Month: May 2013

Cassava Republic books in Ghana! at Yari Yari Ntoaso

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ImageI won’t talk about Yari Yari Ntoaso (an international conference on literature by women of African ancestry) in this post, but if you want to know more see http://kinnareads.wordpress.com/ who is posting the schedule, and photos, or follow the #YariYari hashtag on Twitter.

What I wanted to comment about was the fact that the well known Nigerian publisher, Cassava Republic, had a stand among the tables of vendors!  How pleased I was to see them, and of course I couldn’t resist buying something on Day 1 – and who knows what will happen on Days 2-4?

The comment I made to their representative was to ask why they didn’t sell any of their Imagebooks here in Ghana?  I would much rather support either a Ghanaian or other West African business if this is possible.  I know the market might not be huge, but still I do believe there is a market for Nigerian literature here.  Certainly I saw at least six other books that I would have bought from them if I hadn’t either read or bought them already!

I wonder what other readers think?

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April 2013 bookish activities

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Looking back on April 2013 books, information and library activities

To begin with as usual, a small review of my April completed reads: I read six books (listed below), ironically more non-fiction than fiction, and also more male writers than female. There was one Ghanaian author, two non-Ghanaian African authors, and three non-Africans.

  1. This child will be great, by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf [I found the first part much more interesting than the second, which was more political]
  2. The library at night, by Alberto Manguel [And of course, I dipped in and out of this book just before going to sleep!]
  3. Cod, by Mark Kurlansky [interesting, but not as fascinating as some of his other books]
  4. The 100 year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson [one of the books suggested for Accra Book Club. Very funny. And one keeps wondering what the main character will get up to next!]
  5. Mr Happy and the hammer of God and other stories, by Martin Egblewogbe [some very intriguing stories in this collection, which is focussed more on the thoughts of the characters, rather than the external African/Ghanaian environments]
  6. Of Africa, by Wole Soyinka [one of the recommendations for Accra Book Club, which I did not finish before the discussion. Very, very dense.]

Book buying was definitely on the meager side (which means I definitely have to make up in subsequent months): I only bought two books – one at a local bookshop (Sytris) and the other from a colleague who got it from the author.

Activities were as usual fairly varied:

  • Accra Book Club had one of its gatherings – with a discussion of Dune, by Frank Herbert (see post). As I may have mentioned, I really enjoyed re-reading this classic science fiction novel.
  • I joined a group of colleagues for a presentation on eLibraryUSA at the US Embassy Information Resource Center. I enjoyed it, and appreciated using some of the new resources later in the month.
  • Writers Project of Ghana held its March Ghana Voices programme, with Martin Egblewogbe reading some of his poetry, and excerpts from his book, Mr Happy and the hammer of God and other stories, mentioned above.
  • And finally, just before listening to various cultural gurus hosted by Adventurers in the Diaspora , I spoke to a visiting Danish postgraduate student studying literacy/books/reading/libraries in Ghana. I hope he got something out of the interview.

So what about May? lots coming up, including Yari Yari Ntoaso which I am really looking forward to!