All things Books!!!
“The oldest technology in Africa is storytelling” Ben Okri
Stay updated with the latest trending Pan-African literature scene. Housing a variety of book reviews and recommendations, interviews with writers, book events and a network of writers and readers.
Not a tree, a bud and a flower. Just some thoughts
Odd Bookers By Radiyah Manjoo Fellow reader, Warning: I have not reviewed any books this month. My sister made a statement that people could be reduced to two main traits that sum up their character. …
Odd Bookers: Celebrating the African Child: Author and Social Entrepreneur Kopano Kalvyn More Leading the Change.
by Zaakirah Cassim Cachalia Encouraging African pride and empowering children through positive words and life-affirming messages Bringing to the literary scene a wealth of societal and cultural insig…
Odd Bookers: A tree, a bud and a flower
By Radiyah Manjoo Dearest reader, As it happens, you will see red clothing constantly until February comes around, and when you need something red for some trite Valentine’s day event, suddenly you ca…
Odd Bookers: Books You Have to Read Before You Grow Up
By Kelly Ansara I realise I’m addressing this theme from a rather one-dimensional viewpoint. I know that I could’ve been more creative with the idea of playgrounds and books, and how they can be menta…
Odd Bookers: A tree, a bud and a flower
By Radiyah Manjoo Greetings reader, So many countries, so many choices. This month, I took the path most taken – I’m sorry, Robert Frost and hipsters. This month, we review Nigerian books. Nige…
Odd Bookers: Books I Am Anticipating for 2021
By Kelly Ansara There is nothing more that gets me wide-eyed with excitement than a publisher announcement. They usually come from behind a wall with no warning on social media or email (depending on …
Odd Bookers: The Moralist
By Joshua Marcus Joshua Marcus’s 2020 novel, The Moralist, is a fast-paced thriller with a literary bent, delving into the inherent grey in the concepts of morality, crime and punishment, and greatnes…
Odd Bookers: The Oracle’s Journal
by Dimitri Liountris The Oracle’s Journal, published in 2020, is an urban-fantasy epic set in the early 2010s and spans four volumes. In the time of the gods, a Great War between sixteen gods a…
A Tree, a Bud, and a Flower
By Radiyah Manjoo “You read African literature. You could write something”, she said. I shivered at the thought – African literature, so loaded, so vast. Yes, I read African literature, making a conce…
The Flowers of Evil
By Ibanez What is the story of Flowers of Evil? What was there in it that captivated me, so that now, I feel compelled to write something down, to find its essence, so that it will not be lost, so tha…
BOOK REVIEW: “BOOK OF THE MISSING”
BY NKATEKO MASINGA Title: Book of the Missing Author: Heidi Grunebaum Year Published: 2019 Genre: Poetry Publisher: Praxis Magazine Heidi Grunebaum’s Book of the Missing reads to me like an ode to th…
Book Review: Holes
By Melissa Fortuin Author: Louis Sachar Publication date: 1998 Genre: Adventure As the days pass by and the weather gets colder, one picks up a sense of a collective restlessness. I think we can all a…
Book Review: The Pardoner’s Tale
By Melissa Fortuin Author: Geoffrey Chaucer Year Published: c.1400 (from the larger work The Canterbury Tales, incomplete upon Chaucer’s death) Genre: Satire Happy Halloween Odd readers. It’s throwbac…
Book Review: The January Children
By Melissa Fortuin Author: Safia Elhillo Date Published: 2017 Genre: Poetry When it comes to poetry, if I have not before I can recall saying I love to read the words of the dead. It’s not that I cons…
Book Review: Selected Works of Robert Frost
By Melissa Fortuin Author: Robert Frost Year Published: 1969 Genre: Poetry As Winter slowly comes to a close, and the first blooms of Spring appear, the cold and barren landscapes give birth to new li…
Book Review: The Alchemist
By Melissa Fortuin O Alquimista Author: Paulo Coelho Year Published: 1988 Genre: Quest, Adventure fiction, Fantasy fiction Lately I’ve made a promise to myself to try and expand on my geographic…
Book Review: Jane Eyre
By Melissa Fortuin Jane Eyre Author: Charlotte Bronte Year Published: 1847 Genre: Bildungsroman, Gothic, Mystery It wasn’t so long ago that we dealt with the dark and stormy windswept moors that…
Book Review: The Grapes of Wrath
By Melissa Fortuin The Grapes of Wrath Author: John Steinbeck Year Published: 1939 Genre: Naturalism, Realism, Historical Fiction For all you Orwellian peeps out there fighting the Man. This one is fo…
BOOK REVIEW: “GAU-TRAINED: POEMS AND STORIES”
By Nkateko Masinga Author: Flow Wellington Year published: 2018 Genre: Poetry, Prose Publisher: Poetree Publications (Pty) Ltd This way I salute you: My hand pulses to my back trousers pocket Or into …
Book Review: If They Come For Us
By Nkateko Masinga If They Come for Us Author: Fatimah Asghar Year published: 2018 Genre: Poetry Publisher: One World/Penguin Random House “If we know, then we must fight for your life as though it we…
Book Review: Milk and Honey
By Melissa Fortuin Milk and Honey Author: Rupi Kaur Year Published: 2014 Genre: Poetry For this months issue, I’ve decided to review some poetry, and in particular, something acclimated to more …
BOOK REVIEW: “THE CARELESS SEAMSTRESS”
BY NKATEKO MASINGA Author: Tjawangwa DemaYear published: 2019Genre: Poetry Publisher: University of Nebraska Press Cover artwork: Mary Sibande “That childhood is stitching together what will be t…
