Tag: reading

Audiobooks, Book Covers, Goodreads Reading Challenge (2024), reading

Mid-year reading update & currently reading

by Darkowaa6 Comments on Mid-year reading update & currently reading

It’s summertime! What is everyone reading this summer?

This year, I set my Goodreads challenge to read 24 books – because we’re in the year 2024, duh! Well, we are halfway through the year and I’m proud to say that I’m about 3 books behind schedule haha.

I’ve read 9 books out of 24:

I’m very behind on my reading challenge, but I know I’ll achieve the 24 books goal – even if slowly.

I have only truly enjoyed reading 5 out of the 9 books I’ve read thus far- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh, The Other Significant Others (audio) by Rhaina Cohen, The Three of Us by Ore Agbaje-Williams and Dyscalculia (audio) by Camonghne Felix. These were 4 star reads for me, except The Other Significant Others which isn’t by a Black author, but such a stellar (non-fiction) book! I read the book via audio and deeply appreciated the arguments Cohen presented, as I believe centering friendships over romantic partnerships should be talked about more. That’s the only 5 star book I’ve read so far.

I’m yet to read a book I’m head over heels about this year though. And because of how unenthusiastic I am about books I’ve read so far, I find myself unable to focus on one book at a time. So, I’m currently reading:

I’m reading to Power Moves by Sarah Jakes Roberts via audio and alternating between Hangman and Our Gen. Whenever I practice book polygamy, it means I can’t focus on just one book. One book isn’t arresting my attention enough to finish and move on to the next, systematically. So far, Hangman (which was long-listed for the Women’s Prize this year) is weird! Weird, in a good, original way. But it gets boring after reading 30 pages at a time. Our Gen is quite fun to read, but I’m struggling to get to the plot of the story. But I’ll continue to push through.

Books I have on my radar/TBR for the 2nd half of the year:

I’m really excited to read My Parents’ Marriage because I love fellow Ghanaian-American Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond’s work. Temple Folk looks like a collection I would enjoy. I wish the podcast – Identity Politics, by Ikhlas Saleem and Makkah Ali wasn’t a thing of the past. I’d love to hear them speak to Aaliyah Bilal on her book!

Obviously Chigozie Obioma’s new novel is on my radar – I’ve been a huge fan from the beginning. Jonathan Escoffery’s collection – If I Survive You is popular and I would like to see what the hype is all about. Uche Okonkwo’s debut collection, A Kind of Madness is also on my radar because I love short story collections. Hopefully I can read some of these before the year ends and have some reviews up as well.

In the meantime, I’ll continue to slowly achieve my reading goal this year. I just want it to be more fun. I want to read books and enjoy storylines that I haven’t experienced before. I want to be consumed by original, thought-provoking, compelling work.

What is everyone reading this summer? Please share some of the books you’ve absolutely loved reading so far in 2024.

Book chat, Goodreads Reading Challenge (2018)

2018 READING INTENTIONS

by Darkowaa28 Comments on 2018 READING INTENTIONS

New year, new set of reading intentions!

Instead of using the word ‘goals’, I’ll use the word ‘intentions’. Goals are focused on a specific achievement, while intentions are lived on a daily basis – which is how I intend my reading experience to be this year. My 2017 reading intentions were tough to adhere to, so this year I hope to set some reasonable intentions. I discussed my struggles with my 2017 reading intentions in the 2017 RECAP post.

I’ll continue to read what my mood calls for. I don’t have a set number of African, Caribbean or African-American books to read nor do I have a specific number of books written by women or men I’d like to read either. I like to track books read each year via Goodreads, so entering the Goodreads Reading Challenge helps me do that. Every year I like to declare a goal of at least 18 books as a set point, just to help me gauge my reading experience for the year. I’ll probably read a fewer number of books this year  as (dental) SCHOOL life is very real at the moment. I’ll just be going with the flow – no need to make reading stressful. Reading isn’t a race or competition – at least not for me.

Below are some intentions I’ll be considering during the year:

[Some of the books I enjoyed LAST YEAR (2017)]

  • To READ FOR AT LEAST 40 MINUTES A DAY. Life is quite hectic at the moment. I’m a 4th year dental student and will be in 5th year soon (its a 6 year program) so my nose always has to be in a textbook, in group-study discussions or on the ward/in the clinic completing requirements and attending to patients. But if I’m able to dedicate 40 minutes a day to just reading leisurely, I think that would keep me sane.

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  • To CATCH UP ON MY BOOK REVIEWS. I’ve incorporated interesting book chats and discussions onto this platform. I plan on continuing the book chats, but I must stay true to the essence of this book blog – which was initially (and still is) a book reviewing / book recommendations space. I have a growing backlog of book reviews from the previous years that I plan on posting throughout this year.

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  • To READ MORE GHANAIAN LITERATURE. Last March, during Ghana’s 60th Independence Anniversary, I showcased 75 Ghanaian writers and their books. It was a daunting, yet fulfilling mini project that I’m very proud of! As I was researching the writers and books for the project, I realized I had read just a handful of the books highlighted. As a Ghanaian, its important for me to read and celebrate the works of writers from my homeland. I hope to read at least 5 books by Ghanaian writers this year. Please join me in this challenge, if you can! Ghanaian literature is so underrated.

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  • To RE-READ BOOKS I LOVED IN THE PAST. Some readers don’t believe in re-reading books. We live in an age where the hype of new releases makes us forget the phenomenal books of earlier years. I personally don’t think books are meant to be read and forgotten. Books should be read, meditated on and read AGAIN whenever the need arises. So this year, I want to re-read at least 3 books I loved in the past (that haven’t been reviewed on this platform).

Here’s to a successful year of reading (with few reading slumps), for all of us!

It’s almost the end of the 1st month of 2018, have you figured out your reading intentions/goals yet? Please do share some!