My bookshelf collection has come together over the past few years, some bought new, but many found in second-hand book stores: one a small stall near my home in Malindi, and others in faraway places, such as the wonderful Maadi Books, in Cairo. For me, a second-hand book, is as good as a pristine new publication; as a good writer-friend of mine remarked recently: ‘Books are meant to looked used and loved, Duncan, that’s one way you can tell they’re good!” Intriguingly, my local bookman texts me when he has an English language book that might interest me. He seems to price them according to size, meaning that some of the best books I now possess are relatively small, but came my way at a correspondingly tiny price.

So I’d like to share my thoughts, in brief, regarding some of those I consider outstanding, compared to the others On My Bookshelf - the texts that leave the also-rans behind in their wake - which I’ve been able to read (and finish reading) over the past few years. We start off with a distinguished classic from James Baldwin.

(1) If Beale Street Could Talk, by James Baldwin (first published in 1974)

A tiny secondhand book from the local stall, obviously well thumbed, but what a gem. Suddenly I came to realise why Baldwin was so revered: A giant in the annals of 20TH Century literature. He builds a narrative, based to some degree on his own background as a young black man growing up poor, in 60s New York. The story, told through the eyes of a young pregnant woman is heart-wrenching at times; lengthy accounts of her first loving experience with the man she loves deeply, and an inter-family feud where her pregnant state is gravely abused, remain etched in my mind. I vow to read Go Tell It to the Mountain, and anything else from the late and great Mr Baldwin.
                                                                                    MY RATING: 10/10

(2) A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway (first published in 1954)

I’ve always admired Hemingway’s writing style, but I have yet to finish For Whom the Bell Tolls, which tells me I was not really convinced. However, A Moveable Feast proved entirely different. I breezed through this relatively short work in just a few days, loving the detailed account from a young, struggling writer, living on-the-bread-line, with his first wife and small child, in 1920s Paris. Hemingway’s café and bard lifestyle is fascinating, and his accounts of drinking bouts at times rather amazing. But perhaps most engaging are his interchanges with other authors, such as Scott Fitzgerald and James Joyce. All told in the renowned author’s deceptively simple style.
                                                                            MY RATING: 10/10

(3) A Spy Alone, by Charles Beaumont (first published 2023)

An unusual choice for me – A spy thriller – found at random on the second-hand stall. I finished this 330-page book in three days: a total page-turner, and completely engrossing. But perhaps It was especially fascinating to me because of the detailed accounts – buildings and street names, etc. – of places I once knew well, in Oxford and London, for example. Charles Beaumont is a journalist and obviously a good one, because his writing style, and his plot formation is impeccable, with flashbacks and suspense-building also strong features. But the story also owes much to the truth of the detail, Beaumont himself having a background with MIC                                                                                                                                                                                        MY RATING: 9/10

(4) Hitch22, by Christopher Hitchens (first published in 2010)

A long-time admirer of Christopher Hitchens, I loved reading his autobiography, which tells of an extremely varied life: as a journalist, as an author, as a charismatic speaker, and towards the end, a man bearing up under the strain of terminal cancer. At times, I disagreed with his stance - he was very supportive of the Iraq war for example - but I always admired the strong unwavering approach he brought to all his subjects, with a special regard for his debating on the topic of religion. His wit and sharp mind could cut a lesser speaker down to size in seconds. For anyone wishing to know more about this great English-American, Hitch22 is a must. He’s also still very much there on YouTube.
                                                                               MY RATING 9/10

(5) Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts (first published in 2003)

This wonderful novel has to be in my top 5! An engaging life story (true in essence, but I guess greatly embellished: the craft of a good novelist. Running to over 900 pages, Shantaram aptly fits the description of tome, but it’s far from boring. Told in the 1st person, Roberts portrays the life of a man on the run from jail in Australia, living the life if a slum- dweller in Bombay; an existence which leads to the underworld and to jail in the pulsating megacity. It’s especially poignant for me because I am familiar with area; even that same slum. Not a 10/10 because I feel he should have developed the last 300+ pages as a separate book.
                                                                             MY RATING 9/10

I have a good number of books on my bookshelves, most of which I’ve dipped into, but I must admit, not all completed to the final page. Some, I judge to be much better than others, both in the style they are written, and their readability. Many books I find are written well – excellent grammar, competent sentence construction, etc. – but are not very engaging. Often, we find best-selling authors criticized for writing style, but extremely gripping to read. In reverse, the books that win prizes and are lauded for style, are often a bit of a struggle to finish. With my own writing, I try to marry the two, and that’s what I look for in others.