Frankly, let's talk about books!!!

The ABC Book clubs

Let’s talk about books!

Ten reasons why you should join us!

Those who are passionate about reading need to bond together in a social and intellectual group to:

1.  better enjoy the reading experience as part of a community of fellow readers
2. get access to books from libraries, other members and their network of friends and associates
3. help each other keep and strengthen the reading habit in a time and culture-challenged environment like ours and also serve as a voluntary peer-review structure.
4. encourage yourself and others like you to read more
5. participate in, and organize reading promotions events
6. buy good quality books at discounted rates
7. discuss your favorite books with other members
8. give back books and the reading culture to your community
9. improve your public speaking, writing and presentation skills
10. read and discuss books in a positive, non-corrupting and progressive social setting once a month

Who can join?

1. Adults resident in the environs who read

Modalities

1. Only 25 members would be accepted per club unit so applications will be considered on a first-past-the-post basis. Should there be more applications, new units would be formed.

2. Meetings to hold once a month with members taking turns to host.

3. Except otherwise agreed, meetings would be in agreed public place/hall.

4. Meeting duration would not exceed two hours per session

5.  Members would receive a monthly online newsletter

6.  Meetings would be interactive and passive membership would not work.

7. Each unit would elect not more than three leaders who would further represent them at area, state and national levels.

8. Units would be named after locations: Arepo, Ikorodu, Shogunle, etc

9. Members would read and discuss a commonly agreed book twice a year.

10. Members would benefit from seminars, conferences and workshops

Implementation logistics

1. Members would serve as resource persons in areas where they have flair or competence.
2. The full scheme of adopted and amended activities would be mutually agreed.
3. There would be annual dues, 50 percent of which would be retained by the unit.
4. Additional funds could be raised as per project demands.
5. A Quorum shall comprise three members of the unit present at a properly convened meeting
6. The Central Coordinating Office shall actively support units in the realization of all set goals and programmes.
7. Units should tap the full complement of resources available in their community.

First year Draft Annual Programme of activities for units

January

New Year reception/What did you read during the holidays?

February

Discussion time: The social impact of reading. Can readers make a difference?

March

Schools/Community outreach

April

World Book Day Celebration/Common book reading

May

Reflections: My most boring reading experience

June

Guest speaker/Presentation

July

Objections: The books I do not like reading

August

Common book reading

September

Workshop: Improving reading efficiency

October

ABC Book week activities/Schools and Community outreach

November

Flashback: The most impact-full book I have read

December

Debate: Will the book survive?

How to apply?

Intending members would pick up application forms (for an agreed sum) at unit secretariat, which preferably would be a bookshop, library or other book, educational or community centre in the neighbourhood.

For enquiries, call Richard: 07043280430 or Emmanuel: 07081405531

My Arepo bookseller

I moved house a little over two years ago from Oregun, Ikeja to Arepo, coming to join the ‘growing tribe of Lagosians who live in Ogun state!’

On settling in, I discovered a bookshop within the community and as ‘ontological species of identical plumage congregate to the nearest proximity’ (do not log-off please, it is K.O Mbadiwe, Patrick Obahiagbon’s elder brother talking!), I decided to look it up.

Straight away, I would say that I am not impressed by the range and volume of books on display. The shop only has stationeries, recommended school books, a few children’s story books, Christian and motivational texts on display. I took it a step further and asked a few neighbours too and for those who had bothered to stop by, their comments were not dissimilar.

But then, electing to look at the other side of things, I saw two things that lifted my spirit. One, a few weeks ago, to drive traffic to the shop, the bookseller had put up a banner on the main entrance to the community, advertising his shop, and second, having established and run a bookshop in Ogudu, Lagos myself, I could identify with the tenacity and courage that it takes to set up a bookshop in an essentially rural or para-urban community in today’s largely a-literate Nigeria.

I salute my Arepo bookseller but will yet get back there to engage him on the question of inadequate stock. And if you, my reader should ask me, I will report back to you on progress in this wise.

There is indeed a way to do a bookfair!

Just returned from the first day showing of the week-long LTV Lagos Bookfair event holding at Lagos Television, Ikeja. It was not funny.
Getting there, I found out I had missed out on the opening ceremonies. But then the adverts that ran most admirably for all of two months on Lagos Television neither told us there was going to be as much as an opening ceremony or on what date and time this would be!
I toured the 15 or so stands that were up and concluded that for all of the goodwill and advert support that Lagos Television was putting into the event, more could have been done and seen!
I looked for the organisers to ask what next? 'Nothing,' my informant told me, absolutely nothing until the closing ceremonies. A bookfair! No events! No sessions! Nothing!! It was evident that there was a mistake somewhere.
I left my informant and looked out for some senior member of the organising team and I found two, both LTV staffers.
'You are the ones putting this together?' 'Yes,' they replied. 'So what next?'
'Have you registered?'It was their turn to enquire. 'Yes.' I answered. 'Well, that is it, if you have finished going over the stands, then you can go.'
'I have already done that,'
Then you can go, that is all.'
'You must be kidding me, right, this is a bookfair you know, no events, no sessions, no shows...'
She got my drift and made to save face. 'Ok, by monday, we may have some events.'
'But what exactly would they be so i can plan for them?'
'I do not know."
'Ok, is there a website i can check?'
Turning to her colleague. 'Em, do we have a website?'
'Ok, he can check the LTV website.'
I took my leave.
Rerhaps I should return on Monday. If I do i would keep you my reader posted.
Great weekend.

Notice to Publishers

Stopped by at the South West zonal office of Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) the other day to make some enquiries.
Among other things, I learnt this: the Council maintains libraries in its offices in Abuja, Lagos and Kano which are open to the public and expects publishers to forward to them 5 copies of their titles. This is not to be confused with the mandatory Legal Deposit copies requested by the ISBN/National Library authorities.
Thought some follower of this blog might want to know or be reminded about this.

The best time to read

The best time to read

One of the trouble people have with reading particularly when they are out of the formal school environment is that not having examinations and the like to compel them, they try to read anytime they feel like and can find the time too. It does not work like that. In the modern world in which we live, reading like every other activity has to be scheduled. And as behavioural researchers would tell you, those things which you schedule, you are more likely to take serious. And the things you take serious are more likely to yield dividends. It is therefore important that you find your most convenient time to read and proceed to use it maximally

When you adopt this attitude, you would be saving yourself two hassles. First, you would be getting out of the trap of those who read whenever they find the time and really never find it, and second, your dedication to specified reading hours would mean that you can then add all other off-plan reading opportunities that you then find and utilize as bonus sessions.

My best reading time for example is when I am traveling (and this could simply be whilst commuting to and from work in a busy and traffic-stressed city like Lagos). Of course this is virtually impossible when you are the one driving or quite difficult when you are in the company of one or more people with whom you are burdened to sustain social talk. But even at that you would need to call up your sense of discipline and look for ‘polite breaks’ even whilst socializing knowing the value reading and precisely also, what you are reading at that time, is bringing to your entire life!

Next it is Saturday afternoon and then Sunday after church.

From time to time also, I also snatch hours after work in the evenings to do some more reading.

One other helpful tip: if you are one of those having problems presently with sustaining a reading habit, my candid advice to you is that, at this point, do not read just anything that you find. Rather, go the extra mile to seek books on the subjects and areas that you enjoy and read them. Once the habit is structured, you can then venture further a-field into other areas. How long this would take depends on the individual case scenario but you can be sure that I am available to review the details of that situation if you send a detailed off-blog mail to richard.mammah@gmail.com

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What books sell?

Selling books in Nigeria does have its issues. However, i got this interesting report from a field marketer and you will do well to pay attention. The said marketer had taken books to sell at the just ended Convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and came back with these:

1. Some potential buyers came to ask booksellers to help them pick which books to buy. One or two confessed that their children wanted books to read and they did not have an idea where to begin.
2. Some went for catchy titles or colourful graphics.
3. Some bought on account of low prices.
4. Others bought because they had seen promotional posters highlighting the book displayed all around the camp
5. A few came with predetermined titles they were looking for and did not spare a thought on the issue of pricing. They had to have the books and that was that.

e-books in Nigeria

I am tracking the development of e-books in Nigeria today. In a year when amazon.com is reporting that it is selling more Kindle Books than hard print books, it would be quite interesting to crunch the figures for e-books in Nigeria?