Bibliophile and literary curator, Amyn Bawa-Allah, believes that reading doesn’t need a specific purpose to be valuable: ‘A lot of people think that reading, especially leisure reading, is a waste of time, or that if the reading is not explicitly tied to self-improvement, work, or education, it does not hold value.’
First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.
Our questions are italicized.
What books or kinds of books did you read growing up?
I ate books, and I am not being dramatic. ‘Voracious’ doesn’t properly describe the kind of reader I was as a child. I enjoyed the usual school texts like. I enjoyed the usual school texts like, Eddie Iroh’s Without a Silver Spoon, Cyprian Ekwensi’s The Drummer Boy, Chinua Achebe’s Chike and the River, Michael Crowder’s and Onuora Nzekwu’s Eze Goes to School, Kola Onadipe’s Sugar Girl but it wasn’t enough. I got tired of re-reading and that was why I started to read from my cousins’ stashes. I lived in a family house with a lot of my older cousins who owned books that I should not have had access to at that age, but there was no one to stop me and I was too good at making it look like I was reading school texts. I read all the romance and thrillers. In hindsight, I really should not have been anywhere near Mills & Boon or James Hadley Chase but those were my foundational texts. I read the magazines like Readers’ Digest that lay about. Remember, Hints and Hearts and Better Lover? I gobbled them up. My mother worked at an international school with a pretty good library, and I remember her telling me that the earlier I finished a book, the sooner she could bring more. That was how I trained myself into becoming a fast reader. I am now realizing that this is why I enjoy reading young adult books as an adult. I did not indulge in them when I should have.
If you could rewrite a classic book/text, which would it be and why?
I feel this way about all the books I love. It is not envy. It is sort of a craving to want to emulate, feeling your way inside another mind and perceptions. But the truth is, you cannot write anybody else’s book—you can only write your own. Still, I wish I had written The Concubine by Elechi Amadi. I read it when I was 17 or 18 and it made a strong impression on me: the heightened tension between the characters, the formality and humour of the sentences, how simple and mysterious the story was. It is an underrated classic.
What’s the last thing you read that changed your mind about something?
A series of texts, actually. They didn’t exactly change my mind, they made me aware of how much countries would rather hide atrocities than acknowledge the wrongs they have committed or endured. I read The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang and Human Acts by Han Kang in the same month. I highly advise you not to do that. These books made me so incredibly frustrated, not just because of their contents but also the fact that nothing has changed. Even though art forces us to look at the past, nothing ever changes. So, I wonder, will anything stop this cycle of destruction?
My mother worked at an international school with a pretty good library, and I remember her telling me that the earlier I finished a book, the sooner she could bring more. That was how I trained myself into becoming a fast reader.
You are a literary curator and advocate. What excites you about Nigeria and/or African storytelling today?
Nothing. I exist in perpetual yearning, just waiting for something to excite me.
You are the founder and host of The Indulgent Bibliophile book club. What’s the most interesting thing about running a book club.
It is hard to choose, but at its core, my book club members make it the most worthwhile venture. I have members from all over the world and our monthly book chats are the highlights of my month. I have been incredibly lucky to happen upon the most passionate readers who keep an open mind when reading the books I choose. I am always fascinated by how we dissect books and are able to pick out what worked and what didn’t. It also shows in their reading lives and how intentional they are about their reading choices (I love them so much that I stalk them on social media or book tracking apps). The monthly conversations and discussions on the group chat are my favourite parts of hosting a book club. I am just grateful that they trust me enough to not mess up the vibe.
And which book club pick(s) are you most excited to read this year, and why?
I chose all of them, so I am pretty excited about reading ALL of them.
What’s a misconception people may have about reading?
This one hurts me: a lot of people think that reading, especially leisure reading, is a waste of time, or that if the reading is not explicitly tied to self-improvement, work, or education, it does not hold value. In this day and age, it is exhausting to have to explain that reading does not need to have a measurable ‘purpose’ to be valuable, that the pleasure it brings is enough.
What is something simple from books and reading that still manages to surprise you?
Isn’t it spectacular that we never know what a book will mean to us until we take that leap of faith and read it?
It is exhausting to have to explain that reading does not need to have a measurable ‘purpose’ to be valuable, that the pleasure it brings is enough.
What’s a book you enjoyed that remains largely unknown to others?
Silence Is My Mother Tongue by Sulaiman Addonia is being slept on! It is a beautiful novel that looks at difficult issues in an uncompromisingly simple way. It deserves more of a following than it currently has. There are some authors who claim to write a mix of sensuality and sexuality, but no one does it better than Addonia. I would read any contender though!
And what’s a book on your bookshelf that might catch people by surprise?
I enjoy reading and collecting books across genres and I am very vocal about my literary appetite and interests. I think people would be more surprised to find that there are some books I don’t have. For instance, I’m sure my community is tired of me talking about how much I love owls and that they are the coolest birds, but I don’t have a book about owls on my shelf. And I can’t even give a reason why.
You can only read one book for the rest of your life. It’s:
Even if you put a weapon of destruction to my head, I would not be able to give you an answer.
What books or kinds of books do you recommend the most to people?
I take recommending books as seriously as therapy, that is why it is difficult to give blind recommendations. I need to know more about a person’s motivations, preferences or interests before I can share a recommendation. I know that my favourite books might not appeal to everyone but sometimes I want them to give a book a try, like if you have not read Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi, you NEED to!
What’s your literary pet peeve? (e.g. the way a particular word is spelled, punctuation styles etc.)?
Turning akara into ‘fried bean balls’ is disrespectful to the meal and the entire country. This is something I have noticed in books by non-caucasian authors: the explanation of cultural concepts irks me. I understand that these authors are published in the West, and they don’t want to alienate their readers, but sometimes they overdo it, and it reads like they are dummy proofing. I do not appreciate it.
Isn’t it spectacular that we never know what a book will mean to us until we take that leap of faith and read it?
What is your favourite book about books?
Have you ever experienced the pure euphoria of reading a book about other people who also have a deep love of literature? Buying and reading books about books is one of my favourite things to do and these are my most recently enjoyed recommendations: Welcome to Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum (translated by Shanna Tan), Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell, and What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama (translated by Alison Watts). I just love books about books!
What’s the best book you’ve read about mother-daughter relationships?
This is a tough one! Why do I have to choose only one? Books about mother-daughter relationships are one of my many bookish kryptonite, so I am always seeking out its different iterations in art. Permit me to sneak in two books by one author. Nicole Dennis-Benn is a storyteller who explores this dynamic so well. In Patsy and Here Comes the Sun, we experience the ‘bad mother’ archetype. Unsettling at times but full of tension, they are stories about how the bonds between a mother and daughter waver or/and break under the weight of societal expectations.
Who is your favourite fictional woman character, and why?
Dr Morayo Da-Silva from Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun by Sarah Ladipo Manyika. If I have to say why, I might spoil the book, and this is a character that I want people to experience without any prior knowledge. I also use her as a litmus test of sorts: if a person doesn’t get why Dr Morayo is iconic, I just know we cannot be true friends.
What’s your major reading goal for the new year? Are there specific genres you want to explore in 2025?
A well-curated reading challenge is my go-to every year and that was why I started the Something Bookish Reading Challenge. It is currently in its seventh year and it includes prompts that will make a reader try different genres, topics, interests and countries they usually don’t read from. Completing it is my major goal every year because I always discover something new about myself or my reading preferences.
And which author(s) or book(s) are you excited to read for the first time in 2025?
I recently picked up Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor’s The Dragonfly Sea and I wish I could send a fruit basket to the author to apologise for not reading her earlier. Every time I finished a chapter, I whispered, ‘Yvonne, I’m sorry I waited so long.’ I have also picked up Anton Hur’s debut novel, Toward Eternity. He is one of my favourite literary translators, so when I read that he was working on his book, I knew I had to read it. I’m looking forward to reading Edo’s Souls by Stella Gaitano (translated by Sawad Hussain), because I want to read more translated North African literature. I also want to read classic Caribbean literature: V. S. Naipaul was recommended to me. And finally, I must read Alain Mabanckou because I am ashamed to not have read a book from a country that I’m partly from—my mother is from the Republic of Congo.
I take recommending books as seriously as therapy, that is why it is difficult to give blind recommendations. I need to know more about a person’s motivations, preferences or interests before I can share a recommendation.
What is your favourite topic to read about these days?
Not to be a Morbid Mabel but I enjoy reading about death. I have started to gravitate towards novels that centre the experience of death and grief. There is something liberating about reading such books that makes me process or reflect on my mortality. After I read The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer, I created a death box, and in it I have information that anyone I leave behind would need to handle the ‘admin’ of my passing: my Google search history has to be wiped for many reasons, lol!
And what topic do you wish more authors were writing about these days?
Not a topic per se, but a character type I would like to see more of in books is the female antihero, the villain. I want to see more women doing bad things, violent things.
Question from Muthoni Muiruri: What is your favourite love story and why?
This is a very difficult question for me. In fact, any question that requires me to offer favourites is always tough. In this case, I read a lot of romance novels, and I have come to appreciate the myriad portrayals of love in these books. Instead, I’ll share what draws me in when reading love stories: I look out for wit and emotional depth. I also love complicated love stories with good banter.
Bonus: Please suggest a question for a future author’s First Draft.
What is the most memorable book recommendation you’ve ever received and what made it so special?
Who should we interview next?
I would love to read from Adesuwa Nwokedi⎈
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