Thanks for participating in the Africa Reading Challenge.
For those with blogs: please link to your reviews to this post.
Those without blogs can comment below on the books you’ve read or provide updates on your reading progress Also, you can guest blog your reviews at Kinna Reads; do contact me if you wish to do so.
2014 Reviews
January
- Distant View of a Minaret by Alifa Rifaat (mdbrady’s Me, You and Books)
- We Need New Name by NoViolet Bulawayo (Nishita’s Rants and Raves)
- Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko (mdbrady’s Me, You and Books)
- In A Strange Room by Damon Galgut (Lilolia)
February
- Dilemma of a Ghost & Anowa by Ama Ata Aidoo (mdbrady’s Me, You and Books)
- Philida by Andre Brink (Lilolia)
- In Dependence by Sarah Ladipo Manyika (mdbrady’s Me, You and Books)
- We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo (Becky’s Books)
March
- A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story by Linda Sue Park (Crystal’s Reviews)
- Desmond and the Very Mean Word by Desmond Tutu (Crystal’s Reviews)
- Under the Same Sun by Sharon Robinson (Crystal’s Reviews)
- The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh (Orange Pekoe Reviews)
- Finding Soutbek by Karen Jennings (Lilolia)
- Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (Reading Through Life)
- Scene From A Provincial Life by JM Coetzee (Becky’s Books)
- The Fear by Peter Goodwin (Becky’s Books)
April
- Sardines by Nuruddin Farah (Returning Reader)
- Ancestor Stones by Aminatta Forna (mdbrady’s Me, You and Books)
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Crystal Reviews)
- Admiring Silence by Abdulrazak Gurnah (ANZ LitLovers Litblog)
- The Past Ahead by Gilbert Gatore (ANZ LitLovers LitBlog)
May
- Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami (mdbrady’s Me, You and Books)
- Kehinde by Buchi Emecheta (mdbrady’s Me, You and Books)
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Orange Pekoe Reviews)
- Check Out These African Women Writers (BookingIt)
- Daughters Who Walk thisPath by Yejide Kilanko (Anz LitLovers LitBlog)
June
- North Africa Writers: Adhaf Soueif (BookingIt)
- North African Women Writers: Fatima Mernissi (BookingIt)
- Tropical Fish: Stories From Entebbe by Doreen Baingana (mdbrady’s Me, You and Books)
- True Murder by Yaba Badoe (mdbrady’s Me, You and Books)
- The Shawod of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski (Maphead’s Blog)
July
- July’s People by Nadine Gordimer (mdbrady’s Me, You and Books)
- On Black Sisters Street by Chika Unigwe (mdbrady’s Me, You and Books)
August
- July’s People by Nadine Gordimer (Lilolia)
- Foreign Gods, Inc by Okey Ndibe (Lilolia)
- Death and the King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka (mdbrady’s Me, You and Books)
November
- Changes by Ama Ata Aidoo (ANZ LitLovers LitBlog)
- Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Me, You and Books)
December
- Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okrafor (Border Crossings)
- A Girl Called Problem by Katie Quirk (Crystal’s review on Goodreads)
- Foreign Gods Inc by Okey Ndibe (Crystal’s review on Goodreads)
- Child of Dandelions by Shenaaz Nanji (Crystal’s review on Goodreads)
- Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga (Booking It)
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Booking It)
Kinna Reads 
I also read A Girl Called Problem (set in Tanzania), https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/570859889 and Foreign Gods, Inc. (set in the U.S. and Nigeria) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1082914940. Is it my imagination or are there more Nigerian books published in the U.S. than the other countries in Africa? It seems that I find more books by or about Nigeria than others. Also, I found this article very interesting: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/opinion/sunday/african-books-for-western-eyes.html?_r=0
LikeLike
Here’s a review of Child of Dandelions. It takes place in Uganda though the story is told from the perspective of a girl whose family came to Uganda during British rule. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1077943707
LikeLike
Hello Kinna, here’s my reading for 2014:
Changes by Ama Ata Aidoo http://anzlitlovers.com/2014/11/30/changes-by-ama-ata-aidoo/
Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko http://anzlitlovers.com/2014/05/25/daughters-who-walk-this-path-by-yejide-kilanko/
(Not sure if this one counts because the author now lives in the UK) Admiring Silence by Abdulrazak Gurnah http://anzlitlovers.com/2014/04/25/admiring-silence-by-abdulrazak-gurnah/
The Past Ahead by Gilbert Gatore http://anzlitlovers.com/2014/04/07/the-past-ahead-by-gilbert-gatore-translated-by-marjolijn-de-jager/
Cheers
Lisa
LikeLike
Wizard of Crow is absolutely amazing. Should be read by all–not just Africans. See my review http://wp.me/p24OK2-1gF.
LikeLike
Here is my third review, of Mohamed Choukri’s “For Bread Alone”: http://returningreader.wordpress.com/2014/11/05/50-for-bread-alone-mohamed-choukri/
LikeLike
I read this in July but am reviewing it only now: The Yacoubian Building, by Alaa Al Aswany.
My post is at http://returningreader.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/35-the-yacoubian-building-alaa-al-aswany/
LikeLike
It’s been awhile since I checked in. Here is another review. This one is set in Sudan. The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2014/10/review-red-pencil.html
LikeLike
Segu, by Maryse Conde is a wonderful historical novel set in West Africa in the early 1900s. See my review.http://wp.me/p24OK2-1du
LikeLike
Africa Reading Challenge #5 July’s People by Nadine Gordimer http://lilolia.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/review-julys-people-by-nadine-gordimer/
LikeLike
Africa Reading Challenge #4 Foreign Gods Inc by Okey Ndibe http://lilolia.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/review-foreign-gods-inc-by-okey-ndibe/
LikeLike
I have posted my review of July’s People, by Nadine Grodimer, sadly the day she died. I found it to be an impressive statement of what happens to people, black and white, when power shifts. She shows a white author can listen to blacks and write about them with respect. http://wp.me/p24OK2-1bT
LikeLike
I’m finding some great books in trying a book from every African country: http://booksofafrica.wordpress.com/
LikeLike
I wonder if you saw this New York Times article on African writers. I shared it on my blog.
http://debrabooks.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/new-york-times-article-on-african-writers/
LikeLike
http://debrabooks.wordpress.com/2014/05/04/check-out-these-african-women-writers/
In this post, I provided a brief overview of a handful of African women writers. Maybe some people will find this helpful.
LikeLike
http://debrabooks.wordpress.com/2014/06/17/check-out-these-great-north-african-woman-writers-part-ii-fatima-mernissi/
Here is a past post I did on Fatima Mernissi, a Moroccan writer. Again, this won’t count as one of my five for the challenge since I did it before signing up.
LikeLike
http://debrabooks.wordpress.com/2014/06/13/check-out-these-north-african-women-writers-part-i-ahdaf-soueif/
I have written on two of Ahdaf Soueif’s novels on my blog at this address. I wrote this before signing up for the African Lit challenge, so I still plan to do five more. 🙂
LikeLike
I have reviewed Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie: http://wp.me/p3dB1g-eb
Highly recommended 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks for this. I have this book and plan to read it soon! I loved her other books-“Purple Hibiscus” and “Half of a Yellow Sun.”
LikeLike
[…] Kinna Reads offers a host of resources to get you up to date on African literature (including women writers) with several reading lists and well-done reviews. […]
LikeLike
Just posted my review of Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, by Laila Lalami. It’s a great book, another that Kinna suggested.
LikeLike
#5 Americanah (Nigeria again) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/896494091 I know we are supposed to choose multiple countries, but I couldn’t wait to read the book after watching this interview with the author http://new.livestream.com/schomburgcenter/events/2831224/videos/45613924
LikeLike
#4 Akata Witch (Nigeria) http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-akata-witch-akata-witch-1.html
LikeLike
Africa Reading Challenge #3 Finding Soutbek by Karen Jennings
http://lilolia.wordpress.com/2014/03/27/review-finding-soutbek-by-karen-jennings/
LikeLike
#1 The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh. http://wp.me/p3dB1g-aC
LikeLike
Posted my first review today: http://returningreader.wordpress.com/2014/03/08/14-sardines-nuruddin-farah/. It was a tough one, I hope the next will be easier! (Sardines, Nuruddin Farah)
LikeLike
I finished my first chapter book for the challenge – A Long Walk to Water which is a middle grade book that takes place mostly in Sudan but ventures briefly into Ethiopia and Kenya. It’s based on events in the life of one of the “lost boys” of Sudan. Here is a brief review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/573697171
I also read two picture books: Desmond and the Very Mean Word by Desmond Tutu (South Africa) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/695647061 and Under the Same Sun by Sharon Robinson (Tanzania) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/867149846
LikeLike
Africa Reading Challenge #2 Philida by Andre Brink
http://lilolia.wordpress.com/2014/02/27/review-philida-by-andre-brink/
LikeLike
Just reviewed In Dependence, by Sarah Ladipo Mayika. It is a great book; a love story of a Nigerian man and an English woman, placed in the context of emerging independence of African countries.
LikeLike
Dilemma of a Ghost and Anowa: Two Plays, by Ama Ata Aidoo. Very moving plays. http://wp.me/p24OK2-11Y
LikeLike
I read two books by African authors in January and thought both were excellent.
Daughters who Walk the Path, Yejide Kilanko. A candid novel by a Nigerian woman about young women’s sexual vulnerability and their efforts to move on beyond their pain.
Distant View of a Minaret, by Alifa Rifaat. Sharply honest stories by an Egyptian writing from within the isolated world of Muslim women. A very well-crafted classic.
LikeLike
Here’s my first read of the African literature reading challenge:
http://nishitak.com/2014/01/24/we-need-new-names-a-book-review/
I read We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
LikeLike
[…] Africa Reading Challenge 2014 (hosted here) You can join here and link reviews […]
LikeLike
Africa Reading Challenge # 1 In A Strange Room by Damon Galgut
http://lilolia.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/review-in-a-strange-room-by-damon-galgut/
LikeLike