Scan barcode
A review by betsyrisen
The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
5.0
“No stories were viral. No celebrity was trending. The world was still big. The country was still vast. You could just be a little person, with your own little life and your own little thoughts. You didn’t have to have an opinion, and nobody cared if you did or did not. You could be alone on purpose, even in a crowd.”
“Every time period that’s ever transpired has seemed unprecedented to the people who happened to live through it; no one has ever believed the Chinese aphorism ‘May you live in interesting times’ did not apply to the life they were coincidentally living.”
“Older generations despise new generations for multiple reasons, although most are assorted iterations of two: They perceive the updated versions of themselves as either softer or lazier (or both). These categorizations tend to be accurate. But that’s positive. That’s progress. If a society improves, the experience of growing up in that society should be less taxing and more comfortable; if technology advances and efficiency increases, emerging generations should rationally expect to work less. If new kids aren’t soft and lazy, something has gone wrong.”
I basically had to give up pulling quotes because there are just so many good ones. I've always resented being lumped into the Millennial generation, because all of my cultural touchpoints growing up were firmly Gen X. My older sister is 7 years older than me, and I have always told her that I knew things long before my peers, because she knew it. We had a fax machine at home. I'm sure we were the first people on our block to get a computer. We were really plugged in to what was happening in the world as a family (my first trip to a White House conference occurred when I was in junior high, I think?) I much prefer the Oregon Trail Generation moniker, as I have been EXTREMELY online most of my life. I had my first email address at 12.
This book is great. It covers so many topics, in a really accessible way. Even things I don't care about, like sports. And the argument for when the Nineties began and ended is well thought out and really made me think. And boy did it bring back memories! Politics, pop music, sports, alcohol, there's something for everyone. Highly recommend.
“Every time period that’s ever transpired has seemed unprecedented to the people who happened to live through it; no one has ever believed the Chinese aphorism ‘May you live in interesting times’ did not apply to the life they were coincidentally living.”
“Older generations despise new generations for multiple reasons, although most are assorted iterations of two: They perceive the updated versions of themselves as either softer or lazier (or both). These categorizations tend to be accurate. But that’s positive. That’s progress. If a society improves, the experience of growing up in that society should be less taxing and more comfortable; if technology advances and efficiency increases, emerging generations should rationally expect to work less. If new kids aren’t soft and lazy, something has gone wrong.”
I basically had to give up pulling quotes because there are just so many good ones. I've always resented being lumped into the Millennial generation, because all of my cultural touchpoints growing up were firmly Gen X. My older sister is 7 years older than me, and I have always told her that I knew things long before my peers, because she knew it. We had a fax machine at home. I'm sure we were the first people on our block to get a computer. We were really plugged in to what was happening in the world as a family (my first trip to a White House conference occurred when I was in junior high, I think?) I much prefer the Oregon Trail Generation moniker, as I have been EXTREMELY online most of my life. I had my first email address at 12.
This book is great. It covers so many topics, in a really accessible way. Even things I don't care about, like sports. And the argument for when the Nineties began and ended is well thought out and really made me think. And boy did it bring back memories! Politics, pop music, sports, alcohol, there's something for everyone. Highly recommend.