From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Between the World and Me
by
Start date
August 8, 2015
Finish date
August 10, 2015

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Jess
Jan 09, 2016 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: 2016
Though short, this book packs a punch to the gut. We're only a couple of weeks into 2016, and I can already tell that this book will be one I recommend over and over again throughout the year.

It's not an easy book to read. It's challenging not only in the style of writing and the diction, but also in the message. It's the type of book you will probably see paired with Orientalism or The Autobiography of Malcolm X in future college classes.

"What I wanted for you was to grow into consciousness."
"'
...more
Danielle
Jul 03, 2019 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
I wish I had the words to describe this incredible book. Just read it. It should be required reading for everyone.
Julie
Feb 05, 2017 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
I ended up reading a lot of this book out loud, to myself. And I repeated a lot of passages to myself, for emphasis.

Everyone should read it.

"Perhaps that was, is, the hope of the movement: to awaken the Dreamers, to rouse them to the facts of what their need to be white, to talk like they are white, to think that they are white, which is to think that they are beyond the design flaws of humanity, has done to the world."
...more
Donna
I don't know the best way to go about booktalking this one, other than to say Coates delves into the country's relationship with race ... both from a personal and historical perspective. It's written as a letter to his teenage son, but is addressed to everyone, especially this current generation of young people. It's bound to be thought-provoking for anyone who reads it, but just how eye-opening, or perspective-shifting you find it will depend on where you are right now. Some readers will find t ...more
Alissa
Sep 24, 2015 rated it it was amazing
A quick read, but not an easy one by any stretch. I'd say it was scathing, but in truth there is no language that is harsh enough for the system of capitalist oppression that has driven global development. Instead, let's use damning, because this is the most honest and comprehensive analysis of the systematic dehumanization of others and the claiming of privilege for one's self. Reading this made me so immeasurably sad, and yet I appreciate Coates' claim on joy, because in the absence of the un- ...more
Christina
Aug 30, 2019 rated it it was amazing
Soooooo good. And the audiobook read by the author made it even better. Especially since the entire book is him writing to his son.
Amy (folkpants)
Jul 24, 2015 rated it really liked it
Amanda
Aug 06, 2015 rated it really liked it
Emilie
Aug 23, 2015 rated it it was amazing
Laura
Sep 16, 2015 rated it really liked it
Shelves: owned
Joseph
Oct 19, 2015 is currently reading it
Emilie
Dec 02, 2015 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Deanna M
Jan 11, 2016 marked it as to-read
Erica Freeman
Jan 31, 2016 is currently reading it  ·  review of another edition
Tiffany
Feb 15, 2016 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Sarah
Jul 01, 2016 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Kate
Sep 14, 2016 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Amanda
Nov 26, 2016 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Kim
Aug 13, 2017 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Kate
Aug 24, 2017 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Erika
May 12, 2018 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Alison
Nov 22, 2018 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition