World Book and Copyright Day, celebrated annually on April 23rd, is a global initiative aimed at promoting the joy of reading and the significance of books. It serves as a reminder of the profound role that books play as conduits connecting the past and the future, fostering intergenerational and cross-cultural dialogue.

On this day, events and activities are organized worldwide to highlight the importance of literature and to encourage reading habits among people of all ages. UNESCO, in collaboration with major stakeholders in the book industry—publishers, booksellers, and libraries—designates a World Book Capital each year; The city undertakes initiatives to sustain the momentum of the Day's celebrations and to foster a culture of reading within its community. Strasbourg was chosen as the World Book Capital this year.

At Reformers of Africa, we celebrated the World Book Day by asking our audience to tell us their favourite book and send an excerpt from the book. Ten entries were considered for the prizes based on the criteria of the competition: 

1. Comment on this post with a captivating excerpt from your favourite book.
2. Tell us why this excerpt is meaningful to you or why the book holds a special place in your heart.
3. Tag a friend who shares your love for reading and invite them to join the fun!
4. Winners will be selected randomly from eligible entries.
5. Make sure to follow our page to qualify.
6. Only one entry per person.

We are thrilled to announce the four winners selected from among the ten entries.

 Congratulations to all the winners! We also want to extend our appreciation to all the other participants. As a token of our appreciation, we have provided incentives for your active participation. Your contributions were invaluable, and we encourage you to continue engaging with us in future activities. Thank you for your participation and enthusiasm! Below are the pictures of some of our winners ready to read more books.  

@chiamakaogiji 

@iyanuoluwa_adegboyega_

@shaby_the

We hope to promote literacy, encourage cultural exchange, and celebrate the timeless value of literature in enriching our lives and shaping our collective identity through celebrations like World Book and Copyright Day. We are delighted to showcase excerpts of books sent in by our participants, friends, and audience. Enjoy these excerpts, and may they inspire a love for reading and a deeper appreciation of the written word.

Mr Elkanah Oluyori

We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without devaluing our own. The Igbo, always practical, put it concretely in their proverb ‘Onye ji onye n'ani ji onwe ya’: 'He who will hold another down in the mud must stay in the mud to keep him down.' — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun (HarperCollins Publisher)

The statement reflects the profound themes of empathy, humanity, and interconnectedness that permeate Adichie's writing. It underscores the idea that respecting the dignity and rights of others is not only morally imperative but also essential for preserving one's humanity and integrity.

Treasure_foods_intl

All leaders make mistakes. This is simply part of life. Successful leaders recognize their errors, work on them and work to correct their faults. MENTORING 101 BY JOHN C.MAXWELL (HarperCollins Leadership).

The excerpt from this book resonates with me so well, because I am one to present myself as a perfect leader and so when things don't go my way, I'm usually very upset with myself and I might even transfer aggression. This book has helped me to forgive myself in advance for whatever mistake I would make in the future and I'm more than grateful to have read this book.

iyanuoluwa_adegboyega_

You can be who you want to be, but let not anger drive you - Oyin Olugbile's debut novel, Sànyà.

Breathes out. Sànyà was the last book I read last year and that excerpted word hit me differently because people have different driving forces to achieve their desired goal but a very dangerous of them is when anger pushes you. It blinds, hence you navigate your way like a blind man. And it's only with luck you won't fall into the ditch. Sànyà holds a special place in my heart because of its texture, and the whole content of the story. Before reading the main content, I read the "a note from the author" where I saw something like "Şàngó being a woman". That took me aback. Like the Şàngó olúkòso we all know, being a girl? This fueled my curiosity in reading it and I can't but say how I also enjoyed the suspense Oyin gave me (increased by that of my sister who read it before I did).

Aside from the way culture, and collection of myths were combined in the work of art, I love how didactic the novel is. The author's style, her progression and conclusion are fantastic.

nigie33

I looked at my mother, standing by the window. How had I never really seen her? It was my father who destroyed and it was my mother I blamed for the ruins left behind. - Zikora by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (Amazon Original Stories)

This excerpt explains the way Zikora always blamed her mother for making her dad leave her until she was all grown up and realized she'd been wrong. This reveals how some African women always have forbearance when hurt in their marriage. How most children tend to blame their mother even in situations where the fault lays with their father.

iamthegray1

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" Romans 11:29 ESV by Apostle Paul. The Holy Bible.

This passage is meaningful because I see it as a commentary on individual talents. Your God-given talents are yours and yours alone. No one can take them from you, not even God. So if you're able to maximize your talents or they lie useless, you have only yourself to thank or blame

chiamakaogiji

The greatest barrier in the world between different cultures is not just language but food. - Efuru by Flora Nwapa (Heinemann Publishers)

Ugo had given me Flora Nwapa's Efuru in JS3 and I would read the book and be so engrossed with Efuru's daring nature. It prompted my sojourn to find other Flora's work. I found "Women Are Different", it gave me an insight into the non-conforming views of women. I was more struck by creative lines.

I have been born into diversity. I live in one. I'm not just Igbo and to be born by an Ibibio Woman means to learn the food her mother's mother's have taught her. I would sometimes find myself fighting the urge not to say "Ibibio's do not prepare it like this."

It goes to say that my tongue is never at a place. It looks like it has an identity of its own. It switches from Igbo to Ibibio. It runs to taste the periwinkles in every dish to settle for esusua that is fried.

The thing is I have come to sit with it like it isn't a barrier. That we can speak volumes with our dishes. In that truth when we say " In my place, we pound our Afang leaf" or we say " We do not put crayfish in the stew." That is how we speak differently but with food.

It is like this: When we say "In my place, we say biko to ask for something" and then someone else says " We say mbok"

It is still the same thing because we are still asking. That's the same with food- we still diversify yet we communicate one thing - to quench hunger.

 I resonate very well with that part of the book. It has led me to sit well with my diversity.

 emmanuel_ish_

If you are honest, people may deceive you. Be honest anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfishness. Be kind anyway. All the good you do today will be forgotten by others tomorrow. Do good anyway.

What you create, others can destroy. Create anyway. Because in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and anyone else anyway. -  Beartown- Fredrik Backman (Atria Books)

I think everyone needs to read Beartown at some point. It's remarkable

shaby_the 

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. - DUNE by Frank Herbert (Chilton Books)

This excerpt hits close to home as it explains how Fear keeps us from truly living and even if fear gives you a solid reason why things won't work well you should never give it the upper hand to dictate what you do.

thesamwheto

Life delivers exactly what you demand of it. Attaining wealth is surprisingly straightforward: set specific written goals with deadlines and channel all thoughts and actions towards that goal. In the long run, the only limits placed on your own achievements are those you set for yourself. You don't become a millionaire when you have a million dollars. You become a millionaire the instant you commit yourself to that goal in writing with a specific deadline and then consistently concentrate all your faculties towards the objective. - THE INSTANT MILLIONAIRE by Mark Fisher (New World Library Publisher)

I found this excerpt insightful because it articulates a message that profoundly impacted my perspective on success and happiness

scribesbylammiee 

Being different doesn't mean there's something wrong with you or that you aren't perfect as you are. It simply means getting special support so you can live your best life. - Every Mirror She's Black by Lola Akinmade Akerstrom. (Sourcebook Landmark Publishing) 

This excerpt made me realise the beauty in our individual differences. It also made me celebrate my own differences and accept the differences between me and other individuals. In every mirror she's black has a special place in my heart because it explores the experiences of three different black women who migrated to Sweden under different circumstances. It is a very unique book that discusses racism, adjusting to a new culture and language, classism, survival of refugees, balancing one's love life with a successful career and so on

drtosindurodola

One who seeks to conquer by sheer strength, clever though he may be at winning pitched battles, is also liable on occasion to be vanquished; whereas he who can look into the future and discern conditions that are not yet manifest, will never make a blunder and therefore invariably win. — Sun Tzu (The Art of War)

This excerpt implies that looking ahead and preparing for future challenges and opportunities is more effective than relying solely on force or immediate action. It's important to be proactive rather than reactive.

tayo_durodola

I am leading my life, and you yours. You have given me a taste for life. I want to live, and in my own way. You wanted me to be faithful to your memory, to your teaching. I want to be faithful to myself... I am reconciled. I want to reconcile myself with myself. - Mariama Bâ “So Long a Letter"

This excerpt, whenever its fragments come to mind, reminds me of the need to live life on my terms, rather than being constrained by the expectations of others.

@olalekan_ojumu 

The enemies of Africa wish to persuade the world that five out of the six thousand years that the world has existed, Africa has always been sunk in barbarism, and that ignorance is essential to the nature of her inhabitants.- Baron De Vastey's The Colonial System Unveiled.

segzyaj

Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. It always surprised him when he thought about it later that he did not sink under the weight of despair. He knew he was a fierce fighter, but that year had been enough to break the heart of a lion. "Since i survived that year," he always said, "I shall survive anything." Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Heinemann Publishers)

This excerpt is the height of resilience building for me

alaoayomide

Not everyone who has authority can make something authoritative, not everyone can make something bind.-  Joseph Raz referenced in Pastoral Power, Clerical State: Pentecostalism, Gender, and Sexuality in Nigeria by Ebenezer Obadare 

This quote implies that true authority is earned, and not given through title or position. True authority is earned through character, competence, trust, and the ability to serve the best interests of those under your authority.

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