Kenyan Author Attempts to Set 73-Hour Reading Record in Nairobi

When most Kenyans are scrolling through TikTok, Emmanuel Muchui is turning pages in what could become the country's most ambitious reading attempt.

The author and passionate reader launched a 73-hour reading marathon yesterday at 10:51am at Nuria Book Store in Nairobi, aiming to finish on Monday at 3:51pm.

This marks the first time Kenya has hosted such an endurance challenge, bringing a global phenomenon to Kenya's literary scene for the first time.

In an exclusive interview withKenyans.co.ke, Nuria store owners revealed that Muchui isn't chasing the global record of 215 hours set by Nigeria's Samson Ajao in May 2024, who read continuously for nine days straight.

Instead, his mission is simpler yet more profound: creating awareness about reading in a country where screen time increasingly replaces book time each year.

"Emmanuel’s main aim of the challenge is to holistically create awareness on reading in Kenya, bearing in mind that as a country we have a very poor reading culture," stated the bookshop owner.

The store owners further revealed that the marathon allows Muchui one hour and 15 minutes of breaks where he stretches, eats meals, and rests before returning to his books again.

Preparation for this feat took approximately one month, with Muchui carefully selecting every book he would read during the three-day reading challenge ahead.

Kenya has seen remarkable reading initiatives recently, including 300,000 studentsparticipating simultaneously in a 2024 group read-aloud event to beat America's record of Walden Media of 233,363 people reading simultaneously.

Individual attempts like Kenedy Yinefawa's 160-hour goal from Nigeria show growing interest, though most remain local initiatives without global recognition or official verification from authorities.

As Muchui battles sleep and fatigue, he's writing a new chapter in Kenya's relationship with books, one page at a time this weekend.

His challenge ends Monday afternoon, but the conversation about reading culture he's sparked may continue much longer than 73 hours ever could.