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#Gabon
blurb
Cinfhen
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I‘m having some really good luck 🍀 Lots of my current reads also discuss African countries!!! This book mentions #Gabon / it might only be three paragraphs but who‘s counting?!?!! #ReadingAfrica22 @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

Librarybelle This book is on my radar…looking forward to your review! 2y
Megabooks Enjoy this! My favorite memoir of the year so far! 2y
Cinfhen It must be me because so far this book is just meh for me🫤 @Librarybelle @Megabooks @DGRachel 2y
See All 7 Comments
DGRachel I think it was a slow start for me as well, but once all of the threads started to come together, I got sucked in. It didn‘t hurt that I live in NC and I love references I can pick up. 2y
Megabooks Stick with it! There are a lot of different changes in the story and you may settle into enjoying it more. At least I hope so! 2y
Cinfhen It‘s fairly simple straightforward writing so I‘ll stick with it @DGRachel @Megabooks hoping it picks up for me 2y
EKonrad It was a slow start for me too, but I ended up loving it! Such a crazy story with some interesting threads. Hope you end up enjoying it! 😊 2y
70 likes7 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
Iboga: The Visionary Root of African Shamanism | Vincent Ravalec, Mallendi, Agns Paicheler
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Pickpick

Iboga is a plant found in #Gabon that produces hallucinogenic effects along the lines of peyote and which has been used for a long time in spiritual traditions. There is interest in it for its potential to aid with addiction to various drugs. This book is interesting in its content, however, it suffers strongly from confirmation bias, so be aware of that failing.

#ReadingAfrica2022

Librarybelle Good to know about the confirmation bias! 2y
48 likes1 comment
review
Bookwomble
Awu's Story: A Novel | Justine Mintsa
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Pickpick

14th book for #ReadingAfrica2022 #Gabon 🇬🇦
Don't read the introduction until after the novel, but do read the introduction as it has useful information.
Mintsa's exploration of traditional patriarchal values took a somewhat different approach to the others I've read for this challenge, as the MC's partner was a good man who did not abuse or betray her, though their relationship was troubled by past attachments and social judgements. 👇

Bookwomble There are, however, some shocking portrayals of abuse in the guise of cultural rituals, which Mintsa shows in their brutality without explicit criticism. "Modern" values are not presented as a universal panacea, though, and the picture of city life is a warts-and-all one which illuminates the positive aspects of traditional culture which urbanisation has lost in its race to embrace Western "development". Strong 4⭐ @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle 2y
Librarybelle Good to know to read the intro after reading the book! 2y
Bookwomble @Librarybelle Definitely! Multiple spoilers in the intro, but useful to read afterwards. I should have made clearer in my review that while Mintsa doesn't necessarily say "This is bad", the reactions of her characters makes it obvious that she is critical of certain accepted practices. 2y
26 likes3 comments
blurb
Bookwomble
Awu's Story: A Novel | Justine Mintsa
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#ReadingAfrica2022 #Gabon 🇬🇦
If there's a theme running through the various books I've read by African women as part of this challenge, it's the tension between the traditional cultural placement of women and the contemporary move towards female emancipation, whilst retaining an African consciousness rather than adopting a European/Western perspective, and this book appears to conform to that theme, with which I have no problem.

Bookwomble Mintsa has much love written about her, so I'm looking forward to this one 😊 @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle 2y
Librarybelle Looking forward to your review! Hope you enjoy this one! 2y
Bookwomble @Librarybelle Fingers crossed 🤞🏻I do so hate it when an introduction gives away significant plot points, which this one does, so I've skipped the rest of it and moved on to the story itself. I'll read it after finishing the novel, as there seems to be useful contextual material there. 2y
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BarbaraBB That‘s frustrating indeed! 2y
Bookwomble @BarbaraBB Tolkien was not a fan of introductions and recommended always going to the main work and reading the intro afterwards. I should listen to him, really 🙂 2y
BarbaraBB I think you should. I do apparently without knowing his recommendation 😉 2y
26 likes6 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
Threatened | Eliot Schrefer
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Bailedbailed

This one isn‘t working for me for a number of reasons. I found another option for #Gabon, so bailing is the best choice for me.

BarbaraBB It was no succes for me either but I did finish it because I had no alternative for Gabon! (edited) 3y
Hooked_on_books @BarbaraBB Before I officially bailed I looked into finding something else at my library. I‘m really glad I found another option, and I would have been unhappy pushing through this. 3y
Texreader I‘m so bummed you and @BarbaraBB didn‘t like this one since I loved it! But it goes to show you how folks have different tastes in books! 2y
Hooked_on_books @Texreader I know! I‘m always so disappointed when someone doesn‘t like a book I loved. I try to be understanding, but sometimes I grumble to myself about it! 😆 2y
BarbaraBB @Texreader I was sure I‘d love it because we‘ve enjoyed so many of the same books during the challenges, so I was surprised too! 2y
46 likes5 comments
review
BarbaraBB
Threatened | Eliot Schrefer
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Mehso-so


A YA novel set in the #Gabon jungle about a boy coming of age all alone with a bunch of chimpanzees is not generally a book I‘d choose. And I wasn‘t really interested but I admit the ending was touching and sweet.

#ReadingAfrica2022 🇬🇦 #pop22 #TitleBeginsWithLastLetterPreviousRead

(Pic: Exhibition in a church, audiobook instead of audio your 🤣)

vlwelser Great pic. Audiobooking in a museum/exhibition is one of my favorite activities. 3y
BarbaraBB @vlwelser It was new to me but a good combination indeed! 3y
Librarybelle Great picture! I‘ve not listened to an audiobook while at an exhibition, but I‘ve never really thought about it. Something interesting to try! 3y
67 likes3 comments
review
jenniferw88
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Pickpick

Not a book to read at the start of a pandemic, but a few years down the line is OK 😂.

Turns out coronavirus has been around since at least 2006 but it's managed to be contained, only becoming a pandemic when it escaped Asia.

#Tbrdeckofcards #titlebeginswithe @Clwojick
#ReadingAfrica2022 #gabon @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

4 🌟

BarbaraBB It sounds fascinating- a few years down the line 😉 3y
persephone1408 I thought chinese lab altered the coronaviris. 3y
shanaqui Hmm, do you mean this book claims that SARS-CoV-2 existed in 2006? SARS-CoV-1 has been known since 2002, and of course coronaviruses as a family have been around and worldwide for thousands and thousands of years, but I can't find anything in the scientific literature that suggests that SARS-CoV-2 was circulating prior to 2019...

I've always liked Quammen's work, I'll be disappointed if he's gone astray!
3y
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shanaqui @persephone1408 That's one theory that some scientists believe, and many do not. There is no conclusive proof either way, only circumstantial evidence. (My scientific opinion is, for lack of any actual proof otherwise, that it's most likely a natural zoonotic disease.) 3y
Librarybelle Agree…probably not the best book to read at the start of a pandemic 3y
jenniferw88 @persephone1408 @shanaqui probably mean SARS-CoV1. The book was mainly on Ebola, after all - coronavirus was only briefly mentioned! 3y
Bookwormjillk This does sound interesting, thanks. 3y
74 likes2 stack adds7 comments
blurb
Texreader
Threatened | Eliot Schrefer
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Here‘s my status for #readingafrica2022 since I‘ve just finished #Gabon with the tagged book (read it!). I currently have books for Namibia and Somalia under way (hence the stripes). @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

Sapphire Wow, that‘s impressive 3y
Librarybelle This is amazing! 3y
Amiable Excellent! 3y
65 likes3 comments
review
Texreader
Threatened | Eliot Schrefer
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Pickpick

Orphan Luc is working for an unscrupulous “orphanage” owner when a professor comes to town with a tempting silver briefcase. When Luc tries to steal it, Prof offers to pay off Luc‘s debts to the orphanage and hire him rather than prosecute. Thus begins Luc‘s journey into the jungles of #Gabon to study chimpanzees with Prof. First terribly afraid of the “mock men” & the dark, Luc eventually comes to love the apes in the scary jungle. This YA ⬇️

Texreader book reads like an adult book and trigger warnings for cruelty to animals (not by Luc or Prof!). As Luc grows up, from an angry kid to a smart and loving teenager (I presume), the reader grows to adore him and the apes—even the scary ones. Very highly recommended. This author tells the story brilliantly, even with a limited number of characters and loads of animals. I loved it and didn‘t want it to end. #readingafrica2022 (edited) 3y
Texreader This is second in a series. The first was very good and even made me cry. But this one takes it up a notch and I marked it as a favorite, a rare designation for me. 3y
BarbaraBB I will definitely go and look for this one. Fab review! 3y
Librarybelle Great review! 3y
60 likes4 comments
blurb
Texreader
Threatened | Eliot Schrefer
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I just finished listening to this audiobook from my hotel room down near the Gulf Coast where the wind is blowing so hard the flagpole is just swaying. Another work trip…

This was an awesome book. Even better than book 1 in the series. If you are needing a book for #Gabon for #readingafrica2022, look no further. I‘ll be thinking on how to write my review but definitely a 5-star book!

BarbaraBB Can I read it without having read no 1? 3y
Texreader @BarbaraBB They are completely unrelated. It‘s the Ape Series, so I believe each book is about a different kind of ape. Book 1 was bonobos in the Congo 3y
BarbaraBB Thanks! 3y
54 likes3 comments