Rate this book

Dear White People (2014)

by Justin Simien(Favorite Author)

4.23 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1476798095 (ISBN13: 9781476798097)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Atria / 37 Ink

review 1: I just found out that I won this book in a First Reads giveaway. Cool! I'll post a review once I have received and read it.UPDATE: I really like this book. I read it all in one sitting, even though I had just planned to read a few pages before going to sleep.It was really funny. I laughed out loud multiple times. I know the primary purpose of this book is to teach rather than to entertain, but I think it does both jobs well.Reading this book made me realize three things:#1 I haven't had a black friend in years and years and years. And since I left Taos, I don't have any in-person friends who are people of color.#2 I don't have a shelf of any sort for books about race relations, which must mean I'm not reading any books about race relations.#3 In the late 1990s, my friends ... moreand I were discussing many of the points Simien makes. I'm pretty sure that means not very much progress has been made.PS Now I want to see Simien's movie.
review 2: This is a short and laugh-out-loud funny book about race in America, complete with goofy illustrations and quizzes. And let’s face it, we white Americans do need a guide to how not to make asses of ourselves. My personal rule of thumb is: don’t mention race, except to 1) describe a person (if you’ve noted their height, hairstyle and dress, you are also aware of their coloring) or 2) acknowledge that racism exists (otherwise, you are making an ass of yourself).However, as Dear White People makes clear, my rule of thumb does not cover all situations. You might still go around sticking your fingers in black people’s hair, and pointing out to black shoppers that the merchandise they are looking at is expensive. (WTF? Who does these things?) If you are one of these people, you’re sure to benefit from Simien’s comically exaggerated advice (“the next time you see a black person, ask them a non-black-specific question”). If (hopefully!) you are not one of those people, you still get to raise your awareness, while laughing a lot. And if it also makes you reflect on how you can better handle thorny situations and avoid inadvertently offending the people around you, that’s pretty good for a book you can read in no time at all. Really, there’s no downside here.Note: the only connection between this book and the movie of the same name is that they were created by the same person. It’s purely an op-ed book, but for once I mean that in the positive sense, because it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. less

Download links for: Dear White People

Advertising