Welcome to Litsy!

#BlackHistoryMonth Recommendations Last day 28
Nonfiction
Incredibly insightful, and should be on every must read list for Americans. Smith says all the things that need to be said, often in a no holds bar way. And the amount of self reflection going on throughout makes his book extremely unique in this genre where everyone tends to think they have things figured out

This is a book for black people but is an important read if youre white & care about the racism & brutality that has plagued America throughout its history.It‘s not one of those books black academics write for whites, like it‘s their job to solely educate us.This is about the doomed notion of the “politics of respectability”: Dont misbehave, conform to avoid racism.This wont dismantle inequality & Smith explores why with his own life as a backdrop

Since I had already started it, my #doublespin ended up being my first completed read of the month!

I absolutely loved this book. The author shares how his experiences as a young black man have shaped his attitude toward not just race, but his views on misogyny, homophobia, mental health and other issues. I appreciated his perspective and his thoughts on how we can all do better.

@TheAromaofBooks

Great kindle deal. I read this in 2016 and it was very good.
#BlackLivesMatter

I thought this was such a well written, succinct, and utterly truthful sentence. #nowreading

☝🏻

#nowreading

There were many places here that I wanted to stop and take a “blurb” photo, but didn‘t want to disrupt the flow. I‘d try to turn back to something I thought I‘d just read on the last page, only to find it five or more pages back. Such an engrossing book! Smith‘s writing style hits an intriguing balance of affirming and then challenging beliefs around identity. (I think. I get that as a white lady I‘m neither an expert nor the target audience here)

#boozeandbooks

I started reading this while my dude is playing Persona 5. We‘ve dubbed these baddies “rage testicles” or “blue balls of fury.” 🙄😆

#coffeeandbooks #outside #springtime!

Vital, angry, insightful - this is the mind of a young black man and it‘s beautiful and necessary and heartbreaking. I wanted more feminism, but I always do. Overall, read this book. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼1/2

“But the system isn‘t filled with a bunch of doe-eyed innocents, and that doesn‘t make them any less worthy of justice. They shouldn‘t be discarded as people on the basis of their mistakes.”

Even though I‘m in the middle of two other books, this one keeps nudging me for attention. I think it‘s time.

I loved reading about the pop cultural, literary and political influences that shaped a person's thinking. Full of well crafted insight.

Stunning. From mental health to homophobia, Mychal Denzel Smith speaks the truth the whole way through. Absolutely will give this book as gifts to multiple people in my life.

Interesting read with quite a focus on intersectionality of race and gender.

Well damn... This got 5 stars from me. It was pretty incredible. We are the same age so I found a lot of what he said to be extremely relatable. Smith's social commentary is spot on and his ability to self reflect, analyze and explain how his experiences relate to so many others is very well done. I definitely recommend this book. I think it's a must read.

Back to my "must read" list and... honestly, I would be perfectly happy to stay at home and finish this book right now because THIS is amazing.

This is a very important book for everyone to read in regards not only to racial issues but discrimination in general. The writing is extremely easy to relate with and the author does a great job with anecdotes and examples to make it not only timely but something that will also be relevant in the future.

#audiowalking through the city on my way home from a job interview. This book is 👍

Combining my July wrap-up with a review of the tagged books, one of the best I finished this month. It was a slow month for me, partially because I don't have to commute for work so my audiobook numbers are down, but better than June so I'll take it!

Spent the morning at a local coffee shop writing and decorating thank you postcards for some senators and service members. I got attacked by an adorable toddler-beast in the process, but I survived!

At this point, I think I can safely say I highly recommend this one.

This is one young black man's process of growing up and analyzing himself and the world he lives in. However, it's not a traditional "coming of age" story with everyday minutiae. Smith includes his inspirations, frustrations, role models, and perspective on current events. Throughout the book, he opens his mind and his heart to his readers. It's a politically conscious memoir.

Longer review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1874083756

Grabbing two minutes to rest my weary feet and read before our crazy family descends on us! 💕💕🎉🎉🎉🎉💕💕

This seems like a good extension of some of the other reading I've done lately. From Ellison's Invisible Man, to Kindred, to The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and Ta-Nehesi Coates' Between The World and Me to this. Smith is drawing me right in!

#nonfictionchallenge17

Part memoir, part essays on race, misogyny, homophobia and the stigma of mental illness. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #LitsyAtoZ

A fantastic read!!! This story of a black man, growing up and his ever evolving relationship and beliefs about race is eye opening. I loved every second of it. I know I will be returning to this book for information and insight again.

First day of Spring Break, first book read! We are off to a great start!

"I wasn't supposed to ever give anyone the opportunity to think of me as less than." I can relate- similar words I heard from my mom growing up.

An easy to read but thoughtful book on what it means to be a young black man in America today. I am looking forward to reading more by Smith.

Can't say enough good things about this book. Part memoir and part essay, one of the best books I've read this year so far. An instant favorite. Very excited to see what more Smith has to say.

Why I read it: #litsyatoz letter I, TBR takedown.

I'm absolutely loving this memoir. Apparently, March is the month for memoirs by younger writers for me.

This book gave me so much to think about. It's about privilege and racism and intersectionality and feminism and mental health issues and politics and more—all filtered through the lens of Mychal Denzel Smith's life. This is a must-read (or must-listen; Kevin R. Free kills the narration) for anyone thinking about race.

It was a better month than I thought. Nine of those were audio books. It was another month of mostly library books so I am not doing especially well with reading books from my own shelves but I will take any progress. #feistyfeb #bestoffebruary

Incisive, feminist commentary on what it means to grow up as a black man in the US evenly mixed with honest personal reflection. The whole book is excellent, but I particularly appreciated the chapter on mental health. This is an engaging must read and an excellent pick to celebrate #blackhistorymonth

This is a great resistance read. Don't miss it.

I am so glad that I read this.

"But the source of my guilt is understanding that American racism will take some of our lives while holding others of us up as exemplars of success, providing the illusion that there is an escape. It places us in the unenviable position of wishing that our martyrs could have survived to become tokens." I liked this book - great examinations of homophobia, sexism, and stigma around mental illness. Some repetition of lines, though.

My library socks are ready for #litsypartyofone and the wine is already gone (it was a small glass I swear). Starting off with the tagged book. I usually plow through a book but I can't with this one. It is amazing so far but I can only consume it in small bursts.

I just realized the narrator for this is Kevin from Welcome to Night Vale, and it is FREAKING ME OUT.

Excellent. Challenging. Intersectional. I was looking for books to challenge my white, middle-class view of the world. This was a perfect choice.

Did that thing I'm always terrified of doing, but had so far in life avoided.... missed my stop on the subway because I was reading.

Starting this one today for #blackhistory. #riotgrams

Well worth the read. Smith tells his own story of black male adolescence to adulthood, while offering interesting commentary on Dave Chappelle, school, mental illness, sports, Obama, and a handful of other subjects. There's a lot to muse on here, can't wait to see what he writes next.

#readingdiversely #blackculture #socialcommentary

#blackhistorymonth #blackhistoryisamericanhistory #blacklivesmatter

Reading this and loving it.

#racism #sexism #currentlyreading #culture #selfawareness

I hope to hear a lot more from Mychal Denzel Smith. In analyzing and contextualizing his personal journey to self and political awareness, he speaks bluntly but thoughtfully to so many important issues. I definitely recommend this one. 🔥