Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is currently hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and explain why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor

Blurb from Goodreads

From a breathtaking new voice, a novel about a splintered family in Kenya—a story of power and deceit, unrequited love, survival and sacrifice.

Odidi Oganda, running for his life, is gunned down in the streets of Nairobi. His grief-stricken sister, Ajany, just returned from Brazil, and their father bring his body back to their crumbling home in the Kenyan drylands, seeking some comfort and peace. But the murder has stirred memories long left untouched and unleashed a series of unexpected Odidi and Ajany’s mercurial mother flees in a fit of rage; a young Englishman arrives at the Ogandas’ house, seeking his missing father; a hardened policeman who has borne witness to unspeakable acts reopens a cold case; and an all-seeing Trader with a murky identity plots an overdue revenge. In scenes stretching from the violent upheaval of contemporary Kenya back through a shocking political assassination in 1969 and the Mau Mau uprisings against British colonial rule in the 1950s, we come to learn the secrets held by this parched landscape, buried deep within the shared past of the family and of a conflicted nation.

Here is a spellbinding novel about a brother and sister who have lost their way; about how myths come to pass, history is written, and war stains us forever.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday, everyone! Just like that, we are already midway through the third month of 2026. Woah—how time flies! As always, time takes its natural course, ever flowing forward, sans regard for any of us. It does not wait for anyone. As such, I hope the year is going—and will continue to go—well for everyone. I hope the year will curry favor with you all. Things have been quite a roller coaster ride at work. There are days when everything is calm. Then there are days when it is pure chaos. Still, I am glad I am able to push through despite the challenges. Yes, challenges. I do enjoy challenges—well, at least from time to time. Anyway, I hope everyone has had a good start to the workweek and the year. The new week brims with hope and fresh starts. I hope it flows in everyone’s favor. Wishing you continued success and happiness.

I know—not many people get excited about Mondays (though I’m sure a few are out there). I, too, am not exactly a fan. I hope that as the week moves forward, you slowly gain a semblance of momentum. After all, we’ve got to start somewhere, and Monday is one of those starting points. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well—mentally, emotionally, and physically. With the new month, I have commenced a new literary journey. From Latin America and the Caribbean, I have traveled across the Atlantic to Europe to immerse myself in the works of European writers. It took me some time to decide where to land next, but in the end, I chose to read European writers, since most of the books on my 2026 reading challenge list are by European authors. I just finished Moldovan Romanian writer Liliana Corobca’s The Censor’s Notebook. I am still deciding which book to read next. Whatever it may be, I am pretty sure that it will be a memorable one.

However, for this weekly bookish meme, I am going do deviate. Instead of featuring the work of a European writer, I have decided to feature a work by a female African writer. I just realized that I have so many female African writers I have yet to read. Thanks to this list, 54 Notable African Female Authors You Should Know, I got to encounter some of them. Sure, I have read the works of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria), Buchi Emecheta (Nigeria), and Nadine Gordimer (South Africa), but they are just a scratch off the surface. This also underscores how limited my venture into the broader African literary landscape is. Among the female African writers on the list that piqued my interest is Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor. Needless to say, today is the first time I came across her.

Apparently, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor is a Kenyan writer; although Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is high on my reading priority list, I have yet to read one book written by a Kenyan writer. Owuor made her literary debut in 2003 with the publication of the short Weight of Whispers. It would take over a decade before she would finally publish her long-awaited debut novel, Dust (2014). As expected, it was a literary sensation that marked the ascent of a new remarkable literary voice. A portrayal of the violent history of Kenya in the second half of the 20th century, the novel promises to provide glimpses into Owuor’s homeland. The premise is more than enough to pique my interest. Being a work of historical fiction, it is right up my alley. The opportunity to learn more about Kenya’s contemporary history compels me to read the book.

However, for now, I will try to secure a copy of the book. How about you, fellow readers? How was your Monday? What books have you recently added to your reading list? Drop your thoughts in the comments. For now—happy Monday, and as always, happy reading!