversation going. Being the weirdo I am, I was also super excited about the American yellow sunset cover which is different to the familiar orange hardback published here in the UK that you may well have seen or own. HOMEGOING is YAA GYASI's first novel, at 26 years old she has really taken everyone by storm with this spectacular introduction to her literary world.

Where do I even begin? What a phenomenal piece of literature. All I can say is this book is a must-read! One that explores the African diaspora along with pain, love, heritage, culture and to me, most importantly the beauty of fate. GYASI drew her inspiration from a trip she took to Ghana in 2009 where she visited Cape Coast Castle - the castle where the British lived and which slaves where held. This historical fiction is so well thought out. She tells the story of two half sisters that are born into different villages unaware of one another. Without giving too much away, it follows the parallel paths of both sisters and their descendants through eight generations; moving from the Gold Coast eighteenth century Ghana to Mississippi plantations to the American Civil War and the Jazz Age. Each chapter adds - and this is vital for me in what makes a great book because after each chapter I felt moved - whether that be towards sadness, anger, hope or happiness - it truly is beautifully articulated and full of emotion.

Initially, I was somewhat thrown after reading the first chapter and realising there was only one chapter for each generation. Which in hindsight, I probably just couldn't fathom how one chapter was enough... but after reading the second chapter, I had changed my mind and was drawn in completely. GYASI is able to capture everything needed to feel complete when moving on to the next character, all whilst continuing to draw links, threading storylines together and furthermore towards the bigger picture of it all. With the links from one generation to the next, GYASI uses the passing on of gifts as well as trauma and the importance of inheritance from our ancestors as a way to thread the storyline together; which in some ways is critical in understanding the characters and how they develop. 

In an interview with Refinery29 (which I will link below), GYASI touches on the absurdity of racism referencing the chapter on Willie and Robert's life in Harlem. Even though Robert is a black man, he is treated with white privilege because he resembles a white man. When he realises he could live a different life if he didn't let people know the whole truth, he is put in a difficult predicament. To stay or to leave?

"Slavery was a million years ago, why does it matter today?" This book answers this question by showing the struggle that black people went through and still experience to this day. The meaning of HOMEGOING is taken from an old African-American belief that death allowed an enslaved person's spirit to travel back to Africa and becoming aware of this helped me to appreciate the sense of empowerment in African heritage because throughout the book to me, the black necklace signified the notion of the family still being together in spirit. 

ANYWHO, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who like me, loves a book that tells an amazing and moving story. Take a look at the interview if you have time, quite inspiring.

http://www.refinery29.com/2016/06/112693/yaa-gyasi-homegoing

RATING: 5/5 

Dear reader,

Avid reader here dedicating this space to sharing my opinions on the books I read - sort of an open area to get all my thoughts out and hopefully start a conversation with others... 

NOTE: I couldn't possibly write this first post without thanking my favourite childhood author. MALORIE BLACKMAN - the NOUGHTS AND CROSSES trilogy especially, those books significantly shaped my early teens and definitely sparked a passion in me for great storytelling so thank you.

A lot of people have asked me to start a book club and that would be an amazing project to begin in the future... At the moment, I want to focus on this blog, articulating my what can sometimes be jumbled lines of thinking and so I begin...

Super excited to finally be starting this.

Yours truly, 
Atinuke Andoyi, TINU for short.