"and you may ask yourself- well ... how did I get here?"

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?
-Talking Heads, "Once in A Lifetime"

One could say that I have been on an extremely interesting literary kick these days. Apparently it started in April with a book I began reading in May 2006. I had put it down and forgot about it until April 2007 when the weather turned nice again. For some reason I like to read on the metro in the Spring and not so much in the winter. I think its just easier to listen to the pod on the metro when you have a winter coat and hat on and two bags on your shoulder (the purse and the gym bag - in case you wanted to be able to visualize it). So anyway - I was hungry to read again come April and picked up The Collapse. I was coming up on my beach vacation to North Carolina when I decided to stop by my neighborhood used book shop on The Hill for some reading material. While I have The Kite Runner sitting on my shelf at home, just waiting for me to dive into it and love it (like EVERYONE says I will), I don't feel like reading it yet. Don't get me wrong, I want to read it (thanks for the Christmas gift April - you are the best) and I will. I just don't feel like it right now. The other day I made a statement casually about why I hadn't started reading it yet and I think that it actually might be the real reason why I haven't. I said, "For some reason I like to read all these popular books after everyone else has read them. After they are the "it" book to read." I am not trying to be "to cool" for the cool book, but I just feel like there is too much pressure I guess. Plus they are often cheaper once the hype has died down.

But I digress, as I am sure you are quite accustomed to by now. This strange literary kick I am speaking of is that I have only been reading books that have to do with how the world ended up like this - that's the best way I can describe it. These books address the environment, economics, sociology, history, cultural studies and now a little bit of psychology. So how did I get on this kick? The answer to that question encapsulates everything that is Bethany Johnson - so we won't even attempt at answering it (I believe that is a life-long pursuit that no one person has tried to take on just yet). But this particular literary fetish was facilitated by my inquiry at the used book store for something along the lines of The Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel. I felt like I was learning so many new and interesting ideas and ways to see our global culture and how we got to this point that I wanted more. I felt like my mind was stretching and the ideas were just soooo interesting to think about. The clerk was extremely helpful and suggested a bunch of books - two of which I purchased. Freakanomics and Fast Food Nation. This then lead me to comb the economic and social science sections of bookstores for another batch of thought provoking and mind blowing books. I limited myself to purchasing two books again. I am now reading Generation Me and it is fascinating! You especially know you picked the right two books to read when the first one you pick up (Generation Me) quotes the book you have already bought to read next (Bowling Alone). Needless to say I was pretty pleased with my choices.


I decided to get Generation Me because it addresses the demographic that I find myself in - mid-twenties, college educated, upper-middle class background. I am extremely interested how my age group is dealing with this historically new modern life we lead ... basically I am wondering if my feelings and experiences (as well as those around me) are "normal" or "typical". And how does this shift from the past effect us, our relationships, our happiness - our lives in general? I am also interested in this because I feel like many of us have such different mid-twenties experiences than our parents. Isn't that interesting? Lots of things I think, feel, want, and do are pretty traditionally rooted and I wonder how to reconcile all of this with my day to day modern life. Lots of aspects of modern life are pretty great and amazing - but I still feel we are missing some things. So far this book is blowing my mind. My next post will have quotes as I dive into understanding my generation a little bit more. I have already marked some amazing points the author is making ... hope you won't mind another book review!

To be continued ....