100
Or, A Century
Reader,
This last week was another that included a public holiday in Kenya and, sleeping aside, I got quite some reading done. I also officially DNFed a book which means that my project to read every National Book Award for Young People's Literature longlist title ends without completion because all signs pointed to it being a depressing title and I didn’t have it in me to navigate a book teeming with loss. Despite having a rough start to the week in some regards, I’m glad to see the end of another week.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it here before but one of the things I’d like to do at some point is have a series that explores how HIV and AIDS are portrayed in literature (maybe media more broadly?). I was reminded of this by the last book I finished this week - Bryan Washington’s latest, Family Meal. His HIV+ characters, in his short stories and novels, are poz as a matter of course in a way that feels like a blessing. In this latest book, the U=U message (along with frank talk of STI testing) was refreshing.
Lastly, this is the 100th edition of this newsletter! It feels like just the other day I started writing it and, while much has changed over the almost 2 years I’ve been at it, I’m so glad to still be here and sharing my thoughts on books and much more besides with you.
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Triathlon Dreams
Signed up at the gym this week and went in for a day. The hope is to ramp up to 3 days a week and 3 days of running before I get a bike. That, and the weather is getting warmer so there’s a chance to swim more in the months ahead.
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Quick news/ things that may be of interest:
I was in a video with Shawn the Book Maniac talking about The Extremely Long Paragraph in fiction
Free copy of this book with the code FORGAZA
Free to download: a new Brittle Paper anthology on the theme of AI
Dracula Daily continues apace. Jump on if you’re keen
You can send me books, postcards, letters, and assorted items via PO Box 102439, Jamia Posta 00101, Nairobi, Kenya
I have finished six books since I last wrote to you - 3 graphic titles by Huda Fahmy: Huda F Cares, Yes, I'm Hot in This: The Hilarious Truth about Life in a Hijab and That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story, 2 e-book titles: Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest To Track Down The Last Remaining Lesbian Bars In America by Krista Burton and Family Meal by Bryan Washington as well as an audiobook: They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us by Prachi Gupta (read by the author). My latest videos are of the books I got at the Macondo Festival (you can watch it here) and a tag (watch it here). To catch the videos I’m working on when they’re done, subscribe to the channel if you haven’t yet!
As ever, please write back to me and tell me what books you’re reading or looking forward to reading — it’s always a great time talking about books.
Enjoy the week ahead and have a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!
Congratulations on reaching a milestone 👏👏.
I am currently reading Black Girls must be Magic (I read Black Girls must die exhausted last year). It's a slow burn read for me and I haven't really had time to really read but I hope to finish it before the month ends.