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pennym_'s review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
very well written, well researched, and (for the audiobook) well narrated by the author! and still a relevant read four years after publication. oluo balances diving into the history of white male america and discussing current issues/politics fantastically. absolutely required reading
kimbongiorno's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those books whose brief description can't quite capture how much it touches on.
If you're reading/trying to learn more about race in America (like the histories of Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, and other people in this country, by birth or not), education, women's rights, voting, elections, housing, toxic masculinity, sports, power, money, policing, social media harassment/trolling/dangers, parenting, media, marketing, and/or human nature vs nurture, this book is for you.
Her book SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE was great for me because it took big and complex and subtle concepts and broke them into laymen's terms with either relatable or easily understandable language, then showed how the problems were not a lost hope. There are things each of us can do to help with the repairs.
This book has a similar style, which I appreciated.
I grew up female in the US so many of the things she mentioned were already on my radar to some degree, but she gave them clarity. The ones that weren't made total sense to me once they were revealed, explained, exampled.
This book is one long piece of evidence we can put in front of all the people out there who were told, "You're crazy" through the years by white men and the people who don't question the status quo when they spoke up. You were not, in fact, imaging things.
If you're reading/trying to learn more about race in America (like the histories of Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, and other people in this country, by birth or not), education, women's rights, voting, elections, housing, toxic masculinity, sports, power, money, policing, social media harassment/trolling/dangers, parenting, media, marketing, and/or human nature vs nurture, this book is for you.
Her book SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE was great for me because it took big and complex and subtle concepts and broke them into laymen's terms with either relatable or easily understandable language, then showed how the problems were not a lost hope. There are things each of us can do to help with the repairs.
This book has a similar style, which I appreciated.
I grew up female in the US so many of the things she mentioned were already on my radar to some degree, but she gave them clarity. The ones that weren't made total sense to me once they were revealed, explained, exampled.
This book is one long piece of evidence we can put in front of all the people out there who were told, "You're crazy" through the years by white men and the people who don't question the status quo when they spoke up. You were not, in fact, imaging things.
janey's review against another edition
5.0
Really excellent analysis. Oluo is very specific about history and consequences, and her research takes the reader deeply into the subjects on which she focuses. Based solely on the cover, I half expected an impressionistic discussion based on experience and extrapolating from that. I was wrong. Oluo did not come to play. This will be worth rereading.
lemonnut's review against another edition
4.0
I won this book on Goodreads giveaway and it’s taken me a while to read, because it’s been a difficult year and the well-researched content is so important but painful to read, so I read it sporadically over several months. I definitely recommend it and am grateful for her work.
dragix's review against another edition
4.0
A must-read for our anti-racism education. It's ties history, sociology, and personal anecdotes together in a very conversational way
emmabeckman's review against another edition
5.0
Super super good. It does feel a tiny bit dated because it focuses a fair bit on the Trump presidency due to the time when she was writing and researching, and SO MUCH has happened since then that can be directly related to the topic of this book. Of course, a single book can't cover everything and the things that WERE covered in this book are enough for readers to be able to think critically about later events. I also particularly liked that Ijeoma Oluo herself read the audiobook, especially since she includes just enough detail about her personal life to make it a combination of telling her personal story as well as the greater history of white America.
awesomebrandi's review against another edition
5.0
Reading Mediocre is like having a wonderful, passionate conversation with a good friend. I absolutely loved Ms. Oluo's conversational, yet direct tone when it comes to addressing racism, particularly revolving around white men. I do feel like the full title of the book is a little bit on the 'click bait' side. My fear is that the title alone may turn people off, when this book contains so much important information that is shared with both fire and heart. There is history here that I had never heard before, and there is expanded history on subjects I only knew a little about. Ms. Oluo covers a broad range of history and specific events highlighting harm that was caused largely by white men. While words are never minced, they also still retain hope. You finish the book feeling the passion of wanting to overcome all the difficult history, and make a better future. We cannot grow, if we don't face the worst parts of our past. I really loved this book, and need to read more by Mr. Oluo ASAP!
ekruzel's review against another edition
5.0
A dangerous and devastating history indeed. This book will shock you, anger you, and inspire you, in all the ways towards a more equitable and just future. Oluo is essential reading; highly recommend.
tori_tbr's review against another edition
5.0
If there's anyone in your life saying, sincerely, "I don't understand how that happened on January 6th!" you should give them this book. A lot of people saw this coming who educated themselves on American history from the perspective of people other than the ruling class AKA most of the people. Her dive into how deep misogyny, white male entitlement and anger damages everyone, including angry white men, goes far and wide with historical, personal and political context for "how we got here". She describes now seemingly "progressive" men are the worst offenders by cloaking ill-intent in a list of "social justice" vocabulary words memorized but not learned.
She talks about the audacity of the average male internet commenter expecting a semester worth of schooling because he took a comment personally and wanted to be soothed immediately like a toddler. Most importantly she talks about how immaterial stated ideology is to changing or preventing male violence and the entitlement that fuels it all from MAGA dudes to Bernie bros, to "respectable moderates". Oluo really covers her bases on how common the one-two punch of Mediocrity and Violence is to so many American Male identities and informs their Identity Politics across the political spectrum.
She talks about the audacity of the average male internet commenter expecting a semester worth of schooling because he took a comment personally and wanted to be soothed immediately like a toddler. Most importantly she talks about how immaterial stated ideology is to changing or preventing male violence and the entitlement that fuels it all from MAGA dudes to Bernie bros, to "respectable moderates". Oluo really covers her bases on how common the one-two punch of Mediocrity and Violence is to so many American Male identities and informs their Identity Politics across the political spectrum.