Personal Book Club Selection & NYC's City Wide Book Pick 

Americanah was the book my book club chose to read in the month of January this year.  Because the book is over 500 pages and we are all working women, we agreed to read it in a three-month span.  Unfortunately, I became involved in a few projects and had to take a break from the book club, and from Americanah. 

However, the book remained on my bookshelf and often caught my eye as I walked past it coming in and out of the house, carrying grocery bags, or as I cleaned.  I knew one day I would have to pick it back up.  I knew because of several reasons.  First, I like to finish what I start. Second, after reading the first 50 pages, I was intrigued by the storyline.  

Recently, I heard that the book was chosen as NYC's City-Wide Book Pick, in an attempt from the mayor's office to encourage New Yorkers to read the same book, and perhaps to be motivated to have a conversation with a stranger on the train when they realize they're both reading the same book.  How         wonderful is that?!  Moreover, this time each of the five books recommended for selection explored the immigrant experience.  I personally think that at a time like ours, considering our current political climate, that is crucial, necessary, and special.

Thus, I have picked up the book once again and plan to make it all the way to the end this time.  I would like to invite others to read it with me and perhaps, we could begin a dialogue about the central ideas in the book.  I cannot say much about the book at the moment because I'm only on page 107, but I will share a few quotes that stood out for me as I've read so far:

"How was it possible to miss something you no longer wanted? Blaine needed what she was unable to give and she needed what he was unable to give, and she grieved this, the loss of what could have been." (p.9)

"Sometimes she worried that she as too happy.  She would sink into moodiness, and snap at Obinze, or be distant.  And her joy would become a restless thing, flapping its wings insider her, as though looking for an opening to fly away." (p.76)

"The human stories that matter are those that endure." (p.84)