Coffee, Books and More (CBM)

Judith Osewe, ICT Officer and founder of Coffee, Books and More ( CBM) Photo | Pool
 

What you need to know:

I got a long reading list from my then class teacher, Mr Thuo.  His list included My life in Crime, My Life with a Criminal and The River Between.

I started reading in my childhood. To take you back, when I was in grade four, I got a long reading list from my then class teacher, Mr Thuo.  His list included My life in Crime, My Life with a Criminal and The River Between. I later graduated to the Animorphs Series, The Sweet Valley Series. I was a member of Kenya National Library Services (KNLS) and used to borrow books from there. By the time I was finishing secondary school, I was into Mills and Boons. I read to expand my worldview and engage my brain. Also, I desired to be a writer. 

I read as many books as my schedule allows. Currently, I try to read a book a week. I include audio books which I can schedule in during my drive to work. I also try to read just before bed and I have got into buddy reading with a friend which keeps me accountable.  

My best read, one that comes to mind right now is Tomorrow Died Yesterday by Chimeka Garricks. It talks about the conflict in Nigeria brought in by the discovery of Oil. The author tells his story through four friends. 

Spurred by a post on the Book Club Ke, where a member of the group was looking for a book club, I decided to form one.

The members are divided into clusters for every month. Every month, they pick reads for that particular month.  We have a short read (a hundred and fifty pages or less) and a main read (BOTM Book of The Month). The clusters are free to pick whatever they think is suitable for them.

Before the coming of the pandemic, we used to meet in person —we've been to Mombasa, Sahana and Naivasha for the meetups. Now, most of our meetings happen on Google Meet. We are a close knit team of almost 100 readers.

We read every genre there is. No restrictions. The whole purpose of a book club is to discover those books we wouldn't have in our radar. 

Our short read is The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw which, we are set to discuss soon.

What I get from the book is that church women are also human and have carnal needs like the rest of humanity. They have aspirations, have twisted relationships with their family, and live their lives with incredible depth.  

The other book of the month is Verity by Colleen Hoover.


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