Last February, I read two unique and surprising debut novels about family relationships by Nigerian authors. I have never read anything like either of these books before. Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo is the story of Yejide and her husband, Akin, who married for love and want to break from the tradition of polygamy. But when Yejide is unable to get pregnant, Akin’s family pressures him to take a second wife. The characters are so complex… the events are unforgettable. I felt so many emotions reading this novel. I’m looking forward to reading anything this author writes. “Yejide would have a child and we would be happy forever. The cost didn't matter. It didn't matter how many rivers we had to cross. At the end of it all was this stretch of happiness that was supposed to begin only after we had children and not a minute before.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Stay With Me Ayobami Adebayo Published August 1st, 2017 by Knopf 288 pages My Sister, the Serial Killer is darkly humorous
I have a confession. I am a little bit obsessed with books.
Ask anyone who knows me what I do, and the answer will consistently be, “She
reads.”
A significant part of my every day includes books. I
research them, I collect them, I journal about them, I dream about them, I
covet them. And I read.
Sadly, life can get in the way of valuable reading time.
There are so many books to read, and a limited time to read them. For that
reason, I no longer finish books unless I feel a connection. I will give any
book a chance, but if I’m not invested by page 50, I usually put the book down
and move on. For me, every DNF (did not finish) is a victory; it gets me closer
to my goal of reading all the good books.
Every reader is different. I am often frustrated when
someone recommends a book and I end up not loving it. Not every good for me
book will be a good for you book. My goal for this blog is to explain
what I value and look for in a good book. If you value the same qualities, you
may find my recommendations helpful in finding good fit books.
What kind of books am I looking for? What makes a book good
for me? Although I don’t necessarily limit my reading by genre, I am not a
huge fan of typical “genre fiction”. I look for writing styles that are clean
and clear, characters that are developed and believable, plots that are
authentically suspenseful and emotionally appealing. Sure, I occasionally love
a purely plot-driven novel, but only if it’s something completely new to me. I
can also overlook wordy or awkward writing if I have a unique personal
connection to the story.
To get the blog started, I have gone back to ten of my
all-time favorites. Have a look HERE and see if my criteria matches yours. If it
does, then these books are for you!
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