Weekly Reading: The Plague in Mada, Christianity, Writing at large, Getting Kids into College, Downs PSA, a total eclipse of AFRICOM and Mandatory FAO reading

Doing some catch-up posting after a long weekly reading hiatus. Now that I am back stateside, I hope to bring back this regular column.


The plague, alive and well in Madagascar
Yup--we keep it old school here on the Red Island

Why is Christianity the right religion?
I always enjoy hearing from Ravi Zacharias

From HBR to Mashable: How to Be a Guest Writer on 11 Popular Sites
Great reference doc for budding writerpreneurs!

Olivia Wilde stars in powerful PSA for World Down Syndrome Day
My wonderful uncle Dutch has down syndrome and this PSA is a great one that shows people with down syndrome are not to be pitied.

Advice College Admissions Officers Give Their Own Kids
Storing this one way for ten years from now.  The article contains a wide swath of advice from admissions officers at different universities.

Why the US needs AFRICOM
...and I need you more than ever...it's a total eclipse of the heart!  Sorry, where was I.  Some good soundbites for your next argument.

How Not to Make Disciples (Francis Chan Video)
Chan keeps it real and real funny.

Getting to Si, Ja, Oui, Hai, and Da
This is an incredible read.  I put in on my FAO (Foreign Area Officer) Mandatory Reading List/PQS page for good reason.  The author breaks down the myriad ways negotiations or relationship often break down across different cultures.  Absolutely vital reading for anyone working in cultures outside the US.

Janitor Felt Invisible Until One Changed His Life
Feel good story about common decency amongst the oft-maligned millenial generation.

Weekly Reading: Treating People Well, Happiness, Lent, Cleaning up Cereal, Partition and Confrontational, Loud Israelis

Playing a little catch up on my weekly readings.

A New Business Strategy: Treating Employees Well
Who would have thought right?  Great article on B-corporations and King Arthur flour in particular.

http://worldhappiness.report/
Yes, happiness is a difficult thing to quantify but this report is a great start.  Figuring out a country or a person's concept of happiness is one of the single most important thing you can do if you are a diplomat/foreign area officer working in a foreign country.

Ash Dykes Madagascar Journey
The man who traversed Madagascar on foot...and who wrote, filmed and blogged about it.

The baffling reason many millennials don’t eat cereal
Perfectly sums them up.  They don't cereal because they don't like to clean it up...seriously...they don't like to clean up the bowl...of empty cereal.

If my church does not practice Lent, should I?
Great post by an old friend from our church in DC.

Navy Medal of Honor Awardee Inducted into Pentagon's Hall of Heroes
Great video.

Goldwater Nichols 2.0
Mandatory reading for Foreign Area officers.  Great CSIS breakdown on the 2016 SASC hearings on defense reform and interagency changes.

It’s Time to Seriously Consider Partitioning Syria
Stavridis opines on partition.  Here's my own argument for partition, in general.

A helpful graphic that compares how EMOTIONALLY EXPRESSIVE and how CONFRONTATIONAL people of various cultural backgrounds generally are.

Weekly Reading: Riveting Reading on Leahy Rights

·      
    SEP 2013 GAO Human Rights (Leahy Vetting) Study

·      JAN 2014 CRS“Leahy Law” Human Rights Provisions and Security Assistance: Issue Overview

·         JUL 2014 CRS Specialist Blanchard Congressional Testimony: “Human Rights Vetting: Nigeria and Beyond” 

Weekly Reading: Deep thoughts on Security Cooperation from CNAS, in Africa and on the Sea

Some lengthy documents to dive into:

Security Cooperation and Assistance: Rethinking the Return on Investment

Maritime Security and Multilateral Cooperation: A Japanese Perspective

Security Cooperation Missions in Africa: Is the United States Conducting the Correct Types of Security Cooperation Missions on the African Continent?

Security Assistance and Cooperation: Shared Responsibility of the Departments of State and Defense

SIPRI Global Military Spending since 1988 report (database)  

Reading the Continent--A Work of Fiction from Every Country in Africa

THIS POST IS OUTDATED!  I keep the master list here now: http://fuuo.blogspot.com/p/after-looking-at-my-reading-lists-from.html

After looking at my reading lists from the last several years (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015) during this past Christmas, I was embarrassed to note the dearth of African fiction on my list.  So beginning in 2016, I've decided to make an effort to read a work of fiction by an African author from every country on the continent.  A parallel effort will include reading and writing about a poem from every country.  

So below I've started my list.  I will update it as I progress--if you have any suggestions please let me know. If a novel is listed, then I've read it.  I know there is plenty of great non-fiction (much of it listed on my comprehensive Africa reading list) too but for now I will stick with the good stuff. 

I've also started including a link to my prior "Poet of the Week" selections for various African countries--something to keep you occupied until I read a book from that country.
  

Coincidentally, in searching for novels I came across an amazing effort by writer Ann Morgan who read a novel from EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!  Her complete list is here.  It's invaluable in countries like Comoros and Madagascar where there is no published English fiction.

COUNTRY COUNTER (23/54)

General (Multiple Countries):
West with the Night by Beryl Markham : My review is here and more information about the incomparable writer is here.
The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski.  This book is on my GOFO Africa Reading List.  I put a couple of choice quotes from the book's foreword here.

*Add section on influence of India in African literature as well

MAGHREB

Algeria
What the Day Owes the Night by Yasmina Khadra.  FUTURE READ.
Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade by Assia Djebar.  FUTURE READ.
Poet of the Week from Algeria: Moufdi Zakaria: Kassaman (We Pledge)

Libya
Confines of the Shadow: My review is here.
Poet of the Week from Libya: Fatima Mahmoud: What Was Not Conceivable
Poet of the Week from Libya: Ashur Etwebi: Politics and Writing a Poem

Poet of the Week from Libya: Khaled Mattawa: East of Carthage: An Idyll

Mauritania

Morocco
Leaving Tangier: My review is here.
Poet of the Week from Morocco: Muhammed Bennis: Love is Eternity's River
Poet of the Week from Morocco: Ali Squali Houssaini: Moroccan National Anthem

Poet of the Week from Morocco: Hassan El Ouazzani: Elegy for Love

Tunisia

Talismano by Dr. Abdelwahab Meddeb. FUTURE READ.


LUSOPHONE

Angola
Luuanda by Tania Macedo.  FUTURE READ.
Poet of the Week from Zaire (DRC)/Angola: Makuzayi Massaki: Regressado, Yes I Am

Cabo Verde

The Last Will and Testament of da Silva.  My review is here.

Equatorial Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Mozambique
Sleepwalking Land by Mia Couto.  My review is here.
Poet of the Week from Mozambique: Noémia de Sousa: If You Want to Know Me


Sao Tome and Principe

FRANCOPHONE

Benin

Burkina Faso

Cameroon (British too, German too)
Houseboy.  My review is here.
Poet of the week from Cameroon: Mbella Sonne Dipoko: A Poem of Villeneuve St. Georges

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros
The Kafir of Khartala: My review is here.

Congo, Republic of the
Tomorrow I'll Be Twenty by Alain Mabanckou.  FUTURE READ.

Cote d'Ivoire
Allah is Not Obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma.  This novel could just as easily have been filed under Sierra Leone or Liberia but I stuck it here since the author is Ivorian.  And if we want to get all philosophical about things, most of these books could be filed under multiple countries since the borders are really an artificial colonial construct.  My review is here.

Djibouti
Transit by Abdourahman Waberi.  Recently finished--my review will be here.
The Land Without Shadows by Abdourahman Waberi.  FUTURE READ.

Gabon

Guinea

Madagascar
Vakio Milamina: My review is here.
Beyond the Ricefields:  the first ever novel translated into English.  My review is here.
Poet of the Week from Madagascar: Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo: 9

Mali


Niger

Senegal
So Long a Letter: My full review is here.
Poet of the Week from Senegal: Senghor: Black Woman
Poet of the Week from Senegal: Leopold Senghor: Et nous baignerons mon amie

Seychelles (British too)

Togo (British and Germany too)
An African in Greenland by Kpomassie.  My review is here.

BRITISH

Botswana
Poet of the Week from Botswana: Baralong Seboni: Love That

Egypt
The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz.  Magnificent story about colonial Egypt and family.
Poet of the Week from Syria/Egypt: Khalil Mutran: Boycott

Gambia

Ghana
Ghana Must Go: My review is here.
Poet of the Week from Ghana: Atukwei Okai: III (Everyone Dreams of Kissing You)

Kenya
The Zanzibar Chest by Aiden Hartley.  One of my favorite books ever.  Not technically fiction but it sure reads like it. My review is here.
One Day I Will Write About This Place: My review is here.
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alex Fuller.  I never wrote a review on this one.  

Lesotho (and Dutch)

Malawi
The Jive Talker or How to Get a British Passport: My review is here.

Poet of the Week from Malawi: Frank Chipasula: A Love Poem for my Country

Mauritius (also french and dutch)

Nigeria
Arrow of God by Achebe (I've read all of his novels but this one was my favorite) : My review is here.
I Do Not Come to You By Chance: My review is here.
The Fishermen: My review is here.
Americanah: My review is here.
Every Day is For the Thief: My short review is here.  My kindle highlights are here. 
Poet of the Week from Nigeria: Wole Soyinka: In the Small Hours

Sierra Leone (Compare with Liberia)
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna.  My review is here.

South Sudan

There is a Country: New Fiction from the New Nation of South Sudan  FUTURE READ.

Sudan

What is the What?  I never wrote a review for this one.

Poet of the Week Muhammed Al-Faituri from Sudan: A Scream

Swaziland

Tanzania
The Gunny Sack by M.J. Vassanji.  My review is here.

Uganda
All our Names: My review is here.  THIS IS THE GREAT AFRICAN NOVEL.  One of the best books I've ever read.


South Africa (Dutch too)
My Traitor's Heart: Read this but never wrote a review.
Bring Me My Machine Gun: Read this but never wrote a review.

Zambia
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller.
Poet of the Week from Zambia: Gwendoline Konie: In the Fist of Your Hand

Zimbabwe
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness: 
We Need New Names: My review is here.
They Are Coming: My review is here.


BELGIAN
Burundi (German too)


Congo, Democratic Republic of the
A Bend in the River (1979) by V.S. Naipaul.  My review is here.
Dancing in the Glory of Monsters by Jason Stearns.  Not fiction but it reads like--my review is here.

Poet of the Week from the Congo: Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard: Impuissance

Rwanda (German too)
Everything is Yours, Everything is Not Yours: My review is here.

ITALIAN
Eritrea (British too)

Ethiopia (Italy tried but failed)
In Praise of Savagery: My review is here.

Somalia (British too)
Warrior: Life and Death Among Somalis. My review is here.
Poet of the Week from Somalia: Abdirashid Omar: The Decree
Poet of the Week from Somalia: K'Naan: Somalia.
AMERICAN

Liberia

GERMAN
Namibia (but also South African)

AFRICA READING LISTS:
Heinemann African Writers Series Wiki Entry
Where to find Heinemann African Writers Series for a Price

Africa is a Country reading lists:
http://africasacountry.com/2011/12/what-you-should-be-reading/
http://africasacountry.com/2013/07/winter-reading-list/
http://africasacountry.com/2013/07/summer-reading-list/
http://bookslive.co.za/blog/2015/05/16/the-2015-sunday-times-alan-paton-award-shortlist/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Ronge_Fiction_Prize
http://www.caineprize.com/
http://prize.etisalat.com.ng/about-the-prize/