The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell

Tales of a 6' 4", African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian

By: W. Kamau Bell

Narrated by: W. Kamau Bell

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

You may know W. Kamau Bell from his new Emmy-nominated hit show on CNN, United Shades of America. Or maybe you've read about him in The New York Times, which called him "the most promising new talent in political comedy in many years." Or maybe from The New Yorker fawning over his brand of humor writing: "Bell's gimmick is intersectional progressivism: he treats racial, gay, and women's issues as inseparable."

After all this love and praise, it's time for the next step: a book. The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell is a humorous, well-informed take on the world today, tackling a wide range of issues, such as race relations; fatherhood; the state of law enforcement today; comedians and superheroes; right-wing politics; left-wing politics; failure; his interracial marriage; white men; his upbringing by very strong-willed, race-conscious, yet ideologically opposite parents; his early days struggling to find his comedic voice, then his later days struggling to find his comedic voice; why he never seemed to fit in with the black comedy scene...or the white comedy scene; how he was a black nerd way before that became a thing; how it took his wife and an East Bay lesbian to teach him that racism and sexism often walk hand in hand; and much, much more.

©2017 W. Kamau Bell (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Although the text version is an interesting, if curiously structured, work, the audiobook allows Bell a more apt platform for his offbeat intelligence and idiosyncratic voice. The experience of listening to the text, which clocks in at 10 hours and 31 minutes, is like being the sole patron in a comedy club while Bell performs a marathon stand-up routine.... [T]he audiobook allows a listener to hear the jokes as they were meant to be delivered." (The New York Times Book Review)

"Bell...tackles everything from racism to his life growing up as a Blerd (Black nerd) to his struggles to find his comedic voice in this illuminating memoir." (Entertainment Weekly)

“With insight and aplomb, stand-up comedian Bell recounts his career arc.... Those unfamiliar with Bell’s work or expecting a lighthearted read from a popular comedian will be surprised by the book’s breadth and depth.... This informative read will be illuminating and worthwhile for aspiring comedians and general readers.” (Publishers Weekly)

Things W. Kamau Bell Wished He'd Said To People

Great listen.
Flowed well.
Clearly insightful and poignant.
Relatable, yet I found myself thinking why didn't he just do that one thing, or tell that one person XYZ, but that's easier said than done.

He might be my patronus

Hearing his perspective on life, the challenges he's faced and the honesty with humor I felt so seen.

Witty, human, nerdy, and so exacting in his thoughts about why certain things resonated with him in life, and why I might just have loved watching the Incredible Hulk as much as I did as a kid.

Really good.

W. Kamau Bell does a great job narrating his own book, as one would expect. I highly recomend.

A Brotha' like my own

The way Kamau tells his story is very similar to a lot of black males like myself. As Kamau says his self earlier in this book, "You are not alone."
We listened to, and did things that where deemed "not black enough" in our era of growing up.
I wasn't an only child like Kamau, but life had definitely put very similar experiences in our paths.
I feel like I could have wrote the same exact things in parts of this book.
There's youth, coming of age, tragedy, triumph, and a few repeats of success and failure.
I'm glad I got to listen to someone else's version of a life like this.
I've never seen his shows or met him, but he articulated his book very well.
Thanks Kamau.

this awkward black man is awesome and smart.

I really enjoyed this book. it was funny and informative. I give it 5 stars

great book

an eye opening look at being black in America. Kamal is a great author and television personality.

Showbiz Experience

I am a big fan of Kamau. I appreciate his kindness and vulnerability. The showbiz stories were very interesting, I want to go back and watch his old shows now that I know what he was experiencing behind the scenes.

Another great thing from mind of Bell

I always love hearing the insights of W. Kamau Bell. Be it his podcast or his shows I always love the mans perspective humor and good natured view. In this, we get a little back story that works like a legend or the origin story of some political satire superhero. A great read and worth the credit. I also would like to be the first to offer up my vote for him should he ever run for political office....
I want credit for being the first to reference that.

Memoir and thoughts on life

One of the things that I really love in this book was how subtly that important content can be shared. Kamau Bell sucks us adults by talking about TV and comics from when he was a child and the role that his love of superheroes played in his identity development. But that just primes you for his adoration of Doc McStuffins as one of the greatest shows in the history of TV. Not just important for Black girls to see a character that looks like them on TV, but one that is also for my children (who also love Doc McStuffins) and help break down the concepts of white normativity. White kids need to see that not everything is designed just for them.

I had a long twitter conversation the other day about the importance of diverse authors and subjects in seminary education. It didn’t work, after spending way longer than I should, I gave up because the guy simply did not see how representation matters. I think that if I had previously read this section, and he had been willing to read it, I think this would have far better communicated the importance of representation than I did.

That is one little story from The Awkward Thoughts of W Kamau Bell, but I think it is a good illustration of the strength of the book. Bell is telling his story, but he is also talking about what is important to him as a comedian and as a person.

I honestly had never heard of him before I picked up the book. It was on sale, I have been trying to keep my reading 2/3 non-White authors, and when I saw several people I know liked the book I picked up, first the kindle when it was on sale and then the audiobook when it was on sale, combined cost less than either of the normal prices. In general I think most comic’s books are better listened to than read, or at least I will affirm that for Trevor Noah, Jim Gaffigan, and Tina Fey, comedians that I have listened to their books. But I think the type of comedy that Kamau Bell does, this could be read or listened to equally well. I alternated between reading and listening.

Because I have no context for him before the book, all of this was a surprise. By the time I read the book I knew he had had TV shows, but I have not yet seen any of them, although I will try to watch United Shades of America (I really don’t watch TV). So the story of his life and the history of his comedy and the trials of his relatively recent success were not backstory of a celebrity that I already knew, but completely new information about someone that I knew nothing about.

What I like most about the memoir is that there is little self justification or spin. There is a lot of wondering if he made the right decisions, of saying clearly, that he did not make the right decisions in other places, and the showing of how he has learned over time. There is a clear humility that carries through the book. He knows he has lots to learn about the world and he wants to learn and grow as a person.

We are right about the same age. And our kids are right about the same age. So some of his touchstone events in life I experienced at the same time, but in very different physical and social spaces. I can tell his politics lean left, but honestly I am not sure how left. While he did not shy away from politics in the book, the book was about his story, and about issues like racism and sexism, but not particularly about partisan politics (although Trump does come up.) I think that will probably keep the book from becoming too dated too quickly.

I have been reading a lot about race and history over the past several years. That can get very heavy. There is real skill in The Awkward Thoughts of W Kamau Bell in keeping the content, but presenting in a way that is very readable. It is a great change of pace and I will gladly read anything else he writes.

white people read this book

Thanks for your individual black man's experience so people can learn without asking their friends whose job it isn't to entertain or educate. ❤