COAL Newsletter, July 2025

A curated reading list and practical tips to help you get back to reading

Dear creative,

One thing we would love to know is, if this email met you well.

New year blues are far behind us and with that went a lot of our resolutions. Many of us romanticized the idea of reading more this year, some drew up glossy vision boards and even went down the rabbit hole of saving and ‘adding to cart’ many To Be Read books which never checked out. By March those dreams were swept away by many events in our lives, from trying to survive Nigeria, to surviving literally as a human being in an information, option paralytic media world.

Our goal is to help make your options efficient, affordable and dynamic. Whether you’re stuck in a reading slump or struggling to find motivation, know that you’re not alone. I have been there too. These days I am working to reclaim reading not as a productivity goal, but as a quiet act of self care. So, if you are returning to reading for comfort instead of treating it as a chore–with books you actually enjoy–here are our most genuine tips to help you rediscover the little joys of a good book, one page at a time.

5 thoughtful book recommendations to help you reflect and rest.

• When we were Fireflies by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim

  A gripping, layered, passionate and haunting novel with tones of otherworldliness. Abubakar’s prose sparkles with poetry, wisdom and compassion. This is a complex and unforgettable story that will keep you up at night.” – Bisi Adjapon

• What it means when a man falls from the sky by Lesly Nneka Arimah

  Evocative, playful, subversive, and incredibly human, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky heralds the arrival of a prodigious talent with a remarkable career ahead of her

• The woman next door by Yewande Omotosho

  Could long-held mutual loathing transform into friendship? Love thy neighbour? Easier said than done.

• The Chameleon girl

  The Chameleon Girl is the story of a woman of dual identities confronting her parents’ past amid secrets, stereotypes and cross-cultural family tensions.

Need more recommendations? Visit our online store here

Now that you got to the end of this email, we invite you to follow us on our social media handles for updates and insights to what we are loving and sharing.

Warm regards Oluchi Okonkwo COAL bookstore manager