Weekly Non-Fiction Reading List 2.26.24
We have 5 incredible books on the list. We start with two books by Black men with different views on racism in America. We also have a book by a woman who has a “talking” dog, a book that changed my life, and a pretty great book by a TV critic. Enjoy!
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An Inconvenient Cop: My Fight to Change Policing in America by Edwin Raymond
This book is ridiculously good, and I couldn’t put it down. I’ve read quite a few books about the issues with policing, but this is now one of my favorites. If you don’t understand the systemic racism and other problems with policing, you need to read this book right now. Edwin Raymond grew up as a Black man in New York. After spending his life doing good, avoiding a life of crime, and getting hassled by the police, he decided to become a cop to try and make a difference from the inside.
He’s a New York cop, so they have a whole separate set of issues than many other parts of the country, but Raymond gives a first-hand account of what he saw. One of the first things he realized as a cop is that it’s not “bad apples” and it’s not even that “all cops are bad”. However, he quickly discovers that these are systemic issues, meaning the entire system is setting cops up to be racist and not actually help their communities.
In this book, you not only learn about the retaliation Edwin faced for speaking up when he saw problems in the police department, but you’ll also learn about how fundamental quotas are to policing. Of course, when cops are trying to reach certain numbers of arrests, they’re going to find people doing something wrong. They even go out of their way to hide so they can catch people even though the police being visible reduces crime.
Edwin was a cop during the racist stop-and-frisk policy and “broken windows” policing, and he has great commentary about why these were so terrible for the Black community.
I could talk about this book all day, but you need to read it for yourself. You’ll learn how many young Black people have their lives ruined simply because cops are trying to meet some arbitrary number. You’ll also learn about some insanely racist cops that the author had to work with and how much they fought him whenever he tried to make a difference.
The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America by Coleman Hughes
I find that books like this are legitimately the hardest ones to review. This is a book written by a Black man, and it’s a book arguing against some of the anti-racist movements we’ve seen in recent years. What makes it difficult is while there are some points that I think he argues strongly, there are many others that use cherry-picked data or avoid the larger context of the conversation. Had I not read An Inconvenient Cop, which discusses the systemic racism of policing, at the same time that I read this book, I may not have had some of the counterpoints top of mind.
I feel like it’d take a multi-page essay to thoroughly review this book, but I’ll try to keep it brief.
What I liked about this book is Coleman loves philosophy and knows how to argue his points extremely well. Even if I disagree with him on arts, he can typically get me to understand where he’s coming from. Unlike most anti-woke grifters, Coleman actually comes off pretty progressive at points throughout this book. He also doesn’t deny that racism exists. He does express quite a bit of empathy for white people and helps the reader understand why some white people are offended by social justice movements.
When you’re in poverty and told you’re privileged, it doesn’t go over well. Even though there’s nuance to that topic, the lower-class white people don’t care about that. So, this book may enlighten some social justice people into new ways of approaching these topics. I was also expecting to hate this book because he’s arguing for colorblindness. Fortunately, Coleman comes out and says that he knows colorblindness doesn’t exist. He’s arguing for the idea of it where we have a fair and just society regardless of a person’s color, but he believes social justice activists aren’t helping these issues.
Where I dislike the book is that Coleman cherry-picks data and doesn’t look at systemic issues. I know he’s smart enough to either know about these things or research them. So, he’s either ignorant to the topics or purposely not discussing them. The one part that really upset me was when he was talking about policing and how many unarmed white people are shot, but he refused to discuss police reform in depth. He also argues a lot for looking at individuals rather than groups but doesn’t acknowledge how other Black people have experience far more racism than he has.
Is this a book worth reading? Absolutely. It’s a great book, but regardless of “which side” you’re on, read it skeptically and give it an honest chance. While I think this book may piss both sides off, I think it has some strong points here and there.
I Am Bunny: How a "Talking" Dog Taught Me Everything I Need to Know About Being Human by Alexis Devine
Before reviewing this book, you need a little backstory. Bunny is a “talking” dog who is big on social media. Her owner (the author of this book, Alexis) bought buttons that say words, and Bunny presses them to “speak”. One day, after being flooded with posts from this dog, I wrote a blog and made a TikTok about how dogs can’t actually talk. These got a lot of engagement, and I had a lot of Bunny believers yelling at me. I explained how animals don’t have the same brains as us, and I referred them to the story of Clever Hans.
When I saw Alexis wrote a book, I grabbed a copy thinking I was going to binge it just to laugh at it, but sweet Jesus. I was very, very wrong. Alexis is extremely smart and more well-researched than I had anticipated. Not only is she fully aware of how her own biases can affect how she perceives Bunny, but throughout the book, she references other animal research into communication, and then she discusses how Bunny is part of this research as well. She even discusses how she understands that dogs can’t “talk” but she makes very strong arguments about how they can communicate.
I judged Bunny and Alexis far too harshly, and if she ever stumbles across this review, I apologize.
With that being said, I’m still a massive skeptic just because I’m skeptical of just about everything. There are quite a few stories in here where I’m like, “Did that really happen?” Like, did Bunny really push the buttons in that order in that context? I’m not calling Alexis a liar, but I’m a father, and I know how we “parents” can exaggerate the skills of our children to make them appear to the world as smarter and more special than they are.
At the end of the day, this is a fantastic book. Even if I’m skeptical of some of the stories in here, Alexis is a great writer and her overall message about building a relationship with her dog and learning more about herself is excellent. If you’re at all interested in the topic of animal communication or just want a heartwarming book about a woman and her dog, I recommend this one.
I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution by Emily Nussbaum
I don’t have a ton to say about this book except that it’s really good. I never used to care about movie or TV reviews, but I’ve been really interested in it lately when it comes to a deep analysis of shows, what they say about culture, and how it affects our daily lives. Emily Nussbaum is a phenomenal writer, and I was sold on this book the second I saw that she was inspired to become a TV critic due to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
This book covers a ton of shows, and many of them I haven’t seen so there were a lot of spoilers. Nussbaum not only discusses shows but she’s had some great interviews with show creators as well. She also dives outside of the shows to discuss some of the social issues surrounding them like the Louis C.K. controversies, the show Blackish and real-life racism, and more. I’ve read a few of these books so far, and this one’s probably my favorite, and Nussbaum gave me some new shows that I need to check out.
Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins
Every now and then I read a book that completely changes my perspective on a topic. This is extremely rare, but when it happens, I’m in heaven. This is exactly what Die with Zero did for me, and I couldn’t put it down. In short, Bill Perkins argues that the idea of saving for our retirement is completely wrong, and we should be spending while we’re younger and can enjoy it. He also argues that you shouldn’t just leave your inheritance for when you die and you should start giving your beneficiaries the money sooner rather than later, and this includes charities.
Right before I started this book, I had an epiphany that I needed to start spending on experiences and treat myself. I love to travel, but I haven’t been in the financial position to do so for years. Then, I picked this book up, and it sold me even more on the idea. Now, I have a new plan for saving and investing that allows me to travel while my body is still somewhat young and I can enjoy it.
And so you know, this book doesn’t argue for reckless spending. Bill Perkins is a man who is smart with his money and has great advice of how to be responsible. But the overall goal is to die with as little as money as possible. I’m so glad I came across this book.
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