You Can't Touch My Hair

Probably would have liked it better as a book instead of an audiobook - all the #hashtag jokes got irritating when she's reading the word “hashtag” out loud constantly, but I would've been able to skip over them if I were reading. On the other hand, the John Hodgman letter was great and it was really endearing hearing her crack herself up reading her own book.

I LOVE 2 Dope Queens, and think Phoebe Robinson is absolutely one of the funniest people on the comedy scene right now. I listened to this as an audio book. There were a couple good LOL moments, but not as many as I was hoping for. However, I found the book super enlightening in terms of my own white privilege, learning more about what women of color go through on a daily basis, from the discriminations at department stores to those in the workforce and beyond. I learned more about some of my own inherent biases and chuckled along the way, which I think is super important.

I liked this, but found my attention wandering now and again. 3 stars represents both my enjoyment and my wandering attention, as well as I'd read the first 35% before, and had so much trouble remembering it that I went ahead and read it again.

But I plan on listening to the podcast Phoebe does with Jessica Williams.

I really enjoy Phoebe's podcast 2 Dope Queens so I thought I'd give her book a shot. It's not quite a Bossypants or a Let's Pretend This Never Happened on the level of laughs. It's more reminiscent of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” but with more snappy speech, more cultural references (a lot of cultural references) and social/racial commentary. Phoebe's tone, even when discussing heavy topics like profiling, is cheerful and young. I found the references a bit overkill at times, and that they took away from the message a bit. This is a short book, but I still feel like it could have been tightened up even more. The best part of this book are her thoughts on topics I take for granted but that Black women have to deal with every day. They are written maturely, but not morosely. I'd recommend this to someone who also listens to 2 Dope Queens, or someone who doesn't but loves books by female comics.

This book is legit hilarious, literal-LOL worthy. (As you could probably guess if you're familiar with Phoebe Robinson's comedy–although I am too often disappointed by comedians' books. Not here!)

It's a great mix of personal stories, essays about working in comedy, black American culture...all very funny and also very timely. I read this just before the election and I'm curious to what it would be like to read it afterwards. There's a letter in this from John Hodgman where he refers to the election and says that when you're reading this, perhaps Trump is the president or “superking”...it was so funny in early November 2016...so funny.

PS A certain brand of crotchety reader might frown disapprovingly at the chat speak and hashtags littered throughout this book, but whatever, it's not for you.

Phoebe Robinson is one half of the podcast 2 Dope Queens which is part of a podcast continuum that includes Animatou Sow from Call Your Girlfriend to Heben and Tracy over at Another Round. They're all great but, duh, best served aurally. The freewheeling nature of podcast conversations simply don't translate as well on the page. Lingo like b.t.dubs and nope.tumblr.com as well as the difference between truth and troof work better heard than read.

And while I get the impulse to leaven the medicine of speaking to the idea of the angry black woman, micro-aggressions and the politics of hair with the order in which you would sex the members of U2 — this did feel all over the place.

So hey, an easy non-threatening primer on the black experience in America shot through with humour. Totally has its place - but do yourself a favour, level up and read Citizen by Claudia Rankine, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Phoebe Robinson is absolutely hilarious and very smart. This book, along with “How to Be Black” by Baratunde Thurston, brings to light so many of the struggles of what it's like to be black in the United States. Robinson covers a lot of the things that I've personally struggled with over the years and have been unable to articulate into words. She also exposes the struggle of what it's like to be a woman in comedy, something that I haven't even considered. It was delightful to learn from this book. My only complaint is that Robinson was a little heavy-handed on pop culture references which will undoubtedly be dated if someone were to read this book a few years from now. Otherwise, a very easy read and totally worth it.

I loved this. I feel like Robinson opened my mind to not only a bunch of pop culture stuffs I missed in the 90's but also to what it is like to be a black woman in America. Unlike most celebrity memoirs(? )Essay collections (?) Things they put out to squeeze more money out of the public(?) Unlike those books, which I tend to attempt, get frustrated by the actual lack of content, and then take a pass on; I felt like Robinson was really reaching out her hand, exposing a side of herself in the way that your best friend would and taking the time to educate. I feel enlightened about some things I have never thought about before. While an enjoyable read, I think I would have liked this even more as an audio book.