Additions to the Library

Last year I purchased fewer books in a month than read. In this way I reduced the number of unread books on my shelf, somewhat. I will continue that principle, in spirit, but only in so far as I have enough books to meet my reading objectives. The implication of this caveat is that because I don't have unread African books (only one or two remain on my shelf) and Russian novels, I would have to buy them to meet my reading goals. Thus, though I will purchase fewer books, books that contribute to the achievement of a reading would would of necessity be purchased. The following are the books I have added to my library:

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. This is to be read for the Year of Russian Literature. Tolstoy considered this to be his first true novel, considering War and Peace as more than a novel. From the blurb: Anna Karenina is one of the most loved and memorable heroines of literature. her overwhelming charm dominates a novel of unparalleled richness and destiny.
2. Rubble by Alex Agyei Agyiri. Every last Wednesday in the month, the Writers Project of Ghana holds a Book Reading discussion with a published author under its Ghana Voices Series programme. This programme is organised in conjunction with the Goethe Institute. At such readings, authors sell autographed copies of their books and participants take advantage to purchase such books. This book was purchased at such a reading. Alex Agyei Agyiri was the reader for March this year. He is also the author of Unexpected Joy at Dawn. From the Blurb: Through unique narrative style, the author ... has outdone himself, exploring the African leadership question. What interests underline the push for leadership? Who profits from the cry by one group, in the interest of 'the people', for change-at-all-cost and the one by the other group for sober restraint? ...
3. Taboo by Mawuli Adzei. The author was the reader for June at the Ghana Voices Series, a monthly book reading organised by the Writers Project of Ghana and the Goethe Institute (refer above). From the blurb: Between Togbi Somadza, chief priest of Tugla's twins, Ata is the one who has always admired his father and nursed ambitions of succeeding him after his death while Atakuma, placid, taciturn and reticent, strays into Christianity against the family tradition. Atakuma is never able to accept full Christianity, which leads him to question the very dogmas of the faith he so passionately profess. ...
4. God Dies by the Nile by Nawal El Saadawi. This is the selection of the Writers Project of Ghana for the month of June. Pick a copy at the EPP Bookshop or Legon Bookshop, read and join us discuss it using the hashtag #wpghbookclub. Tweet at us @writersproject. Nawal El Saadawi is the author of Searching. From the blurb: Kafr El Teen is a beautiful, sleepy village on the banks of the Nile. Yet at its heart it is tyrannical and corrupt. The Mayor, Sheikh Hamzawi of the mosque and the Chief of the Village Guard are all obsessed by wealth and use and abuse the women of the village, taking them as slaves, marrying them and beating them. ...
5. A Heart's Quest by Elikplim Akorli. This is a collection of poetry interspersed with photographs of painting and Japanese translation of some of the poems. From the blurb: A mystical and emotional outpouring revealing the mystery of subsistence and inner self, A Heart's Quest is an account of a psychic flight characterized by constant drifts into abstractness and sexuality. ...