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I've always known books are able to shape one's perception of people and cultures. It's hard to track it in my own life, cannot see the log in my eye after all. I learnt exactly how much last week. Living in Uganda, I often get asked which Kenyan tribe I belong to. Was asked this last week ,said Kikuyu and thought nothing of it. A few days later, the enquirer told me he assumed I was circumcised . He thought this because he read about it in  Ngugi Wa Thiongo's The River Between. I've never thought this would be a trait tied to my tribal identity and it was refreshing to learn a new stereotype to my ethnicity. It wasn't off the mark. My grandmother was circumcised and Central Kenya has an estimated 16.5% FGM prevalence rate . I now can't help but wonder what stereotypes I'm harbouring from my love of books.