Stuff White People Like

The Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions

By: Christian Lander

Narrated by: Victor Bevine

Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

They love nothing better than sipping free-trade gourmet coffee, leafing through the Sunday New York Times, and listening to David Sedaris on NPR (ideally all at the same time). Apple products, indie music, food co-ops, and vintage T-shirts make them weak in the knees. They believe they're unique, yet somehow they're all exactly the same, talking about how they "get" Sarah Silverman's "subversive" comedy and Wes Anderson's "droll" films.

They're also down with diversity and up on all the best microbrews, breakfast spots, foreign cinema, and authentic sushi. They're organic, ironic, and do not own TVs.

You know who they are: They're white people. And they're here, and you're gonna have to deal. Fortunately, here's a book that investigates, explains, and offers advice for finding social success with the Caucasian persuasion. So kick back on your IKEA couch and lose yourself in the ultimate guide to the unbearable whiteness of being.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2008 Christian Lander (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

You can get most of this stuff on the website

This is not a bad audiobook. If it was all original material I would have given it a higher raiting but 99% of this material came from the writer's Stuff White People Like blog so I kind of felt ripped off after listening to it.

The material itself is rather funny by 'White' people the writer means educated, upwardly mobile, middle class types. There are some geniunely funny observations about modern middle class culture and "hip" culture. And the entries are all rather short so it is not exactly "Deep" or serious but a lot of fun.

If you have not read the blog or just want some light background noise you could do much worse.

It's True What They Say About White People!

What made the experience of listening to Stuff White People Like the most enjoyable?

The fact that as a white male, I could agree and compare myself to a book that was both funny and engaging. Nothing like stepping back and seeing what others see when they look at you.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Stuff White People Like?

The number of things that I took day in and day out that seem to be very white person specific.

What about Victor Bevine’s performance did you like?

His voice delivered a calm and very matter of fact listing of various things that white people tend to like made me smile.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh on numerous occasions as this book is a great social commentary on what the "majority" likes to do and enjoy in their lives.

Any additional comments?

No matter your race, this book will make you crack up and is worth giving a listen!

Good in short spurts

If you're looking for something to listen to during long trips, this may not be the audiobook for you. I thought after about #50 that the "things white people like" had gotten a bit predictable.
This may be a good one to listen to during a 30 minute commute to work.

Good Humor

If you could sum up Stuff White People Like in three words, what would they be?

Entertaining. I had a belly-laugh at some of it, but mostly it was a gathering of truisms that were well written, but often repeatative. It was still fun and I bookmarked many to share with my wife. Performance was so-so. It would have been more listenable if the reader was not so obviously white! If we are making fun of a race, would it not be plausible for another race to present it? I know the author is white, but that does not mean the reader needs to be.

Who was your favorite character and why?

NA

Did Victor Bevine do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

NA

DEAD ON

I had no idea how very, very white I was. It was a little shocking, quite frankly. I can't tell you how many times I shook my head and laughed at myself all the way through this book.

My only complaint is that it gets a little repetitive. 100 things would have, in my opinion, been better than 150, as there was some overlap with a few chapters.

The narrator was PERFECT. The only person that MIGHT have been a better choice is John Hodgeman, but that's only because he's the whitest man that ever lived.

Stuff White People Like

This book was a hilarious guide to today's politically correct white culture. I laughed out loud the entire time!

150 Reasons for White People to Laugh

Written as a guide for the non-White person to understand his /her White friends, Lander's description leaves no room for misinterpretation: if you want to be friends with this "type" of White person, there are some things you're going to have to understand about his/her culture. Lander himself is a "type" of White man from Canada and writes with the expertise of a cultural anthropologist and with a sharp sense of humor. This book enumerates 150 ways to be White in one's actions, thoughts, and desires. The listener is encouraged to silently compare his/herself to the common White person and at the end, evaluate how "White" he or she is according to his/her tastes or actions.

Christian Lander's book is as much about about social class and race as it is comical. The pithy title shouldn't scare anyone way; everyone should be intrigued. With tongue firmly pressed in cheek, Lander points out the things that "White people like" as a social critique because absolutely no one would want to be these White people as they are described. It's not that these things are bad to like, quite the opposite; most are quite good things. What Lander points out is that this "type" of White people (and he does use this word "type", but to talk about those who do not like this stuff) tend to be spoiled, upper-middle classes, educated, self-absorbed, self described intellectuals and one-upping hypocrites, whose charitable interests are all about impressing other people and not at all about doing good deeds for others selflessly. They buy their groceries at Whole Foods and drive Priuses and are apt to talk about saving the environment, being against racism, sexism, and all the other ills of societies, but exoticize everything (historically ancient) Asian, South American, and African, and show no real concern for the workers being exploited by their favorite companies. That is, they basically have very little to do with the real world around them. This definitive guide will certainly remind you of some people you know and make you chuckle a bit, but surely, no one should see him/herself in this book. (In many ways, this book reminded me of the short-lived ABC animated program "The Goode Family".)

This is not a book for anyone who doesn't enjoy some humor based upon critical observations made by an insider; and it is certainly not for anyone who doesn't enjoy racial humor at least a little bit. If you are part of the demographic that Lander satirizes or you know people who may be, I highly recommend this book. It would make a great listen on a car trip with a few of your friends, especially if in an ethnically and/or economically diverse crowd. I can promise you, someone will discover they are 70% or more White, something s/he will deny emphatically.

I'm not very good at being a white person...

The stuff white people like that is featured in this book is hit or miss. Some you will relate to, others will make you scratch your head because you don't know any white people who do / like whatever is being described. My "Stuff White People Like" test results are in. They confirm that I am not very good at being a white person, but I did score high in some critical areas such as coffee (love it), recycling (everyone should do it) and threatening to move to Canada (which I am definitely doing if Mitt Romney gets elected!). Find out how good you are at being a white person and listen to this book. Overall it's a worthwhile listen, although the format of listing stuff white people like eventually get's tiresome.

Spoiler Alert

Any additional comments?

I made the mistake of looking the author up on the internet in the middle of listening to this book. . After learning more about him I found that I just couldn't finish the book. Maybe just my preconceptions about who would write a book like this? Or the blog that the book is taken from.

But be warned - don't research the author until you have finished this book. This book will never be the same once you know about the author.

Great "Time-Passer" Listen

The short-form nature of each entry in the book make this a great listen for those times you've got a short commute or just a few minutes to kill listening to something. This is a great audiobook to keep on your device for a long time and work through slowly.