Look out!

A few weeks ago we received five boxes of books that looked strangely unfamiliar. We receive books every day, and for the most part we know exactly what’s being delivered, but on that day in April we looked around to see who might have placed this order. Turns out, the books weren’t for us at all, but for a bookshop in Nairobi, Kenya. Hence the unfamiliarity.

Our first thought, let’s see if we can get these to their intended destination. No luck. The bookshop couldn’t be reached, and after a brief exchange with the publisher the decision was made that it would be too costly to return the books. Now what?

Well, they say everything happens for a reason........

Our bookshop is small, but we go to great lengths to curate diversely and inclusively. We cannot cover the world, all its beauty and all its ills, but we try. However, receiving books meant for a bookshop in Nairobi made us think that perhaps we do not always try hard enough, at least not when it comes to authors and countries we know little about, such as those on the African continent. 

For years we have been conditioned to look towards Anglo-Saxon and European literature, and perhaps in particular towards the Brits and the Americans. Well, the shifting tectonic plates we are attempting to steady ourselves upon these days are a reminder that nothing lasts forever, and the future (or at least part of it) may very well lie elsewhere. 

According to projections from The World Economic Forum, by the year 2100, thirteen of the largest megacities in the world will be in Africa, with Lagos, Kinshasa and Dar es Salaam as the top three with 88.3 million, 83.5 million and 73.7 million residents respectively. 

So what are we waiting for? Let us get to know these countries, their people and their cultures better. 

Inspired by the contents of those five boxes we invite you to check out our new window display, which obviously barely even scratches the surface of what is a fascinating, deep and diverse treasure of literature from countries we so often tend to see only through a Western lens.

Thank you to the bookshop in Nairobi for opening our eyes and helping us look out!

Warm regards,

Isabella and your friendly team at Books & Company