I'm trying to read a lot of literature that I didn't get a chance to read as an English major at a stodgy British university- so, mostly, African and other "postcolonial" literature written in English. I highly recommend The House of Hunger written by Dambudzo Marechera, a tragic figure in Zimbabwean literature whose style is often compared to Joyce's. I'm also a huge fun of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian writer whose stories are usually based either during the Nigerian-Biafrian war, or else in modern-day Nigeria. The Thing Around Your Neck, her collection of short stories about the immigrant experience, is one of my favorite reads of the summer so far. Lastly, Derek Walcott's Prodigal is one of the most mesmerizing books of poetry I've read in a long time.

As for non-fiction, Working Toward Whiteness is a fantastic read. Finally, a personal favorite of mine, for anyone interested in current discourses on human rights and development, is Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom, which I'm currently rereading because it really is just that good.

-- RumbidzaiMaweni - 3 Jul 2012