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Tag: Elnathan John

16 Apr

Non-Fiction Satire

BE(COM)ING NIGERIAN

by admin1

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By Elnathan John “The Nigerian God loves elections and politics. When you have bribed people to get party nominations, used thugs to steal and stuff…

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_obiageriaku

📖 Certified Book Lover + Full-time Daydreamer
🇳🇬🇨🇦 | Powered by tea & stories
✨ Traveling the world, one page at a time!

Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite I went in

Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite

I went into this book thinking I was getting magical realism or a reincarnation story …and instead I got a deeply human, generational family drama that had me stressed, emotional, and fully yelling at the characters like PLEASE CAN WE USE SOME COMMON SENSE.

This story follows three generations of women in Lagos, Nigeria, all living under what they believe is a family curse: no man will ever find peace in their home and love will always end in heartbreak. It starts with Ebun giving birth to her daughter, Eniiyi, on the same day her cousin Monife is buried. The resemblance is uncanny, and just like that, boom! The belief that Eniiyi is Monife reborn takes over everything.

And listen…curse or no curse, some of these decisions had me SCREAMING. Because at some point I was like, are we actually cursed or are we just making very bad choices and calling it destiny? 😭

The book moves between Monife, Ebun, and Eniiyi, and each voice is so distinct and alive. Monife is bold and defiant. Ebun feels painfully real, full of regret and shaped by expectations she never asked for. And Eniiyi, stuck between wanting freedom and fearing the curse, becomes the emotional core of the story. Her storyline especially had me stressed.

What really got me is how the curse isn’t something to prove or disprove, it just exists in their minds. And you see how belief alone shapes how they love, who they trust, and how small they allow their lives to be. Honestly? The curse felt less supernatural and more like generational trauma with an excellent PR team.

Despite all that, this book isn’t heavy in a draining way. It’s warm, funny in places, compassionate, and full of moments that made me laugh out loud and then immediately feel attacked emotionally. By the end, I wanted to sit at the Falodun family table and tell everyone to go to therapy—lovingly.

I really enjoyed this book. It made me emotional, frustrated, and deeply invested, which is exactly what I want from a read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Would recommend it if you like: generational stories, messy women, and books that make you yell “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” at 2am.

#bookreview
#curseddaughters

Me: “I’ll just read what I can.” Also me: ma

Me: “I’ll just read what I can.”
Also me: makes a list of 10 ambitious reads for the last stretch of the year 🤡
Which one would you tackle first?

#booksbooksbooks #tbr #tbrpile

Day 31 of the #sbphotochallenge25 Prompt: Shortes

Day 31 of the #sbphotochallenge25

Prompt: Shortest vs Longest

The Covenant of Water still holds the record for the longest book I’ve ever read—what a journey that was! And on the other end, The Orange and Other Poems is the tiniest, most adorable little poetry book on my shelf

Day 29 of the #sbphotochallenge25 💛 Prompt —

Day 29 of the #sbphotochallenge25 💛
Prompt — Shout out a bookish business! @janusbooksguelph

Found Janus Books on one of my lunch hunts and honestly, it was such a good surprise. A cozy used bookstore and they had Nigerian titles?! My heart was full 🇳🇬📚

Day 25 of the #sbphotochallenge25 Prompt – Hand

Day 25 of the #sbphotochallenge25
Prompt – Hand in Frame ✋
I guess the category is Nails 💅

Day 23 of #sbphotochallenge25 Prompt- Shadow Pla

Day 23 of #sbphotochallenge25

Prompt- Shadow Play

Time for some late night reading 😉

Day 21 of the #sbphotochallenge25 Prompt — 4 Gen

Day 21 of the #sbphotochallenge25
Prompt — 4 Generations, 4 Books

Honestly, I can’t think of a more iconic stack. This was the prompt I was most excited about, I kept thinking, “What books would I pick?” Then it hit me: I love women. I love female writers. I love stories that reflect and celebrate the complexities of womanhood. So, it was a no-brainer.

✨ Efuru by Flora Nwapa — the mother of African literature herself, paving the way with her fearless portrayal of womanhood.

✨ Second Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta — raw, honest, and unflinching; a voice that demanded to be heard.

✨ Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie — bold, elegant storytelling that shaped a generation of female readers.

✨ We Were Girls Once by Aiwanose Odafen — look just do yourself a favor and run to get her books, okay?

Past and present, all connected by women who write, who dream, and encourage us to do the same.

Day 19 of the #sbphotochallenge25 Prompt- Reader

Day 19 of the #sbphotochallenge25

Prompt- Reader Positions

Caught in 4K doing what readers do best, suffering beautifully for the story 😂📖

Day 17 of the #sbphotochallenge25 Prompt: Currentl

Day 17 of the #sbphotochallenge25
Prompt: Currently Reading
Still making my way through Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah, slow and steady

My happy juice — Mint, Cranberry & Blood Orange

My happy juice — Mint, Cranberry & Blood Orange Tea with a squeeze of lemon. Don’t hold the honey 🤪
Day 15 of the #sbphotochallenge25
Prompt: Book + Beverage

Just a weirdo obsessed with books 😋 Day 13 of

Just a weirdo obsessed with books 😋

Day 13 of the #sbphotochallenge25
Prompt- bookish face-off

PS - I ripped my pants trying to get these pictures😂😅. So show me some love ❤️

Day 11 of the #sbphotochallenge25 Prompt: 3 Books

Day 11 of the #sbphotochallenge25
Prompt: 3 Books / 3 Books in Translation

This prompt humbled me 😅 — turns out I only have one book in translation on my shelf! But since I’m still rebuilding my library from scratch, I decided to bend the rules a bit and pick three short story collections I absolutely love instead. No regrets ✨📚

Day 9 of #sbphotochallenge25 — Spine Poetry This

Day 9 of #sbphotochallenge25 — Spine Poetry
This prompt nearly broke my brain, but we made it 😅
All the Light We Cannot See in This Moment Where We End and Begin.

Day 7 of the #sbphotochallenge25 – Two books I d

Day 7 of the #sbphotochallenge25 – Two books I don't see on social media.

Gaslight by Femi Kayode has just the right dose of suspense to keep you hooked. And My Parents’ Marriage… whew. I need every woman to read that book and then do the exact opposite of what the protagonist did. Even if love is blind, abeg, try dey wear eyeglasses. 😤😂

#bookrecommendations

Day 5 of the #sbphotochallenge25 Green stack 💚

Day 5 of the #sbphotochallenge25
Green stack 💚

Some days, I really miss the library I built back in Nigeria — rows of stories and memories. But this little stack reminds me that new shelves, new chapters, and new beginnings are just as beautiful.

Day 3 of #sbphotochallenge25 📚✨ Came for the

Day 3 of #sbphotochallenge25 📚✨ Came for the cover, stayed for the plot.

This cover is absolutely stunning, and thankfully, the book lived up to it. I’m always drawn to stories about Biafra, and I really appreciated how this one offered a fresh perspective.

#sbphotochallenge25 #bookrecommendations📚❣️

When @lipglossmaffia calls a challenge, you don’

When @lipglossmaffia calls a challenge, you don’t think twice, you just show up 📸✨. Spent way too long today digging for “books in transit” pics before realizing… I am the transit. I’m always carrying books everywhere like unpaid extra luggage, so this totally counts 😂.

Day 1 of #sbphotochallenge25

📚Book Review 📚 The Storm We Made by Vanessa

📚Book Review 📚 The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

If you’re not reading books from Asian authors or stories set in Asian countries, you are missing out. The Storm We Made completely pulled me into a part of history I knew nothing about, Malaya (now Malaysia) between 1935–1945.

The story follows Cecily, a mother trying to keep her family safe during the Japanese occupation. Her son is forced into a labor camp in Burma, her eldest daughter works in a teahouse while trying to avoid a darker fate, and her youngest is hidden in the basement, kept away from soldiers who preyed on young girls.

Years earlier, though, Cecily was just a bored wife who wanted more out of life. When she met Fujiwara, a Japanese man with a vision of “an Asia for Asians,” she believed in his dream and agreed to pass on secrets from her husband’s work with the British. That decision changes everything.

What I really loved about this book was how real it felt, the rain, the humidity, the constant fear people lived under. Vanessa Chan paints the atmosphere so well, and she shows the impossible choices women had to make just to survive.

My only tiny gripe? I wanted to feel even closer to the characters. I cared about what happened, but I craved a deeper emotional connection. Still, this was such a powerful, eye-opening read, and I’m so glad I picked it up.

#bookrecommendations
#BookLovers

Currently Reading - Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurna

Currently Reading - Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

I’ve always turned to books as a way to step outside of myself, an escape when life feels heavy, a reminder that there are other worlds, and other stories beyond my own. Lately, though, I’ve found it harder to carve out the time to sink deeply into them.

Right now, I’m slowly making my way through Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah. It’s not a fast read. It asks you to slow down with it, to linger in the lives of its characters, to sit with history and memory. In a way, that pace is teaching me patience: with myself, with my reality, with the things I can’t rush.

Life is demanding, but I’m grateful for the quiet moments when I can turn the page and remember why I fell in love with reading in the first place.

What books are you all currently reading?

#Currentread #bookrecommendations

✨Book Review✨ With Love, Miss Americanah by J

✨Book Review✨
With Love, Miss Americanah by Jane Igharo

You know what I miss? A good cheesy feel-good rom-com/romantic movie. The kind we all grew up watching. And honestly? Since I’m not exactly swimming in romance these days, this book gave me exactly what I needed. It felt like being wrapped up in a teen movie again. 🫶

This story follows Enore, who moves to Bellwood, NY, after her father’s death. She’s introverted, grieving, and determined to survive high school unnoticed with her list of “ten simple rules.” (Spoiler: she breaks most of them 😅). Enter Davi Santiago, encouraging, steady, and the push she needs to believe in herself and her dreams.

Yes, the story is a little predictable at times but in that cozy, comforting way. It’s fluffy, heartfelt, and surprisingly thoughtful about grief, identity, and family expectations. I especially loved how Enore’s Nigerian upbringing shaped her choices what feels like simple “teen rebellion” in the U.S. carries way more weight when you’re balancing cultural norms and your mom’s expectations.

What hit me hardest was her shift in identity, back in Nigeria she blended in, but in America she’s suddenly “the Black girl,” dealing with microaggressions and erasure. That felt so raw and real.

I adored the sweet, drama-free relationship between Enore and Davi. The way they became each other’s safe space over shared lunches?

Overall: predictable, yes but in the BEST way. A warm, heartfelt book that also asks big questions about grief, family, and identity. Perfect if you’re craving something sweet and nostalgic with a little depth.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

#bookrecommendations
#readers
#Bookstagram

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