Weeks back, I had to rearrange my bookshelf and add a couple of annexes to the existing shelves. Seeing the number of books that needed to be shelved, my daughter compelled me to make a commitment to not buy any new book in 2020.

The daunting task of arranging the shelf (and the cost of those annexes) nudged me to commit. Days later, I was aghast and wondered what sort of commitment I had gotten myself into. The only plan I could hatch was to buy in advance. SO in the last few weeks, I have been adding items to my cart at Amazon and Exclusive Books. I have also paid impromptu visits to my favourite local bookshops; Ouida and Terra Kulture. So, while I am going to keep my promise in 2020, Books bought in 2019 but undelivered by midnight today, do not count.

New year resolution

I think The Lost Thumb is a rare find. One of the recent fiction books that seem to have gotten little press. It was recommended to me in one of the various book communities I visit, I read the blurb and was convinced.

I was considering whether to buy A Gentleman in Moscow when I found All The Light We Cannot See. I had a fundamental problem with the former. The synopsis of the latter seemed breathtaking and I got it instead.

As earlier mentioned, I have taken a liking to memoirs in recent months. I read three good ones this year (this, this and this) and bought a little more than that. I found A Good Provider is One Who Leaves in one of these 2019 lists and decided to get it as it seems a nuanced well-written book on the very valid topic of migration.

You may or may not believe that liberalism has failed but every balanced view agrees that something has gone wrong with its current strain. I am interested in where it seems to have gone wrong and how the future will shape out. Why Liberalism Failed seems like it will be a good read.

After reading The State of Africa earlier this year, my interest in the history of the Great Lake region of Africa has heightened. Luckily, I picked King Leopold’s Ghost for 2020 and Dancing in the Glory of Monsters was amongst a recent haul.

I had not been to Ouida Bookshop in a while and when I did weeks back, I just could not find anything I really like, so I settled for All Our Names.

I got a few more books in recent weeks but either the sellers on Amazon were not willing to deliver those specific books to Nigeria or Amazon itself was wanting too much for the delivery of those, I used an address in a different continent. I will have quite a haul to pick up when I travel soon. Same applies to the books I bought off Exclusive Books and had them delivered to a local address there. I already informed my daughter, so there will be no argument after I return from both travels. I am still committed to the resolution of no new books in 2020, these are all 2019 purchases.

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