The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell - W. Kamau Bell

The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell

By W. Kamau Bell

  • Release Date: 2017-05-02
  • Genre: Humor
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 61 Ratings

Description

You may know W. Kamau Bell from his new, Emmy-nominated hit show on CNN, United Shades of America. Or maybe you’ve read about him in the New York Times, which called him “the most promising new talent in political comedy in many years.” Or maybe from The New Yorker, fawning over his brand of humor writing: "Bell’s gimmick is intersectional progressivism: he treats racial, gay, and women’s issues as inseparable."

After all this love and praise, it’s time for the next step: a book. The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell is a humorous, well-informed take on the world today, tackling a wide range of issues, such as race relations; fatherhood; the state of law enforcement today; comedians and superheroes; right-wing politics; left-wing politics; failure; his interracial marriage; white men; his up-bringing by very strong-willed, race-conscious, yet ideologically opposite parents; his early days struggling to find his comedic voice, then his later days struggling to find his comedic voice; why he never seemed to fit in with the Black comedy scene . . . or the white comedy scene; how he was a Black nerd way before that became a thing; how it took his wife and an East Bay lesbian to teach him that racism and sexism often walk hand in hand; and much, much more.

Reviews

  • Conversational, Funny, and Educational

    4
    By PodFlower
    Even though have never watched W. Kamau Bell’s shows or listened to his comedy, I enjoyed this memoir told through essays. He is funny and conversational. The portions about making shows in Hollywood were fascinating. He illustrates the diversity problem and lack of creative control by artists of color particularly well. Another great chapter was about the black nerd (blerd) subculture. Finally, his demonstrated commitment to intersectionality and calling out of sexism in the comedy community made the book especially unique. It sounds like a lot of heavy topics, but Bell writes in a way that is conversational and fun.
  • Great read

    5
    By GardenerJ
    A perfect weekend read - funny, thoughtful, well done. Highly recommend.
  • Musings of a The Not So Every Day Man

    5
    By CarterTheGreat
    I have always appreciated Kamau's presence on television. Having met him once for a second in Berkeley & through watching "United Shades..." my take has always been that he comes across as really solid guy. However, reading his book is a true revelation: not only of the depths of his brand of funny, but of the incredible forces that shaped/shape him as a person. If you are a "certain type of person", his irreverent reveries are going to resonate on a deep level. I was fairly certain that I would enjoy the book, but the fact that I'm writing about it, denotes a whole other level of enjoyment. A really lighthearted and good read. So needed in these times.

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