HillbillyElegy

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis | J. D. Vance

pick

#HillbillyElegy #JDVance #August2024 #BookSpinBingo #SeriesLove2024

Hillbilly Elegy recounts J.D. Vance‘s powerful origin story….
From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate now serving as a U.S. Senator from Ohio and the Republican Vice Presidential candidate for the 2024 election, an incisive account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America‘s white working class.

DieAReader, TheSpineView, TheAromaofBooks

EadieB After watching the movie, Hillbilly Elegy, I decided to read the book. I loved the book and found it utterly amazing all that he has accomplished in his life after growing up with such odds against him. 6mo

slategreyskies If this region and its rich cultural heritage and challenges interests you, you may find this article with suggested books interesting as well: https://bookriot.com/books-about-appalachia/ 6mo

EadieB @slategreyskies Very interesting! Thanks! 6mo

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slategreyskies You‘re welcome! One of the professors I had while at university recommended that article. She‘s studied a lot about Appalachia, written several books & also lived there, so while I don‘t have firsthand knowledge of how the books on the list compare to the one you read, I love having options for learning new things, especially in areas that interest me. Happy reading! 📚 ♥️ 6mo

TheSpineView Fantastic! 6mo

DieAReader 🥳Great 6mo

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 6mo

36 likes7 comments

Wellreadhead

Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy | Anthony Harkins, Meredith McCarroll

Book mail is by far the best kind of mail!
#athinsliceofanxiety #appalachia #jdvance #hillbillyelegy #bookmail

cathysaid Oh no 🤬 They‘re making Hillbilly Elegy into a movie? I just detest how Appalachia (and often, by association, the South) is depicted by the media. So much amazing art, culture and transcendent intelligence in the area not only goes unrecognized but is misrepresented and stereotyped and it just makes me so sad. (edited) 6y

Scochrane26 @cathysaid I heard they‘re making a movie, too. I also loathe hillbilly elegy, I‘ve disliked it more & more since I read it. And I really want to read the book pictured. Several KY authors have been voicing their dislike of hillbilly elegy recently. 6y

paulfrankspencer I'd be curious to read your review when you're done. @cathysaid @Scochrane26 what was so repugnant about HE? Just the stereotype? Although JD does make a number of generalizations, I found a majority of the book to be highly personal and anecdotal. Enough to connect with, but not so much that he's calling out everyone in the region. 6y

Wellreadhead @paulfrankspencer I think one of the biggest criticisms of Vance is that he perpetuates the narrative that people in the Appalachian region are solely responsible for their problems and that he ignores the complex history of economic and cultural exploitation that has taken place there. 6y

Scochrane26 @paulfrankspencer I liked the book as a family memoir, but then feel that he generalized to the rest of the culture. Plus, he didn‘t actually grow up in Appalachia. I think @Wellreadhead‘s comment sums up the criticism. 6y

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MinDea

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis | J. D. Vance

I am an hour into #HillbillyElegy... 🤔🤷 It iiiiiiiiiiiis interesting, but I am not really enjoying it. I am confused by all the jumping around between him telling stories of different generations of his family. It just seems like a lot of random stories you'd tell your friends about weird/crazy things your family has done. 🤔🤔 Anyone else feel this way when they read it?
#IRLBookClubPick

BookishTrish I bailed for basically that reason. 6y

AlaMich I bailed on the audio pretty quickly, chiefly because I didn‘t care for Vance as the reader. Sometimes writer-as-reader just doesn‘t work. Also because it was sort of boring. (edited) 6y

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MinDea

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis | J. D. Vance

Just joined an IRL bookclub and we had our first meeting today. We picked #HillbillyElegy. Anyone else read this before? Thoughts? Worth reading? Good book club pick?
#IRLBookClubPick

bookandcat Decent, should lead to interesting discussion. If you're looking for adjunct reading, read the new Barbara Kingsolver (she wrote it partially in response to it, or so I read in an interview by her) 6y

MinDea @bookandcat Interesting. I might check it out depending on how I feel about Hillbilly Elegy after reading it. @JamieArc have you read either Hillbilly Elegy or the new Barbara Kingsolver that bookandcat is referring to? 6y

MinDea @Reviewsbylola I think I saw you post about this a while back. Do you have any thoughts here? 6y

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Joanne1 I‘m Australian so this gave me a very different view of a different part of America then we are usually exposed to. I thoroughly enjoyed the first 3/4, though I wasn‘t sold on what he saw as the solutions. 6y

wanderinglynn This book provides one perspective on growing up in a poor, southern-esque culture. I thought he generalized things a bit too much particularly in his suggested solutions because while this is his story, his story is not necessarily representative of the culture. 6y

AmyG I read this. It was so completely different than how I grew up. I found it fascinating. 6y

lynneamch In spite of my aversion to this title, I've heard it is a much better representation, rather than just a personal story, as @wanderinglynn suggests

White Trash

MinDea @lynneamch @wanderinglynn interesting. Good to know that it is an overgeneralization of things there. I hope I enjoy it but I'm not sure if I will or not. Love all the perspectives! @amyG @Joanne1 Thank you! 6y

Blaire As someone who lives in Appalachia I didn‘t think it was a fair portrayal. He takes one experience and then comes to broad and I think incorrect conservative policy conclusions. Good discussion book tho. I recommend

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia

JamieArc Along with what @Blaire said a little, I enjoyed reading it, but then after read some critiques that left me unsettled and questioning the reason he wrote it, so I don‘t necessarily recommend it now. I got the latest Kingsolver as my BOTM but haven‘t read it yet, and didn‘t realize it was a response to Elegy. That makes me want to get to it much quicker. 6y

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RavenLovelyReads

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis | J. D. Vance

Wish I could just stay in bed and finish this book...🤓#hillbillyelegy

corycatelyn I just bought this book today for my sociology class that I randomly signed up for...it starts tomorrow 🙈 6y

RavenLovelyReads @corycatelyn I hope you enjoy it- I found it very interesting 🤓 6y

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kaitieclark

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis | J. D. Vance

This has been on my “to read” list for a while. So glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed a look into a culture that is often forgotten about. #hillbillyelegy

Kaye I thought this was quite a good book. I listened to the audio of it. 7y

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mellisarock

We Were Eight Years in Power: Essays on the Obama Era | Ta-Nehisi Coates

Nothing like pouring myself a nice cup of breakfast. ♥️☕️
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Starting @taneshicoates #wewereeightyearsinpower this week. First essay reminded me that I still need to finish #hillbillyelegy .
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Do you get bookish adhd? I‘m so guilty of starting books but I get distracted by other books...🙋🏻♥️

JaclynW I am guilty of Book ADHD. Currently so. 😊 7y

Prairiegirl_reading My initials are actually ADD so I was born that way. 😏 7y

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