ImageNations

A lot of things might have happened in the previous year to make it an unforgettable year. There definitely were some positive events and an equally high dose of negative events. After all, who can forget the turbulence that hit the aviation industry. I have dreamt more than two occasions on avoiding to travel by air, and have actually implemented it once. Yet, this is not what defined my year. Several things did though. However, what is germane to this blog will have to do with books and reading. Ever since I reactivated my reading passion and began blogging in 2009, 2014 was the year I read the least amount of books. At 20 books, the average of was less 2 per month, though I went several months without reading a book. This amount of books in 2012 or 2013 would have been swallowed up in about two and half months of reading. But then again, this was 2014 where a lot of things happened. Below is a list of books I read in 2014, where a review is available I have linked it. Books...

I started Readers' Top Ten as a  continue my Readers' Top Ten to introduce to readers of this blog the rich literature the continent has to offer and to move beyond the 'one-novel' representation of African literature. Submission was sporadic and so I have not been consistent with the posting. However, the session is still on and any who want to share could. Today, the Cameroonian reader and writer Nkiacha Atemnkeng shares his top 10 African books, per his reads*. About Nkiacha: Nkiacha Atemnkeng is a young Cameroonian writer. His work has been published in four literary online journals: Malawi Write , The New Black Magazine , Africa Book Club  and Munyori Literary Journal . He was shortlisted for the 2013 Mardibooks short story competition in London and was a finalist for the month of October 2013 at the Africa book club. His musings and book reviews can be found at writerphilic . A holder of a Curriculum Studies and Biology degree, he works as a Swissport Cust...

The most difficult thing to do is creating a list of top favourite items - books, movies, etc. Regardless of what one does, one can and will never be satisfied with a list. Creating a top list of favourite books become even more difficult for people with uncontrollable reading habits, as some participants of Readers' Top Ten alluded to. For a book, the questions or considerations that come to mind include genre: fiction or non-fiction; poetry, prose, drama, creative non-fiction, memoirs, or essays. These things are incomparable as flowers and sheep. See? A story may stay with you because of the prose; another, because of the story - the theme; another, because you can relate - personally - to the subject discussed; others, because they purvey information you never knew. However, in order that I am not perceived as a dictator who only commands but does not follow his own rules and commandments, I have decided to share with you my Top Ten African books. Note that this is a fluid...

Edzordzi G. Agbozo is a budding poet, writer and blogger and won the University of Ghana Community Excellence Award (Creative Arts category) in 2012. He was the convener of the Book and Discussion Club of the Writers Project of Ghana. Edzordzi's poem  The Hippo turned our Canoe  dedicated to Prof Awonoor was published on this blog. He blogs at edordzi.blogspot.com and ghanavoice.wordpress.com . Edzordzi shares with us his Top Ten African books. The only rule in this is that the books be written by an African; the person submitting the list has to define this for himself or herself. I have linked some of the titles to posts within ImageNations, where such reviews are available. Note that my views on these books may drastically differ from Edzordzi's views and so this must be borne in mind when reading those reviews. The Poor Christ of Bomba by Mongo Beti It is a cross-cultural evangelism and feminist sociological novel. The Reverend Father Superior Drumont is a lov...

Manu Herbstein is a civil and structural engineer by profession. He was born in Muizenberg, near Cape Town, in 1936 and educated at the University of Cape Town. Manu is the author of  Ama - a Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade , winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize for First Book, and  Brave Music of a Distant Drum ,  a sequel. Manu Herbstein has lived and worked in England, Nigeria, India, Zambia, and Scotland, and now lives in Ghana. Today Manu shares with us his Top Ten+ African Books. I have linked some of them to reviews and other information within the blog and outside of it. Note that reviews, where they are, are my personal opinion and do not reflect Manu's. _____________________________ Dear God, Since You have a reputation for omniscience, You will surely know that I’ve been an atheist since my teens and expect and intend to remain one until my dying day. My dying day. I need to talk to You about that. At 77 I’ve already received a 10% bonus on t...

About Celestine Nudanu:  Celestine Nudanu is an avid blogger; she blogs at Reading Pleasure . Her passions are books, reading and writing poetry, not necessarily in that order. She says also that she would rather buy books than clothes. When she is not doing any of these she can be found at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana, where she is the Administrative Systems Coordinator. Below is  Celestine's selection of books.  Note that I have linked the titles and authors to posts within ImageNations, where available. My views and his might not be the same and so beware when reading and judging them. _____________________ The list of my top ten African Reads is long overdue and I can only apologise to Nana for the delay in submitting it. With that out of the way, as I know I'm forgiven, I can say that I have read many books, of African and non African authors long before I started blogging last year. I cannot even remember the contents and authors of q...

Book blogging has introduced me to several individuals I would not otherwise have met, either in person or in this virtual world. One of these individuals is Ndeye Sene Mbaye who blogs at Under the Neem Tree . As a bilingualist, Ndeye's blog has several interesting reviews including books which have not yet been translated from French. About Ndeye: Ndeye Sene Mbaye is a Senegalese banker, blogger, fashion-lover, a fanatic of economics & development, politics, global affairs and whatever pertains to black people in general. She lives and works in the bilingual city of Montreal, Canada. Follow her on Twitter: @ndeyesene   and  follow her blog about African Literature @undertheneemtre Below is Ndeye's selection of books.  Note that I have linked the titles and authors to posts within ImageNations, where available. My views and his might not be the same and so beware when reading and judging them. _______________ Choosing 10 books, out of the hundreds...