I’ve always loved reading, yeah, the kind of kid who would stay up all night to finish a book. I wonder what I would have thought of a book club then, but adult me feels I would have considered it too geeky. I had enough people thinking I was geek already because I was a straight-A student and I didn’t like it one bit. I wanted to be seen as fun, you know, so adding on another thing to make me geekier? Not very likely.
But I’m in a book club today. And I don’t feel like a geek. On the contrary I feel more like an adult. Haha.
I got to know about Vine and Verse book club when I went to buy a book from Wordplayce, a book shop in Tema back in June last year. Akua, the owner of the shop told me about it and my immediate thought “Yaay, a social group!”. Funny eh. That’s what adulting does to you. Lol. I told her I was interested and she added me to the WhatsApp group.
I didn’t do much in the group for a while – I introduced myself and maybe commented on a thing or two, but never actually did the whole book club thing in its true sense.
In September, I was buying a journal from an online vendor and she asked me what initials I’d want to be engraved on it. Simple question, right? But for some reason, it gave me a pause. My whole life pre-marriage, I used CDT a lot. However in that moment, I realised I had never actually used CDA. Suddenly, I was asking myself, who is CDA? Coincidentally, I had already been pondering over how often I’ve asked myself, “What does Cheryl want” both in my past and present life, so this question now added to these thoughts of self-discovery.
I hear I’m an overthinker. I can’t deny it after writing out that paragraph myself. Haha.
Anyway, so! I decided to get involved in the Vine and Verse book club to get to know my adult self better. Who am I today when I’m buried in a book? For example, I read a book meant for a teenage audience a while ago and I felt the emotions of the teen protagonist from the point of view of a parent. Who am I when I’m with other adults and discussing themes in a book? I had no idea and I was keen to find out.
Vine and Verse book club has been a strong part of my life ever since. I love the pace – one book a month and then we meet to chat. It’s been so interesting to sit with such a diverse group of women once a month, pick up themes of the book we’ve read and relate it to various parts of our adult life. It’s my “me” time each month and even if hubby is at work, I make childcare arrangements without shame. I believe knowing who I am when I’m not being a mother will actually have a positive effect on my mothering.
Last month, we read The Ones We Find by Ama Pomaa. I know Ama Pomaa from our days in KNUST so I was keen to read this second book of hers when it launched. So to read it with others and chat about it, why not? I proposed it to the group at the beginning of year and this was finally the month we got to it. Guess what? We got Ama Pomaa to visit the book club the day we discussed it. Nothing like getting into the mind of an author!
The Ones We Find is such a good read. Marilyn, the protagonist is introduced in a technical setting and the woman in tech in me was so proud of her. This pride carried through the book as she tried to learn more about why her friend, Femi had passed. Alongside her search, several sub-themes are introduced that have most likely been experienced or witnessed by the average young woman in Africa and more specifically, Ghana.
The sub-themes were equally as interesting as the main plot. The twists of the main plot kept me turning the pages to know what Marilyn does with every new information she discovered.
If you’re looking for a good mystery in a setting that you can relate to as a Ghanaian (or that will help you learn more about the Ghanaian society as a non-Ghanaian), I highly recommend The Ones We Find.
After all I’ve written, this obviously feels biased, so let me admit. Choosing to review the book, yes that was biased…or not biased if supporting an author you know is something you’d do. The actual review though? So not biased. Everything I’ve said is my honest opinion and it was echoed during our book club chat. We did share areas of improvement with Ama Pomaa and she was very receptive of our feedback. So you see, writes well, accepts feedback, her book deserves a read!
I’ve said a lot here. Do leave a comment on any aspect that resonates with you! Thanks for stopping by 🤗.
My Motherhood Journey 