A Nigerian Book Club Founder on Why Trauma Reading is Good for the Soul

The Bookish Tribe started as a personal quest for connection in a new city. After moving to Port Harcourt in 2022, Lynda sought a community of like-minded individuals. “I needed more people like more friends… and I also needed people who love books, right?”. Her solution was simple yet profound: “I put stuff on my Instagram stories and said, Who wants to hang out and talk about books”. When she couldn’t find an existing book club, she created her own. The overwhelming response of “about twenty people” confirmed the latent need for such a space, driven by “the urge to start up a community of book lovers”.

Reading as Decompression and Discipline

For Lynda, reading is fundamentally an act of self-care. It’s a method of decompressing from the “exhausting” difficulties of adulthood. When she “can’t afford to run away” and book a trip, she finds her escape within the pages. “I pick up a book and I read and I let my imagination take me on a journey to somewhere, just wherever the author has written about. I just imagined I’m travelling to a new place,” she shares. This idea aligns with the established benefits of reading, where it’s considered a powerful cognitive self-care method known to reduce stress and offer mindful escapism.

Lynda also draws a direct parallel between her commitment to reading and her dedication to the gym—a habit that’s earned her the title of “gym rat”. She notes the discipline required for both, stating, “I also have channelled that into my reading. I make sure that I go to the gym at least like four to five times a week, and the same way I pick up a book. I also make sure I finish the book in a week”. This duality highlights the core theme: both physical and mental well-being require consistency and commitment.

Interestingly, when asked to choose between reading and writing for maintaining her sanity, Lynda opts for writing. “I’ll pick writing because if I have to write, I know what I’m writing about. It’s very original. I write about what I’m feeling in the moment”. She labels herself a “mood reader,” suggesting that a poor book choice could disrupt the intended therapeutic effect.

Fiction Over Self-Help

A cornerstone of the Bookish Tribe’s reading philosophy is a strong preference for fiction. Lynda expresses a conscious decision to avoid the self-help genre, which she views as potentially detrimental to authenticity. “Life is hard already,” she insists. She cautions against developing an “entire personality around self-help books because it feels like you’re taking in so much information that you start to lose yourself”. For the “tribals”—as the book club members are called—fiction is recommended as an essential “escape from… how hard adulthood is”.

This choice is, however, met with a nuanced acceptance of African literature, a genre often associated with difficult themes. Lynda acknowledges a common sentiment that Nigerian literature can be perceived as “trauma”, but admits that members often gravitate towards “novels that will traumatise you and leave you scarred”. In a paradoxical twist, for her community, this engagement with emotionally intense books is also considered a form of self-care. “It gives us a reason to… feel something,” Lynda explains. This points to a broader conversation in literary circles about African narratives and the exploration of societal and historical trauma, where fiction serves as a space to process difficult realities.

Lynda’s three top book recommendations for mental nourishment and lifestyle reflect this mixed approach:

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear (Non-fiction): “When I feel like I need to reset and refocus”. It inspired her consistency at the gym.
2. A Broken People’s Playlist (Collection of short stories): A work of fiction that “will make you feel something” and is a recommended entry point into African literature.
3. A Gentle Reminder (Non-fiction/Soft book): A “very soft book” that is “very comforting” and helps readers “get in touch with your feelings”.

The Power of Community and Human Connection

The Bookish Tribe’s greatest impact lies in its community. Lynda recounts how the club has provided “free therapy” sessions during hangouts, offering a safe space for members to share their struggles and gratitude. The club has also helped people return to reading after a long hiatus and fostered new friendships. For Lynda herself, the community has changed her perspective, proving that her team members can be passionate and helpful, even leading her to “pick up books that I never thought I would read before”.

When discussing the challenges and her fear of the club’s longevity—especially after her recent move from Port Harcourt to Owerri—Lynda admits her perennial anxiety that people “might not show up”. However, she has realised that the community’s success is self-sustaining. “They show up for themselves and they also show up for the people and the experience they’ve had with the book club,” she states. This realisation of the community’s intrinsic value, supported by her team and a venue partnership with CAFE One, assures her that the tribe would “thrive” even in her physical absence.

For those with busy schedules, Lynda advises making the preferred activity an “entire personality” and being committed without quitting when failure happens. Crucially, she suggests proximity for reading: “Always keep the book close to you so that you can do a page and next thing you’re doing the second page”. And a life-saving tip for all readers: “If a book is boring, drop it. Nobody’s going to… pull an issue. Drop it”.

Finally, in a delightful conclusion that perfectly embodies the theme of her work, Lynda shares her most exciting reward from being a bookworm: meeting her husband. He reached out to her on Instagram to ask about a new book, and the conversation quickly moved from “dream counts” and “books” to the “gym,” where they discovered their shared passion. “And yeah, now we’re married,” she says, offering a beautiful message: “So yeah, read books. So you find love”.

Lynda Ndubuaku’s journey is a powerful testament to the transformative potential of blending mindful activities—reading, writing, and physical fitness—to achieve a balanced and intentional life. It’s a reminder that self-care is not a luxury, but a necessity, and sometimes, the best escape from the stress of adult life is found in a good book and a strong community.