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Or, In a Twist

Reader,

This comes on Sunday because I didn’t have outside plans but also as a celebration of putting oneself out there - I was able to find a buyer for my Blankets & Wine ticket last week and went home after a lovely lunch with two friends who were going.

This week saw me start Nimona by ND Stevenson (whose Lumberjanes I greatly enjoyed) in preparation for watching the film on Netflix. YB and my friend E made a movie night of watching it on Wednesday but I’m slowly savouring it as I try to keep up with my loans (I continue to send things back as I work towards the elusive 5 per format goal) and getting back on the reading wagon that I was falling off of as I worked struggled through Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein, which Shawn the Book Maniac discusses in his most recent video.

This week also saw me visit the Open Studios curated by my dear friends Rosie and Don. Seeing it with friends was a delightful way to spend my Monday off and it reminded me of the joy of art seen in community. I highly recommend that you check it out if you are in Nairobi and have a chance.

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Triathlon Dreams

I made time to swim this week but the knowledge that my coordination is almost non-existent (try a breaststroke with that!) has really put a bummer on things. The GAD that affects things doesn’t help, either, as my long-comfortable relationship with the deep end has transformed into one of deep fear - not a great thing in a setting where one may drown. It’s inexplicable and had me looking up duathlons this week but I’m trying to take Jacqueline Kubania’s advice to allow myself to be bad at something (again, always already).

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This was also the week of the Patricia Lockwood piece that centres David Foster Wallace (DFW) in the London Review of Books. A friend and I discussed the possibility of talking about it but balked at the prospect of anything interrogating DFW at that length (8121 words). In the days when Infinite Jest was a measure of one’s reading (a bit like A Little Life currently is in some quarters), I managed to be left behind. Then finding out about the man, after reading some of his essays, didn’t engender a desire to read any more of his work. So I’m sitting this part of the discourse out, and what a relief. 

Quick news/ things that may be of interest:

• A comic book YB enjoyed as a child- Passages by Annette Roman, illustrated by Leonardo Ng - is in the public domain. I found it a good entry point for certain conversations when I bought it for him 12-odd years ago

• My friend Sharon and I are organising a screening of Spirited Away (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) at Nyumba Cinema on 29/7. Spaces are limited so please message me if you’d like a spot. 

• Free book from Haymarket Books! 

• Over on Twitter, a weekly library TBR thread; if you’d like to know what titles to expect in the read books section

• James Baldwin readalong, complete with Discord server

• My homies Rosie and Don are curating open studios at The African Art Trust (TAAT) at Victoria Square, Riara Road

• Help us name our kitten (pictures here) as we raise money for the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA). The deadline has been moved to 14 July to accept more bids: 

• Dracula Daily, which I mentioned in a past entry, continues apace. Jump on if you’re keen

• You can send me books, postcards, letters, and assorted gifts via PO Box 102439, Jamia Posta 00101, Nairobi, Kenya 

I have finished two books since I last wrote - a hybrid read of Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (narrated by Chad Lowe) and Make a Scene (Lovestruck, #1) by Mimi Grace -  and my latest video is on borrowed books from April (you can watch it here). To catch the videos I’m working on subtitles for  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 rest of the week and have a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!