Welcome to The Author As A Reader where your favourite authors reveal the books that shaped them. In this series, we dive into their reading lives, from the stories that bring them comfort to the books they can’t stop recommending. They’ll share the novels they’d love to see on screen, the covers they can’t resist, and even the book that made them believe in the power of words. It’s a cozy, behind-the-scenes look at the books that have left a mark and who knows, you might just find your next memorable read.
Gothataone Moeng is the Botswana-born storyteller behind Call and Response, a stunning debut collection of interconnected short stories that dives deep into life, tradition, and womanhood in Serowe and Gaborone.
Moeng’s writing has appeared in Ploughshares, Virginia Quarterly Review, One Story, American Short Fiction and Oxford American, publications known for championing layered, character-driven fiction. She was a guest at Ake Festival in 2022, bringing her voice to one of Africa’s most celebrated literary stages.
In this edition of The Author As A Reader, she shares the books she couldn’t put down, and voices that shaped her craft. It’s always so fascinating to glimpse insights from writers who listen deeply to the world.
The Author As A Reader | Gothataone Moeng
My earliest reading memory: My most vivid reading memory involves getting a library card for the first time. I was probably around 10 or 11, definitely still in primary school, in my home village of Serowe, and the Serowe branch of the National Library Service came to our school in a mobile library and encouraged us to sign up for library, which we received instantaneously (since our teachers could be the adult/guardian co-signers) and we were able to borrow books immediately. That is how I was introduced to the work of Enid Blyton, whose work I really liked as a young girl.
A book I’d like to see adapted to the screen is: For no reason, other than the fact that I just finished reading it, and still feel somewhat attached to the characters, and would therefore love to encounter them in another way, Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto.
A book I return to for comfort is: Probably, The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields, which I used to read almost every year, and have not returned to in a long time. But even just writing this, I am feeling a strong desire to go pick it up from my shelf. It’s a brilliant book, and maybe the sense of comfort I receive from it is the sense of completion, of following an ordinary life from birth to death. I also find Edward P. Jones’s stories really comforting and return to them often. It’s his faithful and meticulous observations of his characters, they feel devoted and reverential. Bessie Head’s work—her Tales of Tenderness and Power in particular, and works of nonfiction—feel so familiar to, yet revelatory, that I return to them again and again.
The most recent book I’ve seen with the most gorgeous cover: A book that’s not out yet, The Mobius Book by Catherine Lacey. I like pared down covers, and actually really like the uniformity of the Fitzcarraldo and Gallimard covers. I also like the Transit Books’ Undelivered Lectures covers.
The book I think is most underrated: I think Gina Berriault’s work is underrated. I think Yvonne Vera’s work is underrated. I think Natalia Ginzburg’s work is underrated. Also underrated, Waiting for the Rain by Charles Mungoshi.
If my book had a soundtrack, the first song would be… Bananyana ba Serowe ba Mpolayaa, by Donald Botshelo; it’s mischievous and professes a kind of cheeky love (or maybe more accurately physical attraction) for women from Serowe. I think my book is sometimes mischievous and devoted to women from Serowe.
The last book I purchased: Y/N by Esther Yi
A book whose author I’d like to go to lunch with: Memorial by Bryan Washington. He writes with such a palpable love of food that I know he would know the best restaurant, and the best items on the menu. I always order the worst thing on the menu, and I want him to order for me!
A book with the best opening line: My forever favorite is “I was not sorry when my brother died,” from Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga.
The book I’m most ashamed not to have read: The Sound and The Fury, Absalom, Absalom and the rest of William Faulkner. Just because I lived in the heart of Faulkner country for three years and still never bothered.
If I could recommend one book to my younger self, it would be: Maybe, All About Love by bell hooks?
Something Bookish Curators are always on the lookout for the next great read to add to your #TBR. Whether it’s a backlist gem, a breakout debut, the book everyone will be talking about next, or a beloved classic, we’ve got recommendations you won’t want to miss. Join the conversation and read along with us on social!
