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This book is incredibly accurate. I grew up just north of Middletown&the grandchild of “hillbilly transplants” from Kentucky. One papa moved north after WW2 for factory job & another always said he worked one day in a coal mine & left for Chicago. I‘ve watched family struggle with drugs -lost some to it. & the domestic abuse carry through the generations. It is odd that even though I‘m an Ohioan I still feel such a connection with eastern Kentucky

I found this to be a very fascinating read! I haven‘t seen the movie so had no expectations one way or another. The writing was fresh, authentic and personal.

Loved the narrative style and deeply appreciated the childhood stories and insights on American and Appalachian culture. I was completely thrown off by the military talk and thoughts on the Iraq war. Only then did I learn the author is a Trump-endorsed conservative politician. I can still appreciate the book, but with a healthy dose of skepticism after learning this.

#nonfiction #truth #education #middleclass #factories #smalltowns #readKY

Great story

Great story

Sloppy pseudo-sociology. A lot of what he claims to be “hillbilly” either isn‘t unique to Appalachia or only describes his own personal experiences. I‘m sorry that he had a hard childhood, but I‘m not really sure what to do with this memoir. Reading about his life and beliefs post-memoir make him sound like quite the hypocrite to me, but, then again, he did claim that hillbillies are bad at seeing their own flaws 🤷🏻‍♀️

June‘s #doublespin

I don‘t live in KY or OH, but I do live in a neighboring Midwestern state, and sadly, much of what was portrayed here accurately describes many in my community as well. It pisses me off, to be perfectly honest. I don‘t have the answers as to how to fix things, but I fear that things will get worse before they get better. If nothing else, this is a good book to instigate some serious discussions.

⭐⭐⭐
I don't want to get all political, but when I started listening to this book, I did not know anything about Vance's political leanings, or twitter comments he has made since the book was published.
Having said that, living and teaching in a Canadian province with a high child poverty rate, I see a lot of parallels between Vance's early life experiences, and those of many families in my community.

Book 214/2021. Finished 5/9/21 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Completely overhyped, this was boring as, I only finished it as it was a nominated book in my readathon. Can't believe they made this into a movie.

Not quite what I expected it to be but I‘m going to go ahead with it anyway.
Is that print turned bookmark too distracting? 😁
#currentlyreading #weekendreads

Bought these eons ago but didn‘t get them posted so I will now. I got these at a goodwill outlet so I paid 1.69 I think for the whole stack. I got the You to pass along to someone else because it‘s one of my favorites.

#goodwilloutlet #goodwill #memoir #bookhaul

8/10

Meh. The writing wasn‘t that great. He jumped around a lot and honestly, he made it seem like anyone can just get out of the situation easily. As a trained social worker, I don‘t agree with a lot of what he said.

I‘m posting one book per day from my ever-increasing TBR. No description. No explanation. Just books to read. Join the fun if you want.

Day 92.

#fromthetbrstacks

Interesting look at one family‘s experiences dealing with substance abuse, violence, lack of education and growing up a hillbilly.

This was my #doublespin for February @TheAromaofBooks

Ugh. Why did I wait so long to read this?? I love looking at people‘s lifestyles that are different from.

Not what I was expecting. Instead of a memoir it was more like a social look at growing up in a Hillbilly family and the struggles that insued.

Just finished this book and being from Kentucky, I found this very interesting. I‘m not specifically from the Appalachian region but have read about some of these problems plaguing that area. He also has an interesting take on the level of distrust of government from this region and how that seems to coincide with our current political climate. Great read!!

I usually avoid reading memoirs, but am glad I took the chance on this one. I wanted to read it before I watch the Netflix film. It was a story of bravery while faced with economic and cultural challenges. It takes a deeper dive into the challenges that the white working class in Appalachia encounter. It touches on politics, but not enough to overpower. I am looking forward to watching the film!

I‘m getting a jumpstart on #bookspinbingo with Hillbilly Elegy. This has been on my shelf for a couple of years now. Over Thanksgiving I listened to podcasts instead of books and heard Megyn Kelly interview the author, which I really enjoyed! I‘m also using this as the Book You Picked for the Movie Adaptation for the Beat Your Bookshelf Reading Challenge. 📚

As a memoir, this is... fine. But I think it‘s important to remember that is all that it is. One man‘s take on his own life and his family‘s experiences, and therefore biased. Two and a half stars.

I read this in about a day. Went in thinking it would live up to it‘s name but this was a seriously good read.

I was supposed to have surgery today, but thanks to a series of mix ups I‘ll be going in tomorrow. Waiting for a call any time now to let me know when I need to be at the hospital.

Listened to more than half and just could not get into the story. I just didnt care what he was saying and was not getting the point of it. Also, another Litten told me about some controversy surrounding this one.

I finished up my first November read for #bookspinbingo. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Living so close to the Middletown community, I can't help but connect. I know there is controversy on how Appalachians are portrayed, I can't speak to that, but I can speak to the culture of Middletown. It has a reputation, but so does Hamilton. The opioid crisis is tragic right now. Fascinating read for sure.

@TheAromaofBooks

Started this one today as my first read for #bookspinbingo this month and I've got to say, I'm completely engrossed. I have to confess though, I live in Hamilton, OH which is 10 miles south of Middletown, so it's very easy for me to connect and relate with this one. Plus I'm only two years older than the author.

Interesting. I am interested to see if the film adaption 🎞 on Netflix. The author told his story well. As far as explaining socio economics and poverty; I feel those were his opinions.

Book 194 of 2020
#scribd #audiobook #nonfiction

My Dad has always said “The breakdown of our country happened when large companies closed”, which drew me to this book. It‘s a Memoir of a young man who made it out of a stagnant physical and mental place that many do not. Very interesting read. I laughed out loud at some of his Grandmother‘s antics, she was quite a character.

Oofff. I‘m not sure what say about this one. It certainly hit close to home, though we are hillbillies of the Missouri variety. I feel like Memaw and my mother-in-law could‘ve been separated at birth. My husband and I both escaped to the Marine Corps as well, albeit a decade earlier than Vance. I also feel like Vance displays the genuine arrogance and self-loathing I see in poverty escapees here. That juxtaposition is an interesting 👇🏻

Today's read. Recommended by two co-workers. I can see people I knew growing up in some of the characters.

I realize this work was initially well-received and then as is often the case there was backlash. But with all memoirs I tried to listen to the author as I would a friend willing to share his history, his memories and his dreams to make it and then make a difference. To that end I enjoyed hearing the outlandish stories, cringed at some parts and cheered when the author overcame the many odds he faced.

This is an engaging, poignant and emotional read. This memoir is so well written that you are cheering them on throughout the book. A great read!

Listened to the audio book read by the author. I loved hearing JD tell his story, his failures and successes, and the power of family.

I bailed on this one a while ago but here's my two cents anyway: I did not even make it through introduction. When this book came out it garnered A LOT of attention. And then I read some reviews that said it was racist classist nonsense. And guess what: IT IS. I'm interested in Appalachian culture. Just not from this guy's perspective. The type that Donald Trump would hug. No thanks.

Vance tells the story of his upbringing in ‘hillbilly America‘ and eventual escape through higher education, interspersing discussion of the Appalachian region‘s unique history, culture and economic troubles.

Read April 10-20
Rated 2/5 ⭐️
Book 20/60

Finally reading this after sitting on my “to be read” shelf for a long time! This is going to be good!

#7books7days: 7 books that left a deep impression on me

#7 Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance

I'm from a family who migrated from KY to OH, so this book spoke to me on many levels. I was lucky & had both my parents but I lived all of these stories. I didn't come away feeling better after reading this, but it helped me put into words the way I felt. It gave my husband a perspective on me & my family that I never could help him understand before.

A very white story of growing up underprivileged. Gives little or no recognition to how his whiteness played into his success and tries to sell the Horatio Alger myth to contemporary society. I saw a lot of similarities in his story and mine but I feel it lacks a broad view of American life and the politics of power.

2.5 ⭐️ - between So-so and a Pan

Not sure what the point of this is: am I supposed to feel sympathy for the narrator, or the whole culture? I can get there for the narrator. But I really can‘t for the hillbilly culture. Which tells me this may not be written as well as he thinks. Usually when you spend time learning a culture, your appreciation for it grows. That didn‘t happen for me here. In fact, it was the opposite.

This was interesting. In addition to looking back on his own family life, he looks at statistics and some interesting insights about people in the area, their family dynamics and growing up poor. It is impressive that he worked his way up and out of that kind of life. He does credit that to a few members of his family who were good examples – interesting that they all married outside of the Appalachian culture.

Adding this #Nonfiction book to my #TBR stack for #NFNov
@rsteve388 @Clwojick

A re read for me. Still such a good book. ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Much if this book was thoughtful. However, I wish the author had been more reflective of the ways that his own privilege effected his experience.

I‘m a social worker who absolutely loves everything sociological. I loved reading this personal account of a group of people I know very little about. His story is amazing and so well written. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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