What have I been reading!

Contrary to what I said in my last post about this year running on vibes and not really having many goals for the year, here I go backtracking on what I said previously, as I did set a goal for the year which was to bury my face in books upon books upon books!

I must say, I have really enjoyed my mindset towards reading so far, I love the feeling you get when you venture into the mind of an author, setting sceneries and delving into somebody else’s world – it’s reminded me of why I fell in love with reading in the first place and why I hope to make this year the best in terms of my reading journey!

Here are some of my reads for 2023 so far:

Love in colour – Bolu Babalola

When I first started reading this book, I immediately thought ‘hmm is this for me?’ and decided I wasn’t a fan. But then I realised I have a habit of doing that, especially with songs. I listen to it once or twice and decide it’s not for me, then you will find me rinsing the song out a week or two later!

That was the vibe I got with this book, but I decided to push on with it since it had gotten many positive reviews- and I did not regret this! This book doesn’t follow any storyline or whatever, simply each chapter explores a different love story developing, usually with a bittersweet love ending, leaving me going “aww”. It explored different topics regarding relationship in work dynamics, finances, long distance relationships and more and I must say I loved its realistic take on things. Like Black Mirror, you’re going to have some episodes you don’t particularly like and some you love – similarly, there are some chapters I loved and some which were okay, didn’t really get a reaction out of me. Overall, I would recommend for all you romance fanatics out there!

Pros: It doesn’t follow a storyline which I thought was cool, you can start reading from any chapter as it explores a different story

Cons: For me the first few chapters did not evoke much emotion out of me.

Tomorrow I become a woman – Aiwonose Odafen

Tomorrow I become a woman gave me smiles, tears, anger, despair, hurt, outrage and breakthrough all in one book! This tells the journey of a young women who faces pressures a lot of African young women may go through, to get married, get a house and start a family. It explores the difficult journey of womanhood and the unfortunate effects of beliefs that have stemmed up overtime about the male role in a marriage. Itdoes tackle some difficult subjects, some of which have a sensitive nature, but you still feel urged to push on and read another chapter. One thing this book done is really bring emotions out of me. I felt for the main character, everything she was going through made me really want to fight on her behalf and be with her in person

Pros: Keeps you engaged throughout, great cliff-hangers, drives out emotion and story develop well throughout

Cons: It’s a long one! Some chapters felt a tad bit repetitive or didn’t really develop the storyline enough (nothing really happened). 

An American Marriage – Tayari Jones

I decided to take a step away from my love for African authors and pick An American Marriage which was a highly rated story (Oprah’s book club blah blah). An American Marriage literally gives the clue within the title, a story of a young married couple living in America who face the harsh realities of the American justice system. I’ll leave it at that to not reveal too much of the story (and since that’s all I really know as I’m halfway in!). Overall, it’s been an interesting read so far and I’m looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds

Pros: An amazing storyline which evokes great emotions on a topic that many of us have either experienced or feel strongly about.

Cons: Did take a while for the storyline to develop, takes a while for the scene to be set but once the main plot takes place it gets very interesting.

These have been my reads for the year – hope to explore many genres, literary types and authors. Do let me know of any recommendations!