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Reader,
I hope your week is off to a good start. Or started off well, for those of us whose weeks start on Saturday or Sunday.
The weekend saw me go outdoors on both Saturday (unremarkable) and Sunday (worth remarking on, as I rarely leave the house on Sunday) and they both made for memorable experiences. On Saturday (Jumamosi, day one in Kiswahili), I went to Nairobi Arboretum for a picnic with some homies and was told that my claims of struggling with reading can never be taken seriously - even the lowest days see a lot of reading. I felt both defensive - there have been days when reading has been a struggle, even recently - and twitchy at the thought that this thing has created the sort of bar that means there’s no room to state my truth. So, some memory.
On Sunday, the sun was out so I went out to the little garden in my apartment building’s compound, put down a shuka and read When Life Gives You Mangoes by Kereen Getten which I mentioned in the July haul. I can’t remember the last time I looked at paper as I read and it was such a pleasure reading a children’s book in such lovely weather. I ended up having a little nap after I was 7 chapters in and, to speak to the Saturday conversation, felt the delicious joy of feeling like one’s fever has broken. Or, that one’s reading slump has come to an end.
While this high lasts, I needed to get a good audiobook for company for today’s morning walk what with all the books that have gone back to the library unread recently. So I waited a bit as my less-than-fast internet connection delivered Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker (narrated by Sean Pratt) which I’ve heard about multiple times (even mentioning it in an April entry on this newsletter) and walked for 30-odd minutes as I listened. Then I got home and did a bunch of chores to keep listening, reminding me of how much I’d been enraptured by Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe when I read it. There’s something about good non-fiction that can suck one in.
Today’s other delight: The Audio Long Read from The Guardian, including this episode that mentioned Nairobi (still gives me a high, haha) on a day when listening is the way I want to receive any fascinating information. It’s good to be back <3
As always, please write back to me and tell me what books you’re reading or looking forward to reading this week — it’s always a great time talking about books.
Enjoy the rest of the week and have a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!