Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.61 AVERAGE
4.61 AVERAGE
inspiring
reflective
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I struggled to decide if this was a 4 or 5-star read for me. Abdurraqib is brilliant. The two books of his that I read before this one were absolutely 5-star reads . Part of my problem is the comparison with Go Ahead in the Rain and A Little Devil in America. Both of those books are so consistently exceptional, so surefooted, it creates a really high bar. This book is also brilliant but less surefooted than those I read before (but which were written and published after this book.) There are some pieces in here that are among the best I have read of his. While all of Abdurraqib's work is personal, there are essays in this collection that are astonishingly intimate and which really touched me. The story toward the end of seeing himself on the front of his hometown paper and weeping in an airport store while thinking about the fact he could not show the article to his late mother on this, her birthday broke me. Here he was weeping about how proud she would be and no one saw his tears, they just saw a Black man lingering; the story was infuriating and beautiful all at once. The essay about processing the loss of a friend to suicide, a friend who apologized on Facebook for letting the sadness win, reached inside of me and made me think about a similar loss from years ago. So much was great. Actually my biggest issue was with Abduraib's comments on the stories. (This might only exist on the audio.). He disclaims or reframes a lot of what he wrote just a few years earlier based upon the stories' subjects later revealed activities and his evolving knowledge. It weakened every point he was trying to make. He needs to worry less about what other's think of him and allow his words to shine in their own time capsules.
In the end, there were enough 5-star essays and poems, many where he lays bare his soul, that I had to go for the 5-star. But I have to qualify that by noting that it is a weaker 5 than the other two books I have read. Still, even if I actively resisted feeling empathy, these essays created understanding where there was none. They are masterfully crafted irresistible forces for empathy, and today that gets him a 5.
In the end, there were enough 5-star essays and poems, many where he lays bare his soul, that I had to go for the 5-star. But I have to qualify that by noting that it is a weaker 5 than the other two books I have read. Still, even if I actively resisted feeling empathy, these essays created understanding where there was none. They are masterfully crafted irresistible forces for empathy, and today that gets him a 5.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Absolutely amazing work. I had this one on my TBR for awhile, and decided I would give it a chance with February being BHM and us having to go through another Trump presidency. Abdurraqib does such a beautiful job combining both the things he's experienced in his personal life and external forces such as racism, death, etc. to weave a narrative with an introspective conclusion of how he views society/looks towards the future at the end. It was a journey from start to finish and at the end I was a little sad to let my libby loan go because of how much I enjoyed reading the book. Will definitely pick up a copy for my personal library in the future and recommend this as a read for everyone to experience.
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
This book is legitimately incredible and everyone needs to read it.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
I highly recommend this in audiobook as the author is also the narrator. The tone as he reads this book of essays is so powerful.
Most of the essays revolve around music. I sat with this book and listened to each song and album he mentions. Listening, that’s what this book was about for me. Listening to someone who is completely different from me and being open to step into their pov. There were times I just paused the book because I needed time to process. I wanted to go slow with this book because it felt like each time I was meeting a friend. I wanted to sit with a tea, coffee, or glass of wine and get lost into each of his essays.
Most of the essays revolve around music. I sat with this book and listened to each song and album he mentions. Listening, that’s what this book was about for me. Listening to someone who is completely different from me and being open to step into their pov. There were times I just paused the book because I needed time to process. I wanted to go slow with this book because it felt like each time I was meeting a friend. I wanted to sit with a tea, coffee, or glass of wine and get lost into each of his essays.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Genocide, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This books interweaves grief and joy through stories of music, sports, and current events in a way that’s both deeply personal and, yet, universally applicable. While a commentary on the difficulties endured in 2016, its sentiments are echoed in 2020. Entrenched in meaning, the essays still maintain a lightness that simultaneously makes you want to read the book in one sitting, but also slow down the time it takes to reach the last page.