Earlier in the year, her second book, Don’t Look at Me Like That, a poetry collection, was released to the public. Her first book, a collection of essays, In the Blink of an Eye, won the ANA/NDDC Flora Nwapa Prize for best female writing 2008.
Eugenia has degrees in English and Communication Policy Studies. A Chevening scholar, Eugenia is a member of several national and international bodies. She works with the Nigerian Television Authority and lives in Abuja with her family.
Books continue to hold a fascination that few things do, apart from family and travel. I began to travel around the world through the books I read as a child and much later on, I enjoyed the excitement of a book travel by physical travel. Books hold the world, hold fantasy, hold dreams, hold make – belief and in non – fiction, I enjoy well written essays, travelogues and memoirs.
I was a voracious reader as a child and still am. This is why I have chosen to share other people’s book stories, with you in this new column interview page about what people are reading and why they are reading them. The book-life of those who appear on this page should tell you a little bit about them. It’s a bit like show me what you are reading and I can access your mind, your thoughts, your likes, perhaps, and dislike. I shall bring you national leaders, cognoscenti, the literati, the glitterati, musicians, actors, artistes and celebrities. I shall also bring you book news of regular readers, mums, diplomats, sports personalities, bookaholics and persons in between.
If I am to bring you book related news of these people, I might as well let you into what my current book life is like first, wouldn’t you agree? So, before we begin our page with other people, let’s start with me, shall we? So, here goes
CURRENTLY READING:
I am currently reading Oprah, by Kitty Kelly, the unauthorized biography. I am fascinated by biographies and I read a lot of Kitty Kelly. Although most of her works are unauthorized, she survives litigations and other such challenges because of her thoroughness at researching her subjects. With Oprah’s biography, she could not secure an interview with her subjects because Oprah will not grant it, but she catalogued several interviews Oprah gave to different magazines and papers and so quoted her in her own words. Kitty Kelly researched the book for five years, and I have great respect for people who have tenacity in their works.
MY FIVE FAVOURITE BOOKS:
Over the years, I have read a tremendous number of books and I will try to cast my mind back to pick the one that I really, really enjoyed reading lately and this is in no particular order:
a. Doreen Baigana’s, Tropical Fish. I love the simplicity of her writing and then, the theme, boarding school for girls. What really bowled me over is her one-of-a-kind sense of humour. Her writing gets you in unashamedly peals of laughter. The theme resonates because it is that kind of book you are yelling yourself “wow, I should have written this book”, because, honestly, the themes are universal. It’s an awesome book and I think its simplicity makes it very easy to read.
b. John Milton’s, Paradise Lost. This is a classic. This whole long poem by John Milton is almost like he is talking to you. I read it as a young 17-year-old and it made an incredible impact on me. Part of my interest in poetry as an adult can be related to John Milton and other influences.
c. Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart. I have read several of Achebe’s fiction but I think Things Fall Apart, being the first of his works is the one most unaffected. Just a 28-year-old who had a story to tell and told it. Things Fall Apart, as has been repeated over the years, is an African story by an African. Some part of the patriarchy is hard to take, but then, I guess that was how it was at the time. Men were pretty much the dominant characters in most societies. Some persons have argued that Achebe was unkind to his female characters, but he was reflecting the Igbo society at the time. I believe he told an intriguing tale of power and arrogance, of destruction of cultures and character flaws, so masterfully and he immersed us all in the Igbo traditional setting therein.
d. Isabel Allende’s, Aphrodite. This is an unusual book about food and the senses. It was also very funny. Allende collects some of her favourite recipes and her mother’s recipes and places them at the back of the book, but the content of the book itself is tales of food and love and sensuality that are so elegantly told that the book is unputdownable. What was cooking when you met the first boy in your life, and how that aroma remains with you? It is also very well researched and there are stories from Chinese, Japanese and Hispanic history and literature about food and love and senses that made me laugh until I cried.
e. Helon Habila’s, Waiting For An Angel. I think this is a scrumptious book and the style is unbelievable. The Caine-winning prize writer has written a journalist’s challenge in a dictatorial regime.
TAILPIECE:
I think Zadie Smith’s, White Teeth, is an absolutely brilliant book. For a first novel, it is truly unforgettable. An ambitious novel about Indian immigrants and their two sons, one sent back to India and the other brought up in the uk. Their meeting with each other after some time is what the book is all about. I really enjoyed this book. Her characters are so real. It was as if I knew them. Zadie’s ability to tie all the characters together is what shows her up as a master of the story telling art.
I also enjoyed Chimamanda’s first book, Purple Hibiscus and Uwem Akpan’s, Say You Are One Of Them”.
WHAT MAKES YOU BUY A BOOK IN A BOOKSHOP?
Usually, it would be the title, if I am running through a bookshop or from reviews that I have read. But if I have the time, it will be from the comments on the book or the look on the cover.
WHAT WAS THAT BOOK THAT YOU NEVER FINISHED?
The Interpreters, by Wole Soyinka. The first sentence, “Metals jar my drink lobes,” knocked me off completely. And I just could not get past it. I thoroughly enjoyed, The Jero plays but The Interpreters was hard to read.
And Mandela’s, “Long Walk To Freedom”. After a while, it got too heavy for me and I could no longer track characters, relations and settings.
WHAT IS YOUR CHILDHOOD BOOK THAT YOU GO TO, AGAIN AND AGAIN?
The Bible, Enid Blyton and James Hadley Chase books.
