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With only 8 days to go until it's July, let's start thinking about and getting our initial books in hand for our next quarterly challenge: African authors!

Our third quarterly challenge for 2023 is to read nonfiction or fiction books written by women resident in or born in any country on the African continent. The overall goal of this challenge is to read authors with a perspective on several countries, but if you want to reshape it to focus on Botswana, for example, that's your option, of course.

Our African authors challenge starts 1 July and ends 30 September. If you opt to participate in either of our August group reads, you'll read two novels that fit this theme: All Your Children, Scattered, Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse's debut novel that takes place in Rwanda, and July's People by Nadine Gordimer, which takes place in South Africa.

This thread is the place to capture our plans, thoughts and conversations about our challenge reads. We encourage everyone to engage in this thread in order to have more conversations between members about the books we're reading and choosing; however, if it's important to you to set up and maintain a separate thread to capture your progress, feel free to do so in this Quarterly Challenge folder.

Do you plan to participate? Let us know what you're thinking about reading, share lists and suggestions, seek resources and recommendations at your option, and share your reading experiences along the way.

I'm still in my initial-thoughts process for this challenge, but I realized a couple of weeks ago that I've read fewer Black women authors this year than I typically read and I want those influences and voices to be louder in my head. So this challenge - although not limited to Black authors - is a component for me of intentionally getting back on track.

My short list is:

July's People (classic - pub'd in 1982 - South Africa)
Joys of Motherhood, The (2nd Edition) by Buchi Emecheta (classic - pub'c in 1979, her 4th book - Nigeria - I own - feminism, polygamy)
A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (Nigeria - I own)
A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn (Eswatini - I own - 1st in mystery series - takes place in 1952 South Africa)
When Rain Clouds Gather by Bessie Head (classic - debut - Botswana)

I, too, have been remiss in my reading of Black female authors this year. I'm going to set a goal for 4:

All Your Children, Scattered by Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse. Rwanda, translated.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Nigeria.

River Spirit by Leila Aboulela. Sudan.

Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo

I have been looking through my shelves and e-reader to see what I have on hand that fits this challenge. So far, I have come up with these books:

I Do Not Come to You by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (Nigeria)
Recipes for Love and Murder by Sally Andrew (South Africa)
Stay with Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (Nigeria)
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)
In Every Mirror She's Black by Lola Akinmade Åkerström (Nigeria)
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo (Zimbabwe)
Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo (Nigeria)
Welcome to Lagos by Chibundu Onuzo (Nigeria)
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell (Zambia)
Hard Rain by Irma Venter (South Africa)

That's quite a few, but obviously Nigeria is overrepresented! I also have New Daughters of Africa on my e-reader. Maybe I'll start to chip away at that behemoth.

Here's a link to the challenge widget - it also appears on our landing page.

/challenges/...

Susan wrote: "I have been looking through my shelves and e-reader to see what I have on hand that fits this challenge. So far, I have come up with these books:

I Do Not Come to You by Chance by [..."

I have the same issue of Nigeria being over-represented, but when I think about how few books I read with African authors overall, I can live with reading 3 - 4 Nigerian authors this quarter if it comes down to it. Having New Daughters of Africa in-hand is a wonderful resource, though.

Carol wrote: "Joys of Motherhood, The (2nd Edition) by Buchi Emechta (classic - pub'c in 1979, her 4th book - Nigeria - I own - feminism, polygamy)"

The correct spelling of her last name is Emecheta. Looks like the import bots have screwed up again :(
I merged the author page into the correct profile.

I'm planning to join in the August group read of July's People.

I also would like to read #3 in the Tannie Maria series by Sally Andrew, Kompoun by Ronelda S. Kamfer and might look at some other South African authors as well.

I plan to participate, but haven´t got a list yet. Want to read "classics" or others I can get at my library.

lethe wrote: "Carol wrote: "Joys of Motherhood, The (2nd Edition) by Buchi Emechta (classic - pub'c in 1979, her 4th book - Nigeria - I own - feminism, polygamy)"

The correct spelling of her last name is [autho..."

Thanks for fixing that, lethe. I thought I had remembered her surname incorrectly when I went to drop it into my comment.

Michaela wrote: "I plan to participate, but haven´t got a list yet. Want to read "classics" or others I can get at my library."

Would that my library system had any inventory of classic African women authors. I'm delighted that yours isn't like mine. I've had my best luck finding affordable, used versions of classics published by Heinemann Educational Books.

To my shame I only own three books by female African authors, so I plan to read two of those and I also own New Daughters of Africa which I'll read over the quarter. I will see what I can find at the physical library too, but audiobook options I have available are listed below.

Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga (Rwanda) owned
This Was the Old Chief's Country by Doris Lessing (Zimbabwe) owned
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) library
Welcome to Lagos by Chibundu Onuzo (Nigeria) library

Laurie wrote: "To my shame I only own three books by female African authors, so I plan to read two of those and I also own New Daughters of Africa which I'll read over the quarter. I will see what..."

Nice. That Lessing is new to me and looks really good.

Here´s the list I want to read about three books of:

How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue (catching up from our February read) - Cameroon

Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga - Zimbabwe

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré - Nigeria

July's People by Nadine Gordimer (our August read) - South Africa

The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta - Nigeria

Chinelo Okparanta was born in Nigeria - I just finished Harry Sylvester Bird which is her newest book. It's pretty good, but her novel Under the Udala Trees is phenomenal, and I highly recommend it.

Jordan Ifueko is another Nigerian American author. Her YA fantasy duology Raybearer and Redemptor is pretty good. I just finished Redemptor and while it drags a little in the middle, then she goes to the underworld. Definite excitement.

Malla Nunn is from Eswatini, and her book When the Ground Is Hard is one I definitely recommend.

Abi Daré is another Nigerian American author and her book The Girl with the Louding Voice is very good. (just don't listen to the audiobook - the narrator whines through the entire thing, and it is very irritating)

Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) is a retelling of recent Zimbabwean history in a George Orwell's Animal Farm type story. I really enjoyed it.

Namina Forna (Sierra Leone) has written the first two books of a fantasy trilogy (she's killing me not releasing the third yet! LOL). I love this series. The Gilded Ones and The Merciless Ones and in writing this I see the third at least has a name now: The Eternal Ones!

I plan on reading Children of Blood and Bone by Nigerian American author Tomi Adeyemi next.

I finished my first book for this challenge: Recipes for Love and Murder by Sally Andrew (South Africa). What I liked most about this mystery read were the details about South African life and food, especially the use of Afrikaans words. The mystery itself was a little ho-hum for me, but there was enough else to keep me interested. I listened to part of this book, and the audio narration is quite good, with a South African accent to elevate the experience.

I tried Under the Udala Trees - I thought the style very heavy-handed - and did not finish it.

One of my favourites is Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night by Sindiwe Magona - and of course I read Buchi Emecheta - in the 90s, when I was living in London.

Oooh this is a good excuse to catch up on my Africa reading - I have read a lot of the classics (as part of this list challenge: 50 books by African Women: /topic/show/... ) but just off the shelf and current library loans a have a few ready:
Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (I think it's the last thing I haven't read by her)
The Spider King's Daughter by Chibundu Onuzo
(...I probably have a handful more if start looking properly)

Not that I have read any of my books for this challenge yet, but isn´t there a possibility to give a name in the widget like it´s usual?

Michaela wrote: "Not that I have read any of my books for this challenge yet, but isn´t there a possibility to give a name in the widget like it´s usual?"

Michaela, I don’t understand? It’s the African Authors Challenge. Are you seeing something else?

Carol wrote: "Michaela wrote: "Not that I have read any of my books for this challenge yet, but isn´t there a possibility to give a name in the widget like it´s usual?"

Michaela, I don’t understand? It’s the Af..."

Doesn´t it normally say that only books count to the challenge that are in a certain one of your shelves that you can give a name to yourself? Don´t know if I´m clear enough...

I added this comment to the Black authors thread but it is also applicable to this challenge. I read Kehinde by Buchi Emecheta. This is the first novel I have read by this author, but I definitely want to pick up The Joys of Motherhood someday. Kehinde was an interesting look at traditional roles of Nigerian wives living in England compared to those living in Nigeria.

Michaela wrote: "Carol wrote: "Michaela wrote: "Not that I have read any of my books for this challenge yet, but isn´t there a possibility to give a name in the widget like it´s usual?"

Michaela, I don’t understan..."

You would join and add your own shelf on the challenge page that Carol created earlier. Here's a link in case you missed it, from message 5, or you can join from the "challenges" page. The challenge itself has already been created, you can join by adding your own shelf name and shelving the books you read there as you go.

/challenges/...

Thanks Anita!

I finished my first book for this challenge today, How Beautiful We Were, and it was an amazing read!

Pity it doesn´t appear as read in my widget.

Michaela wrote: "I finished my first book for this challenge today, How Beautiful We Were, and it was an amazing read!

Pity it doesn´t appear as read in my widget."

You don't seem to have registered on the challenge page yet: /challenges/...

lethe wrote: "Michaela wrote: "I finished my first book for this challenge today, How Beautiful We Were, and it was an amazing read!

Pity it doesn´t appear as read in my widget."

You don't seem..."

@Michaela, I see you as registered, so my guess is ,it's a shelf issue. whatever shelf you identified when you signed up, you need to put the books you want to qualify on that shelf. it's intolerant of any typos or variations from the shelf you identify at sign-up.

I'm glad you liked How Beautiful We Were. I'm still thinking about that book. Really a special one.

I started The Joys of Motherhood: A Novel by Buchi Emecheta Saturday and highly recommend it. It reminds me of Maru, but so much stronger - the characters, the plot depth - everything is so well done.

Just a reminder for anyone interested in participating, our group read for August qualifies for this challenge. It is July's People by Nadine Gordimer and it's 160 pages with a comfortably large font - my favorite kind of great book to read.

Laurie wrote: "I added this comment to the Black authors thread but it is also applicable to this challenge. I read Kehinde by Buchi Emecheta. This is the first novel I have read by t..."

I just saw this comment, Laurie. I'll be finding a copy of Kehinde - yay.

Carol wrote: "@Michaela, I see you as registered, so my guess is ,it's a shelf issue. whatever shelf you identified when you signed up, you need to put the books you want to qualify on that shelf. it's intolerant of any typos or variations from the shelf you identify at sign-up."

Sorry, I only saw 3 people's names. I hadn't noticed the "6 people participating" bit. (I always thought the people you can't see must have private profiles, but Michaela doesn't, and besides, you can see her name. So odd.)

I have signed up in the meantime, and since I had just finished a book by a South-African author, I am already one book ahead of schedule :)

Today I will go pick up July's People.

lethe wrote: "Carol wrote: "@Michaela, I see you as registered, so my guess is ,it's a shelf issue. whatever shelf you identified when you signed up, you need to put the books you want to qualify on that shelf. ..."

You know, I live in the mystery of looking at whatever they show me on a given day at a given link and choose gratitude : ) It's funny because in my day job, I support a wide variety of tech teams, but there it is.

Which South African novel did you read, lethe?

Thanks everyone! I forgot to add a name for my shelf, which I now did by editing my widget. It worked! :)

Carol wrote: "You know, I live in the mystery of looking at whatever they show me on a given day at a given link and choose gratitude : ) It's funny because in my day job, I support a wide variety of tech teams, but there it is.

Which South African novel did you read, lethe?"

Hahaha!

I read Wonderboom by Lien Botha, a dystopian novel not translated into English (yet).

And I also picked up July's People today. Looking forward to it.

lethe wrote: "Carol wrote: "You know, I live in the mystery of looking at whatever they show me on a given day at a given link and choose gratitude : ) It's funny because in my day job, I support a wide variety ..."

your review makes it sound quite interesting. I'll keep a lookout for an English translation.

Second book in my challenge was July's People, but I couldn´t get warm with Gordimer´s style.

I'm late to start this challenge so I'm only going to aim for 2. I'm currently rereading Homegoing (Ghana) so that works out. Other possibles are Glory (Zimbabwe) or Things They Lost (Kenya)

I finished my second challenge book: July's People by Nadine Gordimer. Meh.

Onward and upward.

Carol wrote: "I finished my second challenge book: July's People by Nadine Gordimer. Meh.

Onward and upward."

Same here.

I finished my third and fourth books for this challenge, and plan to keep on through September. Kehinde by Buchi Emecheta (Nigeria) and The Housemaid by Amma Darko (Ghana). Both were good; I loved The Housemaid and strongly recommend it. It is a short read and not easy to source but well worth it.

We have 4 days to go with this challenge before we move on to fall and winter fare. I'm so glad we did this challenge because I read 3 authors I'd not read before and loved, loved, loved 2 out of the 3. It also kept African authors top of mind each time I plucked my next read out of the air.

My faves were The Housemaid and The Joys of Motherhood, and then I went a little crazy at ABE Books and obtained another 7 used books/no shipping by Darko and Emecheta. I'm really excited to keep on working through their novels over the next couple of months.

Was it successful for you? What have been your favorites?

I only managed to read two books of the three I had planned. I found How Beautiful We Were amazing, but couldn´t get used to July's People. Hope to read more of the books I had wanted to read later on.

Hi, I'm a new group member, newly back on goodreads, but wanted to chime in as I coincidentally just finished Tsitsi Dangarembga's trilogy. So I guess it was like I was with yall in spirit before actually discovering and signing up for this group :)
Actually it is the first African literature I've ever read, but I now have loads more added to my wishlist!

Jen wrote: "Hi, I'm a new group member, newly back on goodreads, but wanted to chime in as I coincidentally just finished Tsitsi Dangarembga's trilogy. So I guess it was like I was with yall in spirit before a..."

I love it when things work out that way! :) Welcome.

I am reading Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi right now. I'm about 40% through the book, and it is fantastic. My oldest daughter and I are reading it together. I had planned on being done with it this month. Unfortunately, a couple of days ago one of my choir members (I am a music director) who is also a friend had a freak accident practically in front of my daughter and I (plus a couple other choir members and his wife) which resulted in his tragic death. It was and has been traumatic. I have been reading again today, and reading is such a comfort to me. I have found this book to be creative, well-written, has intriguing characters, and so far I highly recommend it. Hopefully it ends strong!

Oh - I also read a short book by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called Notes on Grief. It's only about 85 pages I think, but I definitely recommend it. I lost my mom just shortly after she lost her dad. A lot of what she wrote resonated with me.

Misty wrote: "Jen wrote: "Hi, I'm a new group member, newly back on goodreads, but wanted to chime in as I coincidentally just finished Tsitsi Dangarembga's trilogy. So I guess it was like I was with yall in spi..."

Oh my goodness. I'm simply stunned. I'm sorry for the traumatic event and indeed wish you comfort in all possible resources.
How sweet you are doing a read-along with a loved one.

Misty wrote: "Oh - I also read a short book by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called Notes on Grief. It's only about 85 pages I think, but I definitely recommend it. I lost my mom jus..."

Oh I appreciate that. I find writings on and for grief very valuable. And Adichie is definitely on my wishlist but I didn't know about that one. Cheers for the tip.

Jen wrote: "Hi, I'm a new group member, newly back on goodreads, but wanted to chime in as I coincidentally just finished Tsitsi Dangarembga's trilogy. So I guess it was like I was with yall in spirit before a..."

Hello and welcome Jen. I loved the first of this trilogy but found the language in the second to be really hard going. How does the third compare?

Misty wrote: "Jen wrote: "Hi, I'm a new group member, newly back on goodreads, but wanted to chime in as I coincidentally just finished Tsitsi Dangarembga's trilogy. So I guess it was like I was with yall in spi..."

Misty how awful for you and your daughter. I too find books to be comforting when going through a difficult time if I can concentrate enough to read. I'm glad you too have this comfort. I loved children of blood and bone

Jen wrote: "Misty wrote: "Oh - I also read a short book by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called Notes on Grief. It's only about 85 pages I think, but I definitely recommend it. I l..."

I second this recommendation, a very insightful short piece of writing. If you're new to African literature, Adichie is a must. Half of a Yellow Sun is my favourite. I also recommend Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and Yaa Gyasi

Hi Hannah, thank you for the welcome and the recs :)
I seen that title Kintu here and there, so I take it that's a popular one? And any particular standouts from Gyasi for you?

Re: Dangarembga, thanks for sharing your thoughts- honestly it feels validating as I found the language challenging too. I found Nervous Conditions to be the most accessible and that could be a factor that makes me think it's my fav of the three. But I do like the entire trilogy. I just couldn't NOT follow Tambuzai's journey to the end :) I think the author does some interesting stylistic things in the third book that struck me as exciting and meaningful. So the at-times challenging language I tolerated, but it did mean, for me anyway, taking things in slowly and occasional rereading of parts here and there.
I do love to hear Dangarembga on podcasts. She is so eloquent and gracious and also fun and I always learn even more about Zimbabwe.

Jen wrote: "Oh my goodness. I'm simply stunned. I'm sorry for the traumatic event and indeed wish you comfort in all possible resources.
How sweet you are doing a read-along with a loved one."

Thank you. It was horrible. I am grateful for the book distraction. It's nice to have a fantasy world to escape into for a while.

I love reading with my daughter. I read with my fourteen year old, but it is a whole different animal reading books with my 24 year old! :)