I assume, due to the spread of the novel coronavirus and the self-isolation mandates that have been put in place worldwide, that most of us have spent the last month or so in our homes. For many people, it has been a boring and/or aggravating time. For some (like me), it has been incredibly busy. At this point, the days seem to bleed together until the lines between the different days of the week become blurry. Is today Wednesday? Or is it Sunday? I can’t really tell anymore.

However, this period of self-quarantining has provided a great opportunity to read (and catch up with Netflix). Since my last update I’ve finished reading 2 more books: Kindred by Octavia Butler and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.

Despite the harrowing nature of the novel, which is a slave narrative with a science fiction framework, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Kindred, which led to me learning more about Octavia Butler and Black speculative fiction. I was reminded of how little I heard growing up about science fiction stories with Black characters, Black settings, Black perspectives. And while there’s nothing wrong with the mostly white-lensed fantasy stories I either read/heard about as a kid, like The Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter (a series I’m actually interested in checking out eventually), it always feels good to be able to relate to the characters on a substantive level, fictional or otherwise. (I can’t tell you how much of an intimate experience it was reading Americanah and My Sister the Serial Killer and being able to appreciate it in a way that’s unique to someone reading through a specifically Nigerian lense — the characters, the colloquialisms, the humor, the cultural references, etc.)

My interest in Black speculative fiction led me to Children of Blood and Bone, the 2018 debut young adult fantasy novel by Nigerian-American author Tomi Adeyemi. I wasn’t aware of how highly marketed the book was around the time of its release, but I did see a lot of rave reviews, so I was inspired to cop the book for myself. I read it over the course of 3 weeks, and while I ultimately didn’t end up loving it as much as it seems a lot of other people did, I certainly see why it was so hyped up as an important piece of contemporary young adult literature. It’s an allegory for the Black experience, and is, quite literally, about Black Girl Magic. The setting is in an ancient, un-colonized Nigeria, drawing inspiration from Yoruba language and spiritual traditions. And even though it felt rushed at times, and even though it had a really questionable relationship arc (in my opinion), it remained a thoroughly and unapologetically Black story. I might jump around to a few more authors before coming back to the sequel Children of Virtue and Vengeance.

In the midst of the quarantine, I went ahead and purchased a few more Black speculative fiction novels: Dawn and Parable of the Sower (both by Octavia Butler) and Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. More on those in the future.