Here are 5 new releases I am adding to my reading list this year!

“Somadina” by Akwaeke Emezi

“Somadina” is considered a West African fantasy novel which is about a young girl with terrifying new powers who goes on a journey to find her missing twin brother. This is the author’s 9th novel- and their 3rd book that I will be reading. The novel is inspired by precolonial Igboland and the Biafran war, which has always been a point of interest and offered sober reflection whenever retold in fiction.

From the author’s announcement post, we can consider “Somadina” to be centred around Igbo traditions, spiritual deities, and a journey of self. I am particularly excited for this novel because Akwaeke has proven to write genre-binding, conversation-sparking stories; their last 2 publishes, “You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty” and “Little Rot” spearheaded much discourse and challenging thoughts. I believe this novel will be no different, and I will be reading this when it’s out to the public.

“Dream Count” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

If you exist in the modern cultural sphere, this is an author who needs no introduction. I read my first Chimamanda novel at 15 years old; 8 years later and I consider myself a stan. She was my first introduction to contemporary African literature, and her novel “Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions” was the foundation of my feminist education.

“Dream Count” is her first full feature-length novel in 11 years, after the wildly successful “Americanah”. It follows the intertwining lives of four women- Chiamaka, Zikora, Omelogor, and Kadiatou- as they navigate love and self-identity. According to the publisher, ‘In Dream Count, Adichie trains her fierce eye on these women in a sparkling, transcendent novel that takes up the very nature of love itself. Is true happiness ever attainable or is it just a fleeting state? And how honest must we be with ourselves in order to love, and to be loved?’

It sounds like an a more serious and African version of “Sex and the City” and I, for one, cannot wait to read something new from one of my favourite authors.

“Katabasis” by R.F. Kuang

“Katabasis” is the Greek word for the descent into Hell, and this novel is about rival academics in a ‘enemies to lovers’- esque setting. It is a literary thriller and the plot follows 2 PhD magician students who travel to Hell to rescue their advisor after a freak death.

The author has spent most of her life in academia and in a panel discussion, she mentions that the origins of this novel stemmed from the trauma of academia. From her most recent novel, “Babel”, she has staked her claim in dark academia and her narrations are gritty, brutal, and very reflective of human nature and the intense competition and self-doubt that comes from academia. Reviews say it is deeply philosophical and logical with references to the work of Dante, and as usual, I will be seated, and ready to learn from this.

“Sweet Heat” by Bolu Babalola

I fell in love with Bolu’s work in 2021, when I read her debut collection of mythological retellings, “Love is Colour”. It was vibrant, spirited, and pulsing with life’s energy. It is with similar spirit that she wrote “Honey and Spice”, her first full-length novel which follows a fake relationship and all the delicious tension that follows as Kiki and Malakai eventually fall for each other. On the heels of “Honey and Spice”, she announced a sequel to their love story, “Sweet Heat”. Bolu knows how to write a quintessential romance, full of pining and desire and joie de vivre. Thus, I am looking forward to following Kiki and Malakai’s love story in this sequel which is marketed as a second-chance romance.

“Everything is Tuberculosis” by John Green

Every young reader had a John Green phase, and following the immense popularity of “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Looking for Alaska”, teenage me was obsessed with hm. Now adult me is very interested in this book because tuberculosis is the second-most deadly infectious disease worldwide. It is endemic in SubSaharan Africa and constitutes a great portion of the public health burden in my parts of the world.

As you can tell, this is a very important disease that I learnt so much about in every stage of medical school. Its manifestations are numerous and varied. Now the question I asked myself is why is this beloved YA author writing a book about public health? This book’s marketing seems to suggest that the author has always held strong interest in community health such as raising funds to tackle maternal mortality in Sierra Leone, and advocating for patients with tuberculosis. I am reading this book because I am very curious about the history of Tuberculosis, and the lives impacted by it, and hopefully it garners enough public support to eradicate this disease.