For most of this year, I’ve travelled every Thursday to and fro Nanyuki for work. That is exciting on it’s own. But… on our first trip there, we had about an hour to spare before the business of the day and so we stopped by a mall for a quick snack and chill. That was the best idea cause we soon spotted that the mall has a bookshop and the readers among us had their interest piqued.
The place was called Wine & Spine. First of all what a name! Full props to the guy or girl that came up with that name, I wish I had so. However, the shop was a bit pricey. Actually not even that pricey, it’s just that some of us are used to thrifted books and even ebooks (aargh). I can’t fault the vibes though, it was immaculate.
I got myself a copy of Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami and I totally blame that book for my recent reading slump. I have a thing where I find it difficult to pick up a book upon completing something amazing. That was the case with my first foray into Haruki Murakami’s work.
I tried East of Eden by John Steinbeck and other classics, resumed a book I had abandoned but nothing scratched my reading itch. The only thing that came close was The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré which I have been slowly reading. The reason I say ‘it comes close’ is I find the broken English writing style a bit jarring despite that being the point of the writing, but the story is interesting so far.
And so… I was a bit excited when my weekly trips to Nanyuki returned cause Lord knows I needed a recommendation.
The lovely lady at Wines & Spine was welcoming as always. She could tell I was undecided as usual. I wanted every single book on there. I thought of getting Another Country by James Baldwin who’s one of my favourite authors. However, she shed a light on the fact that classics might not be the best cure to my reading slump. I hadn’t thought of but it makes sense seeing I had tried a bunch of classics but only Abi Daré’s book, not a classic, could tickle my fancy. My criteria before was looking for shorter reads forgetting that the same type of book in a shorter format was still the type of book I didn’t need. Truly a lapse of judgement on my part.
Anyway, once again I walked away with a book in hand, this time from an author I didn’t know and a book I had no idea of. Total blind faith on this lady. I was torn between Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah and my eventual pick by the same author. Her other recommendations were Augustown by Kei Miller and Dance of The Jacaranda by Peter Kimani but perhaps they were not the right medicine for my problem according to the doctor. Eventually, I settled on By the sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah mostly based on the blurb at the back but also it being cheaper than Theft 😂.
I write this a few days after purchasing that book and I gotta say I love it so far. I don’t want to make this a book review but I enjoy the subject matter and the writing style. Abdulrazak’s words make me want to savour the book slowly with no rush whatsoever.
So what’s the point of writing all this? I don’t exactly know but perhaps a need to urge you all, readers and wannabe readers, to place your faith on a librarian or an avid reader for your next read. Pop into a bookshop or library near you, mention your interests, lay bare your current situation and await a recommendation. Perhaps, you might get a banger like I did. If not, then at least their future recommendation will be more precise and better.
This could also apply to other forms of media, so get out there for more human recommendations.
Reply by Email