Date Published: October 4, 2016
Format: NOOK book
Source: Personal Copy
Date Read: December 26, 2018
Winter COYER reading list
Blurb:
A hilarious and affecting essay collection about race, gender, and pop culture from celebrated stand-up comedian and WNYC podcaster Phoebe Robinson.
Phoebe Robinson is a stand-up comic, which means that, often, her everyday experiences become points of comedic fodder. And as a black woman in America, she maintains, sometimes you need to have a sense of humor to deal with the absurdity you are handed on the daily. Robinson has experienced her fair share over the years: she's been unceremoniously relegated to the role of "the black friend," as if she is somehow the authority on all things racial; she's been questioned about her love of U2 and Billy Joel ("isn t that . . . white people music?"); she's been called "uppity" for having an opinion in the workplace; she's been followed around stores by security guards; and yes, people do ask her whether they can touch her hair all. the. time. Now, she's ready to take these topics to the page and she s going to make you laugh as she s doing it.
Using her trademark wit alongside pop-culture references galore, Robinson explores everything from why Lisa Bonet is "Queen. Bae. Jesus," to breaking down the terrible nature of casting calls, to giving her less-than-traditional advice to the future female president, and demanding that the NFL clean up its act, all told in the same conversational voice that launched her podcast, "2 Dope Queens," to the top spot on iTunes. As personal as it is political, "You Can't Touch My Hair" examines our cultural climate and skewers our biases with humor and heart, announcing Robinson as a writer on the rise."
Review:
A great read for the week between Christmas and New Year's, when my mind wanted something light but not fluffy. This book fit the bill to a T. Robinson has a unique voice, one that is not cool or trendy, but so damn honest...such as her unironic love for a certain Irish rock band, then she can take the NFL to task for it's abysmal policies regarding domestic violence. I loved reading the letters she has written for her (then) 2 year old niece and was shocked stupid by her recounting of a college class project.
Having listened to her follow up book a few days after reading this one, I wished I had listened to this book on audio rather than read the book, but the way she reads her stuff adds something extra. Overall, I recommend both of Robinson's books.
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