Happy midweek everyone! As it is Wednesday, I am going to share a new WWW Wednesday update. WWW Wednesday is a bookish meme originally hosted by SAM@TAKING ON A WORLD OF WORDS. The mechanics for WWW Wednesday is quite simple, you just have to answer three questions:
- What are you currently reading?
- What have you finished reading?
- What will you read next?
What are you currently reading?
My current read is Nadia Owusu’s memoir, Aftershocks. Earlier this year, while researching for books to include in my 2021 Books to Look Forward To List, it was a title that kept appearing in similar list, hence, its inclusion in my own list. After Nobel Laureate in Literature Wole Soyinka’s Aké: The Years of Childhood, Aftershocks is my second memoir for the year; this is the most nonfiction I have read in a year. In Aftershocks, we meet Nadia at various points in her life, an not so subtle allusion to the peripatetic life she led while growing up. The eldest daughter of a United Nations official, she grew up in different cities, wherever her father’s job took them. Punctuating her story are references to earthquake jargons but I am still trying to figure out how these relate to her story. If there is one thing I really liked about her memoir is the incorporation of history and her own commentaries on these seminal historical events. I am halfway through the book and hopefully I get to complete it tomorrow.
What have you finished reading?
I managed to complete just one book; the month end closing activities were quite tedious. Torrey Peters’ Detransition, Baby stirred quite the controversy this year when it was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Peters was the first openly trans woman nominated for the award. I admit that this was one of the main reasons why I decided to give the book a chance. Detransition, Baby charts the story of Ames, Katrina and Reese. Ames was formerly a transgender woman before she detransitioned into being a man. He was previously known as Amy and was in a relationship with Reese, another transgender woman. When Amy detransitioned to Ames, he got Katrina pregnant. And that is where the narrative revolved. It was an interesting premise although I felt like it could have done better. Ames, for instance, felt more like a background character rather than a main character. I was also disappointed by the under-exploration of Katrina’s heritage. It would have been fine had Peters not fixated on it. Nevertheless, it was still a promising debut.
Speaking of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, I just learned that the 2021 winner is going to be announced today. I have read four of the six books (and one is in line) but it is quite challenging forecasting who will win. I am wishing everyone good luck.
What will you read next?
After Aftershocks, I have in line Patricia Lockwood’s No One Is Talking About This. It is a book that has caught my attention after it was shortlisted for the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction. My interest was further piqued when it was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. The attention it has gained from literary pundits make me look forward to the book, which, from what I understand, tackles timely concerns. I do hope it lives up to the hype. Another book I have in line is Imbolo Mbue’s How Beautiful We Were. Mbue, of Cameroonian heritage, has won me over with her debut novel, Behold the Dreamers. It is for this reason alone that I am looking forward to her most recent literary work.
That’s it for this week’s WWW Wednesday. I hope you are all doing great. Happy reading and always stay safe! Happy Wednesday again!
The Pine-Scented Chronicles 