M-funza book club

Moses Ndung'u is an entrepreneur with a background in IT and a member of M-Funza book club. Photo | Pool

What you need to know:

Book reading: Maybe you should talk to someone by Lori Gottlieb


My relationship with books started in my childhood. My mother catalysed my reading nature and curiosity for books by bringing a newspaper home and making sure I read all the interesting stories.


She kept books for me to read at every stage of my life. One particular book is "Kiliniki ya ndoa" which she recently gifted me when I married. She kept it for more than 20 years.


I have a curious spirit, and reading has been one way to feed it. Reading expands my worldview and makes me see and think differently. My best book so far has been Lean Startup by Eric Ries which has been instrumental in how I start and run my business projects. 


I read two books a month. I have set aside 30min in my morning routine to read a book. This is the time I'm intentional or deliberate about reading. I also read during the day whenever I can. 


Further, I belong to a book club called M-funza book club. An initiative of my organisation M-funza, Greenthumb CBO and booked.


We usually pick a common theme and read a book or story around the theme on a monthly basis. We take some online discussions on a WhatsApp group, and then meet and discuss the book as we enjoy a cup of coffee and earn one new skill from a member at the end of the month.


We started with 15 members for easy management but we increase the number every month cycle. We are now heading towards 30 members. 


At M-Funza book club, we read a book based on the theme of the month. These ranges from marriage, friendship, business, health, management of finances, and others. Our Current theme is “self-care/mental health”.


We are currently reading, “Maybe you should talk to someone” by Lori Gottlieb. It's a memoir by Gottlieb who is a therapist. In the book she shares her patient's stories as well as her own. Through the different stories we are learning how mental problems start and how it's important to create a good environment for mental wellbeing for ourselves and our children since a lot of stories are rooted in childhood.