I love books a lot. I love the idea of having many of them in my bookshelf. I want to see them there sitting pretty with their sassy titles. It is a culture I grew up in and one that has stayed with me.
I didn't read a lot of children books as a child. I read books I barely understood. I just read them because they helped my grammar. I read stories - real stories my father wrote about his life, marriage. He never knew I read those things. I kept them as a child and never spoke to anyone about them, until very recently.
Reading human-angle stories breathes life into me. It is reality. While fiction is fantastic, I prefer reading people’s actual stories, hence biographies and autobiographies are my favourite. It’s why I enjoyed reading my father’s painful story.
As much as I value books and love reading, I love reading stuff online, especially articles - long reads more. From football to history, business, tech, entertainment, art, I consume lots of articles. Information is power and it charges me on. I like the knowledge of people, events and things - like rushing to Wikipedia to quickly ask about the facts of a movie I’m watching, or the real story of the Agojie Amazons and not just what Viola Davis portrayed in The Woman King.
My wife mocks me many times for never finishing a book. I actually finish some, but I don't finish most books that I start. I think it’s because I like to read and think, and make a philosophical standpoint of everything I read. This year, I think I've managed to finish between three to five books but I've bought more than twelve books.
Every book I read seems like the story of someone I know. I recently saw one of Buchi Emecheta’s old interviews and she spoke about how difficult life became when she moved to the UK as a 22-year-old mother of five with a bad husband. She explained how she saw a different part to life, and was for the most of it, treated like a second-class citizen. Remember that book?
For late Emecheta, that experience birthed a greater need to write. That's relatable for many people who have migrated from Nigeria or Africa or any global south country for the UK, US or Europe. That kind of story gives me an idea as to what's possible in a book.
‘Yinka, Where is Your Huzband’ is a funny title, but I remember enjoying how relatable it was. Moving to the UK and seeing some parts to the African culture here also shed some light on what Lizzie Damilola Blackburn tried to portray. I've read many books like that, and they tell me a thing about life, people and the world. So I ask myself, what makes a great book?
This is a question I’ve battled with. I want to write a great book and I’ve thought about it in many ways. Most recently, I’ve thought about writing about my brothers and their lives which I think is really interesting. I’ve thought about detailing my father’s life or telling the story of those beautiful mothers I grew up knowing on the streets of Ayegbami, Sagamu. That was a unique experience of humans on a grand scale. Everyone I meet paints a picture of the uniqueness of my life as a child and how I saw it through the lives people lived. That’s something I’ll like to write about at some point.
I don’t want to write a book that won’t be relatable to many people. I like fiction and my imaginary skills are by self-admission, decent. I can whip up a story about people and places but the consistency of my trajectory matters to me. I don’t want to write for writing sake and I don’t want to write a boring story. So what makes a great story? I’m asking genuinely.
I’ve written great articles for myself and others and I’ve done great stories from hearing people talk about their lives. I’ll someday love to write about love and lust. I will also love to write about the usually unspoken agonies of responsible fatherhood. I will love to write about everything that connects with me, but I’m unsure and I’ll like to ask, does that make a great story?
My wife, who reads way more than I do says “what makes a great story is the story itself.” I think that is a really good thing to say. Every story has its appeal if well told. “Every story is unique in its own way,” she added.
What do you think? What would you like to read in a story?
Beautiful read. Enjoyed every line!
Would have to think about what I'd like to read in a story and what I enjoy about those I read now...
Fantastic piece of writing boss 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾