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Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood in Books

Oct 6, 2018  
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Trevor Noah | 2017 | Biography
9
9.2 (16 Ratings)
Book Rating
Funny and poignant
BORN A CRIME was engaging from start to finish. I have to recommend the audio of this book because you get Trevor Noah as the narrator and that truly was everything. The narration, the amusement and feelings that his own narration evoked, enhanced this book ten-fold.

So many issues and topics were covered in this book but most of all, I’ve been educated. I grew up with apartheid being reported daily on the news, I remember the celebration at it’s demise but being a close spectator to life in Soweto and other places, beginning to understand Trevor’s position as not black and not white was truly eye-opening. All this could be such a heavy topic, but actually Trevor brings his naughtiness as a child, the funny side of things and the very tragic too.

Both my kids listened to chapters of this with me in the car and thoroughly enjoyed it. My eldest commented on it being relevant both to her politics and sociology classes, my youngest just loved the ride, especially the tale of Fufi the dog. Some of the book wouldn’t have been suitable for my youngest, but I will be buying it for him when he’s older.

Even if you’re not a biographical or non-fiction reader, give this a go. I think you’ll find yourself unable to look away.
  
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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart in Books

Sep 6, 2017  
Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart
Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart
Lisa Rogak | 2014 | Biography
6
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Insight into a beloved but flawed role model
So I’m a little ambivalent about this book. Jon Stewart took over at The Daily Show the same year I graduated high school. I was 16 and only starting to pay attention to politics. I was also raised quite conservative Christian – the pundit we listened to the most was Rush Limbaugh. And here was a man saying things that were the total opposite of what I’d been taught – but also things that resonated a lot more with me. Many years later, when The Daily Show and Jon Stewart were labeled the most trusted voices in news media, I had no trouble at all believing it. He not only knew how to speak to my generation, he also spoke for us. All the things we were thinking, he was out there shouting. He was our window into this grown up, corrupted world of politics, and we loved him for it.

Not to say he’s perfect. I’d heard – and Angry Optimist mentions – that he can occasionally be a rage-filled asshole. That the staff of The Daily Show has a woman problem. (As in, not enough of them, and can’t keep them.) So while I do admire the man, I am not blind to his flaws.

The book is interesting – I learned more about his early life and career – but nothing really game-changing. And perhaps that says something about Stewart. There aren’t really any skeletons in his closet, or scandalous stories. He’s just an angry Jewish comedian.

Rogak’s style of writing is easily consumed; I read the entire book in about three hours. Perhaps part of why I find it so anticlimactic is that she ends it with this sense of not knowing what Stewart might be up to next, and whether, if he does decide to leave The Daily Show eventually, if the show will end with him – and we know those answers now, three years after the book was published. Stewart has retired (barring the occasional appearance on Colbert’s show) and Trevor Noah is doing an admirable job of holding down the fort after Stewart’s exit. (With less anger, and a little more befuddlement, which is a fun change.) I was also a little disappointed that she mentions Stewart’s friendship with Anthony Weiner – but doesn’t say anything about how he took the ribbing from Stewart over Weiner’s rather unglamorous exit from politics.

I have also heard that the audio book is not good – apparently the narrator is boring. So I’d recommend the print book over the audio, if you choose to read it.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com