‘I’ve always loved books’

I’ve always loved books. If, like some Nigerian musicians who claim to have been “singing from their mother’s womb”, I was told I came clutching a book, tongue in cheek, I’d totally believe it and milk it dry with the media for what it’s worth—until that possibility is questioned, of course. I grew up thinking […]

I’ve always loved books. If, like some Nigerian musicians who claim to have been “singing from their mother’s womb”, I was told I came clutching a book, tongue in cheek, I’d totally believe it and milk it dry with the media for what it’s worth—until that possibility is questioned, of course.

I grew up thinking everybody read. Our home was a haven of books; there were books belonging to my dad – anything that was paranormal, science fiction and crime was his. My mother’s collection was more interesting; she had the entire Heinemann series and always ticked them off as soon as they were published. She collected the hardbacks of classics; Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Jo’s Boys, Wuthering Heights. And then, of course, there was my personal collection of books – everything and anything Enid Blyton, and then some children’s books MacMillan published.  This was the late 70’s into the 80’s, I definitely had a rich booky childhood, so before I was ten, I had read through my mother’s library, reading such books as Ebvu My Love, Efuru and Mine Boy repeatedly while I learned to avoid my dad’s library of books. But the thing is I thought all children did too. To rephrase it, I thought everybody read and loved doing it too. I mean, why shouldn’t they?

One particular memory gets my brother and me in stitches when we recall it. My mother had been away on a course in England and most of what she sent when she could was books. At this time, before I became the scrooge I am now known to be, I had a large giving heart and saw no reason not to share. By the time she returned, a good number had gone out to fellow book lovers, and most of them, loving books so much sadly thought my books looked better on their shelves! Some other book lovers I had shared with did not make their book shelves a new home for them, but when the books were returned, they sadly came back looking like what a house pet had flipped through. So my first introduction to bookshelves with doors and keys was learnt and I was made to arrange them in any way I so desired, lock the doors and hand over the keys. While I put the books away, stroking each one lovingly before it was sentenced, as the pile on the floor dwindled, I began to wail “mummy, and you know how much I love books!” Unfortunately, red eyes, drippy nose and all, my mother absolutely refused to budge.

I have sojourned long with books and acquired a taste for thrillers after a short stint with romance novels of the very soppy ending variety. I once owned a book club, called it ‘I Love Books’—somehow, no other name seemed as appropriate. Little wonder that I am now a compulsive book collector, buying more books than I get to read each year. Seeing them on their shelves behind closed doors, thankfully not locked, is more satisfying than buying clothes or jewellery. I have worked with a publishing company and now I co-own one—Parrésia Publishers.

It’s World Books Day and today we celebrate authors, reading and books and somewhere on the list, copyright. I’m also much older and wiser now so I fully understand why we’d think it’s important to have this day celebrated beyond the initial thought behind it. Not everybody reads really and there are even those who say with such finality “I don’t read” that I begin to wonder, what else they could possibly be doing with their minds.  The truth is, there has been a decline to the point of near extinction of the culture of reading and such people are merely being representative. This lack-of-reading reality has defined volume of sales in the Nigerian publishing industry, where new book print runs of 10,000’s really is a reckless gamble. Sales figures in this range in the first month of release have not been stated by any publishing houses. For a country of 140,000,000, even if literacy is assumed at 40 percent, this is alarming.  Thankfully this hasn’t stopped me or Richard Ali from pulling resources together and breathing life into Parrésia Publishers Ltd—our Parrésia Publishers imprint is established to resuscitate the traditional process of publishing works of fiction and Black Palms, our second imprint, offers customized publishing services. Parrésia Publishers Ltd has been birthed because we love books and will ensure we increase the discipleship of book lovers, by providing the best of Nigerian and African talents in exceptional quality.

So on this 23rd of April, the World Book Day, I proudly proclaim through these pages that reading and loving books is extremely a cool way of life that should be celebrated. Books should be celebrated everyday and we at Parrésia Limited will be rolling out our first three books this first quarter of 2012. In the spirit of William Shakespeare and other pioneers of culture also remembered today, within the pages of a book are the knowledge and lessons of life found and not getting lost within those pages creates a void that will never be filled.

Happy Books Day!

Azafi can be reached on  [email protected]