Jennifer

I didn't know there was a white trash version of people in Italy until I read this book. I didn't know anything about poverty in Naples, Italy in the 1950s-60s. I had no idea what a poor girl struggled with in this country and now vastly different it was from being poor in the US. The abuse and violence was shocking to me. I just had no idea, or, I couldn't picture such class warfare in other countries. But, now, I feel like I see how the mafia exists. Also, why is everyone so bitterly angry over seemingly petty events all the time??

On a separate note, I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever been obsessed with a friend and wanted nothing more than to be accepted and loved by this friend, especially in childhood and/or adolescence. But also felt a strange sense of competition with. I think we all have someone like that.

Because this book was originally written in Italian, the English translation says things like the character spoke “in dialect” or the character spoke “in formal Italian”. Because of this, I feel like anyone who is reading in English is missing out on some crucial nuances. It definitely takes away from whatever is being said. The locations in which certain scenes take place matter, too, and because there's no map in the book for reference, I feel like I'm missing out on more meaning there as well. I could Google it, but I don't care that much.

Lovedddddddd this book and can't wait to see what they did with it on HBO. Definitely fortuitous timing to read this over International Women's Day this year. I would recommend this book to all women. Though these women had seemingly #whitewomenproblems, I can see women of any race/class/status relating to this book. I love whodunit stories, but this was so much more than that. Don't let the feminine cover fool you, this book goes deep. Loved it! And I will definitely give her other books a chance.

Required reading for Americans

I frequently read social justice-themed books, mostly set in inner cities, and mostly from the Black perspective, which I love, but can't truly relate to. It was very refreshing to read the white, rural point-of-view of someone's backwoods “white” struggle, where the person grows up and realizes the backwards way of the white, poor, working class, and chooses to not perpetuate stereotypes, but really dives in and lets the reader know that these, too, are people, though misled and uneducated, and oppressed in their own way.

I have to say this, because I know somewhere out there someone is getting offended, so I am not equating the struggles against each other. I'm not trying to say that one struggle is better or worse and/or more or less racist. Just different. Different types of poor people struggling in different ways to navigate through our American government and society.

That being said, growing up in a small town in the valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this book reflected the internal workings of my classmates' lives and even a little bit of my poor working class (but not Appalachian) family. The area I grew up in struggles with poverty and opiate addiction as well as failed factories and family strife. Kids I went to school with had so much potential, most unable to strive for their goals due to lacking social support and needs.

I appreciated this book and it gave me the hope that one day, most of my “hillbilly” classmates would rise above their home life and become educated about their plight in the United States. (I haven't seen this happen yet, but like I said, it gives me hope).

Side note: I love the section where Vance describes why people didn't like Obama. It's not because of his race, but because he was seen as ‘better' than them, thus deemed unrealistic and unattainable person. (You have to read it to understand the nuances, but I appreciated such a thoughtful and refreshing perspective) Yes, racism is a problem in our county, but I do believe that classism is a bigger problem in this country, as it always has been, and racism is a tool to keep people from overcoming a lower class.

I've been searching for a book that discusses social mobility and how it actually sucks when someone from a lower class achieves upper class success because of all the changes one has to make to their behaviors and perceptions. Though I didn't go to an Ivy League school, coming from a poor, working family and going to UVA felt very similar to the journey of Vance going from backwoods Appalachia to Yale Law. No one feels empathetic towards a person who is doing better for themselves class-wise, but it is a lonely existence. Vance makes this existence feel less burdensome.

To anyone who has ever wanted to relive the horrors of the Underground Railroad, this book is for you!

I'm a little (a lot) tired of the slave narrative in books/movies/other types of “entertainment”, but this book kept coming up in all the must read book lists last year, so here we are.

If you have any family or friends who say slavery is something one needs to “get over”, please suggest this book to them. This book is for them.

If you are one who is “woke”, this book is unnecessarily painful to read, further stabbing the pain and inhumanity further into your soul.

If anything, this book is for kids learning about the Underground Railroad in school. When I was learning about it, it was told to us like it was a path in the woods which had nice people waiting in little houses in the woods to nicely take in some slaves. Nope nope nope. Let's teach kids the truth of the horrors of escaping slavery. Let's not wait until Oprah makes this the book of the year to let grown literary lovers read it.

Teach this in schools and make white America learn it. I read Roots for AP History. Kids these days should read this.

Short version:
I think I'm a bad feminist. Gay starts off and ends by defining what it is to be a feminist and how much she dislikes the stereotypes that come with the term, but then she proves herself to be the stereotype she dislikes so much, for most of the book. The last chapter is way more relaxed and happy than the beginning of the book.


Extended version:
I see where she was coming from on most points (mostly facts about abuse/rape, how the patriarchy is alive and well, why fat people stay fat, gay rights, misogyny, our shared love of reading, women's rights - which I believe are her main takeaways, in which we are in full agreement), but I felt the anger/bitterness behind her words more than what she was saying. I'm not saying she doesn't have every right to be angry, but I feel like she's preaching to the choir. And I'm tiring in being told over and over again why I need to be angry. Even Gay states, “I want everyone to read my books, but I'm not going to desperately pine for readers who aren't interested in what I'm writing.” I mean, who else reads books on feminists other than feminists? Let's be honest.

Certain chapters are less bitter than others. I loved the chapter “Blurred Lines, Indeed” because I thought it was snarky/funny, not snarky/hateful, and the one about Fifty Shades of Grey (lol), but I digress.

I know it's probably my biases against women who describe themselves as “feminist” that I've encountered in my life because most of them were, in fact, snarky, sarcastically mean-spirited, man-hating (but really self-hating), unhappy people. Why can't there ever be a happy feminist in literature? I have yet to read one, or read about one.

That being said, I appreciate Gay's point-of-view, because it was refreshing/necessary to read, but also frustrating because she reminds me of all the unhappy feminists I've ever encountered in my life, and how she is perpetuating the negative stereotype rather than changing the public's perception. I say all of this, again, while agreeing with the major points she makes about our society.

Side note: I wish Gay would have placed footnotes/citations on her facts and statistics.

As far as feminist literature goes, I prefer writings such as Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists over Gay's grumpiness any day.

Wow. This book is required reading for all, especially Americans. All Americans.

I see why The Fire This Time was “updated” and popular. I can see how that book tried to be like this book. Oh how they tried. Not only did they fail (but I say this lovingly, as I still really liked that book), but The Fire Next Time is a stand-alone classic. The essence and the major points are still applicable today, hence why I put the word updated in quotes a few sentences ago. I had to stop and think before I highlighted the next line, because I was highlighting so many poignant words. I am sad that the world has barely progressed since this was written, but I am so grateful that this book exists. Though I am Asian, I definitely felt the words in this book as it relates to my personal experiences in life, as I'm sure many minorities would agree.

I've read other African-American literature (fiction and non-fiction) recently, and this one is definitely in the top 3. (The top 3 are The Autobiography of Malcolm X, The New Jim Crow, and this, in no particular order, if you were wondering).

Please read this book, especially now.

I haven't read James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time yet (shameful I know) so I wasn't sure how much of this book I was going to really understand but I will say there were some stand out chapters/essays:

Part 1:

“Lonely in America” - forgotten slave burial sites in New Hampshire

“Where Do We Go From Here?” - eloquently stated prose on where we are in America today

Chapter on Phillis Wheatley - I learned so much about the first published African American female poet. I remember learning about her in first grade but never did I know about her husband and life before now.

“White Rage” - makes similar points to the Netflix movie “13th”

Part 2:

“Blacker Than You” - I appreciate it when Asian Americans get a shoutout and general pop culture references.

“Black and Blue” - walking (literally just walking) while black in different regions of the US from a first person perspective...just, wow.

I could go on but basically all the chapters in Part 2 really resonated with me.

Part 3:

Appropriately entitled “Jubilee”, Part 3 encourages the reader to feel hopeful for the future to build a better world so that “your generation of brown and black men, women, and children will be the last who will experience all this.”

Once I read The Fire Next Time, I'll probably give this a 5 star rating.

I read this book in one sitting. I didn't know what to expect but I definitely didn't expect a book like this. It was like a fever dream/hallucinative stream of consciousness poem more than a novel. What a talent to be able to tell a story this way and have the reader follow multiple complex story lines. Glad I read this.

I've always been curious to learn more about medical problems or the public health issues that arise when soldiers are wounded in battle, and this book delivered and then some. Now I have more of an understanding of penis transplants when penises are lost in battle, or the concept of using cadavers to help the military better understand how to design and develop defense devices against IEDs, or how some of the diseases we learned about in our epidemiology classes (E. coli, cholera, etc.) affect soldiers who drink bad water. After reading this book, I am convinced that the government should spend more money on sex therapy for veterans, just as many benefits for PTSD as food poisoning, among other things to better support our troops (read the book for more detail).

Mary Roach knows how to make silly jokes when describing something horrendous without coming off as flippant. Like in all her other books, she knows how to precisely describe what she's seeing and explain difficult concepts in an entertaining and educational way. Love her and whatever she chooses to write about next.

Cute, quick comics. Nice to feel validated in wanting to read and not socialize on a daily basis haha.

I am happily on the Issa Rae bandwagon. I knew of Awkward Black Girl, but never watched it, though I did/do follow her on Twitter. Insecure was my favorite show on HBO this past season, so when I saw this Kindle book was on sale recently, I was psyched. It's a fast read and entertaining. There were some points where I wished she would've dug a little deeper to shed some light on some deep life ish, but that moment never came. Though the big Oprah moment never happened, I was entertained learning about Senegalese culture and could relate to her awkward childhood in some aspects (being an outsider, never really “fitting” racial stereotypes, etc.). I look forward to more memoirs from Issa in the future!

This book should be categorized as horror because cults scare the crap out of me. Reading about Scientology previously gave me nightmares and now I have a new reason to have nightmares: Fundamentalist Mormonism. Thinking the End is Near, this cult believes in polygamy and sacrificing one's life to live the “harder” way by not having electricity, hot water, or decent healthcare. Whenever children are involved in these cults, especially when the children are growing up in impoverished environments and abused, it makes the horror much more real and terrifying. I am impressed with the detail Ruth describes of her home life and emotions, through the eyes of a younger person. It will never escape me how much children perceive their surroundings and others' behaviors at such a young age. I appreciate Ruth for writing this book and sharing this difficult story with the world. It's amazing how much some people go through and survive.

All medical schools and medical professional field-schools should make this book required reading for all students, especially those interested in a surgical field. Any human being should also read this, too, but as someone who works in the healthcare industry and who loves someone in the medical profession, this really hit home for me. I read this book while traveling, so I would not recommend reading this book in public where people can see you cry. So. Good. Thank you, Paul, for sharing yourself during one of the most difficult challenges one can face in a lifetime.

This could have been 300 pages shorter. The first book was the best by far and then it lost steam by the last book. This would be a cool feature film though.

What a nice, old lady. Perhaps TOO nice. No big reveals or worthwhile life lessons. I appreciated how positive and optimistic she was, however.

I LOVE RuPaul's Drag Race. I think it is currently the best reality TV show (at least since Season 2). I've always liked Michelle Visage as a judge on this show, but after reading this book, I LOVE her. I had no idea she was so talented by herself. I was too young to know her singing days, but thank goodness for YouTube because now I know. I also think to really appreciate her, you have to watch Paris Is Burning (also available for free on YouTube). Nothing in this book has gone unsaid as far as a self-help book goes, but reading it helped me feel reassured and more confident in what I've already been doing, so how could I give it less than 5 stars? If you don't know who she is, I would suggest watching RuPaul's Drag Race and Paris is Burning first, or you are not going to get any of the slang she uses and think it's stupid. (It's not, but it needs context for sure).

Wow. This book literally gave me a nightmare last night. It was a Scientology-Trumpocolypse night terror. I appreciate Leah's honesty and admire her fearlessness. Before this book, I had heard about Leah's scandals. I watched her on King of Queens and thought she was funny. Now I am horrified at her experience and relieved she has been freed. Of course, being me, I would like to see Tom Cruise's version of her stories...mostly for fun, partly to get a full picture. I don't know why but I can't really bring myself to give this 5 stars. Probably because that nightmare from last night is still fresh and I'm still getting over it. Turns out cults freak me out more than zombies...who knew.

I really appreciated Amy's honesty and vulnerability in this book. I got annoyed at times because I felt that she sounded too defensive, but given the context, I can understand why. She DOES get a lot of hate in the media, and almost everything she does, including the Lemonade video she did most recently, is scrutinized and hated upon. I know some of the stories in this book will stay with me for a while. I can't imagine being this open with the masses, knowing that people are trolls and haters. I also appreciate that she did her homework and discussed gun violence in this book, with facts. I always appreciate when celebrities speak on things that matter (beyond their own story). For what it's worth, I've seen Amy Schumer live and loved it. I occasionally watch her show but am not an avid watcher. I've watched her stand up specials and like them a lot.I liked this book less than [b:Why Not Me? 30268522 Why Not Me? Mindy Kaling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473956249s/30268522.jpg 41897766], so I couldn't rate it the same at 5 stars. But! I really enjoyed it and glad I read it. If I could, I would rate it 4.5 stars.

I lol'd several times while reading this book. I felt better and happier overall after each reading session. I like Mindy and I watch her show, so reading this was enjoyable and easy.

My absolute favorite quote is: “Work hard, know your shit, show your shit, and then feel entitled. Listen to no one except the two smartest and kindest adults you know, and that doesn't always mean your parents.”

Note: I was a psych major who worked in a lab in college that observed couples arguing. I remember learning about the Gottmans and their therapeutic techniques (as described in this book). I was excited to read this to fulfill my psychology needs and dreams.

Though this book is labeled for marriage, I would say that most of the advice pertains to general empathy, listening, and communication skills between two people. I think that the advice given to couples can also be applied to communication with family, friends, and even coworkers when having issues. For example, validating the speaker's emotions by asking for clarification and for more detail. I think a lot of conversations in the workplace or at home can benefit from doing this. Another example is if you're arguing about something and seem to be at a standstill, you can ask for more information, such as “tell me why this is important to you” or “what are your feelings on this issue”. This disarms the other person and opens up the heated argument to more of a conversation. This piece of advice seems to be generalizable to more than just a loved one. How about when you're arguing with a coworker about politics? I think this could be useful then as well.

Life is not easy and communicating one's feelings is extremely difficult, especially about tough topics with those you love the most. Though I can see how some could say that this book oversimplifies problems, I think the advice could still help people get the gist of how to begin to solve their problems. I don't think this book (or any book) could substitute any type of face-to-face counseling, but I would recommend this book for anyone having trouble with communicating feelings, in addition to married people/people in long-term, committed relationships.

It took me forever to get through this book. Not because it was terrible, but quite the opposite. This book discusses disturbing, gross, deeply upsetting, and unethical parts of history that are (of course) overlooked by the textbooks today. This book should be required reading for all people, especially those in the medical field (medical students, current physicians, nurses, etc.). History is bound to repeat itself, and we will not know to do better unless we educate the people. The origins of procedures we take for granted now, like C-sections, vaccinations, x-rays, and bladder stone surgeries, are thanks to the involuntary contributions of slaves and other disadvantaged populations through time.

I had to digest what was being said in this book. Every page was packed with so much information that I had to really think about and process. It took a while, but is definitely worth it.

I see what the other reviewers are saying about this book. Things like, “the only thing they actually had in common was their name, and that's it”. But I feel that this book is less about the two men being identical and more about how one's decisions, opportunities, and even luck can make all the difference in one's life. The two men did have similar neighborhoods, so if a reader was to take into consideration the “nuture” aspect of upbringing, I think there is room for comparison between the two men. Moore even discusses this saying,

“...I found myself surrounded by people–starting with my mom, grandparents, uncles, and aunts, and leading to a string of wonderful role models and mentors–who kept pushing me to see more than what was directly in front of me, to see the boundless possibilities of the wider world and the unexplored possibilities within myself. People who taught me that no accident of birth–not being black or relatively poor, being from Baltimore or the Bronx or fatherless–would ever define or limit me.”

I learned a lot about motorcycles and how life doesn't end when you're middle aged.

I think anyone who has gone through a major life change at any point can relate to this book in some way. I think this book shows how white, youngest child, free-spirited, Harley-riding, Jewish lesbians and I have anything in common, and that loss, grief, guilt, and all those other emotions are really shared experiences of everyone at some point in their life. If ever one is alone and needing to “eat, pray, love” their way through pain, here is another book to share those feelings.

Thanks to Penguin's First to Read program for this book.

The storytelling is dry, witty, sarcastic, and scathing. Interested and mildly entertained by this tone of storytelling, but also wondering if it's worth my time. How good can a book about spontaneous combustion be?

I wasn't super thrilled or impressed with the ending. I guess I wanted something more concrete, but I was entertained up until that point. I feel there were lots of loose ends which the author missed out on tying up. Like my mood when I started this book, I feel pretty apathetic about it and it didn't change my perspective of life in any way.

Thanks to the Penguin First to Read program for this book.

I'm glad someone wrote this book. It should be required reading for all Americans, especially this year. Living in a state that glorifies the Civil War and growing up with mostly black and white populations, I can empathize/agree with Coates and relate to some of it.

I am, however, frustrated that the world is again perceived as black and white. I am an “Other” and as such, left out of the narrative. The world is not black and white, as he repeats over and over again, but I get what he's saying and am not minimizing his experience. Yes, this is his world and book, I know. I'm just frustrated as me, reading this book, feeling left out. I would not expect him to speak on the plight of “Other” races, but this book made me reflect and think about my (non-existent?) role in his world.

I also think this book highlights the importance of world travel...for everyone. The earlier, the more, the better.

Overall, I feel glad and relived for our humanity that this book exists and these words were written, but this is not the be-all and end-all book to race relations in the United States (as I've often seen this book reviewed as such). It is a crucial voice to be heard and everyone needs to hear it.