2015 Recap & My Top 5!

Hey everyone!

I hope the holiday season has been relaxing thus far. 2015 is almost over! I ended up reading 26 books this year (and I turned 26 years old this year too, haha. It’s a coincidence, I promise). The break down of my 2015 reading experience is as follows:

Longest book read: A Deeper Love Inside: The Porsche Santiaga Story by Sister Souljah – 432 pages.

Shortest book read: We Should All be Feminists by Chimamanda N. Adichie  – 32 pages.

African literature: 10 books

Caribbean literature: 2 books

African-American/Black literature: 11 books

Other: 3 books (these are non-African diaspora books. I read books written by – Mitch Albom, Lena Dunham, Jhumpa Lahiri)

14 women writers ; 6 men writers 

I read multiple books (two each) by the following authors: Amma Darko, Maya Angelou, Ngūgī wa Thiong’o, Alice Walker, Chinua Achebe and Nayyirah Waheed. 

Top 5 favorite books of 2015

1. The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
2. You Can’t Keep a Good Women Down by Alice Walker
3. The Trouble with Nigeria by Chinua Achebe
4. salt. by Nayyirah Waheed
5. Dreams In a Time of War by Ngūgī wa Thiong’o

These books took a toll on my emotions the most! If you’ve read my reviews for these 5 books, you know exactly why they are my top 5! And didn’t I say The Fishermen would win many awards? So far Obioma’s debut novel was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize (this is a big deal!) alongside other nominations, and won the 2015 Emerging Voices Award. There are probably more awards it’s won that I’m missing out! I’m not surprised by the success of The Fishermen, it is well deserved – #iToldYouSo!

Reviews for all the books read this year are in the Book Reviews section of the book blog. [Some missing reviews (4 of them) will be posted in 2016].

I also attended quite a number of book readings, thanks to Writers Project of Ghana and some invitations I received to attend readings. Below are pictures of my favorite reading events this year:

Eghosa Imasuen reading ‘Fine Boys’ at the Goethe Institute.

Got it signed!

Ayesha H. Attah’s reading at cafe – Cappa Cappuccino

The audience at Ayesha H. Attah’s reading

Me and Ayesha H. Attah!

Me asking a question at Ayesha H. Attah’s reading. Photo Credit: J.K Photography

Photo Credit: J.K Photography

Finally, currently reading this now!

Finally met Binyavanga Wainaina!

In my 2014 recap, I mentioned that my favorite book for 2014 was Binyavanga Wainaina’s memoir, One Day I Will Write About This Place. I was elated to finally meet him when he came to Accra! Unfortunately, Binyavanga recently suffered from a series of strokes and is receiving medical care in India. I pray he has a speedy recovery, so we can all enjoy his fun-loving spirit soon. Let’s keep him in our prayers!

Finally, this year I joined in a partnership with AFREADA !

“AFREADA is an online literary magazine, featuring original stories from emerging writers across the Continent.”

If you write short stories or you love photography, definitely submit your work to AFREADA! And if you are a lover of original, African short stories – visit the website! There are some lovely stories written by talented writers from all over the continent, as well as photo stories AND book reviews by me! Visit http://www.afreada.com, and thank me later. 

It has been a fulfilling year! What were your favorite books of 2015? And what were some of your fave bookish events? Please do share!

I’m truly grateful to everyone who frequents this book blog and for the great discussions (agreements, disagreements and recommendations) we have in the comments section. I also enjoyed commenting on various blogs as well! I really appreciate the support and love shown here from you all. I’m excited for all I have to share in 2016. God bless 🙂