I just realized that April was an extremely slow month for posting – ouch! True, I was busy with family visitors, but I am not sure that stands as a good excuse.
Yet, looking back I did read a fair amount. In April and March combined I read 15 books:
four either by Ghanaians or with a Ghana setting:
- Three cheers for Ghana (Robert Peprah-Gyamfi) [basically the author’s account of a visit to Ghana in the mid 2000’s after a long absence in Germany and the UK]
- Diplomatic pounds & other stories (Ama Ata Aidoo),
- The black body (edited by Meri Nana-Ama Danquah) and
- Abina and the important men, by Trevor Getz and Liz Clarke [the last I thought was very good]
one non-Ghanaian African novel: As the crow flies (Veronique Tadjo)
six thrillers/crime novels (one of my favourite ways of relaxing):
- Our kind of traitor (John Le Carre)
- Sharp shooter (Nadia Gordon)
- The office of the dead (Andrew Taylor)
- The girl on the landing (Paul Torday)
- A reliable wife (Robert Goolrick)
- Legends (Robert Littell)
three literary works:
- Super sad true love story (Gary Shteyngart) [for Accra Book Club]
- A mercy (Toni Morrison)
- Pigeon English (Stephen Kelman) [also for Accra Book Club]
On the book buying front, I bought nine books – all physical items, no e-books! I do feel I have to do some work on my To Be Read shelves
- six on Ghana/by Ghanaians
- one a cookbook (a personal weakness)
- one mystery
- one on marketing to women
Book related events included:
- Ama Ata Aidoo’s book launch (at British Council) and book reading (at Goethe Institut)
- two Accra Book Club meetings – mentioned here
Plans for May? None really, apart from the May read for Accra Book Club. Generally I tend to go with my feelings rather a planned set of readings.
Lucky you. I wasn’t able to do much reading at all. And my lists are still tall.
Quite impressive reading. I’ve bought fewer books this year. I can count them on one set of fingers.
The only thing I’ve read by Gary Shteyngart was a short story published in the New Yorker, when he was counted as one of the 20 best writers below the age 40.