African Reading ChallengeParticipants commit to read - in the course of 2008 - six books that either were written by African writers, take place in Africa, or deal significantly with Africans and African issues. (Read more if you like!)
You can read whatever you want, but of the six books, I recommend a mixture of genres. For example, you might select books from each of the following:
Fiction (novels, short stories, poetry, drama)
Memoir / autobiography
History and current events
Already read in 2008:
This Blinding Absence of Light by BenJalloun (Morocco)
Life and Times of Michael K by JM Coetzee (South Africa)
1. 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen
2. The Plague by Albert Camus (Algeria)
3. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar (Libya)
4. The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith (Botswana)
5. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah (Sierra Leone)
6. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)
7. The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton (Kenya)
so how did you like J M Coetzee?? I am of mixed opinions when it comes to these nobel laureate types.. some of them write easily understandable books and some of them just go totally over my head! i am just one down on my Africa Reading Challenge.. looking forward to reading the rest though.:)
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I think I'm going to have to cave and join. I already have a lot of these on my list and I've really been wanting to read more books from/about Africa. Thanks for the link.
ReplyDeleteramya - Coetzee was over my head. Waay over. I tried two different books and didn't like either, but I have some other reading friends who like him. I'd say try one of his, but not Elizabeth Costello, even fans don't like that one.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited too. I saw this challenge at the beginning of the year but couldn't imagine reading so many books from Africa. It looks like it'll be easy though.
trish - I rejected this one in January, but now it looks doable, especially after signing up for the Orbis Terrarum.