Black Cop's Kid An Essay by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Rating:

5 Stars

Themes:

Non-Fiction, Memoir, Social Justice, Racism

Thoughts:

Thought provoking essay on race, police brutality, institutional racism and activism. It highlights the concerns of black police officers facing both in the system from their white peers and in the community from those who see them as a traitor.

Abdul-Jabbar also tackles balancing his sports career with activism and facing people's perceptions of athletes as airheads with nothing of note to say with using his position to bring light onto the systematic discrimination faced by the black people in America.

Favourite Quote:

"The problem is we're used to lumping groups together as a monolithic block. Blacks are all this. Whites are all this. Cops are all this. This is inaccurate and, worse, an obstacle to improving our society."

Comments

Shame-Sex Attraction by Lucas Wilson

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Rating: Stars Themes: Short Story, Cosy Mystery Thoughts: Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I had to read this book, seeing it was available, after reading Pipers Piping and Puppies last year. I did read it as a standalone (it’s not the first time I’ve read a series out of order and likely won’t be the last) I managed to follow along fine although I’m sure I’d have understood the relationship dynamics better had I read it in the correct order. I found the story great and as for the mystery I was guessing myself right the way through until Sam figured it out. Sam is a strong female main character who feels worth investing in so I may have to go search some more of the Heywood Herbalist series out. I enjoyed seeing Sam interact with her friends as they had great chemistry and it felt real, and also really liked Sam’s interactions with Doug as it added another layer of humanity to her and reality to the town. I would love ...

The War of Sober by Edward Rand

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Addiction, Psychology Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great book not just for addicts trying to establish and maintain their sobriety but also psychologists, counsellors and the people working with them. It approaches the experience of addiction from the perspective of going to war and may help those who can’t get along with the 12 steps, contingency management or other forms of therapy traditionally used. It’s also helpful to have Edward detail his own experiences and approaches throughout so it feels less clinical and shows he does know what he’s talking about when he mentions the difficulties so it comes across less patronising than some self-help addiction books. Favourite Quote: "It doesn't matter what happened yesterday. Win or lose, if we are still alive, we must decide to be different today and then make the correct choices today, because friends, ...

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