Bookshy Turns Two Today: a Few Highlights from Year 2

It's been pretty quite here for the last month or so - as I'm trying to finish up my thesis, which really feels like it will never end (but my family and friends constantly tell me it will). Although I've been really bad with blogging of late, I wanted to do a really quick post because today bookshy turns two. I wasn't going to let my PhD or work, get in the way of me celebrating it. It will be a quiet one this year, but a celebration none-the-less. 

In spite of my patchy blogging, thinking back over the last 12 months, it's been an awesome year for bookshy. Big, big thank you once again to everyone who reads this blog, who likes the facebook page or follows me on twitter. Thank you also to the publishers and author's who have asked me to read and review some amazing books. I still absolutely love doing this and it's been an awesome year. There have been some wonderful and unexpected things that happened, so I'm just going to do very brief highlights of bookshy's Year 2. So please join me in celebrating (even though it's quiet).

If it isn't clear by now, I absolutely love literature from Zimbabwe, so when I had the opportunity to 'Meet' Tendai Huchu, author of The Hairdresser of Harare and Bryony Rheam, author of This September Sun, to say I was ecstatic is an understatement. I haven't done many interviews on this blog, but Tendai Huchu's interview was really fun and I loved learning more about the diverse genres he writes in. This September Sun honestly is probably one of the most beautiful stories I have read so when Bryony agreed to be interviewed for the blog I was so honoured and it was great to learn more about the book, especially its historical element and what inspired Bryony Rheam to write the novel. I would love to meet both in person - although knowing me I would have no idea what to say. 
Seeing my tumblr - African Book Covers - which I am extremely proud of being featured on The Millions Guide to Artistic and Literary Tumblrs, Part III, as well as AfriPOP's Six Sites Where to Check Out African Literature was another highlight for mr. I love, love, love both sites, so the fact that they knew about my tumblr and featured was so amazing. It will never get old seeing something I love and enjoy doing being featured in spaces that I truly admire. So thank you The Millions and AfriPOP.

Then I was asked to be a 2013 Golden Baobab Prize Search Hero to support the 2013 Golden Baobab Prize for African children's literature. That was such a huge honor and there was the added bonus of getting to read some unpublished manuscripts on children's literature. There were some gems there - one of which was Kanengo Rebecca Diallo from Tanzania.

I would also like to say a big thank you to Tundun Adeyemo, who at the beginning of the year interviewed me when bookshy turned 1, and then invited me to speak on her radio show, Outspoken. I was so nervous, especially the day leading up to it - asking myself why I agreed to it. But it was really fun and not as nerve-wracking as I thought, so thank you.  

A final highlight would be writing a book review of The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes for Paradoxa (Volume 25), Africa SF edited by Mark Bould. Paradoxa publishes articles on genre fiction: sci-fi, horror, romance and more. So when I was contacted and asked to provide a review, I couldn't say no! And seeing my review in print, in honestly one of the coolest looking journal I have ever seen was pretty much amazing. 
Like I said it's been a great year, and I'm looking forward to another year - and one in which I can read and blog more.