Soni
Google
Although I have been to their bookstore, my review is more about the annual book fair that they hold at the macmillan library in the CBD.
My personal experience at their bookstore was very disappointing and am yet to visit again so that I can see if it was a that particular day problem or a consistent problem.
I think a book fair is a truly wonderful event. I am not sure what the objectives of this particular book fair are.
The choice of location was great. What better place than in a library in the CBD. It makes it accessible to everyone as opposed to their store on ngong road which can be quite out of your way if you don't use that route or live anywhere near there. I know they opened a store in Ngara but I haven't been there yet.
They chose to arrange the books based on regions and not genres. I wasn't too pleased with this arrangement. I would have preferred the latter. I still think that they tend to have more Nigeria/UK or Nigeria/USA authors. Authors who either have Nigerian parents but who are themselves first generation something. Mostly American or English. Authors who though African moved for higher studies and settled elsewhere. You get my drift. I always feel that although it is an African voice, it isn't the only African voice I want to hear. If you are going to label yourself a Pan-African bookstore, your selection should be true to that very big often hard to describe label. Unfortunately only a handful of countries are presented. I have to acknowledge that language could also be at play here.
The East African section had a very dismal selection. Kenyan authors were also very few. Even fewer Kiswahili novels. Thinking out loud here, but why do Kenyan novels always look and read like high-school set-books? To pay KES 1400 for a 150 page novel if it even qualifies as one is daytime robbery. Being Kenyan, I would like to hear diverse Kenyan stories. I am yet to read a Kenyan fantasy novel or thriller, crime,psychology thriller, historical fiction.... The selection is honestly disheartening.
Although West Africa was well represented, the genres are also limited.
Other than books, they had tote bags and other bookish items like bookmarks on sale.
I personally did not find the prices that different from their store. I assumed that I would be getting some good bargains, but sadly not.
If their mission is to make books more accessible to Kenyans, then they have failed and reading like many other things in this country will forever be a rich man's delight.
If you read 3 books a month, you are looking at KES 4000-6000 a month depending on the books. This is just too much for a good portion of the population.
At the book fair, I purchased 3 books and a tot bag for KES 4200. One of the books only took me 3 hours to read and I was done. How was that book worth KES 1000?
They had also organised for talks and events on Saturday, but I couldn't go. Wish they had something on each day as opposed to everything on Saturday.
It was still an afternoon well spent. Although I do the bulk of my reading on a Kindle, it is still hard to get Kenyan, Ugandan, Tanzanian...... authors on Kindle. Not to mention authors who write in my own native tongue. And once a week every month I need to hear these voices and sometimes have a good laugh like when I read I Do Not Come To You by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani. I do not have a KES 10,000 budget to just spend on books. There are so many other experiences that must also be had.
As for the book club, I am a member who has never attended a meeting because of location, time and sometimes I just want to have coffee while others have tea and vice versa. They could be reading something I read ages ago and I have no desire to re-read it or I am in the mood for crime as opposed to Romance. I also don't understand why the book has to be fiction as opposed to factual. I also don't want to always read about struggle, war, colonialism..... all the time.
