I read widely and wildly; learning new things stimulates neural pathways.
Temitope Lakisokun is a communications professional and a political consultant.
She is the country chair of the Association of Political Consultants -Africa (APCA).
APCA is the premier network of Political Consultants, Policy Experts, and Governance Specialists in Africa. Established in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2015, the association serves as a vital bridge between political leadership and expertise in governance, working to strengthen democratic institutions across the continent. The APCA is an affiliate of the International Association of Political Consultants (IAPC).
What are you reading currently?
I read widely and wildly. I usually have many books going on at once. Current reads include Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson, How Tyrants Fall and Nations Survive by Marcel Dirsus, Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Providence and Power: Ten Portraits in Jewish Statesmanship by Meir Soloveichik, and The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen. I’ve also been dipping in and out of Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari.
What informs your choice of a book to read?
I’m generally sceptical of heavily promoted books and tend to return to them years later when the media frenzy subsided. That’s why I have only just read Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point. I shall, of course, keep my opinion (of the book) to myself.
Sometimes, it’s the reviews. That was how I discovered Ayobami Adebayo’s stunning Stay with Me. It was Michiko Kakutani’s last piece as chief New York Times book critic, and the review was so good that I bought a copy the next day. Other times, it’s the design of the book jacket or a blurb on the back cover.
There are some hotly anticipated books that I will drop everything to read, like the fifth and final volume of Robert Caro’s books on Lyndon Johnson. I’m a student of power and have yet to find a better book on the subject. (Spoiler alert: there are elements of psychopathy in people who actively seek power.) Mr. Caro is 89, and I’m praying for his long and healthy life so he can complete the pentalogy.
Because I work in politics and love political literature and biographies, I wish more Nigerian leaders would write books beyond the we-built-roads-and-commissioned-streetlights variety. There’s a critical need to preserve institutional memory. Oh, and I also love History.
Which books rate as the Top Ten in your reading experience?
Making a list is challenging, as the next book I pick up might be the one that makes it to the top. Let me share a few that have stayed with me.
Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. It’s interesting how one’s views can change over time. I was a know-it-all 20-something when I first read it, and my moral calculus was very black and white at that age – Anna messed around and got what was coming to her. I reread it last year and found myself somewhat sympathetic. Of course, life has since taught me that happiness and suffering aren’t always tied to our moral choices. His Death of Ivan Ilyich is another masterpiece about the human condition. It’s a novella, but it packs a punch that leaves me reeling every time. It’s essentially a story about dying, but it’s also a meditation on how to live.
I love love, love, short stories by Vladimir Nabokov and Anton Chekhov. It is a wonder to me how they were able to distil complex philosophical and psychological insights into such intensely concentrated narratives. There must be something about the Russian language that lends itself to linguistic precision. I envy those who have only just started reading them.
They are in for a treat!
This isn’t a book, but I loved Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2017 Nobel lecture.
The opening line from RN – The Memoirs of Richard Nixon has stayed with me for years. He begins with “I was born in a house my father built” – nine simple words that manage to convey so much about his origins and values. It’s a straightforward statement that humanises him and hints at the importance of family, legacy, and personal responsibility that would shape his life and presidency. Powerful stuff!
Then, Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes, Oh my word! A masterpiece of memoir writing. It’s heartbreaking and funny and uplifting in equal measure.
Pachinko by Min Jing Lee. It is a book so majestic that I immediately started again upon finishing it.
I once read Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris on a flight and laughed so hard I got concerned stares from a few people in the cabin who thought I was going loco.
Emma Cline – The Girls. A book reviewer described it as being written in “sentences at times so finely wrought, they could almost be worn as jewellery”, and I agree.
The road to the country by Chigozie Obioma
Then, there are some writers whose books and essays I will eagerly read and love…regardless of the subject matter: Patrick Radden Keefe, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Ann Patchett, Isabel Wilkerson, Simon Schama, Bill Bryson, Jill Lepore, Christopher Hitchens, Amor Towles, Jay Rayner, Colson Whitehead, Andrew Sullivan, Tim Dowling, Zadie Smith—Sebastian Junger, etc.
Please suggest five essential books and five general interest books for young people.
I have just one:
The Devil’s Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce (1911), remains relevant despite being written over a century ago. It offers insights into human nature that never change, even with all of humanity’s technological advancements. It encourages questioning of established norms and critical thinking and also addresses universal themes like love, power, choices, values, morality, mortality, etc.
Do you prefer hard copy or digital texts?
I read digital books for convenience (travel) or quick access. I, however, like the smell and feel of paper. Coffee table books, in particular, are best enjoyed in hard copy.
Any preference between fiction and non-fiction?
I read across all genres, with the sole exception of self-help books.
What is your view of the notion that Nigerians do not read?
I won’t definitively say Nigerians do not read. People are reading more (on their devices) than ever before. What I do know is we are not doing enough books. I read somewhere recently that the Nigerian National Library had cumulatively issued just a million ISBNs in 50 years! When you compare this figure with that of the US, where 3.9 million ISBNs were registered in 2020 alone, it’s a stark and scandalous disparity.
What are your general thoughts on the benefits and disadvantages of reading?
The brain is similar to muscles in that it gets stronger with use. It has also been scientifically proven that learning new things stimulates neural pathways
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