nilichoandika

Updates on the Writing Life

November 14th, 2022
Mondays are my favorite. A lot of people hate Mondays for a host of reasons, however, for me it’s always like sunrise, like dawn, a chance to get up and get moving, to renew or start a new.

Today, I find myself at odds because I am currently taking part in Nanowrimo and still haven’t written anything beyond 12,392 words.

I should be at around 23,338 words and most preferably 24,000 words but I am still halfway and easily distracted by other things like Dave Chapelle’s monologue on SNL and K-Dramas on Netflix. So, in line with new beginnings and the possibility of a strict regimen to accomplish the goal of writing fifty-thousand words this month, I am looking forward to:
- writing at dawn ( between 6:30am and 7:30am)
- writing before I go to bed between (9pm and 10pm)
I don’t know how well I’d adhere to these timelines, because I struggle with consistency when it comes to my writing and it’s the one thing that makes NanoWrimo such a daunting task, because I write sometimes mid-work breaks, or as I read a book and come across a line or phrase that I love, sometimes in a matatu- so just sitting down and getting my mind to know that ‘hey we are writing now,’ is a struggle.

That’s all for now on my writing updates.
Podcasts I’m loving this November

November 9th, 2022
I shared thirty things I’d love to do this November (in this post here) and one of them was listen to more podcasts, learn more from the episodes and ultimately make some little changes to my habits along the way.

These are some episodes that I loved listening to:
- Mens’ Mental Health: Eli and Oscar, engage in a conversation on mental health with Psychologist, Aldo Aluoch Olunya. Podcast: Man Talk KE
- Dr. Gabor Mate talks on Understanding Trauma and how to heal emotional wounds with Jay Shetty. Podcast: On Purpose with Jay Shetty
There is something soothing about listening to podcasts that I did not take time to appreciate and reflect on because I would listen while cleaning the house, doing dishes as long as I didn’t give it my full attention. This month I am more intentional. I listen and take notes (this is something I can’t stop lately) and ask myself whether something shared is true of me or my experiences and I love this feeling.

There are some new podcasts that were recommended by Valery Nangula, via her post 3 Podcasts by African Women to Listen To and I subscribed to two of them:
- It’s Related, I Promise by Muthoni Muchira, Julia Gaitho and Sharon Machira
- Wisdom and Wellness by Mpoomy Ledwaba
Have a great week and I look forward to sharing updates on my NanoWrimo progress because that is a whole story right there.
Quote of the Day

November 8th, 2022
Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernières

November 7th, 2022

The first thing I did when I bought this book and three other titles by the same author was to look up ‘how to pronounce’ his name and I believe I can now.

As I grow more into my writing and explore various genres, I find myself taken in by phrases, descriptions, those lines that sneak up on you as you read and stay with you all through the book. I now understand why it’s always important to carry a notebook and a pen because I am on page 96 of this book and so far, three phrases have become my silent companions.

There comes a point in life where each one of us who survives begins to feel like a ghost that has forgotten to die at the right time, and certainly most of us were more amusing when we were young.

The story begins, and he who slaps his own face should not cry out.

Why does God give us a garden, and put a snake in it?

I find myself looking forward to where this story will take me, back in time or to just a moment in time, I don’t know. On the blurb it promises a story set against the backdrop of the collapsing Ottoman empire, and the subsequent struggle between the Greeks and the Turks, in a small community in south-west Anatolia. It states that it is about the personal and political costs of war and love.

Until then, live, laugh, love and stay warm.
Thirty things I’d love to do this November.

October 31st, 2022
November is here and for some, it’s their favorite month, in their favorite season, and for me, it’s the month of writing and prepping for the end of the year.

So, I thought of some of the things I would love to do this month and came up with a list. I am not sure of how they’ll come to be and I change my mind often, so I’ll do a mid-month review and end of month to hold myself accountable. Let’s get into it:
- Pray more often
- Wrap up my thanksgiving contribution gift
- Listen to music
- Tune into more podcasts (Speaking of Pyschology, On Purpose with Jay Shetty, TED Talks Daily, Huberman Lab are some of my favorites)
- Take part in Nanowrimo 2022
- Design a logo
- Eat more vegetables
- Drink tea (So far I’ve had four days of tea and no coffee and I consume 4 teabags a day, so that needs review)
- Read more books from my Netgalley shelf (Just read The Language of Love and Loss by Bart Yates, loved it)
- Dance more
- Stretch in the morning
- Wake up at 6am
- Go to bed by 10pm
- Eat out ( If you are on Instagram check out Kusosi.ke because I have some three restaurants I would love to eat at based on the reviews there)
- Finish watching the Chinese Drama Ashes of Love- on Netflix. I’m on episode 31 of 63.
- Wear more brass earrings
- Drink more water and often
- Cut down on processed sugar
- Cut down on noodles ( you can miss a host of things in my house but never a pack of chicken noodles)
- Take evening walks
- Speak my mind
- Read more blogs by Kenyans ( if you know any that you’d love me to follow let me know)
- Forgive myself for not fulfilling some of the dreams I wanted to achieve
- Reward myself for what I did achieve this year
- Review my retirement and savings plan
- Throw down- best explained as the act of cooking and serving a buffet of meals for the people you love
- De-clutter
- Donate some of my books
- Cook for myself more often- instant noodles is not the only thing to eat.
- Call and talk to my family often
The Language of Love and Loss by Bart Yates: Book Review

October 30th, 2022

I knew I was going to love this book, after reading the first sentence in chapter one, “The next time Mom wants me to come home, remind me why I’d rather roast my own balls over a campfire.”

Noah, 37 year old, artist travels from Providence to his childhood home in Oakland where his ‘difficult’ mother, and oh so famous writer/poet of a mother resides and she’s none other than Virginia York. He’s clearly not pleased to be home, but he’s there and what follows is a trip down memory lane, and him having to face his past mistakes.

When he gets home, he knows that he’d get along just fine with his mom for ten minutes or so and after that, they would be unable to breathe the same air but this time, Virginia is sweet and wants him to stay longer, and then just like that she tells him, she has ALS and she wants him to help her find her daughter, Carolyn, the sister that they never talked about because she was born when Virginia was only twelve and given up for adoption. To Noah, Virginia is a rock, the one who never backs down from a fight but this time, she’s got ALS and her muscles are giving way, dying on her and suddenly it dawns on Noah that his mom is dying.

I came across this book on Netgalley and the Publisher granted my request to read it in exchange for an honest review. The book is set to be released in May 2023- and if you’d love to get a copy, you can pre-order a copy on Amazon.

I love Noah’s sense of humor and when he meets his nephew, Leo, somewhere along the story line- then those two made this book a laugh out loud kinda book for me. “If I ever bitch about needing more excitement in my life, please feel free to make me swallow my own tongue.”

When I got to the end, I learned that it’s a stand-alone sequel, but for what it’s worth, it lives up to the title, because there is a way in which each character faces their fears, mistakes and above all…their hopes and desires for the future that made this the kind of book that feels like family, where everyone is imperfect but they are always welcome.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC
My 2022 in books

October 24th, 2022
There are 68 days left in the year and I have more books on my TBR list. For the Goodreads challenge, so far 63 books of the 70 I read have been acknowledged and some of the memorable titles for me are:

Books I always wanted to own and read:
Books that I stumbled upon that are set in Africa and I absolutely loved:
- We are all Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan
- Nearly all men in Lagos are Mad by Damilare Kuku
Books that challenged me to think better:
- Emerging Africa by Kingsley Moghalu
- What Happened to You by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey
A book that had very few good reviews on Goodreads but I absolutely loved:
- Lost in the Spanish Quarter by Heddi Goodrich
And just like that I hope I encounter some more books that I love before the year ends.
She Said

October 23rd, 2022

we look up to the stars and forget the galaxy within,

if it glitters, it’s perfect,

yet we forget that we are dust,

centuries old, woven from generations of warriors we know not of,

we celebrate the fickle and trod upon the strong,

like bees we gather around a hashtag, now like puppets we jump on trends,

we dance, laugh, do what everyone is doing in exchange for numbers…

the very same numbers we know not of, like the stories that make us,

the fears and hopes and dreams and will within us.

She said, “What’s sad is that for a second of joy, to feel a fleeting moment of bliss, I too forget the galaxy within for the star outside.”

Muhammad-taha Ibrahim shared this on http://www.pexels.com
What I loved in reading The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

October 20th, 2022

I started reading The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver on October 14th (if you haven’t heard of her or read her works, some of the best known titles she’s written include The Poisonwood Bible, The Bean Trees, The Prodigal Summer and a lot more). I bought this book last year and having moved towns, I stumbled upon the box of books labelled “UNREAD” and it was at the very top.

“A story is like a painting. It doesn’t have to look like what you see out the window.”
Frida to Soli, The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

About the book: The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities.

Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico—from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City—Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey. Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence.

And so Sòli goes on to write, of his life as a young boy as Harry, plucked from the United States to Mexico because his mother was restless and while there, he got to meet Lev who opposed Stalin, worked for the painter-Diego, and Frida Kahlo and served as a good cook, typist, secretary, confidant and observer…and then had to return to America because Frida wanted him alive.

🤫: I’d recommend this to anyone who loves stories written in journal format, memoirs, confessions…observations because that’s what I loved most about this book. The stories are not centered around Harry/Soli, but more about what happens daily, the conversations, the turmoil, the love, the people.

Two phrases from the book that I couldn’t help but jot down are:

🖤: “Fury demands fire.”
🖤: “The most important thing about any person is what you don’t know.”

I gave this a 4-star rating on Goodreads.

About the Author: She was born in Annapolis, Maryland, The United States April 08, 1955

Website: http://www.kingsolver.com/
Angola is Wherever I Plant My Field by Joao Melo: Book Review

October 13th, 2022

I was taken by the title of this book, “Angola is Wherever I Plant My Field,” and it kind of reminded me of the feeling of staying true to your roots, so I requested to read it on Netgalley and let’s just say that there are eighteen (18) stories to take you on a trip full of laughter, moments of reflection and most of all, keep you entertained.

My favorite stories include: ‘Why Aunt Lourdes still has no teeth,’ in which she is displeased that there seems to be a lot of unnecessary services but not a dentist in Jamba. Then immediately after there is the story ‘Sheesh’ that up to date, as I write this review we are still waiting to know the whereabouts of Mister X.

For someone who loves to travel, and has an ultimate list then reading ‘The Secret’ and being met with the opening line “This story happened in Haifa. I have never been to Haifa, but I’ve always wanted to write a story that takes place in the city. Likewise, I will not die without writing a story located in Mexico City, in Venice…”

Of changing times and the yearning for moments of reflection as a society, the author has quite some time for this with ‘Three Endings.’ The writing style is something that also caught my attention, it reminded me of the kind of stories you could be told whilst in the company of a long lost friend, there’s accounts of experiences here and there-some you laugh at, others you sigh, others you just nod and look away afraid that whatever you say would not do it justice. All in all, it was a pleasure reading this book.

Rating (Netgalley and Goodreads): 4 stars

Pre-order on Amazon: Paperback at $23

About the author: João Melo, born in Luanda, is an author, journalist, and professor. He studied in Coimbra, Luanda, and Rio de Janeiro. He is a founder of the Angolan Writer´s Association. He was a member of the parliament (1992-2017) and a minister of Angola (2017-2019). His works have been published in Angola, Portugal, Brazil, Italy and Cuba. A number of his writings have been translated into English, French, German, Arabic, and Chinese. He was awarded the 2009 Angola Arts and Culture National Prize in literature.