Ber Anena
@beranena.bsky.social
Author of The Lies We Tell for America, a memoir forthcoming from Flatiron Books, Fall 2026.
PhD student @ University of Nebraska-Lincoln ll Author of A Nation in Labour 📚 ll Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa 🏆
PhD student @ University of Nebraska-Lincoln ll Author of A Nation in Labour 📚 ll Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa 🏆
THE MOTHER OF ALL QUESTIONS by Rebecca Solnit. Always a big fun of Solnit’s mind! Totally enjoyed this one.
August 1, 2025 at 12:11 AM
THE MOTHER OF ALL QUESTIONS by Rebecca Solnit. Always a big fun of Solnit’s mind! Totally enjoyed this one.
WOMB CITY by @tlotlotsamaase. I’ve never come across a novel with such brilliant, creative world building! Gosh! And she’s my friend 😉
SPEAK TO ME OF HOME by Jeanine Cummins. I struggled with this one but glad l finished it. As someone who writes about home, l appreciated that overarching theme.
SPEAK TO ME OF HOME by Jeanine Cummins. I struggled with this one but glad l finished it. As someone who writes about home, l appreciated that overarching theme.
August 1, 2025 at 12:11 AM
WOMB CITY by @tlotlotsamaase. I’ve never come across a novel with such brilliant, creative world building! Gosh! And she’s my friend 😉
SPEAK TO ME OF HOME by Jeanine Cummins. I struggled with this one but glad l finished it. As someone who writes about home, l appreciated that overarching theme.
SPEAK TO ME OF HOME by Jeanine Cummins. I struggled with this one but glad l finished it. As someone who writes about home, l appreciated that overarching theme.
Beautiful poems! I love the conceit of the kidney tree and how you connect it to your father. So brilliantly done
July 11, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Beautiful poems! I love the conceit of the kidney tree and how you connect it to your father. So brilliantly done
BEHOLD THE DREAMERS by lmbolo Mbue. Loved the storytelling here. Lots of relevance for this novel today.
AFTERLIVES by Abdulrazak Gurnah. Loved this one for its world building, vivid characters and moving portrayal of Tanzania
AFTERLIVES by Abdulrazak Gurnah. Loved this one for its world building, vivid characters and moving portrayal of Tanzania
May 31, 2025 at 6:59 PM
BEHOLD THE DREAMERS by lmbolo Mbue. Loved the storytelling here. Lots of relevance for this novel today.
AFTERLIVES by Abdulrazak Gurnah. Loved this one for its world building, vivid characters and moving portrayal of Tanzania
AFTERLIVES by Abdulrazak Gurnah. Loved this one for its world building, vivid characters and moving portrayal of Tanzania
Aww! It’s a sob inducer for sure
May 8, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Aww! It’s a sob inducer for sure
6/6: GIOVANNI’s ROOM by James Baldwin. I love Baldwin’s mind, and his intellect is quite visible in this novel. He doesn’t try to impress because he doesn’t need to. Totally enjoyed this one.
May 2, 2025 at 12:28 AM
6/6: GIOVANNI’s ROOM by James Baldwin. I love Baldwin’s mind, and his intellect is quite visible in this novel. He doesn’t try to impress because he doesn’t need to. Totally enjoyed this one.
5/6: THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion. She’s an expert in interiority. How she intellectualizes her storytelling, even one about the death of loved ones, elevates the nonfiction genre in a great great way.
May 2, 2025 at 12:27 AM
5/6: THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion. She’s an expert in interiority. How she intellectualizes her storytelling, even one about the death of loved ones, elevates the nonfiction genre in a great great way.
4/6: THE NAMESAKE by Jhumpa Lahiri. Had only read her short stories. This novel reinforces Lahiri’s great great storytelling. So much world-building. So much details! So much immersion! This is one to reread.
May 2, 2025 at 12:26 AM
4/6: THE NAMESAKE by Jhumpa Lahiri. Had only read her short stories. This novel reinforces Lahiri’s great great storytelling. So much world-building. So much details! So much immersion! This is one to reread.
3/6: PHASES by Tramaine Suubi! I loved the idea of exploring various emotions and experiences while anchoring them to the phases of the moon. Brilliant poems!
May 2, 2025 at 12:25 AM
3/6: PHASES by Tramaine Suubi! I loved the idea of exploring various emotions and experiences while anchoring them to the phases of the moon. Brilliant poems!
2/6: EVERY THING IS FINE HERE is by Iryn Tushabe. I read this in two days. I’m a terribly slow reader so this speaks to the strength of this novel and Iryn’s impressive storytelling. A real page turner. Oh and the subtle humor was a great icing!
May 2, 2025 at 12:24 AM
2/6: EVERY THING IS FINE HERE is by Iryn Tushabe. I read this in two days. I’m a terribly slow reader so this speaks to the strength of this novel and Iryn’s impressive storytelling. A real page turner. Oh and the subtle humor was a great icing!
2/2
Read in Jan, Feb, March
Read in Jan, Feb, March
April 2, 2025 at 4:12 AM
2/2
Read in Jan, Feb, March
Read in Jan, Feb, March