Bookies City

“The woman carried herself   like God worshipped her body.   Even the devil   will pray for forgiveness   at the holy sight of her.”                       Excerpt from Questions for Ada by Ijeoma Umebinyuo Questions for Ada was one book that had been on my TBR list for the longest time and when I finally got around to reading it, I nearly knocked myself for waiting so long. Questions for Ada is a collection of short poems written by Ijeoma Umebinyuo in 2015. Her words are full of strength, vulnerability, passion, and pride as she tells the stories and experiences of Nigerian women; their hope, loss, pain, pride, and glory. The most fascinating thing about this book is how Umebinyuo’s words seem straight out of your heart. How you understand the depth and meaning of her words and stories without really understanding. How her words seem to be curated for only you and how for a brief m...

“The world to me, seemed utterly transformed once Kitty Butler had stepped into it. It had been ordinary before she came; now it was full of queer electric spaces that she left ringing with music or glowing with light.”                     Excerpt from Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters   Tipping the Velvet was the first queer romance novel I ever read and I am honestly glad I broke my queer fiction virginity with it. It was so beautifully written.  It is a 1998 historical fiction that follows the initial love affair of two girls, Nan King and Kitty Butler, and the subsequent life of Nan King as she navigated her sexuality through the dark, homophobic era of 90s London. Sarah Waters is gifted in the art of crafting romance in such a delicate and meticulous manner only with words. Kitty Butler and Nan’s King’s love story was the most satisfying romance story I had read in ages. It made me smile so hard, cry...

“To be singled out and locked into the blurred consciousness of a little mind? We refused. It would be madness.”                      Excerpt from Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi   First off, I just want to declare that Akwaeke Emezi is a literary genius. I started reading Freshwater at the beginning of my journey through African literature. I pulled an all-nighter to finish the e-book but for some reason, I felt I had not given the book the attention it truly deserved. So the next week, I ordered the paperback and in less than 2 weeks, I had  re ad Freshwater a total of 5 times.   I just couldn’t get enough of it.    Freshwater is a semi-autobiographical  novel written by Akwaeke Emezi in 2018. It centers the life of Ada, a child of Ala (the Igbo earth goddess) who is also an ogbanje . Ada’s struggle with normal life as a non-human ogbanje with many selves is narrated throughout the bo...

“I let her know she’s an apologist for the patriarchy and complicit in a system that oppresses all women  she says human beings are complex I tell her not to patronize me.”                             Excerpt from Girl, Woman Other by Bernadine Evaristo     After seeing at least 20 reviews of this book on my IG feed by fellow ‘bookstagrammers’, I finally caved, got a copy and began reading. From the first page, Evaristo had me hook, line, and sinker. I wondered why I had been sleeping on this woman for so long!   Girl, Woman, Other is a 2019 novel that follows the lives of 12 characters in modern Britain. The interconnected stories of these cis-, trans- and non-binary black women and how they navigate issues of feminism, sexuality, and race individually and collectively in the British sphere is so brilliantly captured by Evaristo.    I must say,...

Sidney Sheldon indeed gave an all new meaning to the phrase, "on the edge of your seat" with this craft fully written story.  Tracy is framed by the Mafia and then seeks vengeance. After avenging her wrongdoers, she seamlessly enters into a career of crime,working as a con artist.  Fast paced and breathtaking, you have therein some of the most incredulous con ever performed,that will definitely keep you at the edge of your seat. Tracy meets Jeff Stevens a fellow con artist through the lovely hands of fate. They begin working together amidst their growing attraction.

This master storyteller, spins another riveting tale in bloodline. In bloodline, he writes about old money, in an unpretentious and unassuming way. After the death of her father, Elizabeth Roffe becomes the sole heir to the family owned business, "Roffe and Sons" but she faces opposition from an unknown source.