#jennifer nansubuga makumbi

[smokefalls]

Death likes his brides beautiful.

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Kintu

[ekute-ile]

Book 34, 2022: 'Manchester Happened' by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi.

Collection. Ugandans. England. Home. Identity. Culture. Belonging. Family.

Weltanschauung.

[datsderbunnyblog]

"Everywhere was a lightness in the air, one that came only when grown-ups were away. All that loving, that making sure you were okay and behaving, got heavy sometimes."

— The First Woman, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

[nelkenbabe]

there was this african book festival in berlin last summer, and i still think about it every few days, checking to see if there is a 2023 date. there were so many fantastic things there, but something that stayed with me is the panel with the author of The First Woman, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

she talked about the protagonist of the novel, and especially how it took years and years to publish it. how Kirabo, the mc, had been with her for decades (?) before the manuscript was accepted. how she would do mundane tasks, like swimming in a pool, and ask herself: would Kirabo enjoy this? what kind of bathing suit would she wear? how she knew Kirabo inside and out, almost like a friend

as somebody who has had their own characters live in their brain since they were a child, this was so validating. my character Risa is the only thing that can lull me to sleep. it always felt silly, i still feel silly, bursting with all this information about this person that isn’t real. the intense adoration for a figment of my imagination, knowing dialogue that was never written down by heart

it was validating as a writer (-ish) to hear such an accomplished, impressive author talk excitedly about her character and nodding eagerly when a question about Kirabo was asked

it was just such a good day. i hadn’t even read the book yet, but i bought it there on the spot and asked her to sign it, and she was so nice about it

[snswllr]

In his view there is nothing as sad as having fussed over your name all your life–my name is...I was named so because or after my...only to be tagged "unknown" in death just because you can't say it.

Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

[victorletras]

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[judgingbooksbycovers]

Kintu

By Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi.

Design by Nathan Burton.

[masonhawth0rne]

What I read in 2023!

Isn't it nice to have the whole year's worth of something in one handy list?

January

Medieval England: From Arthur to the Tudor Conquest, Jennifer Paxton ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

The Day of the Triffids, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hannibal, Livy ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster, Sam L Amirante, Danny Brodrick ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

This Is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone ⭐️⭐️

Trouble With Lichen, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Reanimator's Heart, Kara Jorgensen 😠

The Miracle of Dunkirk, Walter Lord ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

Alone on the Ice, David Roberts ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

The Midwich Cucoos, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hanging Tree, Ben Aaronovitch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Polygamist's Daughter, Anna LeBaron, Leslie WIlson ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

Stowaway to Mars, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️

Confession of a Serial Killer, Katherine Ramsland ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

Sparta's First Attic War, Paul A Rahe ⭐️⭐️ NF

FantasticLand, Mike Bockoven ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Instructions for American Servicemen in Australia 1942, Special Service Division Services of Supply US Army ⭐️⭐️⭐️NF

Columbus Day, Craig Alanson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blood in the Snow, Tom Henderson ⭐️⭐️NF

The Andromeda Strain, Michael Crichton ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Last Days of Stalin, Joshua Rubenstein ⭐️⭐️⭐️NF

Sons of Cain, Peter Vronsky ⭐️⭐️NF

Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Web, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️

An Unnatural Vice, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An Unsuitable Heir, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alexander the Great, Norman F Cantor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️NF

A Dark Night in Aurora, William H Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️NF

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Snow Killings, Marney Rich Keenan ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

The Odyssey, Homer trans. Emily Wilson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Martian, Andy Weir ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

How Great Science Fiction Works, Gary K Wolfe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️NF

Lies Sleeping, Ben Aaronovitch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

February

False Value, Ben Aaronovitch ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Amongst Our Weapons, Ben Aaronovitch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Revelation Space, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lancashire Witches, William Harrison Ainsworth ⭐️

Queen of Teeth, Hailey Piper ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hacienda, Isabel Cañas ⭐️⭐️

Age of Myth, Michael J Sullivan ⭐️⭐️

The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester ⭐️⭐️

All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Meddling Kids, Edgar Cantero ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Monsters We Defy, Leslye Penelope ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Man and the Crow, Rebecca Crunden (ss)⭐️

A Better Fate, DN Bryn (ss) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Artemis One-Zero-Five, CHristopher Henderson DNF

House of Suns, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

All Systems Red, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Artificial Condition, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rogue Protocol, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Exit Strategy, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

New Earth, Ben Bova ⭐️⭐️

Death Wave, Ben Bova ⭐️

Mouth of Mirrors, Maxwell I Gold (ss) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

March

On the Beach, Nevil Shute ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Star Nomad, Lindsay Buroker ⭐️

Burning Roses, SL Huang ⭐️⭐️

Trick or Treat, Richie Tankersley Cusick ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unfinished Tales, JRR Tolkien ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pushing Ice, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The End of the World Anthology ⭐️⭐️

The Home of the Blizzard (nf), Sir Douglas Mawson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Night Stalker (nf), Philip Carlo ⭐️⭐️⭐️

In the Court of the Nameless Queen, Natalie Ironside ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Green Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Ultimate Evil (nf), Maury Terry ⭐️

The Hillside Stranglers (nf), Darcy O'Brien ⭐️⭐️

The Element of Fire, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chasm City, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

April

The Stolen Heir, Holly Black ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kintu, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kidnapped, Diane Hoh ⭐️⭐️

Overlord, David Wood & Alan Baxter ⭐️⭐️

Child of God, Cormac McCarthy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Walking to Aldebaran, Adrian Tchaikovsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Redemption’s Blade, Adrian Tchaikovsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️

At the Mountains of Madness, HP Lovecraft ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Initiation, Diane Hoh ⭐️⭐️

The Book of Queer Saints Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Expert System’s Brother, Adrian Tchaikovsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pluto’s Republic, David Roochnik (nf) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Twisted Ones, T Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Evil Roots, Killer Tales of Botanical Gothic Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Shadow Over Innsmouth, HP Lovecraft ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Whisperer in Darkness, HP Lovecraft ⭐️⭐️

Alien: Convenant Origins, Alan Dean Foster ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: Coveant, Alan Dean Foster ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Wendigo, Algernon Blackwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien III, William Gibson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: The Cold Forge, Alex White ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Republic, Plato ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: Prototype, Tim Waggoner ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: Isolation, Keith RA DeCandido ⭐️⭐️

A Thief in the Night, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Dialogues, Plato ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: Into Charybdis, Alex White ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: Infiltrator, Weston Ochse ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Percent, Jon Elofson (ss) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aliens: Bug Hunt Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Growing Things & Other Stories, Paul Tremblay ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Babel-17, Samuel R. Delany ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lords of Uncreation, Adrian Tchaikovsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

May

The Day We Ate Grandad, CM Rosens ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: Out of the Shadows, Tim Lebbon ⭐️⭐️

Jaws, Peter Benchley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Room on the Sea, Andrē Aciman ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: River of Pain, Christopher Golden ⭐️⭐️

Alien: Sea of Sorrows, James A Moore ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Gentleman From Peru, Andrē Aciman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Century Rain, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hyperion, Dan Simmons ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dust, Elizabeth Bear ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

100 Fathoms Below, Steven L Kent & Nicholas Kaufmann ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Saturn’s Monsters, Thomas K Carpenter ⭐️

Address Unknown, Kressmann Taylor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Murder by Other Means, John Scalzi ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Ethics of Aristotle, Joseph Koterski ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Neil Gaiman at the end of the Universe, Arvind Ethan David ⭐️⭐️

Bag of Bones, Stephen King ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bewilderness, Part One: Threshold, Jonathan Maberry ⭐️

Ten Low, Stark Holborn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Benny Rose, the Cannibal King, Hailey Piper ⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Dark Vanessa, Kate Elizabeth Russell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester ⭐️

Three Hearts and Three Lions, Poul Anderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Almost Human(nf), Lee Berger & John Hawks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Paladin’s Grace, T Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Killing the Bismarck(nf), Iain Ballantyne ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ancient Mesopotamia(nf), Amanda H Podany ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Art of War(nf), Andrew R Wilson ⭐️⭐️

The White People, Arthur Machen ⭐️

June

Witch King, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Broken Sword, Poul Anderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Early Middle Ages (nf), Philip Daileader ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The History of Ancient Egypt (nf), Bob Brier ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Banewreaker, Jacqueline Carey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Godslayer, Jacqueline Carey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chernobyl 01:23:40 (nf), Andrew Leatherbarrow ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stress and Your Body (nf), Robert Sapolsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ice Ghosts (nf), Paul Watson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Illiad, Homer, trans. Edward Earl of Derby ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Th Hunt & the Haunting, Victoria Audley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Our Shadows Have Claws Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Writing Creative Nonfiction (nf), Tilar JJ Mazzeo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Brain Wave, Poul Anderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Forever War, Joe Haldeman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

July

Travel by Bullet, John Scalzi ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Redemption Ark, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Labrys(ss), Victoria Audley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Grown Gown(ss), Derek Des Anges ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hellbound Heart, Clive Barker ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Orca, Arthur Herzog III ⭐️

The Gallows Pole, Benjamin Myers ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Chemist, Stephanie Meyer ⭐️

Icehenge, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Band Sinister, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Now She Is Witch, Kirsty Logan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Slow Bullets, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Inside the Mind of BTK(nf), Johnny Dodd & John Douglas ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Antarctica, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

August

The Henchmen of Zenda, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Morning Star, Peter Atkins ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Subsidence (ss), Steve Rasnic Tem ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Man in the High Tower, Philip K Dick ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What the Dead Know (ss), Nghi Vo ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maze Runner, James Dashner ⭐️

Unfit to Print, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chill, Elizabeth Bear ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bryony and Roses, T Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Confessor (ss), Elizabeth Bear ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Grail, Elizabeth Bear ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Babylon (nf), Paul Kriwaczek ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unquiet, E Saxey DNF

The Ritual of the Labyrinth (ss), Esmée de Heer ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Terminal World, ALastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Essays of Flesh and Bone (ss), Victoria Audley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Book Eaters, Sunyi Dean ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Future of Work: Compulsory (ss), Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lady or the Tiger (ss), Frank Stockton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Too Like the Lightning, Ada Palmer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Falling Free, Lois McMaster Bujold ⭐️⭐️

Dreamsnake, Vonda N McIntyre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The First Fossil Hunters (nf), Adrienne Mayor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shards of Honor, Lois McMaster Bujold ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Red Land, Black Land (nf), Barbara Mertz ⭐️⭐️⭐️

On Planetary Palliative Care (ss), Thomas Ha ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nova, Samuel R Delany ⭐️⭐️⭐️

September

Time to Orbit: Unknown, Derin Edala ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️*

The Invincible, Stanislaw Lem ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Prefect, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Myrtha (ss), Victoria Audley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Archaeology: An Introduction to the World’s Greatest Sites (nf), Eric H Cline ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Catching Teller Crow, Amberlin Kwaymullina & Ezekiel Kwaymullina ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Old Man’s War, John Scalzi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Don’t Hang Up, Benjamin Stevenson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superluminal, Vonda N McIntyre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

World War Z, Max Brooks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flight of the Fantail, Steph Matuku ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cyteen, CJ Cherryh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Regenesis, CJ Cherryh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mindfulness for Stress Management (nf), Dr Robert Schacter ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Orange Eats Creeps, Grace Krilanovich ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kushiel’s Dart, Jacqueline Carey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aye, and Gomorrah (ss), Samuel R. Delany ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Carnage (nf), Mark Dapin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blue Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unknown, Jordan L Hawk ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chocky, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sword of Empire: Praetorian, Richard Foreman ❌

Revival, Stephen King ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Apollo Murders, Chris Hadfield ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*Time to Orbit: Unknown is hosted online [HERE] and is currently still updating twice a week

October

Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, Hailey Piper ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ghost Bird, Lisa Fuller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hound of the Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Forest of Stolen Girls, June Hur ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Liar’s Dice, Jeannie Lin ⭐️

Straya, Anthony O'Connor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Toxic, Dan Kaszeta (nf) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Illuminae, Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Penhallow, Georgette Heyer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Myth of the Self Made Man, Ruben Reyes Jr (ss) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Call, Christian White & Summer De Roche ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Death of the Necromancer, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cretins, Thomas Ha (ss) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kill Your Brother, Jack Heath ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Doors of Perception, Aldous Huxley (nf) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Valley of Terror, Zhou Haohui, tr. Bonnie Huie ⭐️⭐️

The Curse of the Burdens, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️

Amazons, Adrienne Mayor (nf) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Kraken Wakes, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dead Mountain, Donnie Eichar (nf) ⭐️⭐️

Family Business, Jonathan Sims ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In the House of Aryaman A Lonely Signal Burns, Elizabeth Bear ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Blessing of Unicorns, Elizabeth Bear ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

METAtropolis Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plan for Chaos, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Fatal Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, Emma Southon (nf) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Outward Urge, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️

King Solomon’s Mines, H. Rider Haggard DNF

The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle tr. David Ross (nf) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

November

The Jewel of Seven Stars, Bram Stoker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Terror, Dan Simmons ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hannibal: The Military Genius who Almost Conquered Rome, Eve MacDonald ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ nf

Luna, Ian McDonald ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hoka! Hoka! Hoka!, Poul Anderson & Gordon R Dickson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dracula, Bram Stoker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cicero: The Life & Times of Rome's Greatest Politician, Anthony Everitt ⭐️⭐️⭐️nf

The Worst Journey in the World, Apsley Cherry-Garrard ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️nf

METAtropolis: Cascadia Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Haunting of Willow Creek, Sara Crocoll Smith ⭐️

Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne ⭐️⭐️

METAtropolis: Green Space Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

December

Carrion Comfort, Dan Simmons ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wanted, A Gentleman, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️

Interview With the Vampire, Anne Rice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Henry VIII: King & Court, Alison Weir ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

Alexander the Great & the Macedonian Empire, Kenneth W Harl⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

The Isles of the Gods, Amie Kaufman ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Sandman, Neil Gaiman & Dirk Maggs DNF

Phosphorescence, Julia Baird ⭐️⭐️⭐️NF

And so the grand total for 2023 is....

267!

Of course, there's a couple of DNFs in there which inflate this number somewhat, but I am absolutely not going to pick through and count them out. Plus, a DNF only gets included on the list if I've gotten through a significant portion of the book. If it's a page one no-no, it's not even worth mentioning.

I made the decision at the start of this year, to try out more books I'd never heard of before. I really like trawling through the library app, or through audible's free archives and finding stuff that I'd probably never normally have discovered. Also, revisiting books that I read a long time ago and seeing if they resemble my memories of them.

Overall, I think this was a very satisfying year of reading, and I hope that I enjoy 2024's reads just as much!

nf= non fiction ss= short story

Stars awarded at my whim.

[safiyadaydreams]

My top ten reads of 2022

Memoirs

🌼 Head Above Water by Shahd Alshammari

🌼 The Return by Hisham Matar

🌼 How I Survived a Chinese ‘Re-Education Camp’ by Gulbahar Haitiwaji and Rozenn Morgat, translated by Edward Gauvin

Fiction

🌼 Discretion by Faïza Guène, translated by Sarah Ardizzone

🌼 What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad

🌼 As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

🌼 No Land to Light On by Yara Zgheib

Short Stories

🌼 Shatila Stories published by Peirene Press, nine contributors: Omar Khaled Ahmad, Nibal AlAlow, Safa Khaled Algharbawi, Omar Abdellatif Alndaf, Rayan Mohamad Sukkar, Safiya Badran, Fatima Omar Ghazawi, Samih Mahmoud, Hiba Mareb. Translated by Nashwa Gowanlock

🌼 Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

🌼 The Sea Cloak and Other Stories by Nayrouz Qarmout, translated by Perween Richards

[adito-lang]

23 books for 2023

East Asian

해가 지는 곳으로　To the Warm Horizon (Choi Jin-young)

膜　The Membranes (Chi Ta-wei)

かがみの孤城　Lonely Castle in the Mirror (Tsujimura Mizuki) 

独り舞　Solo Dance (Li Kotomi)

密やかな結晶　The Memory Police (Ogawa Yōko)

Scandinavian

Feminin gange (Molly Øxnevad)

Norsk Nok (ed. Mala Naveen)

Hør Her’a (Gulraiz Sharif) 

Blomsterdalen (Niviaq Korneliussen) - Originally in Danish but I have the Norwegian translation

Aniara (Harry Martinson)

Björnstad (Fredrik Backman)

Hästpojkarna (Johan Ehn) - Originally in Swedish but I have the Norwegian translation Hesteguttene 

African

Born a Crime (Trevor Noah)

The Death of Vivek Oji (Akwaeke Emezi) 

Kintu (Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi) 

Dutch and German

Half (Baron Ali)

Wij slaven van Suriname (Anton de Kom)

De Goede Immigrant (ed. Dipsans Podcast)

Herkunft (Saša Stanišić)

Und Gad ging zu David (Gad Beck)

Das Integrationsparadox (Aladin El-Mafaalani)

Scottish and British

The Wages of Sin (Kaite Welsh) 

Maurice (E.M. Forster) 

[bookclub4m]

28 Family Sagas by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi

An Unlasting Home by Mai Al-Nakib

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

These Ghosts Are Family by Maisy Card

America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo

Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros

The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich

Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama

Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan

A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

Cane River by Lalita Tademy

The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan

Daughters of the New Year by E.M. Tran

The Strangers by Katherena Vermette

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

[smokefalls]

He saw it sink behind the trees and thought, this is how we grow old: by letting the moon and the sun overtake us.

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Kintu

[vlindervin7]

🍂

hello! i have chosen 'the first woman' by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi for you. it's the coming of age story of a girl growing up while searching for her mother set in uganda. it uses a lot of ugandan mythology which was fascinating, and i thought all the different characters were so interesting and complex. it's about womanhood, the different facets of motherhood, about female solidarity as a tool against the patriarchy, while also giving subtle insight into the political situation of the time, and it's just really beautiful. the very last scene is etched into my mind because i loved it so much and it felt like such a perfect and beautiful ending that really solidified what the core message of the novel is. and also the cover is stunning!!!!

[ekute-ile]

Book 28, 2022: 'Kintu' by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi.

Buganda. Uganda. Generational curse. Bloodlines. Family. Tragedies. History. Tradition. Remedy. Discovery.

Weltanschauung.

[snswllr]

Counting how many children there were in the house was to invite death because only death counts people. You don't ask visitors whether they will eat or have tea because you are telling them to say no.

Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

[therhythmismyblanket]

For the book ask 2, 13, 17

Also I hope you had a good day!!

Thank you for the ask, Divine!☺️ Finally feeling better after a couple of rough days, so I am, thank you. Hope you’ve had a good week so far as well!!🤗

2. Top 5 books of all time

Already answered this one here BUT I’m gonna give an alternate answer because I live because and am bad at picking faves lol. So here goes: Dschinns - Fatma Aydemir, the first woman - Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Audre Lorde - Zami or a new spelling of my name, Loveless - Alice Oseman

13. Do you have a goodreads?

Yes I do! I’ve actually been meaning to switch to storygraph, but I just added some on my friends to Goodreads which is kinda cool, so I don’t want to leave them behind so, yeah. (Yes I know I could try to convince them to switch as well but that’s probably not happening tbh)

17. Top 5 children’s books?

Already answered this one for Sahra over here. And I cannot for the life of me remember many more so I’m gonna leave jt at that.