Six Tips on How to Read More Books!

Hey there!

Are you a book lover but don't have the time to read? Or someone who wants to read more books but don't know how to get started? As a young child, I LOVED reading, so much that I read almost all the novels in our house at least twice over! In adulthood, I do enjoy reading, but finding the time (and sometimes energy/motivation) to read has been a bit of a struggle. However, in the past 2 months, I have been able to increase my reading dramatically! I read 4 books in December, and I'm on my 5th book for January. My goal/intention for the year is to read 2 books a month, so I think I'm off to a great start! See my tips below on how to read more books this year.

Book Review: Adenike by Adenike Oyetunde

I wasn't planning to review this, or any book for that matter, but after I happened upon Adenike and read it from cover to cover in a few hours, I knew I had to share it with you here. Before I go into the book itself, I'd like to share a little background story of how I know the author, Adenike Oyetunde.

Book Review - Happy Wives Club

I came across this book, titled Happy Wives Club, while perusing a local Christian bookstore. I won't lie - the main reason why I bought it was because it was on sale - less than $3. But reading the premise of the book "One woman's worldwide search for the secrets of a great marriage" also caught my interest. These are very interesting times. Social media has allowed a lot of information to be shared, and very often, sadly, the stories about marriage are negative. You don't have to look far to read stories of separations, divorce, infidelity, abuse, and more in marriages all over the world. Whereas our parents typically kept quiet about such issues, our generation is more open. And if we're being truthful, marriage honestly doesn't seem like such a great idea anymore. Even in marriages without major issues, a lot of spouses are just simply "managing." It's particularly painful because God created marriage, and anything He creates is inherently good - but as humans, we have allowed it to become bad.

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E-book Review: GET U.G.L.Y

Hey y'all,

I was given the opportunity to read this e-book by Adaeze Obiako (who blogs over at Deserve Your Great Life). Her blog is a series of inspirational posts with a Christian perspective, that discuss topics to aim to help you live a Happy and Fulfilled Life.

She recently published her first e-book, which you can get on her blog for FREE! The title first strikes you - GET U.G.L.Y. She turns the word "UGLY" into an acronym that stands for Unconditionally Grateful Looking like You.

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The introduction tells Ada's story of growing up in high school feeling less than pretty. Fast forward to college, and she became the IT Girl, which surprisingly left her feeling more insecure. (You know how that can be - you begin to feel pressured to look, dress, act a certain way to keep up pretty appearances).

The book then goes on to list ten steps, one per chapter, on how to live a life that makes you look and feel better about yourself. This is not a how-to apply makeup, what-to-wear, trends-to-follow kind of book. Rather, the steps range from Smile to Limiting Time Spent on Social Media and even Accepting Compliments Graciously (which I have a hard time with sometimes).

Apart from the title, one of the first things that struck me were the colors and illustrations. They're fun and quickly draw you in. The book was quite easy to read, and one can easily breeze through it. However, it does give you food for thought, as the theme really deals with learning to love yourself and putting your best, confident foot forward.

I would recommend that you visit Ada's blog and download Get U.G.L.Y for FREE. In fact, I would print some copies and pass around to teenage girls, who are just coming into their own. With the abundance of hypersexualized celebrities and idols out there, our young women need a resource like this book to help filter out the noise and learn to love themselves for WHO they are.

This is a great first effort from Ms. Obiako and I can't wait for more from her.

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My take on Americanah - Includes Spoilers

Months after everyone I know has read and reviewed Americanah  by Chimamanda Adichie, I finally borrowed it from Sheila (visit her blog here) and just finished it last week. Here are my thoughts on Americanah.

I remember reading Half of a Yellow Sun and Purple Hibiscus, and being consumed by those books. For some odd reason, I found reading Americanah much harder. It took me a few weeks to read it. Not because I didn't have time. But it felt like work. I didn't have the same ease I usually would have, when reading something that really interested me. It was almost as if I was reading it only because everyone else had read it. Before I got the book, I was aware that it got mixed reviews - people either loved it or were really underwhelmed. I think it's an okay book. Something to pass the time with when there's nothing else to do.

I also found the book to be mildly depressing. It seemed like none of the characters in the book were happy. Maybe that's why I wasn't thrilled about it. When I read, I like to immerse myself in the characters and their situations. To me, it felt like Ifemelu's moving to and living in America was a terrible situation for her. She seemed more depressed than anything. Let's not even get into Obinze's catastrophic foray in England. I felt very sorry for the guy. But it makes you wonder about the hundreds/thousands of Nigerians who are going through the exact same thing.

Additionally, I felt like I was being preached at by Ms. Adichie, via Ifemelu's blog posts. There was an underlying sense of "This is what you should think about America, white people, natural vs relaxed hair, etc." At different times, I completely skipped the blog posts. There was this condescending tone about them that I didn't appreciate.

My favorite parts were Ifemelu's relationships...
Obinze...
I liked the BA (Before America) relationship with Obinze - first love, passionate and all-consuming. The AA (After America) relationship with him was understandable, yet disappointing. I'm all for True Love, but not at the expense of cheating on your spouse.

Curt...
I personally think Ifemelu was an idiot to cheat on and break up with Curt. Maybe I'm biased because I had a secret fantasy of dating a hawt, young, rich white guy - Yes, I mean Ryan Gosling. I think Curt loved her the best way he knew how to. And truth be told, Ifemelu was the one who was prejudiced against their interracial relationship.

I have to throw in Blaine, for completeness. I didn't like him one bit. End of story.

Erm, I think that's all I have to say about Americanah. I don't feel like getting into the natural vs relaxed hair debate. It's simply overdone and over-argued.

I will leave you with my favorite part of the book though...

HILARIOUS! Moreso because I had African Francophone friends, and I could picture them talking like this.

This is the 4th book I've read this year - Sense and Sensibility, Americanah, Swallow and some book depicting the Ogonis and exploitation of their land/waters for oil. I have to read 4 more to catch up with my goals by the end of August. Any recommendations? And please, no more Nigerian authors. I've had my fill for now.

UPDATE: Eeeek! I've read 5 books this year! How could I forget There Was a Country?! I only liked the first 2 parts though.

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My March Book

Hey everyone,

So a couple of days ago, I posted my 2013 Goals progress. One of my goals, if you remember, is to read 13 books this year (including the Bible). I read Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility in January. A lady at my church wrote a book, which I reluctantly chose as my February book. It's a really short book and I still can't get myself to finish it. So I started my March book: There Was A Country by Chinua Achebe. I haven't yet finished it. I'll start Part 2 today and hopefully finish it before April starts. I might devote a post later on, after I complete the book - Nigeria just makes me sad.

Anyway, the reason why I'm bringing this up is because I've just heard unconfirmed reports that Chinua Achebe has died. It's a tragic loss for Nigeria and the literary world. May he rest in perfect peace. I think I'll add Things Fall Apart to my books list for the year. I don't remember jack about it, having read it in Primary/Secondary School.

A young Chinua Achebe

My March Book

Rest in peace Mr. Chinua Achebe.