MAISHA YETU
Good news for Kenyan writers as Nuria Bookstore takes over the distribution of books at Naivas Supermarkets. Abdullahi Bulle, the director of Nuria says the move followed the successful handover ceremony that took place on Monday morning, “where ‘All African Books’ were transferred the Kenyan books to Nuria.” What this means is that Kenyan writers, […]
TITLE: The Graceless Fall of Robert Mugabe AUTHOR: Geoffrey Nyarota PUBLISHER: Penguin REVIEWER: Scholastica Moraa Like most people, I have always wondered what happened to Zimbabwe. What led to one man holding on to power for so long? I have always wondered if there wasn’t a better person to lead Zimbabwe. Through Geoffrey Nyarota’s book […]
Title: Eye of the Storm Author: Yusuf Dawood Publisher: East African Educational Publishers Reviewer: Otieno Opondo Eye of the Storm is a captivating medical thriller novel authored by Yusuf K. Dawood, a renowned surgeon and columnist, who died in January, 2023. Set in the post-colonial era, the book delves into the themes of revenge and […]
Title: Spare Author: Prince Harry Reviewer: Mbugua Ngunjiri Never, in their wildest imaginations, did players in the British media expect that a member of the royal family would come swinging at them the way rebel Prince Harry has done in his tell-all book Spare. The tabloids took refuge in the fact that the royal household […]
Five little known facts about Prof Kithaka wa Mberia. 1. He teaches Linguistics at the University of Nairobi and not Kiswahili, as widely believed by many. One of the many Vice-Chancellors he has served under, at UoN, long held the belief that Prof Mberia taught Kiswahili. 2. His book Kwenzi Gizani, which won the Jomo […]
Title: Chadi’s Trip Author: Sarah Haluwa Publisher: Storymoja Reviewer: Mbugua Ngunjiri The village of Kalole is faced with a deadly plague; Shaka Risha. Anyone who contracts it, most likely ends up dead. The whole village is worried; there is no knowing who will catch the deadly ailment next.The village oracle announces that the cure can […]
When Ngugi wa Thiong’o left his Kamirithu village, in Limuru, to join Alliance High School, the State of Emergency had already been declared, by colonial authorities in Kenya. This mainly affected members of the Gikuyu, Embu and Meru communities, that formed the bulk of the Mau Mau rebellion. Members of these three communities could not […]
Kenyans are reading. Introducing; top ten books of the month, as sold by Prestige Bookshop. 1.Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth by Wole Soyinka In an imaginary Nigeria, a cunning entrepreneur is selling body parts stolen from Dr. Menka’s hospital for use in ritualistic practices. Dr. Menka shares the grisly […]
It was relief for Kenyan publishers after they held their first book fair in two years in Nakuru City last week. The publishers are just recovering from the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw them lose a whole year’s sales when learning institutions were closed in 2020. Due to restrictions pertaining to Covid […]
History has a funny way of repeating itself, especially if we do not learn from it. In 1980, Frank Sundstrom, an American marine landed at the Kenyan coast, where he met Monicah Njeri. Njeri was what you would call a sex worker, yaani alikuwa anatafutia watoto. One thing led to another; the two had sex, […]