Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

WeREAD: Kaine Agary's Yellow-Yellow' Highly Recommended for Film Adaptation

Holding the novel "Yellow-Yellow" by Kaine Agary on Monday, September 1, 2025 while visiting my younger sister in her residence in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

WeREAD:  Kaine Agary's Yellow-Yellow' Highly Recommended for Film Adaptation 

https://amzn.to/4nvC5H5

Our book club, WeREAD prefers  reading more books by Nigerian authors than foreign authors. 

My younger sister, Mrs. Stella Unah is the Numero Uno of reading with over 100 books read so far. She reads novels like she is watching movies, relating with the characters in the stories. She is the Chief Librarian of WeREAD Book Club.

Unlike many of the women in Nigeria, she prefers reading to gossiping.
She can read four books within 30 days.

If everyone in Nigeria can read like her, majority of Nigerian authors will be giving thanks to Almighty God for our books will be selling like books in America, Britain, Japan and other countries with highly literate people who love 💕 to read.

I started WeREAD in 2022 as an affiliate of Bookshop.org to support local bookstores in America and I am happy to say that over US$40 million have been raised so far.

Forwarded message ----------

From: "Bookshop.org" <newsletters@bookshop.org>

To: "WeREAD" <ekenyerengozimichaelchima@gmail.com>

$40,751,866.50

Raised For Local Bookstores

Last month of August, the novels we chose to read included "Influence of A King" by Titi Horsfall; multiple award winning novel, "Purple Hibiscus" by the famous Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie and "Yellow-Yellow" by Kaine Agary that won the Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2008. The first debut novel to do so in the history of the biggest prize for literature in Africa.

https://www.thenigeriaprizes.org/profile/kaine-agary

The exciting romantic novel about the impressionable and vulnerable biracial teenage girl,  Zilayefa, aka "Yellow-Yellow", daughter of a young Ijaw woman Ina Binaebi and a Greek sailor, Plato Papadopoulos in the Niger Delta of Nigeria during the dictatorship of a sadistic military Head of State is highly entertaining. It is one the best coming-of-age novels I have read so far. 

It is a romantic drama in prose waiting for a good film adaptation that will be a box office success and it is the kind of movie Netflix should commission.


Wale Ojo

I see the accomplished multiple award winning actor Wale Ojo playing the romantic role of the retired Naval Admiral Kenneth Alaowei Amalayefa, the sugar daddy of Zilayefa; excellent beautiful Nollywood diva, Iretiola Doyle as Sisi and the fast rising young pretty Uche Montana as Lolo.

Iretiola Doyle

Uche Montana

I don't know any biracial Nigerian actress under 20 that can play the leading role of Yellow-Yellow. We have to do international casting call for her. 

WeREAD powered by Bookshop, https://bookshop.org/shop/Weread

WeREAD is for the revival of the reading culture in Nigeria and the rest of Africa for the appreciation of literature with special focus on books by African authors.

The next level is to produce the WeREAD app for all users of GSM phones to access the platform. The app will include an interactive social networking feature for users to talk about books, booklists, book awards, rate books and trade books in book auctions where collector's editions of rare books can be sold to the highest bidders. We will also produce various branded products for WeREAD, such as WeREAD school, shopping and travel bags; facecaps; T-shirts and WeREAD Cafés strategically located on campuses of selected tertiary institutions and shopping malls. 

Yellow-Yellow, Kaine Agary, novel, books,Nigerian writers,Nigeria Prize for Literature,Niger Delta, romance, love, sex, politics, adventure, relationship, career, education




Monday, August 16, 2021

First Bollywood Film Adaptation of a Nigerian Novel: Sin is a Puppy that Follows You Home

First Bollywood Film Adaptation of a Nigerian Novel: Sin is a Puppy that Follows You Home



Only a couple of the Hausa novels have been translated into English. “Sin is a Puppy that Follows You Home” was translated by Indian publishers and subsequently made into a Bollywood movie. The book is available on amazon.com, which describes it as “an Islamic soap opera complete with polygamous households, virtuous women, scheming harlots, and black magic.” Author Balaraba Ramat Yakubu, a veteran founder of the movement, was herself a child bride twice, after her first husband returned her to her family, and she only learned to read and write as an adult. https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-ap-top-news-religion-international-news-marriage-3fc0caa13a8646908219306c3e08225b
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Sin is a Puppy That Follows You Home: Publishers: Blaft, 
126 pages.

Dear reader, I was rather charmed by it. Comparing the plot to Ekta Kapoor’s soaps or Karan Johar’s family dramas misrepresents the scale of the story because, for all the theatrics indulged in it, the plot is uncompromisingly stark about how patriarchy, society and religion interfere in women’s desires and autonomy. I found far more resonances with the pragmatic tragedies of Mahasweta Devi’s stories, or the deceptively mundane female worlds of Ismat Chughtai’s work. Women tear each other down, draw dramatic lines between sluttiness and respectability, rely on brothers and extended family while suffering spousal abuse and abandonment. Romance and courtship are abbreviated to a few fast-moving dialogues because the author wants to spend time on the minutiae of how a selfish second wife neglects her kitchen duties. Yakubu’s matriarchal lead Rabi—with her culinary enterprise born of desperation, her baffled rage at her husband’s mistress, her fierce determination to promote her children—is soul sister to Parvati from Kiran Nagarkar’s Ravan and Eddie. Rabi’s daughter Saudatu—dignified, dutiful, happily desirous—resembles Sita in her deference to narrative fiat.
The main reason I would recommend reading this book is because of how much it made me feel at home. It is not heartwarming in the treacly manner of popular films, but instead, like the family histories your aunties tell you, full of compromises and small justices, and the “life goes on” approach to domestic tragedy. This is not a story of exotic Africa, nor of epochal moments in histories of colonialism and its aftermath, nor yet about the fetishized tensions of being Muslim. Instead, it is shopkeepers falling in love with women stopping to buy dress material, and mothers vacillating between the street being unsafe and being a good place to meet eligible men, and bored wives eyeing comely electricians summoned to fix the wiring. Let other books talk about purdah and polygamy; this is a book that concerns itself with soap.

- The Review of The "Sin is a Puppy That Follows You Home" of Balaraba Ramat Yakubu by Deepa Dharmadhikari.

Balaraba Ramat Yakubu is a Nigerian author who writes in Hausa. She is a leader in the genre of littattafan soyayya or "love literature", and one of the very few Hausa-language writers whose work has been translated into English. She has also worked as a screenwriter, producer, and director of Kannywood films. Her stories have focused on issues such as forced marriages and women's education.

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Prof. Wole Soyinka's Most Anticipated New Novel, "Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth"

WeREAD💕💋 NEW BOOK OF THE MONTH

"Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth" by Prof. Wole Soyinka, the first black winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

https://bookshop.org/shop/Weread

The Book

The novel tells the story of a pact and an alliance formed between four friends, to make an impactful change in their nation. Now in the late stages of adulthood, against an evolving political landscape and a change of government, they drift apart, reunite, navigate complex familial relationships, and increasingly gain recognition in their professions — all the while, their paths interweave with those of prominent religious, community and government leaders, and the tide begins to turn against them, with dire consequences.

It is a dramatic and engaging read, laced with humour and extraordinary characters. The read also provides a realistic perspective on the state of affairs in Nigeria, with a depth of commentary. In Soyinka’s expert hands, the apparently disparate strands are woven together with a master story-teller’s aplomb. 

CHRONICLES OF THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ON EARTH, is a great and unputdownable read from start to finish.

Book Size: 6.1 inches x 9.2 inches (15.5 x 23.5cm)

Number of pages: 524 pages.




Monday, May 2, 2011

Book of the Month: A Love Rekindled




Myne Whitman is the most hardworking Nigerian romance novelist. She is also the most active online. Her second romance novel A Love Rekindled is our Book of the Month. You will enjoy it.



Ten years ago, Efe Sagay dreams of winning the United States Visa Lottery, until she meets Kevwe Mukoro in University. Kevwe is happy to remain in Nigeria; only he wants Efe by his side. Over time, Efe finds true love with Kevwe, and promises to marry him. Their dreams unravel when Efe wins an American Visa, and fresh violence erupts between their warring ethnic groups. Now, Efe is back in Nigeria, and she knows it’s a matter of time before Kevwe returns to her life. They finally meet again, but renewed desire is no match for bitter memories of heartbreak. Efe wants the traumatic events of the past resolved before she gives in to rekindled love.



A Love Rekindled is the second romance novel of Myne Whitman, a Nigerian author based in the US.




Myne Whitman is my pen name. I was born and raised in Enugu, Nigeria, where I spent most of my time, studying, reading and daydreaming or climbing trees and playing with the boys. I have a Master's degree in Public Health Research but have chosen my childhood dream of spinning stories. After a few years in Edinburgh, Scotland, I now live with my husband in Seattle, USA. I write and blog full-time, and also volunteer as an ESL tutor for a local charity. I critique with the Seattle Eastside Writers Meet-up and I'm also a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association.

The Pacific Northwest of America is a great place but during the drizzling winter rains, I dream of long, hot, Nigerian days and the red palm oil of Banga Soup. A self-confessed adrenaline junkie, I love theme park rides and my wildest ride yet would be the Simpsons at Universal studios, Hollywood. Or maybe it was that reverse bungee jump I did in Scotland, hmm...lol.

In addition to writing popular fiction to get people reading, I am passionate about using the internet and social media to promote the book industry and literacy levels in Nigeria. To this end, I facilitated a session, "Social Media and the Book Publishing Industry", for the Publisher's Forum at the 2010 Garden City Literary Festival, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. I also founded and work as the publisher and managing editor of NaijaStories.com, a critique website for aspiring Nigerian writers.

Click here to buy Myne Whitman's novels





Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Barbara Kingsolver wins Orange Prize for Fiction


Kingsolver crowned Orange winner


Barbara Kingsolver wins Orange Prize for Fiction

Barbara Kingsolver has won this year's Orange Prize for Fiction with her sixth novel The Lacuna.



The US author beat favourite, Booker prize-winner Hilary Mantel, and four other writers, to take the £30,000 prize at a central London ceremony.

The award, which recognizes the work of fiction written by women from around the world, is now in its 15th year.

Author and TV producer Daisy Goodwin, chair of the judges, praised the winning book's "breathtaking scale".

Kingsolver was presented with her award by Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cornwall, at an awards ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday.

Click here for more details.

Click here to buy The Lacuna.