Happy new year to you.
I finished reading only three books in 2018.
1. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight (A memoir by the creator of NIKE)
2. Fighting Corruption is Dangerous by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (The stories behind the headlines)
3. FELA: This Bitch of A Life by Carlos Moore (The authorized biography of Africa's musical genius)
I sometimes call myself a bibliophile but as you can see my 2018 paints a very different picture. It is probably the year I have read the fewest books since I consciously decided to always read different books (2009).
.... so now I feel like a disgrace.
I do not restrict myself to these kind of 'serious' books in my quest for reading because I really love good fiction books as well but I find myself gradually avoiding fiction because I wanted stop creating fantasies in my head (Maybe it's age that is worrying me).
I usually try to know the books some prominent people would have read during the year: Barack Obama released a list of almost 30 books he read during the year 2018 and I began to wonder where a man like him with probably a really busy schedule found time to read that many books averaging two books monthly. His collection had several African titles which made me really proud.
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| Barack Obama's 2018 books |
I consoled myself with the facts and some assumptions that he probably doesn't have to drive to Walmart to do his own shopping, he doesn't live with just his wife and two kids under four, he most importantly doesn't have to spend 9am to 5pm daily at an office to ensure his bills are paid, so I'm good.
Another prominent person whose book recommendations I try to follow is Bill Gates. The way he picks his books is very instructive and very thoughtful. I usually try to read one or two from his recommedations. He talks about the five (5) books he will be reading over the course of the holidays in this post from his
GatesNotes blog.
The amount of learning you garner from books can't be obtained from lecture rooms or walled schools. I should point out at this point that I actually still have about 3 books open at different pages but the above 3 are the only ones I finished and I will try to describe.
1. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight (A memoir by the creator of NIKE)
This book is one very good book that has so much lessons about business and is laced with sublime humour. It is a book that young people, especially new graduates and college students should read.
It traces the author's life from his adolescent years to graduating school and how he discovered running shoes and then going on to create the brand NIKE.
He talks about his various experience traveling to several parts of the world and his several struggles across various fronts while building the brand.
The book is also an eye-opener into how the American society mostly helps it's young people with opportunities. How a young man can just leave home, get a job that can help pay his bills and then save up to travel the world, discover new places, his passions and then a vision to build a brand. He also describes his struggles with raising capital and assessing credit as his business grew.
2. Fighting Corruption is Dangerous by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (The stories behind the headlines)
I was jolted to read this book when an excerpt of it revealing that former governor Donald Duke had persuaded Ms. Iweala not to take a job in GEJ's government was posted on social media.
It is book that talks about the high level scams and pilferage that goes on in Nigeria's top governmental hierachy. I wrote a proper review
here.
3. FELA: This Bitch of A Life by Carlos Moore (The authorized biography of Africa's musical genius)
The first time I bought this book to read was in 2009. I was driving in Warri one day when the police stopped me at a check point and the officer immediately saw the book in the car and asked/begged for it. It was a very painful decision then but I gave him the book and pleaded with him to ensure to read it.
The book is Fela's only authorized biography and was in his direct words as the author, a journalist, was Fela's friend who visited Nigeria to live and interview Fela as he wrote it.
At some point while reading this book, tear drops would escape from my eyes feeling the pain and sacrifices Fela made to make government work for his people. He used his music to call attention to the ills of society, government mismanagement and call-out individual corrupt politicians. His house was raided, his mother thrown from upstairs, his wives raped and beaten so badly that some came back with mental issues.
Fela is about the last real activist alongside Gani Fewehinmi, Nigeria had.
He wasn't able to father any children with any of his 27 wives after the raid on his premises due to the brutality he experienced on that occasion.
Myself or my wife strive to read to our 3-yr old daughter everyday before bedtime. It has now come to the point that if you don't read to her then you probably don't want her to sleep. If you're tired and dare sleep off before her while reading to her, you will find that she's forcing/beating you to wake up and continue the reading. My brothers and sisters come and see me see BIG PROBLEM oh, BIG GOOD PROBLEM.
If you have kids, please encourage them to read by buying good books for them, reading to them and most importantly showing them the example of reading. Letting them see you read is the best way to boost the desire and love for books in them as well.
So, now you know that I feel like a disgrace reading only 3 books in one year. These books were very impactful and I would recommend them to you too.
Here's wishing you all a wonderful, book-reading 2019.
Cheers.
