A good read

If you have been following my blog you may have drawn the conclusion that I enjoy reading. You would be right. I like devouring books. I blame my Mum and Dad and the library at RAF Tengah in Singapore, (to which I was a regular visitor for a couple of years at an impressionable age). Reading occasionally feels like a guilty pleasure – a real indulgence. I justify it on the grounds that it's one of God's greatest gifts for unlocking your mind. In the absence of TV and a broadband Internet connection I am greatly blessed here in Kosele by having time to read.

Sunday is a good day for reading. We usually have very few visitors requiring payment of any kind, (which I am responsible for as Mary, our manager, has week-ends off). I find it very difficult to resist the temptation of buying a new tome to get through when I am travelling. On my way to Kenya in October I bought a book called Africa – Altered States, Ordinary Miracles by Richard Dowden, who has made Africa a life's work in a number of roles but principally as a journalist.

If you only ever read one book Africa read this one. Since first coming to Kenya in 2002 I have been fascinated, shocked, amused, moved and overwhelmed by Africa. As a result of being a participant in development in Kenya I have become a keen student of African politics and history. Africa – Altered States, Ordinary Miracles achieves the extraordinary feat of making a very complex historical, political and cultural narrative immensely readable. The chapters in the book move from one country to another, each one casting light on, for me at least, previously half understood details. No wonder the Independent review said it is 'a remarkable, ground breaking achievement, capturing the complex texture of a rapidly changing continent. It is also terribly moving'.

With the festive season rapidly gathering momentum, (in Europe and America at least), go mad and add this book to your list for Santa. Even better – rush out to the shops and buy it for yourself now as an early gift. You won't be disappointed, (though you may end up having a few late nights).