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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This poetic reflective book of essays on America and basketball and growing up black and being human and authentic and true drew me in and kept me mesmorized by the fluid authentic tales of days past, meaning, goals and love and life as a tapestry of words. I couldn't put it down and I highly recommend.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Police brutality
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
easily calling this as my favorite/best read of 2025
fav quotes: “and it is both beautiful and heartbreaking to imagine this, that we go on living while a past version of ourselves remains locked, peacefully, in a euphoric dream… but that our exit is where the dreaming begins, and our real actual living is the place where we remain at our most joyous, time moving forward by small inches, each of us growing only seconds older with each passing year.”
fav quotes: “and it is both beautiful and heartbreaking to imagine this, that we go on living while a past version of ourselves remains locked, peacefully, in a euphoric dream… but that our exit is where the dreaming begins, and our real actual living is the place where we remain at our most joyous, time moving forward by small inches, each of us growing only seconds older with each passing year.”
thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of this title.
It took me a second to get what this book was doing structurally, but once I realized that instead of chapter breaks, we had a countdown for each quarter of a basketball game, plus the occasional time-out, this immediately clicked into gear. The structure allows for even more of Hanif's poetic voice to slip into the essays, and I love how this circles back and forth between memoir and sports writing. I think [b:A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance|49247757|A Little Devil in America Notes in Praise of Black Performance|Hanif Abdurraqib|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1606110758l/49247757._SX50_.jpg|62219511] remains a more accessible entry point to Abdurraqib's work, but this is him firing on all cylinders. As I said with that book, I'm on board with wherever he goes next.
It took me a second to get what this book was doing structurally, but once I realized that instead of chapter breaks, we had a countdown for each quarter of a basketball game, plus the occasional time-out, this immediately clicked into gear. The structure allows for even more of Hanif's poetic voice to slip into the essays, and I love how this circles back and forth between memoir and sports writing. I think [b:A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance|49247757|A Little Devil in America Notes in Praise of Black Performance|Hanif Abdurraqib|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1606110758l/49247757._SX50_.jpg|62219511] remains a more accessible entry point to Abdurraqib's work, but this is him firing on all cylinders. As I said with that book, I'm on board with wherever he goes next.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
This book made me feel expansive in a way I don’t know how to fully articulate.
Okay first thing’s first - this book is not a book about basketball. This book is an ode to basketball, yes, but also so much more. I finished the book with a new found respect for the game and how it inspires a lifetime of emotion. I also finished the book in awe of how Abdurraqib managed to weave sports and Black inner city life so deftly together.
The brilliance is in the execution. He talks about basketball (and Ohio) a lot, don’t get me wrong. And you never forget you’re reading a book centered on basketball - from the chapter structure to the constant references (which I loved!). However, what completely took me by surprise, were all the insights and truths he pulls from his own life to layer on the basketball insights. It’s almost as if the game of basketball and growing up Black were one and the same. There’s a feeling of universality to how Abdurraqib writes, making you feel like even though you don’t know anything about basketball nor being poor and Black, the threads he’s pulling from these experiences are applicable to your own life.
The book is broken up by quarters (like basketball quarters!), and I must say the 3rd quarter had my jaw on the floor. Tremendous.
I did find this book rather dense, and it took a bit for me to get used to his style and cadence. This book is also a “trust the process” sort of read, so if you prefer a linear read, this might be a challenge for you.
Overall, I can see why Abdurraqib is an oft-cited and loved essayist. If you have any interest in basketball and reading Abdurraqib’s work, pick this up but expect to go slow (good!). I’m excited to go through his backlist.
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
hanif abdurraqib's writing is a gift most of us do not deserve. so much heart, so much depth, so much energy & so much sensibility!!!!! this one will be kept close to my heart. and if you never stopped to watch basketball in your life—worry not. never have i. but the language of sports can be universal like any language written in the spaces of devotion.