We have a winnuh!
“Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been chosen as the book that New Yorkers most want to read, all at one time, by 50,000 voters who participated in the #OneBookNY campaign.
New Yorkers are encouraged to form their own book clubs and discussions around the book, which details the story of a Nigerian couple who leave military-ruled Nigeria.
Before being reunited in their homeland, the female protagonist, Ifemelu, is forced to confront new issues of race and class in the United States, and her inamorato, Obinze, blocked from joining her due to post-9/11 travel restrictions, struggles for dignity as an undocumented immigrant in London.
A complete list of panel discussions, workshops and celebrity readings around “Americanah” can be found at https://www1.nyc.gov.
In partnership with the digital library and subscription service Scribd, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment will provide free 90-day access to the full “Americanah” audiobook through June.
Other books voted on included “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” by Junot Diaz, “The Sellout,” by Paul Beatty and “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith. The city did not announce the rankings of the runners up.
Voting took place through February online and at interactive digital kiosks on subway platforms.
