I wrote “If Human” and Other Books: A Review on the 23rd of April which was World Book Day. I decided to commemorate the event by writing succinct reviews on books that were written by some of my Facebook friends:
The Gundown, Hymar Idibie David
Reading this felt like reading The Godfather but with Naija setting and language. Hearing the title, The Gundown what would readily come to mind is a book full of action and thrill, and you’d be right. However, what you wouldn’t guess is how the writer explores every side of each character—we are not only presented with thugs having survival and killing instincts, we are presented with humans; humans with feelings, with consciences battling revenge and forgiveness, with hearts battling love. With The Gundown, Hymar shows and proves his street credibility. And we can’t wait for what he is brewing with I For Don Blow But I Too Dey Press Phone.
If Human, Chykah Bro
We grew up with folktales: Stories of the hare and tortoise, the lion and elephant, birds. Then we became adults. Those stories became children stories because we couldn’t see their plausibility; we knew the tortoise’s shell was its nature, and not because it fell from the sky, neither was there a time the tortoise told birds to call him “All of you”.
So what Chykah did was to reinvent folktales and give them a plausibility we could relate with. With animals, objects, even roads, she touches issues from gender equality and empathy to mortality and our country, Nigeria. And she does this beautifully, with a style she has mastered over time. I have written a review of this book before, so I’ll stop here.
Trials of A Bro, Isaac Newtøn Akah
If you have followed Isaac’s tale about his expeditions with his landlord’s wife, then this book is like a very long Facebook post in all its humour and simplicity. I can’t remember how many times the pages of this book made me chuckle. What I like most about it is that the writer decided to give faces to the main characters, and that made the book more hilarious. Because, for example, when you try to place the gentle, classy character of Chykah we see on Facebook with her being depicted in the book as an “akpo” geh wey no send man matter, you can’t help but laugh. Or is it when you imagine Hymar, in all his online thuggery, being depicted as a guy whose mumu button was in the hands of many women?
If this book was a soup, we can comfortably say that Isaac settle down cook am.
Building A Social Empire, Olumide GlowVille
This isn’t a story, but this book teaches you how to use stories to build and stamp your presence on social media. The credibility of this book lies in the fact that the writer didn’t write what he doesn’t do. So it’s easy to say, “If he did it and it worked for him, I can follow these steps and it would work for me”.
The book is expository and didactic. If you’ve ever wondered how social media celebrities/influencers do it, then B.A.S.E. reveals most of their secrets. And while B.A.S.E. focuses on social media, it’s lessons can also be successfully replicated offline.
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