₦airaland Forum

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey.
I guess all the bad press has helped this book after all It's quite interesting too.

If You Could See Me Now by Cecilia Ahern

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers.
It's a big let down after all the 'critical acclaim'. The dude is just rambling for the better part of the book.

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini

Harlan Corben's The Innocent. I'm halfway through and it looks good. Too many characters though.

I just read "Anybody Out There?" by Marian Keyes. I'm now reading "What is the What" by Dave Eggers.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. The best word to describe this book is 'beautiful'.

Chocolat by Joanne Harris.Highly recommended.

I'm currently reading We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Heard so much about it and grabbed a copy at a discount store (cheapskate yeah! ) It's an interesting book, not for the impatient or faint hearted though!

I'm not a literary critic, but a major observation I've made about Nigerian writers is that we try to sound too "literary" in order to gain recognition in the literary community. "Vengeance" is a good story but its strength lies not in its content, but in its form. A major flaw is that your narrative technique is inconsistent as it's difficult to tell if the events in the story occur in the past or the present. Your imagery is profound and it demonstrates your ability to think both in words and pictures. However, the plot is weak. This is the bane of every writer's existence. I hope i don't sound too critical. Keep up the good work, your best is yet to come.

I like your poem. Good use of alliteration and oxymoron. Powerful imagery. Your ability to construct contrastive but profound sentences is very remarkable. The best part, the end - "cooking condiments of chaotic concoctions" - awesome! My verdict? You.Can.Write.Period.

Orikinla how was the reading? would have loved to attend but it was one crazy day for me. So what exactly did i miss?

Seun if you have ever read any of Chimamnda's novels and short stories you'll agree that she deserves every single accolade she has gotten. As a graduate of English and literature, i can attest to the fact that there is a huge dearth of literary talent in our generation and as such every talented writer out there deserves to be encouraged in order for that talent to be nurtured and groomed properly. I can assure you that if you read any of her books ( i recommend Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun), you'll understand that the so-called hype about her is for a very good reason. if you're still not impressed then more's the pity 'cuz it'll be clear that you obviously constitute the vast majority of Nigerians who are suffering from "intellectual illiteracy", no pun intended.

Happy New Year Nairalanders! I finally read the critically acclaimed "Half of a Yellow Sun" during the holidays and it has certainly lived up to all my expectations. Adichie has certainly outdone herself with her much anticipated second novel.It is so refreshing to read about the Nigerian civil war from the perspective of a young female author who wasn't alive during the war for a change. Although Adichie tried to make her viewpoint as objective as possible, it is still quite evident that her sympathy lies with the Biafran cause in the novel. Beautifully written with simple diction as well as an evocative yet powerful use of descriptive nouns and metaphors that are so characteristically Adichie's trademark,"Half of a Yellow Sun" is definitely one of the best books of 2006 and rightfully deserves to be shortlisted for the Booker prize and other major literary awards all over the world. Unlike her award winning debut "Purple Hibiscus" which has Kambili as it's major character, "Half of a Yellow Sun" has several characters ranging from a semi-literate houseboy(Ugwu) and a British journalist (Richard) to an eccentric mathematics professor(Odenigbe),a sociology lecturer who is also Odenigbe's lover(Olaina), and her street smart but disdainful twin sister(Kainene).Another interesting and commendable aspect of the novel is that Adichie's uses several narrative techniques in the novel;thereby enabling the reader to understand what both she and the characters in the book are thinking at every point in the novel. A great book, in summary. One snag though, i prefer "Purple Hibiscus". but then my preference doesn't really matter, does it?

Nuel, to satisfy your curiosity i'm a corper.I'm an avid reader although i wrote several unpublished books and stories as a child, i've suffered from writer's block for a coupla years now.I guess writing is just not my calling, so i've decided to stick to reading.

It's definitely Angels and Demons, terrific plot,strong characters and great diction.It's much better than the overated and controversial Da Vinci Code.Way to go Dan!

I haven't read Adichie's second novel although i've read several reviews online. It's set against the backdrop of the Nigerian civil war.The good news is that a more affordable West African edition of the novel has been published by Farafina publishers in Lagos.It goes for 1,500 naira per copy and is available in bookshops nationwide. I'm a great fan of Adichie's and if critics are correct,her sophomore effort is even better than her debut.I can't wait to read it, guys, what are you waiting for? Happy reading