Bomba Book Club

 Supporting Women and Girls in Sierra Leone and Women Writers

During these challenging and uncertain times, we need community more than ever, which is why AdvocAid is creating a virtual book club. An opportunity to read inspiring stories, “meet” with friends to discuss the books, support women and girls in Sierra Leone, and learn about some remarkable women writers – all at once!

Bomba is Krio for ‘big deal’ – we see this as an exciting opportunity to bring our big group of friends and supporters together and create an even bigger online community.

By joining the Bomba Book Club you will have the chance to take part in Q&A sessions with some amazing authors. These Q&A sessions are your chance to pose your burning questions to our selected authors – so far we have had some wonderful and insightful discussions with Mim Skinner, Aminatta Forna, and Petina Gappah. During the Q&A sessions you can also expect to receive book recommendations from world class authors, hear about each authors’ writing process, and engage in our welcoming community of book clubbers!

All of the details you need to set up your book club—including the details of this month’s book—are below. We’re so delighted to have confirmation from a number of brilliant authors that they will engage in an online Q&A session as part of this book club – we’ll keep you updated on this each month, and look forward to hosting discussions in the coming months .

Please register your book club with us using this short google form . At a minimum, just one member from each club should register, and we’ll then send you updates about the next months’ book, and online discussions with authors (we’re beyond excited about this!).

For those that can, we’re asking each book club member to make a £5 monthly donation* to support AdvocAid’s work with women and girls in contact with the law. COVID-19 is showing itself to not only be a health crisis, but also a human rights crisis, meaning AdvocAid’s work is needed more than ever.

February and March’s book is The Gilded Ones by Namina Forma.

* To make a monthly £5/$5 donation, visit our page on Global Giving and on the right hand side, click the ‘donate monthly’ grey button. At the bottom of all of the amounts you will see ‘other amount’ which you can populate.

 

With your help, we’ll be able to keep providing support to vulnerable women as they face restrictions on their rights. Coronavirus is not only a health crisis, but also a human rights crisis, and effective, nimble, and on-the-ground organisations like AdvocAid are critical at times like this.

We look forward to reading with you all, and using the magical world of literature to help bring everyone together. Thank you.

 

How It Works: Firstly, set up your own virtual book club:

  1. Reach out to 5 – 10 friends and create your virtual book club. You can ask friends to invite their friends and colleagues if you would like to have a varied group. If you’d like to be connected with a group, please contact Siân on allies@advocaidsl.org, or alternatively you can join as an individual and just attend our monthly author Q&A sessions.
  2. Set a time to meet virtually or to reflect personally on the book– perhaps at the end of the month. 
  3. Agree which remote technology you would like to use (see our recommendations below) – we recommend using one where you can use video (if bandwidth allows) so that you can see one another. 
  4. Register your book club with this short form – just one person from each group needs to register. We can then be in touch with all groups about the author Q&A discussions and the next month’s book. .
  5. Each member orders the monthly book from the suggested book list, gets reading and then comes to the monthly book club ready to discuss and share thoughts.
  6. (Optional) join our AdvocAid Allies Facebook group so you can connect with other virtual book clubbers and share ideas and discussion.
  7. For those that can, we’re asking each book club member to make a £5 monthly donation* to support AdvocAid’s work with women and girls in contact with the law – the equivalent of a daily coffee and bus fare . 

Book List

We’ve chosen a fantastic list of women writers whose books touch on the themes we work on. Once you’re registered with the book club (step 4 above), we’ll then be sure to email you each month with the next book. In April we read Jailbirds: Lessons from a Women’s Prison by Mim Skinner.
The only book to be published about a UK women’s prison – and told from the unique point of view of a prison teacher – this is the fascinating, often-uplifting, sometimes-sad account of the unique world that exists inside and the stories of the women imprisoned there.

For the month of May we read The Devil That Danced on the Water by Aminatta Forna.
The Devil that Danced on the Water tells of Aminatta’s father’s arrest and murder. The work is her search for the truth of her father’s fate, moving and terrifying in turns, always compelling, it traces events leading to the moment of his arrest, and what happened after he was taken away.

For the month of June we read Petina Gappah’s The Book of Memory. This novel explores the nature of memory and justice through the tale of Memory, a woman facing the death penalty in Harare, Zimbabwe, convicted of the murder of her adopted father. 

For the month September we read An Act of Defiance by Irene Saba, the story of Gabrielle Langa, an idealistic young woman working as a lawyer in Harare at the height of Robert Mugabe’s rule, and her journey towards self-realisation in the wake of a brutal attack.

For the month of January we read This Lovely City by by London-based author Louise Hare. This novel tells the tale of Laurie Mathews in 1950s post-Windrush London – it is a story of young love, prejudice, and unravelling mystery. 

We are currently reading Sierra Leonean author Namina Forna’s The Gilded Ones. Set in a West African-inspired Ancient Kingdom under oppressive patriarchal rule, this breathtaking novel follows sixteen-year old Deka and her quest to discover her destiny as a near-immortal with magical powers.   

 

Question and Answer with the Authors

We were delighted that authors Aminatta Forna, Mim Skinner, and Petina Gappah have all joined us for virtual discussions with members of AdvocAid’s book club so far. 

Technology Options

We suggest you do a survey of your group and work out the best technology option most prefer. Some good ones to consider are: Zoom, Skype, Google Hangout, Blue Jeans, and FaceTime. If you have the bandwidth, we suggest you use video so you can see one another.

Independent Bookshops

Small businesses are struggling during this time and would value your support, so here are some suggestions of independent bookshops to order books from, if you prefer a physical rather than digital book. Please send us any other suggestions and we will keep this list updated!

In the UK you can use: Foyles, Pages of Hackney, Roundtable Books, and you can directly order from indepent bookstores  here. In the USA, we love McNally Jackson in New York, City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, and Kramerbooks & Afterwords Café in Washington DC.  More suggestions can be found here.  

About AdvocAid

AdvocAid is a civil society organisation that provides access to justice, education and empowerment for women and girls in contact with the law in Sierra Leone. Read all about AdvocAid.