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Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City | Matthew Desmond
"New York Times "Bestseller From Harvard sociologist and MacArthur "Genius" Matthew Desmond, a landmark work of scholarship and reportage that will forever change the way we look at poverty in America ""In this brilliant, heartbreaking book, Matthew Desmond takes us into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee to tell the story of eight families on the edge. Arleen is a single mother trying to raise her two sons on the $20 a month she has left after paying for their rundown apartment. Scott is a gentle nurse consumed by a heroin addiction. Lamar, a man with no legs and a neighborhood full of boys to look after, tries to work his way out of debt. Vanetta participates in a botched stickup after her hours are cut. All are spending almost everything they have on rent, and all have fallen behind. The fates of these families are in the hands of two landlords: Sherrena Tarver, a former schoolteacher turned inner-city entrepreneur, and Tobin Charney, who runs one of the worst trailer parks in Milwaukee. They loathe some of their tenants and are fond of others, but as Sherrena puts it, Love don t pay the bills. She moves to evict Arleen and her boys a few days before Christmas. Even in the most desolate areas of American cities, evictions used to be rare. But today, most poor renting families are spending more than half of their income on housing, and eviction has become ordinary, especially for single mothers. In vivid, intimate prose, Desmond provides a ground-level view of one of the most urgent issues facing America today. As we see families forced into shelters, squalid apartments, or more dangerous neighborhoods, we bear witness to the human cost of America s vast inequality and to people s determination and intelligence in the face of hardship. Based on years of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data, this masterful book transforms our understanding of extreme poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating, uniquely American problem. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible."
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Cortg
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Pickpick

This book talks about America‘s low income & poverty housing in Milwaukee, WI. Desmond did such a thorough research, he moved into these housing areas to get to know both the tenants and landlords called ethnology (new vocabulary for me.) He shares stories of the people who have been or continue to get evicted from their homes; the how and the why and also the side of the landlords. It‘s really sad all around and reminds me how fortunate I am.

Aimeesue I agree. This was a very sad book. 7mo
35 likes1 comment
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shadowspeak17
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Birthday books! 😄📚

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plemmdog
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Pickpick

Desmond is visiting our local bookstore tomorrow, which prompted me to pull this from my TBR pile and finally read it. It‘s unflinching and powerful. I‘m curious to see what his latest will offer.

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catiewithac
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Pickpick

Eye-opening account of poverty in America. The author focuses on how forced evictions drag the poor deeper into poverty and houselessness. Now I can‘t wait to read his new book this spring. #botm

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Blaire
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Pickpick

Highly recommend. Desmond describes the lives of people in Milwaukee facing multiple evictions and their struggles to get out of poverty and the obstacles the housing system puts up. Told through personal stories it is clear that the author earned the trust of the people in the book. Should be required reading for anyone interesting in the housing crisis in the us and it‘s interaction with race and poverty. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tamra I still periodically think about this one. (edited) 2y
Cinfhen This was excellent!! 2y
Blaire @Tamra this and invisible child are some of the most insightful works on American poverty that I‘ve ever read. Both are so important 2y
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Blaire @Cinfhen so good - I loved reading about his process in the afterward. Definitely in the running for best book I read this yesr 2y
Tamra @Blaire thank you for the suggestion! 2y
Cinfhen I‘ve already stacked Invisible Child but now I‘ll be looking to read it!!! 2y
Reggie The part that killed me about this book was that some of the children weren‘t even allowed to be children because they had to be there for their mom who was stressed about moving and the such. It was horrible. I still think about this book years later. 2y
Blaire @Reggie truly. It offers so much insight into how people are forced into these situations. We can do so much better as a country to prevent this from happening. That is also what struck me in Invisible Child. Desani had to take on a parenting role from the age of 10 or 11. 2y
Blaire @Reggie truly. It offers so much insight into how people are forced into these situations. We can do so much better as a country to prevent this from happening. That is also what struck me in Invisible Child. Desani had to take on a parenting role from the age of 10 or 11. 2y
Blaire @Cinfhen @tamra it‘s incredibly well written and really goes deep on new York‘s system, the impact on one family as it follows desani and looks at how families are forced to navigate and live in a broken system and the consequences. 2y
50 likes10 comments
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ChaoticMissAdventures
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Pickpick

Essential American reading. While I have an understanding of housing struggles in the US this book was well laid out and did a great job of using real people's stories to highlight and explain the eviction trap.
If I didn't hate landlords before this (I did) I certainly think much more poorly of them now. Half the things done by them in this book should be crimes. But Desmond does a great job laying out how even slum lords can be a grey area👇

ChaoticMissAdventures This book will not change your mind if you have zero empathy and think "bootstraps" is an actual valid philosophy, but if you want to understand the housing crisis more this is a great place to start. 2y
21 likes1 comment
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Cinfhen
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#AlphabetGame Thanks for the tag @Allylu 💗 I couldn‘t decide between these two so I‘m sharing both! One is fiction and the other (tagged book) NF - both are FANTASTIC 🙌🏻

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I‘ve got to read Eleanor and Park!! 2y
Megabooks Great choices! 2y
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DMC_run8
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Pickpick

This Pulitzer Prize winning novel is a must read! Sociologist Matthew Desmond, seeking to understand the housing crises, follows eight families living below the poverty line in an effort to find how we as a country got here and what can be done about it. The individual stories are devastating but Desmond offers some hope in the end. 5⭐️

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HiMyNames_Alyssa
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Pickpick

So, I almost always choose a book by its cover. I know you're not supposed to but I can't stop. So. If you're thinking this is a thriller, you'll be sorely disappointed. HOWEVER, it is a really good expose and commentary on housing inequality and how expensive it is to be poor. I definitely recommend reading it just to expand your mind.

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Aruckdes
Pickpick

I hope I am not exaggerating or selling this iconic and ground-breaking book short when I say my favorite part is “About this Project” which follows even the epilogue and discusses Demond‘s embedded research process which is filed with an essential and delicate empathy.

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MallenNC
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#Two4Tuesday

1. Evicted was really eye opening about what leads people to be evicted from their homes and the way our systems keep people from moving up. Highly recommend.

2. Not really. I wear green if I think of it. My ancestry is Irish but this holiday hasn‘t ever been big for us.

@TheSpineView

TheSpineView Thanks for playing! 🍀🍀🍀 3y
23 likes1 comment
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ncsufoxes
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January #bookspinbingo board, read 5 books for the month. One bingo for the month

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Fabulous month!! 3y
17 likes1 comment
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ncsufoxes
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Pickpick

Very well written & throughly researched book about poverty & evictions. The author/researcher focused his work around the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee. I used to do home visiting when I worked in early intervention & have spent a lot of time in low income homes & section 8 housing. It was always hard to see what they were living through (mold, bugs crawling on walls, guns going off outside their doors-yes I‘ve been in homes at those times,

ncsufoxes not fun but for me was momentary & many of my families lived with it daily). I saw their struggles to get more assistance & to be turned down. I saw the toll it took on my kids & their development. Books like this give me more insight & more desire to fight for others that can‘t. All politicians should read a book like this or go spend a day in public housing, maybe they‘ll think differently when they want to cut more funding. #bookspin 3y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 3y
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JackieGreco
Pickpick

This was a really moving nonfiction book about eviction in Minneapolis. It was well written and kept me engaged even though it was really difficult to read about the difficulties people experience. I found the policy suggestions at the end of the book to be thought provoking and an important read.

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Graciouswarriorprincess
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Book 90/150.

Kenyazero Looking good! 3y
41 likes1 comment
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Lcsmcat
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Pickpick

I wish this were required reading for every person running for office in local government particularly (I‘d love to make my Town Council read it!) and every law enforcement officer and officer of the court. It‘s heartbreaking and humanizes our understanding of poverty. It‘s worth the pain this book will make you feel if we can come together and admit that the system must change and that affordable, sanitary, safe housing is a basic human right.

RavenLovelyReads Such a good book!! 4y
violabrain Amazing book! I agree with your comment 100%. 4y
MallenNC Yes! This is such a great book that really opens people‘s eyes to housing insecurity issues. 4y
54 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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Lcsmcat
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My irl book club‘s pick for May. I just started it and it‘s already breaking my heart.

Tamra It‘s really eye opening, but you‘ll be amazed at the resilience. 4y
Graywacke I thought this was terrific - a kind of soft journalistic immersion, but enough. 4y
47 likes2 comments
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LittlebearReads
Pickpick

Matthew Desmond went to great lengths to research evictions, and it really shows. By talking about individuals, rather than a large group, he is able to garner more emotion than I expected in what is essentially a research report, and keep me engaged even though some of the subject matter was challenging to process.

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Lexeegee
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Pickpick

An eye opening book.

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Lexeegee
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My thanksgiving reading.

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PMMREADS
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Pickpick

#evicted #matthewdesmond this book was so good. This book was heartbreaking. The way the author told each of these individuals stories was genuine and honest. I highly recommend this book.

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Rissa1
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Pickpick

I feel angry, I feel sad, and I am still full of questions. I also feel like Mental health was left out of the equation, other than evictions lead to depression. So many of these people seemed to have previous issues and trauma that needed to be addressed.

#Scarathon2020 5pts for a non related book #TeamSlaughter @Clwojick

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Rissa1
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#KindredACat has an odd way off napping while I read. #bottomsup

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Rissa1
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1. Creepy
2. Vampire
#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

TheSpineView Awww... creepy vampires! Thanks for playing! 🧡🧛‍♀️ 4y
15 likes1 comment
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Rissa1
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A broken dryer, and my husband getting called to help a friend got in the way of #24b4monday. Oh well, I finished Queenie in less than 5 hours, I am happy with that. Happy Monday! @Andrew65

Andrew65 Still a great total. Well done 👏👏👏🙌🥳🍾🥂 4y
21 likes1 comment
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NAM99
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Pickpick

So many emotions around the stories in this book. I regularly wished they were fake or embellished because they are all so tragic. Poverty to homelessness is a terrible cycle and these people live it everyday.

violabrain Amazing book! 4y
11 likes1 comment
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NAM99
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This is our country

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Jennick2004
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Reading this book for professional development before I go back to work at school the end of this month. Wow 😐

ashsbookmarks That book is crazy good! I recommend it to everyone 4y
Jennick2004 @ashsbookmarks the principal I work with recommended it to me! 4y
16 likes2 comments
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HeatherBlue
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I‘d like to read, but Binx is lounging on my books. 🖤🐾
#catsoflitsy

MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm You‘ll have to find something else to do now! 😅 4y
SamanthaMarie I'm always wondering how these types of situations are cozy for them?! 😹😹😻 4y
rubyslippersreads 😻😻😻 4y
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HeatherBlue @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm I guess so! 🤣🤣🤣 4y
HeatherBlue @SamanthaMarie I know! It‘s the same with boxes. There‘s no way that‘s comfortable!! Haha ❤️ 4y
MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm Btw, I ADORE the fact that you named your black cat Binx! ❤️😍❤️ 4y
HeatherBlue @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm Thanks!! 😻😽😻 4y
39 likes7 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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And today I‘m adding a #BLMReadingList adjacent read, it is not by a black author, so will NOT count for those of you doing BlackPublishingPower. It isn‘t even specifically about race, but again like White Trash (I‘ll tag it below and posted about it the other day) it‘s about class and discrimination in housing and it‘s worth a read to understand city housing issues.

KVanRead This was so eye opening for me. Never realized just how central housing issues are to well, everything. Highly recommend. 4y
ChasingOm I‘ve had this on audio for years, but want it in print so I can highlight. 4y
MallenNC Yes! Evicted is so good and eye-opening. 4y
Megabooks Great audiobook!! 4y
77 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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Aswenson
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Looking forward to these two. #botm

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Laurenabeth
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Excited about my BOTM picks, especially since I haven‘t been impressed with most of the selections this year.

swishandflick Evicted is a phenomenal book! 5y
Megabooks Great choices! 5y
32 likes2 comments
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stuck.in.the.stacks
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Puppy Winston is here to tell you we were able to confirm the #bookofthemonth add ons at the last minute.

Let us know if you'll be getting any of these!

https://stuckinthestacks.com/2020/05/29/book-of-the-month-at-a-glance-june-2020-...

#botm #booksubscription #bookstagram #bookishalgor #bookishalgorithm

Leftcoastzen Adorable!🐶 5y
catiewithac Why is the cover for The Boy in the Red Dress so awful?! 5y
stuck.in.the.stacks @catiewithac I don't know. it's so bad! 5y
stuck.in.the.stacks @Leftcoastzen thank you! ❤️ 5y
28 likes4 comments
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Billypar
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Pickpick

Desmond relates the stories of residents and landlords of poor communities in Milwaukee who agree to let him follow them and respectfully observe the precursors and devastating aftermath of eviction. He lets these stories speak for themselves without editorializing and provides context by describing the history of present day dysfunction in rental markets. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand an important driver of inequality in the U.S.

Christine What an important but difficult time to read this one! Agreed though, a must-read. 5y
Billypar @Christine Very true- even if evictions are on hold in many places, no one's forgiving rent that I've heard of. And the book covers so many nightmare scenarios for those with unpaid rent. 5y
ReadingEnvy I loved this book and the author is so passionate! 4y
Billypar @ReadingEnvy Yes, definitely! His approach to understanding a social problem is so spot-on that I hope it's emulated by more authors and journalists. 4y
45 likes4 comments
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caffeinated.wayfarer
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Pickpick

Read it. That‘s my review.

6 likes1 comment
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caffeinated.wayfarer
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A domestic violence call can result in a nuisance citation, which can lead to eviction. “Evicted” can be grim, but it‘s a very worthwhile read and of particular relevance right now.

Cosmos_Moon_River So sad and real for many. 5y
3 likes1 comment
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abookishbutterfly
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Oh no! It‘s Thursday and I forgot to do this on Monday. Let‘s just pretend I have the day right. 😂

Book: Evicted
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Movie or TV Show: Edward Scissorhands
Singer or Band: Edie Brickell and New Bohemians
Song: Elastic Heart by Sia

#manicmonday #lettere @JoScho

JoScho 💜💜💜 5y
45 likes1 comment
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caffeinated.wayfarer
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Nurse nitpick: jugular vein, not artery. It‘s not a big deal & it creates the correct visual for the reader, but I was briefly ripped out of the story being told by the error. It also happens with TV shows & movies. What are some things that you nitpick in books or other forms of media?

SamAnne Anachronisms. The wrong plant life or landscape descriptions that make no sense. 5y
4 likes1 stack add1 comment
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caffeinated.wayfarer
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I took a significant break from this book, in part because I went on vacation and didn‘t want to carry a hardcover book with me, but mostly because I got distracted by a bunch of fun fiction. I‘m looking forward to diving back into it, though I may set it aside again when books 2 & 3 of the Farseer Trilogy get delivered.

saguarosally It‘s an interesting read in these times. 5y
caffeinated.wayfarer @saguarosally That‘s kind why I picked it back up vs. one of my other options 😬 5y
6 likes2 comments
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abookishbutterfly
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#7days7books

Day 4 ~ Books that changed me or left a deep impression upon me

Tagging @marleed to play along, if you want to.

Addison_Reads Loved this one! 5y
abookishbutterfly @Addison_Reads I always recommend it to people. Such an important and powerful book! 5y
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RowReads1
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Caterina I live in Berkeley and have a friend who told my seminary classmates and me about Moms4Housing last October, and it's been so inspiring and powerful to witness their movement over the last several months and the huge victory they achieved, and to come out to support them at events and hear them speak. ❤️🔥 5y
44 likes1 stack add1 comment
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BobbiB
Bailedbailed

I just couldn't do it. I made it about 1/3 of the way through. I do think the book is important, but he follows so many different people and switches between them with no context, so I couldn't keep up with what was happening.

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Addison_Reads
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Pickpick

I understand now why this book received all the praise it did when it was released. The families and stories Desmond reveals about the tragedy of poverty and eviction in an American city were eye-opening, frustrating, and heartbreaking.

#Nonfiction2020 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa For my prompt on Something about Housing

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Such a great book and a wonderful choice for that prompt! 5y
Addison_Reads @Riveted_Reader_Melissa It's been on my TBR a long time, so thank you for giving me a reason to finally read it. 😁 5y
DocBrown I make all my students read this. 5y
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britt_reads
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Pickpick

This book blew me away. The author integrated himself into these families lives and did an exceptional job at reporting his findings so that the reader deeply cares about an issue that is so often easily ignored. It shows how the high cost of renting a home continues a perpetual cycle of poverty and has disastrous consequences for the whole family. It‘s heartbreaking, but one of the most important books I‘ve read. I can‘t recommend it enough.

BarkingMadRead ❄️❄️❄️ 5y
Andrew65 👏👏👏 5y
27 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Caterina
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I'm loving seeing all y'all's #Top10oftheDecade #NonfictionEdition! 😊❤️ Here are mine! I counted the March trilogy as one book. 😂 I started this decade 15 years old and I'm ending it 25 years old, so I picked only books that have formed who I am today and changed how I look at the world and directed my call to diaconal ministry in the church. Some of these could have easily turned into more than 1 by the same author, but I resisted! @Cinfhen

Cinfhen Wow! That‘s amazing 😉 you‘re only 25! #SuperWoman 💕🙌🏻 (edited) 5y
Emilymdxn Fantastic choices!! I went with the same criteria for my list but you phrased it better lol. This decade I went from 13 to 23, pivoted my ‘life‘s purpose‘ from creative professions to outreach work, watched Britain make some Questionable Decisions and I tried to think about the books that guided me through all that 5y
alisiakae Great choices!! 5y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘ve read 6 of these (again counting the March trilogy as 1 book) all great books! 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Emilymdxn I‘ve watched the United States make some “Questionable Decisions” this decade too (I love the way you phrased that) and yes, it definitely led me to some interesting and great reads to guide me through too! 5y
Graywacke Great list. I a little surprised how young you (and @Emilymdxn ) are! 🙂Thinking about how powerful books were to me in my late teens and twenties. Yeah, formative... 5y
caffeinated.wayfarer I will be putting some of these on my to-read list. 5y
52 likes7 comments
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Vanessa.Rae
Pickpick

****

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Wellreadhead
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Pickpick
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parasolofdoom
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My top 5 books of the decade (by genre) -- Nonfiction

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Cinfhen
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Pickpick

Evicted is a heartbreaking look at several real families who qualify as some of the poorest citizens of the US. Poverty leads to millions of evictions each year, which leads to hopelessness & often crime & drugs. It‘s a vicious cycle affecting the children‘s lack of education, well being and stability.
Integrating himself amongst the families, observing their everyday life & interacting with each person gave the author a genuine perspective.

Cinfhen Five stars and many thanks to @Megabooks for the recommendation 5y
Megabooks @Cinfhen Glad you enjoyed it so much!! 5y
Reggie The 911 part made me crazy. And the part where that woman‘s kids couldn‘t be sad be cause they knew their mom was already sad. Kids shouldn‘t have to compensate emotionally for their parents. It was a hard read. 5y
Reggie Also that people didn‘t want to rent to people with kids. Where are they supposed to live?!!!! 5y
Cinfhen So many things in this book was infuriating @Reggie and unbearably sad 😢 This was such an eye opening book. 5y
86 likes5 comments