“There’s nothing wrong with reading a book you love over and over. When you do, the words get inside you, become a part of you, in a way that words in a book you’ve read only once can’t.”
― Gail Carson Levine
These are books I loved so much I just had to start again from the beginning and read like it’s my first time. Some of them I read at a young age when I didn’t fully understand and got to enjoy them even more as I got older. Others I consult, I carry them around for a while and when in need of help, I go through specific chapters or start from the beginning and read through to the end.
10. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
This is a masterpiece. One of the greatest gems in African literature. I’ve probably read it five times or more. It is the only book by Achebe I’ve read and I recently got two others which I look forward to reading.
9. Manuscript Found in Accra and Brida by Paulo Coelho
I read it twice and that was probably the last time I read any of his work. I’ve read a few others and I started finding a lot of repetition in his work. His work is phenomenal but once you’ve read six or more of them, it’s okay to explore other authors.
8. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
I don’t know how many times I’ve read it. I keep going back to it because some of the poems are so therapeutic and I can use some of them as a form of counseling.
‘do not look for healing
at the feet of those
who broke you”
― Rupi Kaur, Milk and Honey
7. Animal Farm by George Orwell
I must have read this five times. It’s an excellent book, it teaches a lot and it’s so real, in that what it talks about still exists. It’s also short and very easy to read.
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
I was moved by her story and also enjoyed her style of writing. I read it three times. It was so raw, honest and not self-piteous at all. She was truly a phenomenal woman.
5. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
I have read it three times. I don’t agree with a few things in it but most of it has a way of getting me back on track and helping me find a sense of direction.
4. Maru by Bessie Head
I’ve probably read this one more than ten times. It was the prescribed reading in my eleventh and twelfth grade so I had to read and master it. I got a copy, years after high school and read it four times. Give me a copy now and I will devour it like it’s my first time.
3. Mhudi by Sol Plaatje
I borrowed this book from my friend in 2013 and I still have it. I know, I’ve committed a crime in the bibliophile community constitution. I will return it. I just love the book because it’s so close to home – South African book and my people, Batswana, are in it. The writing, as well as the story, is exceptional. I read it twice.
2. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
1. Marabi Dance by Modikwe Dikobe
My absolute favourite. One of the books that made me fall in love with reading and start thinking of writing. I must have read six or seven times, and that was at a young age. I’d love to read it again now and see how I understand it, and how I enjoy it.
The Book Neighbourhood 