Kindle Customer

I really like this book!

Revisado: 03-18-12

If you could sum up How to Be Black in three words, what would they be?

Funny, serious, mind-opening.

Have you listened to any of Baratunde Thurston’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first I've been exposed to him, but I will be looking for more.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It certainly made me laugh. I don't think I actually cried, but it was very sobering without being heavy-handed.

Any additional comments?

Serious subject matter done in a mostly funny way. How to be yourself no matter what your color or background, race relations past, present and future. As a white person, I'll admit some of it was hard to hear but I'm glad I did. I also LOVE his panel and their contributions to the book. Brilliant idea. I plan to check them out individually also.

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Disagree with negative reviews

Revisado: 01-03-11

1. Thought narration of Jack was great. I was a little unprepared for it to be continuous throughout the book without a break (having just listened to "The Help") but got used to it. The innocence and simplicity of how things were explained through him set exactly the right tone.

2. Once one understands the grief and brutality of the previeous stillbirth of Ma's daughter, the closeness, protectiveness and necessity of Room become crystal clear. I also think what others may call laying out the "boring" details of their daily lives in Room in the first part of the book are absolutely necessary in order to understand what happens in the last part of the book, and how Jack understands life in the "outside" world.

3. Jack is an obviously intelligent child--his vocabulary is good, he can read, do math, etc., however he has no understanding of the outside world, not social skills, etc. There is a limit to what he can learn in an 11 x 11 room with interaction with only one other person in his entire life.

4. Alluded to by Jack (in his limited understanding) is also Ma dealing with obviously severe depression at times, in that she "goes away" or "switches off" during which times he has to fend for himself.

I do agree with those who have said that an epilogue might have been a good idea. There are tons of things a developmental psychiatrist might have to say about all of this. Otherwise, I think this is a great book, with excellent narration/story-telling by Jack. Not boring at all.

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Third listen--still can't put it down!!

Revisado: 08-27-10

I don't usually like sci-fi bu I abosulute LOVE this book. Contrary to what some have said, the main characters in particular, Mel and Wanda, are incredibly well-developed in my opinion. As readers, we know exactly where they have come from, why they feel as they do, and why they struggle with what they struggle with. Wanda, although not human, is the essence of "humanity" and forever changes the way her humans view the status quo. Tho Wanda has viewed the humans as barbaric, has to admit she has never felt the intensity of emotions she has felt on this planet earth. And she kind of likes it and doesn't want to leave earth. Predictable? Yeah, probably. But very well done, nonetheless.

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Fascinating

Revisado: 10-04-09

This was so interesting and also well-written and well-read--he could have gone on with many more examples and I would have just kept listening! Particularly interesting to me was the information on intelligence and highly intelligent people. I love the idea that a certain IQ is "smart enough" and beyond does not predict increased success. I do know at least one person who is Mensa-certifed who was never able to hold a job or attain any level of success. Also, it is nice to know that good, old-fashioned hard work accounts for most of success that people achieve.

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I loved it!

Revisado: 07-13-08

I really loved this book. The narrator was wonderful and I think really gave life to Bennie. This was, of course, not about American Airlines at all, but merely the backdrop and opportunity for Bennie to examine his life and his plan. I feel like I need to listen again to the "Valenti" parts, because honestly I found those distracting from the story and wanted to ff through them. Somewhere along the line (early) I had NO idea what was going on with that, and just found those pieces annoying. However, I'm thinking they must weave into the story somehow, so would like to listen to that again.

But overall, this is a great book, humorous, sad, ironic, wonderfully told, wonderfully narrated. I do highly recommend it.

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