August in Review, Projections for September

August happened to be another slow month (looks like the second half of the year is not going that well). To begin with, I read only one of the four books I decided to read and other three unscheduled books. That's I didn't stick to my reading plan. At 4 books and 898 pages, I recorded my lowest reading average this year with only 25 pages per day, half as much that of the target. Can I attribute this to excessive watching of TV? You know our president died in the last week of July and was buried in August, so I was glued to my set. A good excuse? Nah! The following were the books read:

1. A Month and a Day & Letters by Ken Saro-Wiwa. This book recounts the last days of this human rights activist who was arrested by Nigeria's president Ibrahim Babangida and sentenced to death by hanging by General Sani Abacha. It talks about his life in prison, how he cope and his work with the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and his struggle against Shell, that  barbaric multinational of ginormous proportions, that multinational monstrosity that scavenges on the poor and hides behind ruthless dictators to achieve their goal of exploitation through ruthless exploration.
2. The Godfather by Mario Puzo. My pulse increases through fury anytime I read the personal struggles of people; people who want the good of the nation and for the people they live with and who are ironically betrayed by the very people for whom they are struggling. After reading Mr Saro-Wiwa's book, I decided to normalise my pulse by reading this book. Mario Puzo is an author I loved before reading his (this) book. I watched The Last Don and loved it so I decided to give the books a try and I wasn't disappointed. He could make you have sympathy with the mafia and make you understand the phrase 'honour among thieves' properly.
3. Unjumping by Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva. This is a poetry anthology with several crosscutting themes of love, life, politics, sexual harassment, upbringing and more. Beverley has a unique way of painting her words.
4. The Repudiation by Rashid Boudjedra. This is a complex novel with a wide theme all involving or about a repudiation of some sorts. It begins from the traditional extended family in Algeria where the patriarchal system allows men to repudiate their wives whilst controlling them and watching over them for any sign of adultery to the repudiation of religion and of state. Its a deep book that needs to be read.

I will be reviewing these books here on my blog so visit often for detailed review on each of them. The classification of books read are: Non-Fiction (Memoir), 1; Novel, 2; Poetry Anthology, 1.

The following are the books I have lined up for September and to which I will religiously stick:

1. Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih. This book is on my Top 100 Books list. I am currently reading this book.
2. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. I scheduled to read this for book last month but I failed to.
3. Journey by G.A. Agambila. I've started this book before but dropped it for no reason. I scheduled it for last month and again did not pick it. I hope I am able to read it this month.
4. Fathers and Daughters - an Athology of Exploration by Ato Quayson (Editor). This goes to my Ayebia Reading Challenge.
5. Growing Yams in London by Sophia Acheampong. It's a long time since I read any Young Adult book. Besides, this British-born Ghanaian author is new to me.