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Citizen
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
* Finalist for the National Book Award in Poetry ** Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry * Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism * Winner of the NAACP Image Award * Winner of the L.A. Times Book Prize * Winner of the PEN Open Book Award *ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR:The New Yorker, Boston Globe, The Atlantic, BuzzFeed, NPR. Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, Slate, Time Out New York, Vulture, Refinery 29, and many more . . .A provocative meditation on race, Claudia Rankine's long-awaited follow up to her groundbreaking book Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric.Claudia Rankine's bold new book recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV-everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rankine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship. In essay, image, and poetry, Citizen is a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our contemporary, often named "post-race" society.
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GatheringBooks
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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#LuckyInLove Day 3: Almost feels like a #CandleLit kind of conversation as the incomparable Claudia Rankine read her poem “What If” aloud for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature yesterday. And I was caught on camera sitting front and center taking a video - posted on the EmiratesLitFest socials.

Eggs Very nice 👏🏻👏🏻 2mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ❤️❤️❤️ 2mo
45 likes2 comments
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GatheringBooks
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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#MotivationalMonday
1️⃣ Attend the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature from Thursday til Sunday where the likes of Claudia Rankine, Bernardine Evaristo, Rebecca Yarrow, Curtis sittenfeld are coming. Super stoked about this event, especially the Desert Stanzas on Thursday night with poets from around the world coming
2️⃣ Thea Guanzon‘s The Hurricane Wars - last few chapters to go
3️⃣ introverted extrovert (or extroverted introvert, lols)

Cupcake12 Wow. Have a great time at the festival! 2mo
mcctrish That festival ❤️❤️ 2mo
32 likes2 comments
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lvssunflowers
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

Today‘s Woman of the Day is Claudia Rankine and her book Citizen, Micro and macroaggressions from every day interactions to world figures like Serena Williams & US Open, Trayvon Martin, the Jenna Six, Zinedine Zidane & the World Cup. Poetry, pain, anger, resolve.

“And where is the safest place when that place
must be someplace other than in the body?”

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sarahbellum
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

“Did you win? he asks.
It wasn‘t a match, I say. It was a lesson.”

So many lessons left to learn. And relearn. Being an ally is a lifetime journey of action, not a box to check off and a label to affix.

Read this, my #doublespin for May, before I got to my #bookspin or any of my #roll100 selections. That‘s a first! 🤷🏻‍♀️

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 2y
44 likes1 comment
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rakeshpm
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
Pickpick

Such a powerful read.

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she.hearts.horror
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine, Stephen Sachs
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Pickpick

✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾

jlhammar Yes, such a powerful read! Just Us is also amazing. 2y
she.hearts.horror @jlhammar Thank you for the recommendation! 2y
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vlwelser
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

❤❤❤❤❤

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ChaoticMissAdventures
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine, Stephen Sachs
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Juneteenth reading.
Each year I choose a different topic or genre to read, this year it is poetry.
Americans - especially white Americans - this weekend read, volunteer, educate yourself. Our education system didn't do the work for us. 🖤

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Cinfhen
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

I‘m not sure audio was the best way to go on this one...after completing audio I saw other reviewers mention stunning art work, and other visuals that enhanced their reading. I was also very distracted as I listened, so strike 2. Strike 3, my inflated expectations. This was a poignant collection/ jumping point for important dialogue and reflection but I wasn‘t blown away. A pick but maybe a book I‘ll need to revisit in print. #Pop21 #BLMreading

Cinfhen Would also work for #Booked2021 #poetry 3y
Kalalalatja I had been thinking of doing this on audio, but now I‘ll reconsider! 3y
Megabooks This has come on and off my TBR so many times! 3y
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Cinfhen From others reviews I think print might be better @Kalalalatja I‘m surprised you haven‘t read this yet @Megabooks 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen yeah, it‘s one of those that fell off my TBR. Maybe I should try the ebook. 🤔 3y
Cinfhen I borrowed my copy through the library @Megabooks 3y
79 likes6 comments
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Kristelh
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine, Stephen Sachs
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Gryffleclaw95
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Going against popular opinions, I didn‘t love it. However, I believe that this book should be required reading for students in school instead of the classics such as Huckleberry Finn. This is a book that must be analyzed and highlights white ignorance, hidden racism, and the everyday traumas of modern racism. I had trouble grasping some of the content, but it doesn‘t mean that it‘s a bad book. This was an eye-opening and important read!

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Gryffleclaw95
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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JoppaThoughts Her work is extraordinary. Every word packs a punch. 3y
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Gryffleclaw95
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine

“That man who is forced each day to snatch his manhood, his identity, out of the fire of human cruelty that rages to destroy it, knows...something about himself and human life that no school on earth — and indeed, no church — can teach. He achieves his own authority, and that is unshakable.”

- October 10, 2006 / World Cup

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Gryffleclaw95
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Gryffleclaw95
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine

“He said, I don‘t know what the water wanted. It wanted to show you no one would come.”

- August 29, 2005 / Hurricane Katrina

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S3V3N
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

I saw @AnneCecilie post about Just Us where she mentioned Citizen. It was available on Hoopla and I jumped on it. I spent the morning listening to it. I loved. An excellent collection of strong, inspirational and personal experience stories. I loved it.

AnneCecilie I‘m so happy you loved it. I read this last year and I still the remember what she wrote about Tiger Woods and the Williams sisters. 3y
22 likes1 comment
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WorldsOkayestStepMom
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine, Stephen Sachs
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Pickpick

Screengrab of an incredibly moving anthology.

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Liz_M
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine, Stephen Sachs
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There is something about this passage that got to me -- how the deep divides caused by race can have the power to transcend friendship. 😢

#IntegrateYourShelf, @ChasingOm, @Emilymdxn

ChasingOm This just bumped up my TBR! 4y
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tenar
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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No rating - this is a multimedia creation and my e-reader couldn‘t convey the intended experience. But I wanted to share this work.

Its free verse evocations of the traumas of racism, from “casual” to lethal, blew me over. I‘ve seen almost every section described as THE definitive part of the work, to its obvious credit. The quote in the image could have been any of a dozen searing lines that stuck with me. I think they will stay for a long time.

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Melismatic
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Mehso-so

Daily commute is helping me burn through my #TBR. This is a good premise but lacked a bit of followthru in my opinion. Loved the chapter on Serena Williams tho.

megnews I agree about the follow through. 4y
31 likes1 comment
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madams421
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

This book should be part of the American curriculum, pored over and processed, wept in and celebrated.

Personal, everyday, appalling and yet incredibly common racially charged situations opened my eyes and taught me, will continue to teach me, what my privilege looks like, the system I must push back against. This book feels like a full-length art museum exhibit peeled off the walls and poured into a book. A must read, without a doubt.

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Samara_Kipnis
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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I‘ve been waiting for so long to read this book! My high school English teacher recommended it; I emailed him for some suggestions. I‘m so excited! 🙌

JamieArc If you get a chance the author herself reads the audio version and to hear it read, it‘s powerful. 4y
Samara_Kipnis Ooh good to know, thank you! 4y
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UnRuLee
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

I think this should be required reading. It captures the magnitude of a lifetime of racial microagresssions and the weight of history on an individual of color.

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wicdiv
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

A great albeit frustrating book on racial microaggressions and how people (usually white people) are casually racist towards black people through their own ignorance.

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rockpools
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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#integrateyourshelf

The top two are antiracism books I‘ve read recently, bottom 3 are on the list to read very soon. (There are others!)

Citizen is poetry, but so clear on the experience of racism, and on the impact of non-racist (rather than anti-racist) friends - it added hugely to my understanding.

SYWTTAR is really well-done, breaking down different aspects of systemic racism, combined with the author‘s own experience.

rockpools - Brit(ish) is bya biracial author who grew up in white middle-class areas. Her experience of race/racism/identity in is quite different (good & bad) to her boyfriend‘s, who grew up in a working-class black community.
- And I need to read more black history. The Windrush scandal has been UK systemic racism at it‘s most overt. By understanding more about how we got here, maybe we can do a better job holding politicians to account.
(edited) 4y
rockpools - I‘m next in the library queue for Kendi. 4y
Emilymdxn Great UK books here!! I really need to read more about the windrush scandal. I see it in newspapers and read articles about it but it‘s so deep and big I feel like I need to get my teeth into a real book, I feel like I‘m barely scratching at the surface of how bad it was 4y
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rockpools @Emilymdxn There‘s a David Olusoga documentary on iPlayer atm - The Unwanted: the Secret Windrush Archives. I‘ve only watched half, but I was just horrified, so yes, time to read up. 4y
ChasingOm I‘m not usually a poetry reader but I may need to pick that up! 4y
rockpools @ChasingOm If you can get hold of the audio, it‘s particularly good. 4y
68 likes6 comments
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amma-keep-reading
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
Pickpick

I think I will re-read this gem every few years and every few years, I will love it even more.

JamieArc Have you listened to it? The audio is excellent! 4y
WomanistBibliophile This is one of the books I continually reread! It‘s amazing 💕 4y
amma-keep-reading @JamieArc yup, i listened to the audio for this reread! 4y
5 likes3 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine, Stephen Sachs
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Today‘s #Recommendsday is a book of poetry. Check it out, read it, listen to it on audiobook (excellent in any format)

#BLM
#BLMReadingList

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MallenNC
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

Written in 2014, this book could have been written this month. Through poems, prose, and art pieces, the book covers everything from being pulled over by police to how Serena Williams is treated at the highest levels of tennis. The most resonant page is an RIP list of Black people killed, and the list goes on with places for future names, who are sadly added to in the reader‘s mind to show those killed since this book was published.

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rmaclean4
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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An amazing book.

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sarahlandis
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine, Stephen Sachs
Pickpick

decent read

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Gezemice
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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A powerful book about the daily toll of facing racism. The anxiety, the long-term effects, the doubt. Did you just say, did you just do? The constant doubt. Because just getting along shouldn‘t be an ambition.

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

I read this back in 2017 and at the time thought it would be even more powerful on audiobook...so I put it in as a recommendation at my Overdrive library. And now 3 years late, they acquired 2 copies of it. My request must have been early on, because it checked out automatically to me, with a waiting list after me. Timely of course, which I‘m guessing is why they purchased it now. So it seemed serendipitous to revisit it now, as I re-listened⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ...it‘s just as powerful as I thought it would be, for me these often are more impactful when they are read in a different voice than how I hear them in my own in-my-head voice as I read. I‘m just sad it took this huge conflagration of events for them to purchase it, but I‘m also glad that it‘s apparently getting a resurgence of interest and readers. #BLM (edited) 4y
Amandajoy This is one that I‘ve wanted to listen to on audio. I went to our local art museum in Omaha and there was a piece by Rashid Johnson that focuses on this book. You were encouraged to read a portion of the book into a mic behind the artwork. I got a little distracted with reading the book. 4y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Amandajoy That sounds like a really great experience! 4y
57 likes3 comments
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Twocougs
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

Perfect book for the moment. I went from 😢 to 😡 to 😢, back and forth and back and forth.

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rockpools
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

Wow. The experience of racism through poem-prose-essays, the relentlessness of the ‘mis-speaking‘ (Did she really just say that?), the cumulative ‘little things‘ - & the long list of ‘in memory of‘s. And the friends, who leave the comments as your problem...

Really powerful &, as someone who could do more, lots to ponder.

Get the audio.

A sample: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/56848/citizen-you-are-in-t...

rockpools I forgot- I found this when I was looking for the #BottomofyourTBR for #Booked2020 - this was the 2nd book I ever stacked on Litsy. Now seemed like the time. @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft 4y
Cinfhen Talk about the right time!!! Beautiful review ❣️ 4y
UnRuLee I‘m in line to borrow this from the library! 4y
squirrelbrain Lovely heartfelt review ❤️ 4y
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rockpools
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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JamieArc
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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I love this graphic of books to help us grow in anti-racism. A friend pointed out that if you have the means, consider buying from black-owned independent bookstores. I need to do some research to find some, so if you know of any, please let me know! Artwork by Jane Mount, posted on Facebook by Roger Gonzales.

JamieArc Found this! A list of black-owned bookstores! https://aalbc.com/bookstores/list.php (edited) 4y
Texreader Great idea! 4y
58 likes2 comments
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Chittavrtti
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine, Stephen Sachs

This is not an easy read. It hurts on so many levels. How can people treat and be treated this way?

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HufflepuffGirl90
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine, Stephen Sachs
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This one is heading home to you @mklong
#lmpbc

mklong Great! Can‘t wait to see all the group comments! 4y
40 likes1 comment
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Toryp
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
Pickpick

Best book I‘ve read in a long time. Her writing is captivating

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HufflepuffGirl90
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Just grabbed Citizen out of the mailbox this morning, unfortunately I am so behind!! I will be finishing Robinson‘s poems today and hopefully will have it sent out tomorrow.

So sorry @mklong @Bookishthoughts @TheBookKeepers for my lateness. #lmpbc

LazyDays No worries! Enjoy💗✌ 4y
mklong No rush at all. I won‘t have time to get to it until the end of the month anyway 😊 4y
TheBookKeepers No problem! 😘!!! Enjoy! 4y
40 likes3 comments
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TheBookKeepers
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

Wow. Deeply affecting book. It‘s weird to say you loved it, when the reason for its content is pain. Does that make sense? A gut punch & something that deserves to be read & will stay with me always. Thanks for picking this & I‘ll be sending it out this week. #lmpbc

@Bookishthoughts @mklong @HufflepuffGirl90

JamieArc This is excellent on audio. Powerful to hear. 4y
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TheBookKeepers
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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LazyDays 😊 enjoy! 4y
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ClairesReads
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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ClairesReads
Citizen: An American Lyric | Claudia Rankine
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Pickpick

How have I not read this already?! Citizen is a powerful, direct meditation on race, racism, its cumulative effects, and its relationship to citizenship. Rankine is a master with words, and I found almost every sentence of this affecting in some way. There‘s some really excellently built motifs. The section on Serena Williams was a real highlight for me, and the final two sentences will stick with me forever. #readharder2020

Cinfhen Beautiful review 💜 4y
ClairesReads @Cinfhen 🙏🏻💕 4y
Susannah I didn‘t realize Rankine included a section on Serena. This book just flew up my TBR. Thank you! (edited) 4y
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WomanistBibliophile One of my all-time favourite books! 💖 4y
Angitron Such a fantastic book!! 4y
ClairesReads @Susannah it‘s exceptional you‘ll love it 4y
ClairesReads @Angitron isn‘t it?! 4y
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