Nairobi Between the Lines

When I lived in Nairobi nine years ago, I used to go to three bookshops: Between the Lines, a tiny–but–lovely store upstairs in Village Market Mall, Text Book Centre in Sarit Centre and the classic Book Stop in Yaya Centre. I dove into the literature of East Africa in those years, or as much as I could find. Ask anyone in Nairobi who is literarily inclined, and they will either laugh at me or feel sorry for me. Probably both.

Today, Nairobi is a buzzing hub of African literature. I might even go so far as saying that it is the centre of African literature on the continent. 

I watched the rise of literary Nairobi from a distance, on social media. My algorithm picking up profiles like Cheche Books and Café, Noma Sami, Prestige Books and the Macondo Book Fair. When Kate and I booked our next trip to Kenya, I was excited because I wasn’t just returning home to Angama, but I started planning a route through the city: a bookshop safari. What I found was not just a wealth of African literature, but a celebration of it. 

Cheche Books and Café is tucked into a gated close in Lavington. You’re not going to just go past it. Open plan, counter in the centre, books lining the outer walls. What I love about this bookshop is that it hosts events, and I was jealous to see posters advertising a talk with Sudanese author Leila Aboulela. This would be a huge event in South Africa, not just a talk in a bookshop.

Soma Nami is not only an exceptional bookshop, over two storeys – the upstairs feels like a reading nook, with couches – but is also the organiser of the African Book Fair and host of a book podcast of all things African literature. I felt so at home that I almost bought one of their coffee mugs to take a piece of the place home with me.  

Prestige Books is probably the most densely stocked  – shelves are stuffed with books – but also the most difficult to access, being in the centre of town. Absolutely worth the trip. Book Stop is as comprehensive as ever.

And let’s not discount Text Book Centre and another chain, Half Priced Books. Their selection is sometimes as good as an independent bookshop, depending on which branch you go to.

What I loved about all these bookshops is not just the quantity and variety, but that I kept finding books I knew nothing about: I was surprised in each one, finding, for example, Mount Pleasant and A Trail of Crab Tracks by Patrice Nganang, from Cameroon, translated into English. As well as that, I found, to my joy, as a collector of hardcover, first editions, first US editions of some of the African hits of recent years, such as A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ from Nigeria. And there isn’t just a focus on non-fiction or novels; I also found short story collections from Kenya (Half Portraits Under Water by Denis Mûgaa) prominently displayed. And every bookshop can be contacted via WhatsApp. I had two books delivered after a simple WhatsApp conversation. 

And yet, with this day-long, literary safari of Nairobi, I felt I had only scratched the surface of what is out there. That night, I did a Google search of bookshops, and it felt like hundreds more popped up… next time.