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August 17, 2017

Playlist,

Raining Season Reading List By Oluwadamilola Adisa

The rainy season, for me, is reminiscent of newness, a clean but messy space where almost anything is allowed and people are nicer and more sympathetic than usual, well some people. I am reminded of long forgotten rainy afternoons when my sisters and I would run around in the rain before my parents got back, and long, dull rainy days lit up by the exciting narratives of good books.
Rainy days are great days for introspection, the kind that heat and sun just won’t let you do. Something about rain falling slows us down, enough to think, to actually live. When it rains, we end up stuck in traffic, stuck in places that we can’t leave, stuck at home, waiting… And these moments of waiting, of pause, are viable moments for reflection, for living, for getting out of the vicious cycle of our thoughts and smelling the fresh, clean air that falling rain brings with it, and maybe thinking new thoughts or letting our minds wander down new paths and terrains.

Here’s a list of good books that will light up your days this rainy season.

A Room with a View by E. M. Forster

I saw “Isoken” recently and the only thing that I could relate the movie to was this classic by E. M. Forster. 
Oh! The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss
We all need a little sunshine especially in the dark and gloomy days characteristic of rainy seasons. We also need reminders sometimes that good and bad things happen to everyone, not just us. So, while we are waiting for the rain to stop falling, Dr. Seuss reminds us to stop the figurative waiting that we unconsciously do and start exploring. Plus, it has pictures, so there’s something here for everyone.

This is Water by David Foster Wallace

This is a short but contemplative read. It’s actually a commencement speech. David Wallace reminds us in this of the things that we so easily forget, so easily ignore. It is a call to focus on the truly important things.

You are a Badass by Jen Sincero

I loved this book. Jen Sincero’s voice in this book is honest and authentic. The quotes before each chapter will make you stop to think, sometimes. So, remember, even if a car splashes water on you some random day this season, you are still a badass.

Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit

This is a collection of essays and it left me more informed about feminism. It also left me a bit pissed off. I wanted to talk about this book for days and days after I read it. I still want to sometimes. 

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Because we all have some sort of resistance to work and this book gives us the extra motivation to push through it and get to work creating whatever it is we’ve been putting off: a perfect morning routine, a traffic playlist or more serious things like that project you should be working on.

The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer

Everyone needs to be still sometimes.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

I enjoyed this book when I read it. It’s about a smart girl, Blue, who finds herself in a literal mess and finds that her father is not all he seems to be. I especially like the fact that the table of contents is literally a list of recommended classic texts if you like that kind of stuff.

Inferno by Dan Brown

Dan Brown is one of my favourite authors; I always enjoy travelling with Robert Langdon, his main protagonist, as he follows trails and deciphers codes in some very interesting and historical places. Inferno is his most recent work. I’m still paranoid about this. I still sort of think Inferno already happened and we’ve just not been told about it.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is one of my favourite authors. This is a mystery thriller about ten people on an island and is full of twists you can’t even think up.

The Defining Decade by Dr. Meg Jay

I loved this book because it made so much sense. It is about how to live the twenty-something life intentionally. If you’re as confused about adulting as I was, you might not find that the murky waters of adulting are suddenly clear, but you’ll be more comfortable with uncertainty. I mean, what does ‘supposed to’ even mean?
What are you reading currently?



25, letters,

Letters To July II

Random Photo From Graduation 
Dear Muyiwa,

I sat across from you at a fast food restaurant, I had the first bite of my fried rice and declared it horrible and a waste of my money, you said your donuts wasn’t any better. I struggled through my rice while you managed to eat half of your first donut which you quickly washed down with coke. I asked when you started drinking coke, you said you weren’t sure when, but you are trying to stop taking it.
How the tables have turned, I remember when I was a ‘coke addict’, I used to smuggle it into campus (hope you remember our campus had a strict policy against caffeine) in old yoghurt drink containers. Every now and again you will bring me a bottle and lecture me on how it was bad for my health. I stopped taking coke about a year ago and now I am the one giving you lectures on the ‘evils of coke’. This makes me think of how different we are from when we first met a few years ago, different yes, but the same people in so many ways.
On the day we met we had an argument about the dress code of our university, I was of the opinion that the formal dress code prepared us for life after university and you believed that it stifled creativity, that people were not given the opportunity to express themselves through their clothes. It is ironic that you pay attention to the details on your outfit and you read GQ Magazine to keep up to date with male fashion trends while I long for a job where I can express myself through my clothes and not be confined to a set of rules. Maybe we rubbed off on each other. In swapping opinions we questioned our stand on life ideas and we became true to ourselves in the process.
You have to remember the first poem we wrote together, it was about stars, the moon and the activities that happen in the comfort of the night. That was a first for me, I had never written with anyone before let alone taken my writing seriously. I really enjoyed the process of writing with you that we had a short-lived blog where we shared poems we wrote together.
That day, while we nursed our horrible meals, I had my first honest conversation in months. That was easy because there is no judgement, no reservations, I can be unapologetic about all the crazy things that go on in my head. It isn’t one-way traffic where I dump all my crazy and you just listen, you share too. It is honest exchange of burdens, this is one of the many reasons our friendship is important to me.
We don’t get to see or talk often, because I am horrible at texting and you live two hours’ drive away, so I look forward to the rear occasion when our paths cross and we can talk and share a horrible meal.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Oreoluwa

P.S I am looking forward to us writing again.