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Or, Head Down to the River
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Reader,
Happy Monday after Valentine’s Day to all who celebrate!
On Saturday, I went to the first Mengi Mengi Film Club meeting of the year and it was such a delight to watch films with other people. I’d watched the feature film - Banel & Adama {Banel e Adama} (2023, directed by Ramata-Toulaye Sy) - before and yet it felt like a new film. Please let me know if you have watched it because this viewing had me thinking about how queer the film is. Or maybe I am queering everything (and why not, it’s LGBTQ+ History Month somewhere in the world).
Before the screening, I asked the shuttle driver to drop me off at the Nairobi National Museum to see Peteros Ndunde’s show. I had the pleasure of having a chat with the artist after I walked around the show; a joy considering he had an artist talk lined up at 2pm which I couldn’t attend as I’d be at the screening. Please see it if you love art, book illustrations, and the fantastical.
Both these events reminded me of the power of revising; whether it’s re-reading a book, watching a film again, or seeing an art show.
The first, I struggle to do. Mostly because books take time and my TBR list is long. Strangely, even being in my 3X speed audiobook era hasn’t made re-reading appealing. Even then, I am aware that you cannot step into the same river twice. If you’re a re-reader, I’d like to hear why you enjoy it, and how you go about it.
Re-watching a film isn’t as hard, as demonstrated by my trip to Nairobi over the weekend. Part of it is that I am a very vibes-based watcher. A cursory look at my Letterboxd reveals a non-zero number of reviews that amount to just the word “HEH” so I’m always happy to go back and see what else there is (or why my past self had that reaction). That said, I am trying to build back my media journal practice because I have written many a short review in-cinema in the past and not revisited what is sometimes a strong visceral feeling. I stuck film posters and wrote reviews in a notebook for a while in early 2025 and I think I’ll get back to it because I’d like to plumb the depths of feeling films evoke long after I am done.
Seeing an art show again, on the other hand, is not always easy; especially now that I live out of Nairobi and have to make a bunch of calculations every time I venture into the city. I found myself stacking on my experiences on Saturday, though. I had seen Wahenga wa Sanaa: Tracing two centuries of artistic legacy (1800 - 1980) on Sunday 8th February and yet I still saw new things. Moments like those make my annual Kenya Museum Society membership (Nature Kenya also offers the benefit of free museum entry) well worth it. Please see the show if you can — it’s a delight for anyone interested in Kenyan art and its history.
I’d love to hear what is bringing you joy lately – whether it’s your first encounter, or it’s a revisit. I’d especially love to hear the why. It always makes for wonderful conversation.
Quick news/ things that may be of interest:
Ongoing:
Happening soon:
Treat someone you like (me, for instance, I have a Switch) to the Tiny Bookshop Game (which is also on Discord)
Subscribe to my WhatsApp channel for texts I find while I spend time online
Film folks: Solidarity Cinema, for your consideration
If you’re in the Global North and would be open to engaging in the North-South solidarity that is sharing a library card, please email or message me so we can figure things out. Thank you!
The Queer Liberation Library 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️, which is free to join here
Digital Library of Korean Literature, which is free to join here
Film folks: Check out the Japan Foundation’s JFF Theater online streaming platform
How to Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the visually impaired
Links to Reading Lists, Free Books, Book Recs, Book-related Items, and Calls for Submissions in this document (most recent links at the top)
Since Elon seems to want (some of) us gone, I’m trying to post more often on Bluesky. Follow me there if you’re on it!
You can send me books, postcards, letters, and assorted items via PO Box 102439, Jamia Posta 00101, Nairobi, Kenya (I write back!)
I have finished two books since I last wrote to you: Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum (e-book and audiobook narrated by Gabra Zackman) and Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara (e-book and audiobook narrated by Peter Ganim). I’m primarily using Storygraph now (passively updating Goodreads as I read most e-books on Kindle via the library) and I hope to get back to making videos soon.
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.
Thank you for reading 🙂
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Enjoy the week ahead and have a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!
I just wrote a 3 part series talking about how the brain loves and benefits from a re-read. I'll link to part 2, because that's the part that gets into the neurology of it. https://areadingjourney.substack.com/p/day-42-the-benefits-of-re-reading