KINDRED BOOK REVIEW
Kindred by Octavia E Butler is a novel that sets around the Antebellum South. About Dana Franklin, a black female Protagonist who is pulled into the past by her white ancestor, Rufus Weylin, a male slave owner. She is forced to live as a slave until her ancestor, Rufus’s daughter is born. It’s a back and forth time travel and she is always placed in a moment where she could save Rufus’s life who is this Overly obsessed man starting from when he was a small boy.
Kindred is so well written and emotionally effective. It engages the reader with themes of race, gender and class.
Now I’ve never experienced racism so I don’t really how black Americans feel but I share their need to stop feeling marginalized and be seen as equal and privileged as their white counterparts.
It also stresses about gender, Feminism to be precise. Now as a strong feminist, I sympathize with the female slaves, their struggles and what they were forced to do to survive.
Yes, It’s fictional but it feels very real. Kindred by Octavia E Butler deserves a 5 star rating and much more.
Float book review
Waverly Lyon is a seventeen year old who came from the polar region of Alaska to the warm and sunny Holden, Florida. Visiting her aunt for the summer break she decided to be on a low key and stay indoors throughout her summer. But her aunt wouldn’t have it.
Introducing her to their next door neighbour the Hamiltons who has a son, the athletic, arrogant, Handsome and tan Blake Hamilton. Waverly knew that her initial low key plan would be thwarted.
Meeting the other Holden kids, she felt relaxed and comfortable but not around the mysterious Blake Hamilton whom she was determined to avoid but discovering her secret and offering to help her overcome her fear of water, Waverly realized that her poor heart was at stake.
Float by Kate Marchant is a Wattpad teen fiction that is centered around teenage and family drama, self discovery, love and so much more.
It has the magic to make you float.
I definitely recommend Float by Kate Marchant, available for free only on wattpad.
5 Ways to kick your reading slump to the curb. (Excerpt from Asha Reads).
REREAD YOUR FAVORITE BOOK: This method definitely works because I do that all the time. I have lots of books I’ve read over and over again and it gives me this exciting feeling of trying more books.
READ A SHORT STORY: The author said that big books can be daunting and tiring and it can reduce your attention span. I don’t really know about that but personally, big books with nice covers never tires me and I’m not really a fan of short stories.
SWITCH GENRES: I love romance and horror. Too much romance makes me feel too sappy then too much horror makes me feel too excited and too spooky. I would need to switch just to make it more fun. I mean, variety is the spice of life right?
DO A BUDDY READ: She also wrote that reading books with your buddy could be a great motivator to get you back on track. It’s distracting, reading with a friend, I would want to engage in a conversation with him or her. So it’s a no no for me.
TAKE A BREAK: Yeah, that definitely works.
Lastly, this one is from me, Read books from your favorite authors. It definitely sparks my interest and gives me energy to read more books from unknown authors.
I chose to write about this because I’ve been suffering from this disease. When I read Ben Carson ‘ The big picture’ It did the magic for me. I was seriously thinking about researching more on other self help books.
So guys, what do you think? What method works best for you that can actually get you out of a reading slump?
February Book Review
You would assume that my February book review would be a chick flick romantic novel where boy meets girl, they fall in love and pass through trials. Then they get married because after all, it’s a lovers month.
But surprisingly, I wasn’t feeling particularly romantic last month. I needed a little bit variety and Chimamanda Adichie helped with it. When I got my hands on “Purple Hibiscus”, (A Nigerian themed family drama), I couldn’t put it down. It did the magic for me. This was Chimamanda’s first book which she wrote while in school.
I found it relatable because it centered around a Nigerian family who had a staunch catholic fanatic for a father. Its Protagonist is a young 15 year old submissive girl, Kambili, which is Igbo for ‘let me stand’. She fell victim to the strict catholic life her father weaved around her, her brother and her mother,its high religious expectations.
Now, I’m not catholic and I don’t have a strict father but I found myself sympathizing for the poor girl and her mother, for having such a psychotic overbearing man for a father.
Purple Hibiscus tells more about Nigerian culture, Igbo to be precise. A typical Nigerian family, Religion, love and freedom.
I definitely recommend this book written by the well known Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
January book reviews.
The Rogue not taken by Sarah Maclean is a historical romance set up in the 1800s in England. It was known as the Victorian Era. This is an Era where I wouldn’t wish to be a female.
An Era where girls aspire to marriage. Where they compete to be saddled up with the rich and titled men. An Era where girls especially the noble ones are too stiff, too prim and proper. Avoiding anything that would taint their image or ruin their family name because a slight slip up can ruin a good marriage prospect.
So if it means a good and well constructive pretense, they’re up for it.
While the boys are free spirited. They can do whatever they want with the sole aim of having fun. They are flirts, rogues, rakes but would still land a good and well titled lady if they wanted to.
Young Sophie Talbot was surrounded by all these shams and she thought that life was rather unfair to her. After disgracing her brother in law publicly whom she caught red-handed cheating on his wife. She realized that no one cared about what the men did.
She vowed that instant to leave London and its discomforts, lies, deceit and falsehoods to settle for a home free from scrutiny and expectations.
But after meeting a famous and titled Rogue she disliked at their first encounter, she knew that she couldn’t embark on such a journey without a ride and she’d just found one.
King Eversley had his own reasons for leaving London and it included a face to face encounter with his frail father whom he had to meet and possibly hasten his death because of the agony and hurt he’d caused him.
But after meeting Sophie, he knew he’d found a leech and one he couldn’t get rid of.
This book includes trials, sizzling passion, romance, love and it’s also hilarious.
Sophie is someone I relate with. She’s strong, opinionated, stubborn and quite a rebel. I love her spirit and her unconventional ways.
It deserves five stars and lots more.
I recommend this book by Sarah Maclean.
Are there Bookstores in Nigeria?
Are there Bookstores in Nigeria?
Chimamanda Adichie the author of Americanah was asked this question by a French journalist. She found it degrading but calmly replied that there are bookstores in Nigeria. This question created an uproar on social media. But I ask myself this question sometimes. Where are the Bookstores when you need them? The only books I read were the ones I got from my sisters which were given to them by friends. As time went by, my sisters stopped bringing home novels. It got to a point where I found myself rereading the ones I read countless times. My sister and I began a frantic search for a local bookstore but we found none. I browsed online, up to no avail. The only bookstore available was the state library and there was nothing there. Nothing to pique the reader’s interest. Where are the romance novels, mysteries, intrigues, suspense, fantasies, paranormals? The only books available were School books, encyclopedias etc There were no varieties. I gave up and resorted to e-books. I was so happy when I found everything I was looking for on goodreads. I don’t know about you but it is utterly disconcerting to deduce that bookstores are slowly going extinct. It feels like no one reads anymore. What are your thoughts on this?
Amarachi's Corner 