My niece called me this afternoon. She wanted to know if I had come across the video of a book club meeting that had become very popular on social media. At this meeting, there was a question that apparently started a whole lot of drama. When I heard what the question was, I wasn’t even surprised by how wild it got.
The question was: Chimamanda or Colleen Hoover — who is the better writer?
And my first thought was… why?
I didn’t think “why?” because I think one of them is better than the other. That In fact, is exactly my point. I don’t understand why we have to compare them in the first place.
One thing I don’t particularly enjoy is comparison. And for me, if you’re going to compare two things, there has to be some reasonable basis for the comparison.
Chimamanda and Colleen Hoover don’t write the same kind of books. They don’t necessarily write for the same reasons, in the same style, or even in the same literary space. Not at all. Not even a little bit.
They come from different backgrounds and different parts of the world… Their stories, the themes, approaches and audiences can be very different… Very very different.
So I beg the question, what exactly are we measuring?
Because if you’re going to ask me who is a better writer, my next question will definitely be… “better at what?” Gbam… Did I just Gbam my own question? Haha.
To be honest, this is where I think these social media debates sometimes become unnecessarily complicated.
Let’s take movies, for example.
Would you ask me; “Was You’ve Got Mail better than The Terminator?”
Better how?
One is a romantic comedy. The other is an action/sci-fi film. They are trying to achieve completely different things. I want to believe that I can enjoy both movies without having to decide which one is the superior movie.
Frankly, It’s the same thing with books.
Colleen Hoover writes the kind of books she writes. Her books have their own style, themes and readership. Let’s forget that many people don’t like her for whatever reasons they choose not to.
Chimamanda writes the kind of books she writes, with her own style, themes and readership… And I agree, she is a genius. I know she is a genius.
You can prefer one. Yup, of course you can.
You can say, I connect more with Chimamanda’s writing… Or you can say, I prefer Colleen Hoover’s storytelling.
You can even say, I don’t enjoy either of them. Yes… Trust me, this option exists.
All of those options are perfectly reasonable opinions.
So now when we ask, Who is the better writer? we suddenly create this imaginary competition where one person has to win and the other has to lose.
I think out loud and ask you… why?
I think one of the things we forget as readers is that books don’t all have to do the same thing.
Sometimes I want a book that makes me think. Sometimes I want something that teaches me something. Sometimes I want beautiful prose and complicated themes that leave me quizzical.
And sometimes? I just want to lie down and read a story. A simple story. That’s allowed too. It’s just like when I want to lie down and watch a simple movie I go for cheesy, sweet and simple Hallmark.
So seriously, I must say, I find some of these book debates amusing. We take two completely different things and put them in a boxing ring and then get angry because people are choosing different fighters.
Maybe the better question isn’t Chimamanda or Colleen Hoover?
Maybe it’s: What do you enjoy reading, and why?
Should I Gbam again?
The thing is, I don’t need Colleen Hoover to write like Chimamanda for me to appreciate Colleen Hoover.
And I don’t need Chimamanda to write like Colleen Hoover for me to appreciate Chimamanda.
There is room on my bookshelf for different kinds of writers.
And honestly, there is room in the world for us to like different things without turning every preference into a competition.
Not everything needs a winner.
Some books by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:
Purple Hibiscus (2003)
Half of a Yellow Sun (2006)
The Thing Around Your Neck (2009) — short stories
Americanah (2013)
Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions (2017)
Notes on Grief (2021)
Dream Count (2025)
Some books by Colleen Hoover:
Losing Hope (2013)
Maybe Someday (2014)
Confess (2015)
It Ends with Us (2016)
It Starts with Us (2022)
Without Merit (2017)
Verity (2018)
Regretting You (2019)
All Your Perfects (2018)
Reminders of Him (2022)
November 9 (2015)
Ugly Love (2014)
