Books they read: Julius N. Uma

He is a Ugandan journalist currently based in Juba, South Sudan. He works as a senior correspondent for Sudan Tribune, a French-based agency. He spoke to Beatrice Lamwaka about his passion for books.
Why do keep reading?

Well, reading is more or less a hobby to me. I detest movies and perhaps that’s the reason why I read lots of books (including the Bible), magazines, newspapers and online materials. On a weekend ,for instance, a collections of newspapers simply make my day.

How do you continue to flourish your bookshelf?
I often make a point to buy any interesting book that comes my way. My bookshelf comprises of political, socio-economic, humorous and journalism books. Of late, perhaps due to demand, I have started picking much interest in books written on family issues.

Which books have you bought more than once?
The book; Waging Peace in Sudan: The Inside Story of the Negotiations that Ended Africa’s Longest Civil War. The book, authored by Hilde F. Johnson, the current Special Representative to the UN Secretary General in South Sudan, provides and interesting insight on what transpired during the talks in Kenya between the Khartoum government and former rebels in the south by then. As a journalist, who was relatively new in South Sudan two years ago, I needed to understand the political dynamics of the country prior to embarking on ‘real’ journalism.

Secondly, the second edition of David Randall’s book, The Universal Journalist is one book I keep buying because when colleagues borrow, it never gets back to my bookshelf. An amazing book, full of examples, quotes and practical experiences from field-based reporters.

Which books have you read for the umpteenth time and you have never got enough of?
Cry the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton, a South African author; it features Stephen Khumalo, a rural-based black Anglican priest who embarks on a mission to locate his son in Johannesburg. But before his journey commences, he receives a letter from a priest in Johannesburg asking him to go and see his sister, Gertrude who was said to be sick. Khumalo hopes that Gertrude will then help him find his lost son. The Anglican priest gets the shock of his life when on reaching Johannesburg, discovers that Gertrude was a renowned prostitute. The book is a sad reality.

What are your favourite quotes from the books you have read?
“I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and non-violence are as old as the hills” (Mahatma Ghandi) “Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire” (Allan Paton)

What lessons have you learnt from books?
There is no difference between what we read in most books and what actually transpires in the daily lives of people in today’s society.mamanda Adichie, like how she is the Chinua Achebe of this generation and I would like to read her three books; Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun and The Thing Around Your Neck.

Which books are you reading?
I am reading Changed Into His Likeness by Watchman Nee and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, a Russian classic that I heard a lot about and I am finally reading.