The World Record Book of Racist Stories by Amber Ruffin

The World Record Book of Racist Stories Reviews

• 
  Cari

  As soon as this book showed up on Edelweiss, I had to grab it. As shocking as Lacey Lamar and Amber Ruffin's racist stories are, most of them are also hilarious. Ruffin is a well-known comedian, and her sister Lacey is just as funny. You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey is required reading in my book--and this one includes more stories from Amber and Lacey's friends and family. Their parents, growing up in a different generation, share even more jaw-dropping (at least for us white people) experiences. Speaking of us white people, we need these books more for the reality check than the humor--but the humor is an added bonus as these women are kind enough to share their lived experiences with us.
• 
  Kelly (and the Book Boar)

  At just a little over 200 pages with conversational delivery style and vignettes that are generally only a page or two, The World Record Book of Racist Stories is one I flew right through in no time at all. If you were worried this follow up to You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey couldn’t match the original, rest assured it most certainly does. I mean, America is nothing if not a land of plenty when it comes to tales of bigotry!
  
  Following the footsteps of its predecessor, this time the entire Ruffin family contributes their most racist stories – not just Lacey. And just like its predecessor every entry is cringe at best and horrifying at worst. I read this rather than listened to it simply for the fact that I’m still eleven millionth in line for the audio, but if you are an enjoyer of the audiobook that is the way to go. Amber is literally a comedian, after all, so the comedic timing is *chef’s kiss* . . . .
  
  . . . every time Mom would come to JCPenney in this cape, they’d follow her. She’d buy whatever merchandise she came to buy and walk out to the van and every time, there was a guy watching her who had followed her out to the parking lot waiting to see if she took out anything from her shirt. I asked her if she ever took out two middle fingers and showed him those. I got in trouble.
  
  At the end of the book Lacey and Amber say . . .
  
  If you’ve made it to this point you have now been bestowed with the power to pass out your very own Racist Awards. So put on your evening dress or top hat and make your voice heard!
  
  So here we go with some moments in history I’ve witnessed from my bajillion years in the workplace:
  
  1. Eleventy thousand times a black person was “complimented” for “being so articulate” – and mind you they are all attorneys so double WTF at that comment;
  2. Eleventy thousand and two times someone had to answer questions about their hair;
  3. Eleventy thousand and three emails about diversity when one Black person and one gay person are gainfully employed at this bigass company;
  4. When they tried to diversify and hire a Hawaiian attorney (whose name was not difficult to pronounce/was spelled pretty much 100% phonetically but will not be printed here because she didn’t sign up to be a part of my mess) and old white man #412 said “what’s her name? Tsunami?” And then called her Tsunami at least a dozen times;
  5. When the 800 year old attorney wanted to take a new associate to his old man club because “it would be impressive that he was friends with a colored person.” OMG to infinity and also, you ain’t friends m-effer – he and everyone else in the office is forced to be nice to you;
  6. When the company did a celebrity look-alike PowerPoint during Staff Appreciation and as soon as a black employee’s face popped on screen you were hoping it wasn’t going to be G.D. Hattie McDaniel like in this book. The comparison was to Regina King, which would be a compliment for sure . . . until you realized they really meant Regina Hall. I guess all Reginas look alike??? Zoinks;
  7. When the clerks (who are supposed to take overflow work and learn how to climb the corporate ladder) got recruited to scrub office furniture that had just came out of storage – mad props to the Black clerk being brave enough to stand up for herself and say NO MA’AM to that noise which was 100% not her job;
  8. When two women attending a diversity seminar were set up as an excellent example for lesbian representation . . . and then they had to explain they were sisters not a married couple and they were in the meeting because of their Mexican heritage;
  9. Hearing someone say “you know who you remind me of? R KELLY!” ‘Nuff said.
  
  Every Star.
• 
  laurel [the suspected bibliophile]

  It's weird to say this about a book about racist stories, but it was an utter delight.
  
  Listen to the audiobook. Trust me. TRUST ME. Do it.
  
  Amber Ruffin is the most delightful human being on the planet (and she knows it) and her sister Lacey is just as hilarious.
  
  Anywho, the stories in here both highlight the hate, anger, indifference and casual ignorance of white supremacy and racism in America (and other parts of the world, but the US is the focus), along with the mental gymnastics Black Americans must do to stay sane in a world built to crush them.
  
  But, because it's Amber Ruffin, the most brutal punch-lines are told with her trademark ain't I a stinker smile, and...dammit she is just the most amazing person on the planet.
  
  Seriously though, listen to the audiobook. There's a little Legally Blonde shoutout at the end.
• 
  Jamie

  Hilarious (the storytelling) and yet awful (the racism) at the same time. I really enjoyed Amber and Lacey's first book,
  You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism, and this was a solid sequel. The banter between the two sisters really makes the book shine.
• 
  Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell

  Amber and Lacey are writing another book together??? OH PLEASE PICK ME
• 
  Rod Brown

  This follow-up to You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism overflows with more crappy white people dropping microaggressions and blatant racism by the ton.
  
  It's simultaneously funny and horrifying, especially since I moved last year to Omaha, the city where most of the stories occur, and I've lived in Iowa and Wisconsin where some of the other stories are set. And, yeah, I can find all the stories all too easy to believe based on my time in all those areas.
  
  My only reservation about the book is that, like the first, it is a really random string of anecdotes. The sisters make fine hosts, escorting the reader through the stories, but the scattershot nature affected my focus at times.
  
  The baby step takeaway: OMG, fellow white folks, stop touching Black people's hair already! I grew up in the Midwest, and I know "keep your hands to yourself" was covered in kindergarten and revisited all the way through high school.
• 
  Ruth

  Before reading: I am so excited for this!!!!!!!! Which seems wrong somehow... but these two are hilarious!
  
  After reading: I read this book in one night. It is as funny as I was hoping, and brutal to read at times. Which is good, because that comes from the honesty at the heart of this book.
  
  I’m going to try to get my hands on an audiobook version soon, because I loved the first one on audio and this one had way more songs. I’m thinking of listening to the first one again to laugh/get angry again.
  
  
• 
  Kathleen

  Do yourself a favor and listen to the audiobook version! Total bonus to hear the banter between sisters Amber and Lacey while sharing their second book of personal stories. I loved their first book and I love this second book just as much!
• 
  Mark Robison

  For me, the first book by these sisters ("
  You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism") was great. This one feels more like outtakes from the first book, but I still raced through it in an afternoon.
  
  While the first book was mostly stories about hilarious (aka horrifying) racist things happening to Lacey Ruffin, this one focuses on hilarious (aka horrifying) racist incidents that happened to the sisters' parents, siblings, friends and local legislator.
  
  Echoing the first book's stories about JC Penney, this time around there's an absurd situation in Dillard's where staff follow a woman of color who is shopping for handbags until six staff members have encircled her, aggressively asking if she needs help.
  
  I also found the scenes memorable where they share stories about white people's encounters with the police.
  
  Start with the first book. If you like it, you'll want to keep the feeling going with this one. And consider the audio version so you can hear the sisters sing made-up songs from their childhood.
• 
  GJ

  I want to see one published about blacks being racist. I have many, many examples I can start with…
  
  This book is just more hate mongering and divisiveness that liberals love. Pathetic.
  
  Unfortunately I have to add this to my review since there seems to be some people who lack the ability called “reading comprehension”. I HAVE read this poor excuse for a book, and this is my review like it or not.
• 
  Gina

  As hilarious and horrifying as the first book, authors Ruffin and Lamar warn readers this one will take a harder approach than before. They weren't kidding. They expand their everyday racism experiences to include horrors members of their family have experienced, which gives the narrative an even sharper edge than their previous book. I can't imagine anyone reading this and not being affected - by the racism itself, of course, but also by the unrelenting nature of it, the daily toll it must take on an individual. Highly recommend as a follow up to You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey.
• 
  Sahitya

  I haven’t read these sisters’ first book but I have enjoyed watching Amber’s show and wanted to check this book out when it came onto my radar.
  
  And I know this is funny. The whole book is satirical yes, but it is also the truth and it’s just hilarious as well as despairing to read about the numerous big and small racist experiences these sisters, their families and friends have been through. It’s a harsh reality that we may be able to process through making fun of it but the reality is still horrific. And the worst part is I’m sure they’ll be able to write more books because looking at the way things are going, I don’t see how they’ll run out of racist stories to tell.
  
  Great book to have a laugh at first glance but definitely leaves you with a lot to think about.
• 
  Kayla Schenck

  I was laughing more than I should have at the absolute ignorance of some people.
• 
  Nev

  This was such an amazing read! I enjoyed it even more than their first book
  You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism. In that book I found myself wanting Amber Ruffin to share more of her own stories instead of mainly just providing commentary on her sister’s stories. This book definitely delivered more stories from Amber as well as Amber and Lacey sharing stories from their parents, other siblings, and friends.
  
  The book uses humor to relay these absolutely wildly racist situations and people that the authors and their loved ones have experienced over the years. While upsetting and infuriating things happen, the way the stories are told keeps the book from feeling too heavy. I definitely recommend checking this out on audio. Lacey and Amber both narrate it and it’s fun to hear them go back and forth in the different stories.
• 
  Ruby Grad

  Like their first book, this book evoked a wide range of responses and emotions in me. Their senses of humor (which are great) help to mitigate a lot of the anger I felt in response to the stories of racism. I highly recommend this book (as well as
  You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism), especially for those of us who are white and need to understand the pervasiveness of racism in our country.
• 
  Steph

  Once again the authors have many eye opening stories, some are more serious in tone than their previous book. This didn’t flow quite as well, probably because it jumps around between storytellers and also contains a lot of banter (sometimes unrelated to any story) between the sisters. I liked this one but I didn’t love it as much as I did You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey.
  
  Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy!
• 
  Lacy

  Funny and terrible. Recommend.
• 
  Miss Syreena

  I adore them. A mix of funny and sad (and some truly awful) stories. Also appreciated their reminder that it’s important to talk/write about these incidents as a way to help process.
• 
  Andre

  Sadly funny. The stories here will bring a chuckle as well as drop your jaw. The things that some people do in the service of white supremacy are at times incredulously outrageous. A good book to share with “friends” that accuse you of seeing racism in every nook and cranny. These stories of racist encounters are a reminder that you really don’t have to look that hard.
• 
  Aliza

  Another great collection from the two sisters. Some were fun, some were heartbreaking, some made me shake my head and roll my eyes, others made me nod my head while thinking, “Yeah, that tracks.”

  
  

  I know that there are people out there who will think this is all made up, and that astounds me. Maybe they’re stuck in 2008 when we ended racism. Oh yeah, apparently we ended racism? That’s what Fox News keeps telling me.
• 
  April

  Brilliant. A stark and vivid reminder of all the many small and large ways that racism still thrives to this day. The humor that Amber and Lacey weave through each of these retellings makes it less dark than it could have been considering the nature of the content.
• 
  Lauren

  Wish I had listened to the audio version.
• 
  Jennifer Spiegel

  I want so badly for Amber Ruffin and I to talk. Amber, please call. You're a writer. I'm a writer. You're from Omaha. I've been to Omaha. You live in NYC. I've lived in NYC. You've been to church. I've been to church. I would've raised my hand with you at the Anne Frank Museum!!!!!!)
  
  
  Well, first, you should read You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism. It's the better book. This is the follow up. I still totally liked it, but it's not as good. There were times . . . bear with me--you know I like to bill myself as ANTI-RACIST in every single freakin' way. . . that I wished they gave well-intentioned white idiots the benefit of the doubt.
  
  I'm reacting wholly to things in my own life that have NOTHING to do with race whatsoever. Just bad things people do. When is enough enough? At what point do you NOT cut people some slack for their BS? Do we forgive the "okay" ones?
  
  In the area of racism, maybe there's just no more room for slack.
  
  Though I had a few of those moments with these two sisters (just a few), they are entirely hilarious and funny with some great family stories and kids-in-school stories, so the book is completely engaging.
• 
  Shannon

  The World Record Book of Racist Stories
  
  I Picked Up This Book Because: I’ve liked the author’s previous work.
  
  Media Type: Audiobook
  Source: HC Public Library
  Dates Read: 5/5/23 - 5/7/23
  Stars: 5
  Narrator(s): Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar
  
  
  Writing: So good. I’m not sure how these authors manage to take stories that should (and do) outrage and disgust us and turn them into mostly laughable anecdotes.
  Forward Motion: Good. This book is very fast paced
  Overall Interest: Fully invested.
  Length of Reading Time: Very good.
  Re-read-ability: I probably won’t re-read this alone but I could see this as a good road trip book that sparks discussion.
  
• 
  Hank Stuever

  An excellent reminder that when it comes to racism, there's always MORE! The Ruffin family digs a little deeper for more jaw-dropping stories about growing up and still living (mostly happily) in Omaha amid a daily parade of racist comments, a lot of which is delivered in that stupid coating of Midwestern niceness, but there you go. That it can be so hilarious -- and that the Ruffin family, particularly late-night TV host Amber Ruffin, are so wryly able to strip mine it for its galling humor -- makes for a unique approach to holding a mirror up to American society. And you just know they've still barely scratched the surface. The stories they've forgotten would probably fill a shelf of books.
• 
  Abbie

  Amber and Lacey's latest collection of their family's everyday experiences with racism is a little heavier than their first book, but told with their signature flair. The audiobook, read by Lacey and Amber, is again fantastic and their delivery is spectactular.
  
  It's amazing that Amber, Lacey, and all their family members are as delightful/well adjusted as they seem in this book and get by without going into a rage blackout over the white BS they have to put up with the regular. Also the dentist story is one of the most upsetting things I have ever heard, and it is not even the worst story in this book.
• 
  Kab

  4.5
• 
  Brady Kronmiller

  “Well guess what?! Their reverend was ALSO A BLACK WOMAN NAMED ANGIE! And, at this point I have to say, how beautiful. The Lord works in mysterious and hilarious ways.”