Play Book Tag discussion
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Between the World and Me
April 2017: Bestsellers
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Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
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Oh man, now I can't edit from my phone! 4 stars!
I found the book enlightening but did prefer the first half where I thought the majority of his point was made. In earlier discussions, several PBT'ers made comments on his use of the body. I found that one of the more powerful messages as it was so foreign to my experience.It was a four star book for me as well.
I started to listen to this book several months ago and stopped. I finally picked it up again and started back at the beginning. It's very short. It's written kind of like a letter to Coates' son. Though some topics he has clearly never spoken to him about in real life, which seemed odd. So from the start this is a book written for a specific person, not me, and not someone like me.
I did gain some insight into a few issues I hadn't thought about. For example, extremely smart black students choosing to forgo ivy league schools to attend Howard just because it's exhausting to be the token smart black kid.
I also especially liked the descriptions of Coates traveling in Paris. It was something I never thought about. How that might be different than the US and then also the same.
This is not an unbiased non-fiction text. Coates is clearly talking about his own personal experience. He extrapolates that to others like him and is maybe fair or maybe not. It's certainly a valid experience. There is no solution offered or expectation. I think all I'm supposed to realize is how different people experience every day life.