* 2018 "12 best books to give this holiday season" --TODAY
(Elizabeth Acevedo)
* A "Best Book of 2017" --Rolling Stone (2018), NPR, Buzzfeed,
Paste Magazine, Esquire, Chicago Tribune, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, CBC,
Stereogum, National Post, Entropy, Heavy, Book Riot, Chicago Review
of Books, The Los Angeles Review, Michigan Daily
* American Booksellers Association (ABA) 'December 2017 Indie Next List
Great Reads'
* Midwest Indie Bestseller
In an age of confusion, fear, and loss, Hanif Abdurraqib's is a voice
that matters. Whether he's attending a Bruce Springsteen concert the day
after visiting Michael Brown's grave, or discussing public displays of
affection at a Carly Rae Jepsen show, he writes with a poignancy and
magnetism that resonates profoundly.
In the wake of the nightclub attacks in Paris, he recalls how he sought
refuge as a teenager in music, at shows, and wonders whether the next
generation of young Muslims will not be afforded that opportunity now.
While discussing the everyday threat to the lives of Black Americans,
Abdurraqib recounts the first time he was ordered to the ground by
police officers: for attempting to enter his own car.
In essays that have been published by the New York Times, MTV, and
Pitchfork, among others--along with original, previously unreleased
essays--Abdurraqib uses music and culture as a lens through which to
view our world, so that we might better understand ourselves, and in so
doing proves himself a bellwether for our times.