What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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There‘s so much that “you” (media/Hillbilly Elegy/politicians) get wrong about Appalachia. It‘s a far-reaching area full of complex people w varied identities. I live in + love Appalachia, but have issues with how the culture is portrayed. In some aspects, it IS the place full of backwards hill people. This book aims to highlight everything Hillbilly Elegy blamed on individuals rather than the real entities at fault: the government + corporations

wanderinglynn Stacked. That‘s one of the reasons why I disliked Hillbilly Elegy. He made such sweeping cultural generalizations about the region when really it‘s not one culture. 2y

OneCent76 I highly disliked Hillbilly Elegy and his high & mighty attitude. Stacked 2y

SkeletonKey My WV family and I hated Hillbilly Elegy but this was definitely a better one. 2y

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EliNeedsMoreShelves

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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I find this short volume to be a very interesting and illuminating read about the complexities that are inherent when a writer engages with Appalachia. I find it whets my appetite for learning more about the region. I do think the author at times betrays her anger at JD Vance and his book Hillbilly Elegy, and that pulls me just a bit out of the point she is trying to make. Overall, a really good read.

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EliNeedsMoreShelves

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

Today I Learned that the term "redneck" actually came from a 1920s coal worker's rebellion, and now songs like "Red Neck Woman" seem gross.

#TheMoreYouKnow

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mrsmarch

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

#dogsoflitsy

LibrarianRyan Ahhh Your poor foot. 5y

mrsmarch @LibrarianRyan Whacked myself in the ankle with the car door a month ago and the pain just won't end. Not broken -- had an x-ray Tuesday night. But it hurts like a burning devil. The shoe helps a little. 5y

MicheleinPhilly Ugh. I had a massive sprain over a month ago and I‘m still hobbling around like an old lady and wearing a brace. Getting old is not fun. 5y

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bookwrm526

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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I thought this book was an excellent, concise answer to many of the more controversial points about Appalachia from Hillbilly Elegy. If you‘ve read that one, I highly recommend this one as a follow up! This was also my book about Appalachia for #ReadingWomenChallenge

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HeatherBlue

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

Good morning! 🌞

CorinnaBechko Beautiful mug! 5y

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SW-T

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

The article below has a less myopic and biased view than both Vance and Catte.

@seanholeary1/hillbilly-whisperers-j-d-vance-elizabeth-catte-and-reality-in-appalachia-28c22a7d6897" rel="nofollow" target="_top">https://medium.com/@seanholeary1/hillbilly-whisperers-j-d-vance-elizabeth-catte-...

@MelissaSue81

wanderinglynn Having grown up relatively poor in Appalachia, I admit when I read Vance‘s book, I often got angry at his portrayal of the region & people. I had to keep reminding myself that his book was one person‘s experience. But I still felt that the way he wrote it, he was generalizing his experience to apply to all of Appalachia. I started reading the article, but will have to pull it up later on a bigger screen. Thanks for sharing. 5y

SW-T @wanderinglynn I agree with you on Vance. On the flip side, Catte kind of did the same thing from a different angle. Everyone in a region isn‘t the same, though they might share certain concerns or values. Even impressions of shared experiences aren‘t the same. What energizes one person can scare or worry someone else. Some people become activists, others just wait it out. 5y

megnews @wanderinglynn @SW-T I felt the same about Vance. Been wanting to get to Catte‘s. 5y

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SW-T @megnews Catte‘s book is worth a read just to get a different point of view. Another book is

Gone Home: Race and Roots Through Appalachia

IamIamIam It's tough when a memoir tries to encompass all of a region. I find that when I read stories about NYC and Long Island, it's either all ultra rich people living uptown or the Hamptons or hipsters I don't identify with. LI suburbs are LIGHT YEARS from the Hamptons with an opioid crisis. I took Vanxe 5y

IamIamIam D'oh... Vance's book at face value and tried to focus on the relationship he had with his mother and the migration from one state to another. 5y

SW-T @IamIamIam Very true. It‘s just a small slice of someone‘s life and their spin on it, but people take it as gospel for everyone, which it‘s not. 5y

Crazeedi I lived in this area when my children were young, their father worked in the coal mines. Not all of what he wrote is true across the region, but he did get some general things right 5y

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SW-T

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

so-so

Catte says her book is a rebuttal of Hillbilly Elegy. While I had a laundry list of issues with Elegy, Catte doesn‘t present a great counter argument. She spends most of her time saying Vance was wrong, that she didn‘t like his book, and he misrepresented Appalachia. But she doesn‘t do much more than say Vance was incorrect and blames industry and politics for the problems facing the region. Her rebuttals fell flat and felt stale.

@MelissaSue81

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Scochrane26

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

“While reading Greek poetry, my professors warned us to be careful of the double meaning of elegies; they were, it seems, often written as political propaganda.”
The author does talk about hillbilly elegy in this book, but I enjoyed the history lesson. I‘m aware of how corporations have tried to destroy Appalachia over the yrs but didn‘t know the details. Right now, Senator Rand Paul is trying to privatize part of preserved forest in eastern KY.

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MelissaSue81

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

so-so

Catte is an historian. Her historical knowledge and perspectives in this book are interesting and accurate at least in her view. However, her tone, and purpose writing this book, was to tell us all how pissed off she is about Hillbilly Elegy. I don‘t know that I‘ve ever read a book whose sole purpose it was to tell me how wrong another book/author is. To me, just because Catte is right, doesn‘t mean that Vance is wrong.

MelissaSue81 #readingwomenchallenge #booksetinappalachia 5y

KathyWheeler Hillbilly Elegy seemed to make a lot of people angry, but I just figured he was writing from his own experience. Whenever I read sections of it to my husband, who is from Appalachia, Vance‘s experiences resonated with him as well; he wasn‘t insulted by the book. 5y

MelissaSue81 @KathyWheeler - exactly. Vance‘s experience could very well be different from hers. His town might be different than where she is from.. She just came off as so angry with him.. But nonetheless, her historical background and arguments were solid. 5y

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KathyWheeler @MelissaSue81 I think I‘m going to read this as well to get that perspective. I‘m also interested in my husband‘s take on this book. Thanks for posting about it; I was unaware of it. 5y

SW-T I didn‘t like Vance‘s book for a lot of reasons so I‘m interested in this one to see how it compares. It makes me think of how Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone With The Wind because she hated Uncle Tom‘s Cabin. Two very different perspectives about the same issue. 5y

MelissaSue81 @SW-T - You very well may agree with a lot of what she has to say.. she isn‘t even wrong.. but she repeatedly attacked him; his claims, his background, his career and his politics.. it felt like a bit of a temper tantrum to me. 5y

SW-T We‘ll see. It‘s possible to like opposing views if they‘re well presented. I like a well reasoned rebuttal but if it‘s just a temper tantrum I‘ve got too many other books to read. I have her book on hold so time will tell. 5y

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MelissaSue81

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

I went back to find my review on Hillbilly Elegy after starting this audiobook.. My memory of Elegy was more of a personal story than characterizing the whole region, but I when I listened to it I had other thoughts. And well, this book definitely answers my question. 🤣🤣.

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irasobrietate

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

Ummmmm...... considering the author of What You're Getting Wrong spends a lot of time talking about how the myth of Scots-Irish homogeneity in Appalachia is used to further white supremacy and eugenics, this recommendation feels deeply wrong.

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Bookish.Leftist.Auntie

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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Interesting and informative regarding our Appalachian roots and the ongoing struggle to drag our region forward. This book made me miss the area in which I grew up. I'm not that far away, being now in northeast Tennessee but miss southeastern Kentucky something fierce sometimes. The coal mines have been all but gone for years now, having taken most everything else with them. The corporate influence and continued greed is all too evident there.

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saresmoore

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

I‘ve just finished the introduction to this book and I am already bowled over. Sharp, candid, unapologetic writing. This is going to be so good. I‘m reading for @thereadingwomen challenge, but it would also be a great choice for #Booked2019, related to a podcast, since the aforementioned Reading Women interviewed the author, last year.

andrew61 I'll have to start listening to reading women again - i can't remember why i stopped. Looks a good read. 5y

Suet624 I‘m glad you‘re reading this. Can‘t wait to hear more about it. 5y

readordierachel This sounds like a timely read. Look forward to your thoughts. 5y

ValerieAndBooks Looks intriguing!! 5y

EchoLogical I read it for the same prompt! I got bored and let my loan expire. I'm gonna give it another shot when it's available. 5y

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kyraleseberg

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

It's little but it packs a huge punch 👊

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Aleida

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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Very edifying. Would love to hear what she has to say about Educated.

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rockpools

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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This is quite tricky for me to review - coming from rural Britain, I wasn‘t the target audience, but I found it fascinating &, at times, shocking. Written as a response to post-2016 commentary on Appalachia, esp. Hillbilly Elegy, Catte looks at more diverse aspects of the region, the histories, stereotypes, & systemic issues which have impacted the area.

Followed up with the author discussion on @thereadingwomen podcast, which I recommend!👇

Cinfhen, BarbaraTheBibliophage, alisiakae

rockpools I don‘t recommend the audiobook (I found the narrator‘s intonation hard to follow). And were there images in the print? There‘s a lot of discussion of photos, I wondered if they were included.

#Booked2019 #relatedtoapodcast #readingwomenchallenge2019 #AboutOrSetInAppalachia (edited) 5y

alisiakae This sounds interesting! I read Hillbilly Elegy and didn‘t like it, maybe I‘ll try this for the same #readingwomen prompt. 5y

rockpools @4thhouseontheleft It‘s quite a short read, but there‘s an awful lot in there - think it‘s worth reading! 5y

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Tamra Sounds really like something I want to listen to. 5y

megnews I didn‘t realize this was so short. I‘m going to move it up my list. I didn‘t care for hillbilly elegy. It over-generalized anecdotal evidence and there seemed to be some self-loathing or embarrassment at its core. My West Virginian family which relocated to Ohio had a very different experience. 5y

Cinfhen Maybe I‘ll try this one too!! 5y

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rockpools

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

I‘m skipping #litsywalkers today, because it‘s ‘orrible out there! But here‘s my pic from yesterday - I got 1.5 miles in while it was dry/sunny/calm.

Also started another audiobook. This is really interesting, but (knowing virtually nothing about Appalachia) I might not be the target market. And the audio‘s just ok - she sounds like she‘s reading it. But I seem to be on a nf spree at the moment, so will definitely finish it.

Kaye

Graywacke That‘s beautiful! 5y

DivineDiana What a view! ❤️ 5y

DarcysMom Great view! 5y

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LeahBergen Wow! You have such a lovely walking neighbourhood. 😍 5y

TrishB Was reading that they‘ve stopped the trains from stopping in Dawlish today due to the tides! 5y

Kaye Thanks for sharing your photo and book. Sounds interesting 👍🏼 5y

8little_paws I just finished this book on audio. I thought it was interesting but somewhat disjointed. I still am glad I listened to it though. 5y

Wife 🌹 5y

rockpools @Graywacke @DivineDiana @DarcysMom Not bad, is it (when the sun‘s shining!) I count myself v lucky! 5y

rockpools @LeahBergen At some point, I‘ll start exploring other bits of it. But for the forseeable future, you might be getting the seafront, the seafront, the river and the seafront. (I‘m not bored of it yet 😉) 5y

rockpools @TrishB 😫. Think it was just XC trains, tho, and they‘re out-of-action so often here it‘s almost normal. The doors don‘t open if they get saltwater in the mechanism. Which is a bit of a problem! So if there‘s a whisper of wind, they don‘t even attempt it at high tide now - and there‘s been more than a whisper today!! 5y

rockpools @8little_paws I think it might be easier in print tbh- it is interesting though! 5y

TrishB Hope you‘re ok today! Not sure how much snow you‘ve had! 5y

rockpools @TrishB ❄️❄️❄️Thank you for asking! Bit icy, but not much snow here - it was flicking between snow and rain all night. Think it‘s a very different story if you try and get in/out of town 😬 5y

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Christine

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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This is a must for those left cold (or simmering with rage) by Hillbilly Elegy. I thought it was a great response and a well-written, data-grounded, vital cultural analysis in its own right. And I loved how the author freely expressed her fierce love for her home region (despite its undeniable problems) and her anger about how it‘s been exploited and misrepresented over many decades (like by Vance, with his “asinine beliefs and associations”🔥).

BookishMarginalia Vance suffered from a very egocentric perspective, I thought... he theorized using only his experience as foundation, which made the book much weaker than it could have been 5y

Christine @BookishMarginalia Agreed!! His generalizing was hard to take. 5y

Blaire Yes to all of this!! Loved this book. Angered by elegy. Totally agree @BookishMarginalia he took his experience and drew conservative political policy positions from it. 5y

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Christine @Blaire Yes! If it had just been presented/marketed as a memoir, it would be one thing... 5y

Blaire @Christine yep!! It would have been a fine memoir. But was written with political motives and marketed as explaining a bigger societal issue. 5y

FreeReadAndWrite My husband is from southeast Ohio and hates Hillbilly Elegy. I‘ll have to let him know about this one 5y

Christine @FreeReadAndWrite Yes!! I‘d love to know what he thinks of it if he reads it. 5y

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8little_paws

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

Well below freezing yet I still walked like over an hour! #litsywalkers

Kaye 🛎 🛎 🛎. DING DING DING !!! Great job and COOL HOUSE ! 5y

BookBabe Wow! Go you!!! 🙌🏻 That‘s a gorgeous house 😍 5y

8little_paws @kaye @BookBabe I was SERIOUSLY bundled up. It wasn't so bad with the sun out but by the end of my walk as the sun began to set it was getting miserable. Might have to limit walks to daylight hours only for the next few weeks 5y

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Soubhiville Wow! Very cool house! 5y

Reviewsbylola Great job! And amazing house! 😍 5y

DarcysMom You are a rock star for going out for an hour in that cold! 🤩 5y

DivineDiana 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 5y

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8little_paws

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

#litsywalkers going to be a low step day I think. I forgot my counter, but it's very cold out so I am doing a few laps inside my work building (which is large) so I can get a mile or 2 in at least. Gotta go to the gym tonight and the grocery store so won't have time to walk after work. It's been a busy week! Just started this new audiobook.

DarcysMom It looks pretty miserable out there. 5y

8little_paws @DarcysMom it's really cold. 5y

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saresmoore

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

Here is a peek inside my TBR cabinet for the year. Many of the challenge books will be digital and/or public library borrows, but reading from my own, physical library is my favorite. Having everything catalogued on LibraryThing has made planning for five different challenges MUCH simpler!

Litsy

Kalalalatja So many great books, and so many more I want to read 👌 5y

TimSpalding I need to send you a little LibraryThing sign, so you don't need to Photoshop it in ;) 5y

LauraBeth Such beautiful books here! 😍 5y

See All 8 Comments

batsy 😍😍 5y

Suzze Oooh. Homegoing! I have infinite love for it. 5y

TobeyTheScavengerMonk A God in Ruins 👍 5y

readordierachel Looks like excellent choices across the board! I'm seconding @suzze on the love for Homegoing. It's quite a book. 5y

saresmoore @Suzze @readordierachel That‘s encouraging! I‘ve been meaning to read it for a long time and am looking forward to it. 5y

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ElectricKatyLand

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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Interesting, expertly researched counterweight to Hillbilly Elegy and “Trump Country” pieces stereotyping Appalachia and Appalachians as monolithic, white, and republican. Touches on union history, local activism, and environmental organizing in the face of “othering” by national and corporate interests.

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plemmdog

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

So far, an interesting viewpoint, and strong rebuttal to Hillbilly Elegy

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LWagoner

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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This book has helped round out my knowledge of the people of Appalachia & it has given me a more more wholistic view of the region. It is a rebuttal to the one person view represented in the book “Hillbilly Elegy”. There is so much information packed into 132 pages. Much still to think about. #opencanonbookclub #wileycash

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Blaire

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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If you read Hillbilly Elegy, please read this. Elegy made me so angry and this was the antidote. Catte delves into why elegy is problematic, including Vance‘s agenda and the stereotypes he traffics in. Her Appalachia, the one I now live in, is more complete - in a concise volume includes labor, community organizing, environmentalism, and the history of exploitation. An important read for those who want a true picture of Appalachia.

readordierachel Oh, excellent #stacked 5y

VinceReads I just read this not too long ago and loved it. 5y

Leftcoastzen I have friends and family in that part of the world , I skipped the Vance because of the things you mentioned. #stacked 5y

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saresmoore This sounds great! It will work for a prompt in @thereadingwomen challenge next year. 5y

Blaire @VinceReads 🙌 it was a refreshing read and a much-needed response to Vance. 5y

Blaire @readordierachel @saresmoore she unpacks so much in only 135 pages. Def recommend. 5y

Blaire @Leftcoastzen 🙌 my book club discussed the Vance and general consensus was pissed off...using stereotyping to put forward his political viewpoint. Good decision to skip. 5y

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Erynecki

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

Picked up this book about Appalachia from Union Ave Books, the lovely independent bookstore in Knoxville, TN.

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Wellreadhead

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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Book review for What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia
by Elizabeth Catte
Check out the full review here:
http://www.athinsliceofanxiety.com/2018/11/review-what-you-are-getting-wrong-abo...
#athinsliceofanxiety #appalachianmountains #activism #appalchia #whatyouaregettingwrongaboutappalachia #elizabethcatte #myregion #mypeople

Laura317 Books about Appalachia either make me laugh, make me mad, or both. I think your blog post is extremely on-point. Great review. 5y

mreads Great review 5y

Wellreadhead @Laura317 @mreads Thanks guys, I appreciate that. It was definitely an interesting little book. 5y

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TuesdayReviews

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

Surprise addition to today‘s #bookhaul. #hillbillystudies

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Wellreadhead

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

Currently reading
#athinsliceofanxiety #amreading #appalachia #whatyouaregettingwrongaboutappalachia #elizabethcatte #mypeople

Awk_Word_Smith They‘re getting most of it wrong. Having lived in WNC for most of my life before moving to NYC 3 yrs ago, I can say they get most of it wrong. Starting with the pronunciation. 😁 6y

jillrhudy If you know the proper pronunciation you get a follow just for that 6y

Wellreadhead @Awk_Word_Smith @jillrhudy I‘m originally from Whitesburg, Ky and have lived for the past 4 years now in Chicago, IL so I get it now, lol and it‘s pronounced App-uh-LATCH-uh where I‘m from! 6y

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Samplergal Seriously. Pronouncing it correct first. 6y

Awk_Word_Smith @Wellreadhead @jillrhudy That‘s the way we say at my alma mater, App-uh-LATCH-an State. 😁 6y

Wellreadhead @Awk_Word_Smith Sweet! 6y

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Schnoebs

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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I‘m really happy I read this before Hillbilly Elegy. It‘s going to make me think more critically about that book. This one I really enjoyed though because it gave me a different perspective on the region while also not being afraid to explain exactly what‘s going on. The author is also willing to point out when things are too polarized on either side of the political field.

#scribd #audiobook #workout #exercisebook #huffletuff #mpls #twincities

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Schnoebs

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

I originally had Hillbilly Elegy as one of my next workout books but scribd is doing that dumb thing making everything unavailable so I picked this up instead. So happy I did! Can‘t wait to continue listening!

#scribd #audiobook #workout #exercise #huffltuff #Appalachia #mpls #twincities

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Karen

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

Book 3 #reversereadathon

DeweysReadathon

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Pedrocamacho

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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Overall, this book is a powerful response to JD Vance. The material on the repeating narrative of Appalachia is the most interesting.

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SunriseBooks

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

This little book rocked my world. Required reading for anyone who‘s read Hillbilly Elegy.

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anrobe

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

Book haul from my local indie today! So excited! Added to my Olive Edition collection plus picked up 3 titles I have been eying!

Reviewsbylola Wow those are amazing! 6y

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Hoopiefoot

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

I‘m the daughter of 2 former WV public school teachers. Reading this book this weekend in solidarity of all the teachers striking there this week.

KathyWheeler My sister-in-law is a teacher in WV. 6y

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colleeniebean

What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia | Elizabeth Catte

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Catte does an excellent job of making the history of Appalachia accessible here and tying this into present narratives about Appalachia. This is the book you should be reading about Appalachia not that ‘Hillbilly‘ one.

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