{"product_id":"wannabe-reckonings-with-the-pop-culture-that-shapes-me-isbn-9780063249950","title":"Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBEST READS OF 2023: New York Times Book Review • USA Today • The Skimm • Bookpage • St Louis Post-Dispatch \/ BEST HOLIDAY GIFTS 2023: Publishers Weekly \/ MOST ANTICIPATED READS OF 2023: ELLE • The Millions • Essence \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Aisha Harris is one of our smartest, most entertaining modern cultural critics (…) which might as well be parlance for, “Read me immediately.”—\u003cem\u003eELLE\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAisha Harris has made a name for herself as someone you can turn to\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003efor a razor-sharp take on whatever show or movie everyone\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eis talking about. Now, she turns her talents inward, mining the benchmarks of her nineties childhood and beyond to analyze the tropes that are shaping all of us, and our ability to shape them right back.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the opening essay, an interaction with Chance the Rapper prompts an investigation into the origin myth of her name. Elsewhere, Aisha traces the evolution of the “Black Friend” trope from its Twainian origins through to the heyday of the Spice Girls, teen comedies like \u003cem\u003eClueless\u003c\/em\u003e, and sitcoms of the \u003cem\u003eNew Girl\u003c\/em\u003e variety. And she examines the overlap of taste and identity in this era, rejecting the patriarchal ethos that you are what you like\u003cstrong\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e Whatever the subject, sitting down with her book feels like hanging out with your smart, hilarious, pop culture–obsessed friend—and it’s a delight. \u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Harris, \u003cstrong\u003ean astute observer \u003c\/strong\u003eof the artist-audience relationship, hosts NPR’s \u003cem\u003ePop Culture Happy Hour\u003c\/em\u003e, and her  \u003cstrong\u003erefreshing debut essay collection \u003c\/strong\u003eweighs in on the music, movies, and TV shows that have had an impact on her life.   She explores the racist pushback against the casting of a Black actor as the lead in \u003cem\u003eThe Little Mermaid\u003c\/em\u003e   and the lack of narrative closure promoted by Hollywood’s endless parade of reboots, remakes, and prequels, serving up  \u003cstrong\u003einsightful perspectives in animated prose.\u003c\/strong\u003e” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly, Holiday Gift Guide of 2023\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Come for the hot takes but stay for the thoughtful analysis that will stick with you long after the last word.”  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eELLE - Best New Books to Read in Summer 2023” round up\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Refreshing . . . an astute observer of the artist\/audience relationship . . . insightful perspectives in animated prose that affirm Harris’s status as a first-rate cultural critic. \u003cstrong\u003eAs incisive as they are entertaining, these essays are a treat\u003c\/strong\u003e.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"If you’re looking for engaging nonfiction for your next trip or just love all things pop culture,  \u003cstrong\u003eadd to cart ASAP.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Skimm\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[E]nlisting movies and TV to explain the world is Harris’s expertise, arriving at ‘inadvertent self-formation by way of popular culture.’ For readers already inclined to read culture to understand themselves, \u003cstrong\u003eWANNABE\u003c\/strong\u003e is a compelling affirmation that they’re looking in the right place.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Aisha Harris is the pop culture maven millennials have been waiting for. In this collection of essays, Harris brings a refined, journalistic scrutiny to subjective nostalgia, which makes \u003cem\u003eWannabe\u003c\/em\u003e a truly magical summer read.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage, Top Summer Reading Collection\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[T]hought-provoking...essays….Adorned with witty remarks, tongue-in-cheek humor, and an unmistakable grasp of Internet culture, the memoir reads like an intimate gossip session, inviting readers to share Harris’s enlightening epiphanies.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Progressive\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"An incredible journey through pop culture’s enduring and indelible impact. In \u003cem\u003eWannabe\u003c\/em\u003e, Aisha Harris unpacks the (sometimes better, often worse) ways that pop culture has shaped her own life, charting a course for the rest of us along the way. Harris’s essays are brilliant, incisive, heartbreaking, and completely unforgettable. This is one of those rare books you’ll pick up and not be able to put down -- it blew me away.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSUSAN RIGETTI, author of Whistleblower and Cover Story: A Novel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"[\u003cem\u003eWannabe\u003c\/em\u003e] probes a number of timely questions about our relationship with culture in the public dialogue, in an era when our preferences are an extension of ourselves -- a prescient analysis at a most essential time.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSHAMIRA IBRAHIM, culture writer and essayist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“…lively essays… this collection offers a thoughtful and incisive discussion on how pop culture, whether intentional or not, influences the way we move in the world….vibrant, well-researched view on how current pop culture both reflects and informs our society.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Like many of us, Aisha's brain has been molded, sculpted, broken, busted, and reconfigured by pop culture. But what distinguishes her, and what makes \u003cem\u003eWannabe\u003c\/em\u003e such a joy to read, is that she exists in the intersection of critic's critic and Black girl's Black girl--deconstructing what, how, and why we consume in concert with her progressive recognition that she never quite needed to find herself because she was always there. It's like if Nola Darling, Rob Gordon, and Nora Ephron had an atheist baby.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDAMON YOUNG, award-winning author of What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir In Essays\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Harris teases out the connections between her identity and her love of pop culture with wit and elan.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTHE MILLIONS, A Most Anticipated Book of 2023\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Aisha Harris is one of our smartest, most entertaining modern cultural critics. The nine pieces offer insight on Stevie Wonder, the Spice Girls, \u003cem\u003ePen15,\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eNew Girl\u003c\/em\u003e—among many other pop artifacts, of course—which might as well be parlance for, ‘Read me immediately.’”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eELLE, A Most Anticipated Book of 2023\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperOne","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890649231589,"sku":"NP9780063249950","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780063249950.jpg?v=1730233765","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/wannabe-reckonings-with-the-pop-culture-that-shapes-me-isbn-9780063249950","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}