World Book Day Recommendations: “Five Books I Love” — Praise Oswaru
For World Book Day, 2021 and #365DaysOfBookOclock, we sought books recommendations from Nigerian writer, Praise Oswaru.
Praise Osawaru (he/him) is a writer of Bini descent. A Best of the Net nominee, his work appears or is forthcoming in FIYAH, Frontier Poetry, Down River Road, Rigorous Magazine, Lit Quarterly, and Roadrunner Review, among others. An NF2W Poetry scholar, he’s the second place winner of the Nigerian NewsDirect Poetry Prize 2020 and a finalist for the 2021 Stephen A. DiBiase Poetry Prize & the 2020 Awele Creative Trust Award. He’s a reader for Barren Magazine and Chestnut Review. Find him on Instagram & Twitter: @wordsmithpraise.
Read him:
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Children Of Blood And Bone offers an exciting fantasy adventure, one that creates a fascinating world inspired by Yoruba mythology, while touching vital themes, like oppression, racism, and slavery. It invites the reader to partake in the journey, through the POV of multiple characters. I enjoyed reading the book and its sequel "Children Of Virtue and Vengeance." I’m anticipating the last book in the fantasy series and the Children Of Blood and Bone movie.
The January Children by Safia Elhillo
The January Children is a book I hold dear to my heart, by a poet I love so much. This poetry collection stuns me every time I read it. Safia Elhillo is simply brilliant. The book's elegant language, the poems' form, beautiful imageries, and the themes it touches; self, place, and identity, among others. It's impossible to not be moved by this enthralling collection.
David Mogo, Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
David Mogo, Godhunter blends godpunk and Yoruba mythology in an urban fantasy. Action-packed and compelling, I love this book for it's uniqueness—the first Nigerian demigod godhunter book I've read. Set in a (post)apocalyptic Lagos, it invites the reader to partake in a journey of self-discovery, identity, and saving Eko; featuring gods, all kinds of magic, an evil wizard, and more. I'm excited for Suyi Davies Okungbowa's forthcoming fantasy series starting with "Son Of The Storm (2021)."
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
I love Homegoing because it not only carries rich historical information but also renders them in elevated prose. Also, for the hybrid nature of the book, as it, despite being a novel, breaks itself into sections that could stand alone as short stories. It touches multiple themes like family, heritage, identity, slavery, colonization, racism, etc, in a peculiar way. I found the novel captivating. I plan on reading the follow-up novel "Transcendent Kingdom" soon, I hear it’s exquisite.
Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth by Warsan Shire
Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth is a book I often return to. Warsan Shire’s poetry is simple, accessible, and stunning. I loved it at first read and never got tired of reading it. The poems in this book reach into the readers' heart through compelling narratives, touching themes of immigrant life, war, womanhood, and more. I’m excited for Warsan’s next offering "Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head (2022)."
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World Book Day Recommendations is a series of book recommendations made by African contemporary writers for World Book Day, 2021 and Book O’Clock’s anniversary.
