#Nigerian-British author

[gennsoup]

"You have a better time when you're not expecting anything real. That's why seriously tacky people manage to enjoy themselves wherever they are."

Helen Oyeyemi, Peaces

[jvzebel-x]

"I hate how they have the power to kill my future-- kill me. They treat my black skin like a gun or a grenade or a knife that's dangerous and lethal. When, really, it's them. The guys at the top, powering everything."

x. "Ace of Spades", Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

[desdasiwrites]

I know better than to take life directions from someone without a moral compass.

– Oyinkan Braithwaite, My Sister, the Serial Killer

[specialagentartemis]

Black Women writing SFF

The post about Octavia Butler also made me think about the injustice we do both Butler, SFF readers, and Black women SFF writers by holding her up as the one Black Woman Writing Sci-Fi. She occupies an important place in the genre, for her creativity, the beauty and impact of her writing, and her prolific work... but she's still just one writer, and no one writer works for everybody.

So whether you liked Octavia Butler's books or didn't, here are some of the (many!!! this list is just the authors I've read and liked, or been recommended and been wanting to read) other Black women writing speculative fiction aimed at adults, who might be writing something within your interest:

N. K. Jemisin - a prolific powerhouse of modern sff. Will probably have something you'll like. Won three Hugo awards in a row for her Broken Earth trilogy. I’ve only read her book of short stories, How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? and it is absolutely story after story of bangers. Creative, chilling, beautifully written, make you think. They’re so good and I highly recommend the collection. Several of her novels have spun out of premises she first explored through these short stories, most recently “The City Born Great” giving rise to her novel The City We Became. Leans more fantasy than sci-fi, but has a lot of both, in various permutations. 

Nisi Shawl - EDIT: I have been informed that Nisi Shawl identifies as genderfluid, not as a woman. They primarily write short stories that lean literary. Their one novel that I’ve read, Everfair, is an alternate-history 19th century that asks, what if the Congo had fought off European colonization and became a free and independent African state? Told in vignettes spanning decades of political organization, political movements, war tactics, and social development, among an ensemble of local African people, Black Americans coming to the new country, white and mixed-race Brits, and Chinese immigrants who came as British laborers.

Nnedi Okorafor - American-Nigerian writer of Africanfuturism, sci-fi stories emphasizing life in present, future, and alternate-magical Africa. She has range! From Binti, a trilogy of novellas about a teenage girl in Namibia encountering aliens and balancing her newfound connection to space with expectations of her family; to Akata Witch, a middle-grade series about a Nigerian-American girl moving to Nigeria and learning to use magic powers she didn’t know she had; to Who Fears Death, a brutal depiction of magical-realism in a futuristic, post-war Sudan; to short stories like "Africanfuturism 419", about that poor Nigerian prince who’s desperately sending out those emails looking for help (but with a sci-fi twist), and "Mother of Invention" about a smart house taking care of its human and her baby… she’s done a little bit of everything, but always emphasizes the future, the science, and the magic of (usually western) Africa.

Karen Lord - an Afro-Caribbean author.  I actually didn’t particularly like the one novel by her I’ve read, The Best of All Possible Worlds, but Martha Wells did, so. Lord has more novels set in this world—a Star Trek-esque multicultural, multispecies spacefuture set on a planet that has welcomed immigrants and refugees for a long time, and become a vibrant multicultural planet. I find her stories rooted in near-future Caribbean socio-climatic concerns like "Haven" and "Cities of the Sun" and her folktale-fantasy style Redemption in Indigo more compelling.  And more short stories here.

Bethany C. Morrow - only has one novella (short novel?) for adults, Mem, but it was creative and fascinating and good and I’d be remiss not to shout it out. In an alternate-history 1920s Toronto, scientists have discovered how to extract specific memories from a person—but then those memories are embodied as physical, cloned manifestations of the person at the moment the memory was made. The main character is one such “Mem,” struggling to determine who she is if she was created from and defined by one single traumatic memory that her original-self wanted to remove. It’s mostly quiet, contemplative, and very interesting.  (Morrow has some YA novels too. I read one of them and thought it was okay.)

Rebecca Roanhorse - Afro-Indigenous, Black and "Spanish Indian" and married into Diné (Navajo). I’ve read her ongoing post-apocalyptic fantasy series starting with Trail of Lightning, and am liking it a lot; after a climate catastrophe, the spirits and magic of the Diné awakened to protect Dinetah (the Navajo Nation) from the onslaught; and now magic and monsters are part of life in this fundamentally changed world. Coyote is there and he is only sometimes helpful. She also has a more traditional second-world epic high fantasy, Black Sun, an elaborate fantasy world with quests and prophecies and seafaring adventure that draws inspiration from Indigenous cultures of the US and Mexico rather than Europe. She also has bitingly satirical and very incisive short stories like “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience” about virtual reality and cultural tourism, and the fantasy-horror "Harvest."

Micaiah Johnson - her multiverse-hopping novel The Space Between Worlds plays with alternate universes and alternate selves in a continuously creative and interesting way! The setup doesn’t take the easy premise that one universe is our own recognizable one that opens up onto strange alternate universes—even the main character’s home universe is wildly different in speculative ways, with the MC coming from a Mad Max-esque desert community abandoned to the elements, while working for the universe-travel company within the climate-controlled walled city where the rich and well-connected live and work. Also, it’s unabashedly gay. 

And if you like audiobooks and audio fiction (I listened to The Space Between Worlds as an audiobook, it’s good), then Jordan Cobb is someone you should check out. She does sci-fi/horror/thriller audio drama. Her works include Janus Descending, a lyrical and eerie sci-fi horror about a small research expedition to a distant planet and how it went so, so wrong; and Descendants, the sequel about its aftermath. She also has Primordial Deep, about a research expedition to the deep undersea, to investigate the apparent re-emergence of a lot of extinct prehistoric sea creatures. She’s a writer/producer I like, and always follow her new releases. Her detailed prose, minimal casts  (especially in Janus Descending), good audio quality, and full-series supercuts make these welcoming to audiobook fans. 

-

Nalo Hopkinson - a writer who should be considered nearly as foundational as Octavia Butler, honestly. A novelist and short story writer with a wide variety of sci-fi, dystopian futures, fairy-tale horror, gods and epics, and space Carnival, drawing heavily from her Caribbean experiences and aesthetics.

Tananarive Due - fantastical/horror. Immortals, vampires, curses, altered reality, unnerving mystery. Also has written a lot of books.

Andrea Hairston - creative and otherworldly, weird and bisexual, with mindscapes and magic and aliens. 

Helen Oyeyemi - I haven’t read her work but she comes highly recommended by a friend. A novelist and short story writer, most of her work leans fairytale fantastical-horror. What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours is a collection of short fiction and recc’ed to me as her best work. White is for Witching is a well-regarded haunted house novel. 

Ashia Monet - indie author, writer of The Black Veins, pitched as “the no-love-interest, found family adventure you’ve been searching for.” Magic road trip! Possibly YA? I’m not positive. 

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This also doesn’t include Black non-binary sff authors I’ve read and liked like An Owomoyela, C. L. Polk, and Rivers Solomon. And this is specifically about adult sff books, so I didn’t include Black women YA sff authors like Kalynn Bayron, Tomi Adeyemi, Tracy Deonn, Justina Ireland, or Alechia Dow, though they’re writing fantasy and sci-fi in the YA world too.

And a lot of short stories are out there in the online magazine world, where so many up and coming authors get their start, and established ones explore offbeat and new ideas.  Pick up an issue (or a subscription!) of FIYAH magazine for the most current Black speculative writing.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

The British High Commissioner has clarified to the Nigerian press that the Harkles are visiting as private citizens and do not represent His Majesty's Government by u/AurelieR1

The British High Commissioner has clarified to the Nigerian press that the Harkles are visiting as private citizens and do not represent His Majesty's Government It sounds like the British High Commissioner made a special point of visiting the News Agency of Nigeria.https://ift.tt/pkAhvMJ High Commissioner in Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomerry, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in the course of his courtesy visit to the Managing Director of the agency, Malam Ali M. Ali, in Abuja.He said, “It’s great that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are visiting Nigeria, which I understand is at the invitation of Defence Headquarters.“But they are visiting in a private capacity, not an official one.“So, the British High Commission is not involved in arranging or facilitating their programme.“They are not representing the work of His Majesty’s Government on this visit.” post link: https://ift.tt/V0Q1ESs author: AurelieR1 submitted: May 08, 2024 at 05:09AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[active-mind-15]

Oh yeah, after I read that one Akashi-centric fic called A Lesson In Human Interaction (and all the bullshit that comes with it), I am finally breaking my silence on my Nebuya headcanon that he's half Nigerian because in the fic he has a Nigerian father and now I feel validated. However, a difference between my headcanon and the author's headcanon is that instead of him being from the Yoruba tribe, I want to say that his family is Igbo. Purely because I am also Igbo and I want to project. Anyway, walk with me.

Nebuya being half-Nigerian and not living in Nigeria means that whichever parent of his is Nigerian (I'd assume the mother simply because he has a Japanese family name) would make sure he stays connected to his culture somehow. One of those ways is for sure through his name. Interracial couples especially tend to each give their kid a name that comes from their respective country. In this case, even though Nebuya has a Japanese name, his mother would give him a Nigerian one as well that she calls him by. Haven't decided what it would be, though, so I'll get back to you on that.

Another way would be through language. This would mean that Nebuya (in my opinion) would be trilingual because he would speak Japanese, Igbo, and--by extension--English, since English is the national language of Nigeria anyway and so most people speak it to some degree (effects of being colonized by the British ✊🏿😔).

The English part would be interesting to explore because Nebuya speaking English would have Akashi (who is canonically fluent in English) thinking he would understand Nebuya when he speaks it. But when Nebuya speaks with Nigerian relatives, especially cousins, he slips into Pidgin instead (a Nigerian dialect of English), leaving Akashi confused. He can speak standard English as well, but he goes back and forth between that and Pidgin English. Also, I think he would speak Pidgin more commonly with cousins but then use Igbo with older relatives like aunts, uncles, and grandparents. So Akashi, wanting to decipher what he's saying, would ask Nebuya about it and maybe Nebuya would teach him a few words/phrases in Pidgin. It would be cute to see Nebuya teach his teammates Igbo phrases as well. Imagine if the next time Nebuya called any of his Nigerian relatives he'd tell them he was teaching his teammates their language and make them try and talk to his relatives in Igbo.

Don't remember if it was ever confirmed in canon so I'll keep this as a regular headcanon, but I believe Nebuya can cook very well (like if you're gonna eat all that food every day you better know how to sustain yourself), so I would think sometimes he likes to make traditional Nigerian food. His favorite dishes are of course the ones heavy on meat, and he likes to pair them with either fried rice or jollof rice. Typically making traditional Nigerian food is done in bulk, which means he'd have a lot to store as leftovers to eat throughout the week, but he also does like to share and would save some food for his teammates to try.

I also am thinking of what Nebuya would look like in traditional Nigerian clothes like a kaftan or agbada. I've seen him in kimonos, so it would be fun to see him rock some Nigerian clothes, too. Maybe his aunt or his grandmother makes clothes for him that they send over to Japan for him to wear.

I would hope that every so often, Nebuya would take a trip to Nigeria to see family. And when he comes back, he brings gifts for his teammates. Imagine them sitting Nebuya down and asking him to tell stories from his trip, and they all get to sit there and learn more about Nebuya's culture and his family.

Anyway, I'll cut it off here, but I am obsessed with this headcanon and I just had to get it off my chest.

[mariacallous]

A little over two years ago, Steve Okeke, 34, quit his job as a store manager in Nigeria and moved to United Kingdom in search of a better life. Six months later, his wife and their 1-year-old child joined him.

“We decided to embark on a life-changing adventure in a foreign land,” he said. “I wanted a better life for my family, and I felt this was the best place to be.”

Okeke settled in a middle-class neighborhood in the northern English town of Chester and started working at a local care home.

But after a wave of violent racist and anti-immigrant riots across England following the brutal killing of three girls in Southport, another northern town, Okeke has been confused and scared for the safety of his family.

“I started monitoring the news more frequently to keep up with what was going on,” he said. “I want to be safe and make sure my family is safe, too.”

Before moving to the U.K., Okeke had witnessed violent protests in his home country. In Jos, a city in north-central Nigeria where he lived for 10 years, politically motivated fighting between Christians and Muslims is random and common.

“I never expected to witness something like this here,” he said. “I thought we had escaped this sort of thing and can only see it back home.”

Okeke is one of many Nigerians living in the U.K. who have been caught up in violence they’d hoped to leave behind. According to 2021 data, 270,768 U.K. residents were born in Nigeria.  Despite the high costs of relocating to the U.K., it remains a top choice for study, work, and family settlement. Many Nigerian immigrants see it as both close to home and offering a refuge from the political chaos that often convulses Nigeria, such as the current protests against the government’s economic reforms. But Okeke said this view is gradually changing for him and many other Nigerian immigrants who have been witnessing the ongoing carnage.

On X, dozens of Nigerians living in the U.K. have been sharing their experiences since the unrest started, from avoiding certain spots to restricting their late-night walks to locking themselves up in their apartments.

Dami Ajayi, a writer who moved to the U.K. five years ago, said the ongoing unrest reminds him of his experience in 2020 when English soccer fans unleashed violence during the European championship final at Wembley Stadium.

“I lived in Wembley then, and I could hear the mayhem unleashed by disgruntled English fans,” he posted on X. “What they expressed that evening is what keeps me away from British pubs.”

The riots have mostly targeted Muslim immigrants, asylum-seekers, and people of color. Far-right groups have been whipping up anti-immigrant sentiment, which has been exacerbated by misinformation. More than a dozen towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland have seen violent riots, arson, and lootings.

The government is trying to reassure the British public they’re safe. Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused far-right groups and individuals online of exploiting the deaths of the three girls to fuel attacks on asylum-seekers and people of color, promising to prosecute all those involved in the riots.

In less than a week, nearly 600 arrests have been made in connection to the riots, with some 150 charges filed. The number of arrests is expected to triple in the coming weeks. The government has announced plans to make more than 500 new prison places available to deal with arrested rioters.

“There are fears it will escalate to this area, but we are being reassured of our safety,” said Chinedu Onyigbuo, a Nigerian who lives in the London area. “Reassurance is coming from our working place. But then we have to keep safe and watch our moves. The authorities are really trying their best to quell the whole thing and make sure that citizens are safe and holding people accountable.”

Onyigbuo said he doesn’t walk alone or take dark or deserted paths since the violent riots escalated.

“I’m very careful wherever I’m going, and that’s the only way to keep yourself safe. I keep my ears open, listening to news to know what’s going to happen in the next minute. I’m on alert.”

Back in Nigeria, there are growing concerns about the escalating violence, with families and loved ones checking in frequently.

In the wake of the riots, the Nigerian government issued a travel advisory for Nigerians planning to visit the U.K., warning of an “increased risk of violence and disorder.” This was the first travel advisory issued by an African nation since the riots started.

“I would leave here if this [situation] gets out of control,” said Matthew Nnamdi, a Nigerian student who shares a flat with an Indian roommate in Peckham, a popular Black-dominated neighborhood in southeastern London. “We are all worried by the developments and want everything to return to normal like they were before.”

Nnamdi, a self-sponsored student who arrived in London last spring, said he had high hopes and expectations of the country but isn’t sure anymore with the current developments.

“Tensions are still high, and no one knows what’s coming next.”

Across the U.K., counterprotests and dozens of anti-racism demonstrations have been held, with many more planned in the coming days to denounce the ongoing riots, stand with the migrant community, and support the government’s efforts at quelling them. Okeke said he will be joining any movement to end the carnage and bring about peace in his community and across troubled spots in the country.

“I still want to stay here and create a better future for my child,” he said. “If the riots come to an end, it will be better for everybody.”

[triviareads]

do you have diverse modern romance recs?

Yep! I've (mostly) organized it by author:

Naima Simone: I'm obsessed with literally everything this woman writes, both Harlequin and not Harlequin. Naima writes a lot of fabulous Black heroines (and she writes great body diversity as well) and a decent amount of POC heroes as well. My favorites include . Black Tie Billionaire (Black heroine, Asian hero), Secrets Of A One Night Stand (Black heroine, Pacific Islander hero), and Trust Fund Fiancé (both the hero and heroine are Black). The best thing about Naima's books is just the uniformity in how she writes every body type as attractive and desirable and the sex is very hot. Would absolutely recommend.

Katrina Jackson: I haven't talked about Katrina enough, when she's out here doing the most for mafia romances and spy romances with diverse characters. I could happily read her novella Beautiful & Dirty over and over, but it's a prequel to the mafia series which ends with my favorite, The Don, which has a Black heroine. Katrina also wrote a spy series (The Spies Who Loved Me!) and the first in that series, Pink Slip, has a Black heroine who's lusting over her married bosses (the wife, Monica, is Latina I believe) and surprise, they're both into her too.

Angelina M. Lopez: Angelina writes excellent Latino rep. Her fictional town Freedom, Kansas, which is the setting in multiple stories, has an amazing Mexican-American community she builds on. I'd recommend After Hours on Milagro Street, which has a Mexican-American heroine, as well as her upcoming Full Moon Over Freedom, which is next in the series. The way she melds culture, magic, and romance is gorgeous. Also! Lush Money, which is set within this universe, has a Latina heroine and is very fun and worth reading.

Tara Pammi: If you want to read about Indians in India or Bollywood-centric romances, Tara is the author. I liked Claiming His Bollywood Cinderella and The Secret She Kept in Bollywood (that man is suuuch a DILF he's great).

Jadesola James: I've talked about her before (see here) but Jadesola has written a couple Harlequin Presents stories set in Africa. I'd recommend The Royal Baby He Must Claim and The Princess He Must Marry, which are about sisters who are Nigerian princesses.

Talia Hibbert: The Brown Sisters books are bangers, sexy and emotionally comforting at the same time. I'd recommend all of them: Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Take a Hint, Dani Brown, and Act Your Age, Eve Brown. I also love her novella Guarding Temptation, which has both a Black hero and heroine and Wanna Bet? which has a Black heroine and a British-Indian hero (thanks for reminding me @viscountessevie).

Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai: The hero and heroine are in-laws (well, her husband, his brother, is dead) so the romance was very emotional and slow-burn, but the pay-off was absolutely worth it. The heroine Sadia is Pakistani-American, and the hero Jackson is of Japanese and Hawaiian ancestry. Alisha also delves pretty deep into South Asian family dynamics which hit a liiiittle too close to home, but I can't deny the accuracy.

Reel by Kennedy Ryan: This a romance between an actress and her director (both are Black) and I particularly appreciate the amount of research Kennedy Ryan put into the Harlem Renaissance, Black artists of that era (she created a fictional artist to base the movie off of), as well as their contributions to the Civil Rights movement which I think isn't discussed enough.

Sink or Swim by Tessa Bailey: See here.

From what I recall, Katee Robert did a pretty good job of body diversity without super explicitly mentioning race in her Fairytale Villains Who Fuck Wicked Villains series.

[ninja-muse]

September is birthday month, if anyone's wondering why my acquisition of books appears to have slipped again (picture #2). At least I'd read nearly all of them before they joined my library shelves, and Winter's Gifts, well, it's really easy to read an Aaronovitch novella within a day or two of acquiring it. Especially since…

September was also week-vacation month, which is part of how I made it to 13 books read but very little explanation for my read-from-TBR-shelves stack (picture #1), only two of which I read on holiday. The two short ones I read in the gap between "finished the latest Book Of Substance" and "started the official Vacation Stack", and Digger was one of my 2023 goals so I decided to check that off. Baking Yesteryear was a surprise/accident. I was telling a coworker how much I enjoyed reading the library's copy and they said, "hey, while you were off, we got a copy too damaged to sell…". And one has to treat oneself in birthday month.

(Vacation was good, in case you were wondering. Camping, so no wifi, so lots of outdoors and reading time and charming rodent shenanigans.)

My biggest regret of the month, by which we mean less regret and more mild bookish panic, is the number of reading copies I appear to have taken home. I have one for Menewood which I'm planning to get to once I finish with My Roommate is a Vampire, and the rest of them were, well, um. Look. When your store buyer and random publishers send you books you'd enjoy and your coworkers finish reading ARCs you've been interested in, things happen, okay? At least at this point a lot of the books are coming out next year, which probably doesn't bode well for my 2024 TBR but that is a future problem.

Also, not doing great at my goal of reading a Canadian author every month. This is the second (?) month in a row I've failed on that front which, yes, is why I'm reading a Canadian author right now. (Also it's one of those ARCs a coworker finished with.)

Beyond the bookish stuff, there's not much to report. I've written a good bit and am surprising myself by how much I can write on my phone during a commute. Had a good birthday. Ate good food. Got fun things. Dealt with slightly more chaos at work than usual. Finished the last season of Great British Bake-Off aired in Canada and am looking forward to starting the Canadian version tonight.

How was your September?

And now without further ado, in order of enjoyment…

Evidence of Things Seen - Sarah Weinman, ed.

A collection of true crime journalism tackling recent social justice issues and big-picture flaws in the justice system.

8/10

multiple #ownvoices essays by BIPOC authors

warning: the usual things one would expect to find in true crime journalism

Infinity Gate - M.R. Carey

A scientist, the multiverse, AI, and the nature of humanity.

8/10

Nigerian and Moroccan POV characters

warning: slavery, fire, xenophobia, war, torture, violence

Thornhedge - T. Kingfisher

Toadling confronts the knight bent on entering the sleeper’s tower.

8/10

Arab Muslim secondary character

Digger Unearthed - Ursula Vernon

A wombat’s tunnel takes her to a very foreign land. She would like to go home please—but there are gods.

8.5/10

Baking Yesteryear - B. Dylan Hollis

Tried and true recipes from the past century.

9/10

🏳️‍🌈 author

The Fragile Threads of Power - V.E. Schwab

Seven years after Red London was saved, some people have moved on and others are still picking up the pieces. And some are asking whether the king deserves to be in power.

7.5/10

POV characters of colour, 🏳️‍🌈 POV characters (gay), 🏳️‍🌈 author

Winter’s Gifts - Ben Aaronovitch

Agent Kimberley Reynolds investigates a case with “unusual characteristics” during a Michigan winter.

7/10

Ojibwe secondary characters

Lud-In-The-Mist - Hope Mirrlees

A bourgeois father tries to save his children from the plague of fairy fruit—which is hard, since it doesn’t officially exist.

6.5/10

warning: classist, misogynist, generally unkind to the disabled and mentally ill

A Long Day in Lychford - Paul Cornell

Something is wrong with the borders around Lychford and the local coven has to put things right before people get hurt.

7/10

Black British main character

warning: mild racism and xenophobia

The Vaster Wilds - Lauren Groff

A servant girl flees her colonial town for the dubious safety of the wilderness.

7/10

protagonist of colour, mentally disabled secondary character, incidental Powhatan and other indigenous characters

warning: racism, misogyny, rape, disease, starvation, murder, death of a child

Board to Death - CJ Connor

Ben turns down a suspiciously good deal on an old board game. Then the dealer turns up dead on his doorstep.

6/10

🏳️‍🌈 main character (gay), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (gay), 🏳️‍🌈 author, #ownvoices

Starter Villain - John Scalzi

Charlie inherits a supervillain empire, complete with a subscription mega-laser, spy cats, and enemies.

6.5/10

The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices - Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins

Two friends go on a holiday to northern England.

7/10

Currently reading:

Like Every Form of Love - Padma Viswanathan

A writer digs into the strange, complicated story of a man she befriended in a marina.

🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (gay), Indo-Canadian author, 🇨🇦

warning: domestic and child abuse

My Roommate is a Vampire - Jenna Levine

There’s a room-to-rent in Cassie’s low, low budget. The (hot) guy renting it acts like he’s from the 1800s. Surely he’s just quirky.

🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (gay)

Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century - Richard Taruskin

A history of early written European music, in its social and political contexts.

Stats

Monthly total: 13 Yearly total: 100/140 Queer books: 3 Authors of colour: 0 Books by women: 5 Authors outside the binary: 0 Canadian authors: 0 Off the TBR shelves: 5 Books hauled: 6 ARCs acquired: 12 ARCs unhauled: 4 DNFs: 0

January February March April May June July August

[gennsoup]

Good news--past the age of thirty there's a dramatic decrease to your chances of being murdered by a serial killer.

Helen Oyeyemi, Gingerbread

[lboogie1906]

Fela Sowande (May 29, 1905 - March 13, 1987) musician, composer, professor, and conductor was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria. He was the son of Emmanuel Sowande, who was an Anglican priest and influential in the development of Nigerian sacred music. He was a musician and composer of music in the classical European style.

He studied at CMS Grammar School and King’s College and received his Fellowship Diploma from the Royal College of Organists. He worked as a band leader and was influenced by jazz and popular music as well as the church music of his father and mentor. He received his BSM from the University of London and became a Fellow of Trinity College of Music.

He worked as a church organist, a theatre organist, a dance pianist, a bandleader, and a choirmaster. His organ music compositions were based on Nigerian melodies which had great resonance with the growing population of African and Caribbean immigrants to Great Britain.

He was a composer in a variety of genres: organ, choral, solo, and orchestral works as well as an author of four books. He composed music for the British Ministry of Information during WWII. He moved back to Nigeria to work for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation.

His academic record was wide-ranging as his research interests were in African music. He received a US State Department Leaders and Specialists grant which allowed him to present organ recitals in New York, Boston, and Chicago, and to lecture on his research. The Rockefeller Foundation sponsored his work in New York. He was a visiting scholar at Northwestern University’s anthropology department and he studied composition at Princeton University. He received a grant from the Ford Foundation to research Yoruba religion. He was awarded a Nigerian government grant to study and write about Nigerian music. He was a research fellow at the University of Ibadan.

He took an academic position at Howard University, he took a position at the University of Pittsburgh. His last academic position was at Kent State University, where he remained with his wife Eleanor McKinney, until his retirement. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[downthetubes]

British creator Bryan Talbot, currently working on a new graphic novel, The Casebook of Stamford Hawksmoor, has been officially inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame.

There were honours for other Brits, too: Tula Lotay, with Becky Cloonan, for Best New Series, Somna: A Bedtime Story, published by DSTLRY; for British/Nigerian Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, for Best Lettering, author Michael Molcher, for Best Comics-Related Book, I Am the Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future, published by Rebellion: https://downthetubes.net/brit-wins-at-2024-eisners/

[jafanadis]

Full Name: Nzinga Melissa Talley

Nickname: Zia, Zee, Sugar, Baby-Girl, Onee-Sama, Onee-Chan, Little Sis

Age: 19

Gender: Female (She/Her)

Orientation: Het (Ally)

Height: 5’8

Species: Human

Nationality: Canadian (Yoruba, Igbo, Black Nova-Scotian, Amhara)

Occupation: Stage Actress, Ballerina

Alliance: The Jade Owls

Alignment: Protagonist

Theme Song: Green Garden by Laura Mvula

Character Song: Colors by Utada Hikaru Instrumental

Voice Claim: Nubia Gross from The Proud Family Original Series (Raquel Lee)

About

Zia is a Lumokinesis User who is the honorary older sister of Russell. The two of them had been friends since they were kids and she has always been a shoulder to him when times were tough. Thrown into things beyond her control, she is captured by The Jithran Guards and put into a prison ship alongside Russell and her teacher, Derrick. She is then whisked away in a into a jail break committed by several prisoners who steal the ship for their own. Now wanted for Barratry and associating with an Ergokinetic user, Zia is now a member of the Jade Owls. A rag-tag gang of wanted criminal mercenaries who travel throughout Otacaia by sea and air, looking for missions and avoiding the authorities.

Personality

Zia is quite a fierce woman with a tomboyish streak and has an aggressive temper you don’t want to see. She is a naturally born leader and is known for being extremely hardworking although it is not necessary. Zia has no issues with settling matters with her bare hands and doesn’t tolerate annoyances, no matter how minor, and is willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants, though her emotions get the best of her sometimes.

Miscellaneous

She speaks with a standard Ontario accent, specifically from the area around Toronto.

She has the power to use Lumokinesis and gained this ability at a late age. She can manipulate and control light, use "rainbow beams" as a form of an attack, create different shapes of light, summon "rainbow weapons", as well as imbue the light into physical weaponry.

She taught Russell how to speak when he was a kid.

Her father is Black Nova-Scotian (with some British, French, Mi’kmaq descent) and her mother is half Nigerian (Igbo and Yoruba) and Ethiopian (Amhara).

She has an interest in Social Work and Political Science

Zia can cook Nigerian and Ethiopian dishes, including Jollof Rice, Nigerian Beef Stew, Akara, Doro Wat, Sambusas, and Kitfo.

Zia has a pair of fraternal younger twin siblings, a sister named Darshanae and a brother named Devonte.

She can speak both the Standard Version and Quebecois Version of French, with some Yoruba and Amharic.

Zia’s maternal grandfather was an Ethiopian diplomat who served in Nigeria and many other countries.

She is a practicing Methodist and sang in choir.

Her middle name, Melissa, was given to her in honor of her paternal grandmother.

She was named after Queen Nzinga of Matombo.

She had a white boyfriend once who made negative comments about her ancestry and cultural heritage, as such, Zia will not stand for anyone making negative comments about her skin or the texture and styles of how she sets her hair, she will give you a piece of her mind.

Russell thinks of her as his older sister despite the fact they are the same age.

Otacaia, and all of its characters, species, races, information, et al © Jafan Adis, 2022-2024, All Rights Reserved.

[fourdiagnosesinatrenchcoat]

Do you have some queer book recommendations, then? Regarding the recent post?

OH BOY DO I!

I'm a professional bookseller and try to get paid for my opinions but let's be honest, when someone asks for queer book recs you are going to struggle to shut me up two hours later

Amateur by Thomas Page McBee

This transcendent memoir chronicles the author's experience training to fight in a charity boxing match as an absolute novice--and by extension his exploration of masculinity as a transgender man. Beautiful writing about what it means to be a man in 21st-century America.

Bingo Love by Tee Franklin et al

Bingo Love made me cry on an Amtrak train. It's a wonderful romance about two women who fall in love as teenagers, but are separated by their families, only to come into each other's lives again when they are grandmothers.

The Rules do Not Apply by Ariel Levy

Ariel Levy's blistering memoir is a beautiful piece of writing that centers around a time of her life that can only be described as devastating. Perhaps it is her journalistic training that keeps this story from feeling sentimental. I loved every word.

The Manor House Governess:A Novel by C A Castle

This is a modern queer take on Jane Eyre (which was never really my thing -- Heathcliff rules, Rochester drools) in which a gender queer young person takes a job as essentially a governess for the daughter of a wealthy British landholder. The household is full of mystery, including the girl's brooding older brother who our hero is undeniably drawn to.

Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson

I've read this book so many times.

The reader never learns the gender of the narrator of this love story--which would feel like a gimmick in the hands of a lesser writer. Winterson uses the premise to explore the nature of love and self.

The Magic Fish (A Graphic Novel) by Trung Le Nguyen

This is a gorgeous coming of age story, full of art nouveau-esque illustration, fairy tales, immigrant longing and struggles, and young queer hearts just pulsing with life.

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

**read this one when you need the same feeling as you got from Red White and Royal Blue but with a little less sex**

This book charmed my pants off. Liz is a wonderful, memorable heroine, with a lot of obstacles in her way, but that doesn't stop her from finding her path forward. I laughed, I cried, I didn't want it to end.

Check, Please! Book 1 by Ngozi Ukazu

**read this when you need the same feeling you got from Heartstopper but with a little more sex**

You don't HAVE to love ice hockey to be totally charmed by Eric "Bitty" Bittle, the newest member of Samwell University's men's hockey team, and by Jack Zimmerman, the team's moody, stern, and totally gorgeous captain. Along with Book 2, presented here are Bitty's 4 years as a college hockey player, and the lessons he learns about life--and himself--in that time.

Outlawed by Anna North

A gender-bent, feminist, alternate universe Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid retelling, set in a world where the fledgling United States was decimated by a flu epidemic in the early 1800s. The remaining colonizer population is dedicated wholeheartedly to fertility and childbearing, so women (like Ada, our heroine) who cannot bear healthy babies are sent off to convents at best, or tried as witches at worst. She teams up with the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, and her adventures begin.

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

High-brow science fiction that takes on issues of class (& related issues of race), corporate power, and personal identity.

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

A novel like none I've ever read before. Emezi drew from their own experiences for this narrative about self and power and sex, integrated with Nigerian folklore.

Mortal Follies: A Novel by Alexis Hall

A lesbian Regency romance narrated by Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream? Yes please! A sexy, fun, fantastical tale that's kicked off with the protagonist falling under a curse that promises ever increasing scandal and danger.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

A lush, thrilling sapphic fantasy set in an Indian inspired world full of dangerous magic and even more dangerous politics.

Mrs. S by K Patrick

Mrs S is gorgeous and casually devastating, a sexy slow burn obsessive forbidden queer love story. Every note is exactly right.

I'm stopping there cuz it's late and I've had a day but this is just pulling a fraction of the titles on my staff picks list.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Colombia's VP lied about inviting them! by u/victormcz04

Colombia's VP lied about inviting them! It just seems too coincidental to me that when Meghan is searching for third world countries to employ her imitations of royal tours someone from one of these countries watches her doc and invites them first.Knowing that Meghan always seduces people and gets them to lie for her and they obey her this is something she probably plotted, to look alike the Harkles are popular and on demand instead of desperate begging for nations to let them perform royal duties.The doc is from 2020, why this invitation came in 2024? Why the VP couldn't come up with something more recent about Meghan's life to justify this weird invitation?I might be seeing things but this woman was tricked front and center by Meghan and you can see that in how she came in between Meghan and her husband never in her life thinking something like that could happen to her.Meghan and Harry are looking for impoverished nations and are probably love bombing their politicians. Remember, the mainstream world doesn't know them like we do, the last time the Harkles went viral was during the Oprah interview. They are still seen as legit by most of the world. Seeing the King's grandson is still a sight.Out of the many ridiculous demands Meghan made the lie about being invited must have been one of them. And the VP went with it probably trying to avoid an international embarrassment and believing the Harkles could be good for Colombia's image.I don't mean to be racist but that woman even being the vice president did not look like someone well equipped to handle Meghan and to put her in her place. Not with Diana's son right there.The same thing Meghan did to the VP's partner she did to the criminal nigerian politicians that she befriended in order to get there and be allowed to walk half naked. They looked EXTRA happy with having Meghan there, if you know what I mean.And now the VP's reputation is tarnished, the kids visited by the opportunists are left with some drumsets, Colombia has a 2 million dollar debt and Meghan has more pictures in her website to make Archwell look legit. When researching this foundation people are not gonna watch TRG's videos or come here, they will see only the pictures and won't have any info about the background. Meaning the con survives.Remember Colombia is an impoverished third world country. British royalty still is intimidating and I'm sure Rachel used Harry in all the rights ways in order to make this fraud look real. They probably made promises in the name of the UK too. Pigs.This is all alleged. post link: https://ift.tt/vnfFAoM author: victormcz04 submitted: August 26, 2024 at 03:58AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.