Additional books to settle you into 2015

Let’s start with a book I most admire. Lola Shoneyin’s  For the Love of Flight which is making its second appearance on this page. (1) For the Love of Flight a collection of poems by Lola Shoneyin, the author of the hilarious novel The Secret Lives Of Baba Segi’s Wives is scintillating, a powerhouse of […]

Let’s start with a book I most admire. Lola Shoneyin’s  For the Love of Flight which is making its second appearance on this page.

(1) For the Love of Flight a collection of poems by Lola Shoneyin, the author of the hilarious novel The Secret Lives Of Baba Segi’s Wives is scintillating, a powerhouse of words in this slim volume published by Cassava Republic Press. Love poems often get me to that place where I have to hold back the sting of tears especially if it is flying off the pages until I can touch the emotion. Distance, on page 13 of this collection is one such poem of love, of longing. Here are samples:
                         
Across the table, you touch my lip-print
Circle the length of my smile from the centre to  the corners  fingering every grove.
                         
I want to reach for you  above the shaken salt,
Press your palm into mine
but no, this is not the time.
                         
The wine sours in my mouth
when you reach for your coat
soon, you will leave me by the door,
Stroking your kiss and wanting more.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
There are of course other poems in the book mostly satirical, others political and some about birth, others still in celebration of children; an interesting collection to make your companion in 2015.

(2) Only recently, I had a conversation with a male colleague whose wife always started a  story with “No be small thing oh!” I do not know why she cannot just go straight to the point he says. We are all different I tell him. Women are made differently from you men, try to understand. A smile around his lips suggested a little understanding but he continued to say, this really irritated me. A full understanding of each other in 2015 will help many relationships that are tottering in 2015. To help you along, get two books. Why Men don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps by Allan and Barbara Pease. Hilarious but full of charm and understanding with various sides of the matter told with such humour that the understanding sinks in. The other one is Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus by John Gray.  A truly philosophical book about how different we are, and it will also help you understand each other in a relationship. This is crucial for making the world a better place in 2015.

(3) I have always believed that the world will be a better place if there was less violence. All the horrible men and women who meted unspeakable torture on others were from homes, they had a mother and father. They might have been abandoned or even physically abused. They may have watched their mothers or in some rare cases their fathers being beaten up by their fathers or mothers. Nothing escapes a young mind, and then they grow up knowing nothing but violence; any book at all on understanding the youth and teenagers. Somehow, the violence around the world is getting younger and younger; ten year old girls detonating bombs, a little boy shown on the international media shooting a man. It is so messed up out here in the world that we cannot as parents, brothers and aunties contribute to the difficulty that already exists by bringing up a maladjusted child. Learn about puberty, read about teenage emotions, do not be brutal when meting out punishments to a young person, try and understand their point of view even if it sounds silly. Give them a voice in the house. It’s crucial it might just be the line between him joining a bad group of friends and staying at home. Any book about teenagers is a good start when you have one.

(4 )It’s time to prove your spirituality not mouth it in in 2015. Read about your faith, learn to be calmer than you usually are, forgive easily, hold no grudges, speak your mind but not in an offensive way, smile at strangers, love unconditionally, be part of peace building, believe in a higher being, trust God, be kind . Read your religious mantras again at the top of the year, soak unto it, understand it and live it

(5)Any cookery book. Release your inner chef.

BONUS BOOKS
 (1) Alice Munro’s Dear Life, a phenomenal collection of short stories to give you something to laugh about and something to think about.
(2) Any biography or autobiography to energise you in 2015. Another person’s life story always adds value.