Welcome to Litsy!

I haven‘t read this but it definitely fits the #MidlifeCrisis prompt. Honestly the way the last two years have been going, how would we even know if we‘re having a midlife crisis or just pandemic stress?

#FallTreasures

#falltreasures @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Day 9: Midlife Crisis

I haven‘t felt as seen as I did reading this since picking up Wintering earlier this year. Some chapters certainly grabbed me more than others, and I recognize she‘s writing about a certain demographic of women, but as I mostly fit the characteristics (except I‘m not American), I really appreciated this book and highlighted dozens of passages. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Lots of reasons why, little how to improve. Overall interesting GenX read.

@Hooked_on_books Holly! What a great selection of books, thank you! It‘s exciting to see a signed first edition, and I really loved Simon the Fiddler early this year, so I‘m very much looking forward to News of the World. The cards and little notebook are great, and I can‘t wait to try the Hawaiian chocolate. Unfortunately the mug didn‘t survive the journey, I‘m sorry to say.

I hope you and Tony are having a lovely tropical holiday! ❤️💚❤️

Congrats on your milestones, Helen, and thanks for the giveaway!

1. The tagged is my favorite of the year. It spoke to me so deeply and showed me the experiences I was having especially a few years ago were likely inevitable. I felt so seen.

2. I loved Yaa Gyasi‘s Homegoing and can‘t wait to read her next book Transcendent Kingdom. I hope the pub date doesn‘t get bumped again.

#nutsaboutbooks

I laughed, cried, quoted this book to my husband and yelled - see I am not crazy! OMG that is so true. Who know that a bunch of other women feel the same way I do.

I got a lot out of this book and it‘s analysis of what makes Gen Xers experience hitting midlife unique. So much rings true and is so different from the Boomers. I enjoy learning about generational differences and Calhoun did a great job breaking down areas that effect us in mid-life. This is not a book about how to get more sleep but how approaching our worries differently might help us rest easier!

Next time I read Why We Can‘t Sleep 💤.... And What To Do About It instead

From the book fair today. Definitely a #blameitonlitsy

I cannot tell you how many photos of Ada Calhoun's Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis I texted to my friends, accompanied by exclamations like "This book is speaking to me!!!" and "I started Why We Can't Sleep and have been compelled to book dart 7 times. I'm on page 6." I do not KNOW the last time I have identified so strongly with a book.⠀ ⬇️

As an almost 43 year old with a 4-year-old son, parents that are 80 and 75, and finding myself without a career or being anywhere near where I dreamed of being by this time in my life I found myself nodding along with the majority of prose in this book. It is a bit of a sting, but knowing that other women feel much the way I do about thinking they should be able to do it all made me feel not so alone. The summary is, lower your expectations.

Democrat✔️
Woman ✔️
Black ✔️
Between the ages of 30 to 45 ✔️

😂😂😂😂😭😭😭😭

So depressing. I was hoping for more narrative but it‘s just a litany of statistics and “my friend says...”-type of anecdotes. Then, she tried to wrap it up neatly by advising gen x women to practice “self-care” and just let it go.

"It was not bad advice. She didn't want me to be dependent on a man. For her, money was freedom and power...The advice had an unintended side effect, though: I work hard, all the time, but when I fail to make an adequate amount of money, I feel terror... I've set back the cause of feminism and endangered my freedom. I don't just feel broke; I feel doomed." (pg 109)

This book is depressing as hell! LOL But I guess I feel validated by the reams of statistics showing that my mess of a life is not TOTALLY my fault.

I have a book to read and another book to read and two ARCs from the publisher that I‘m supposed to read so WHY AM I CHECKING THESE OUT? #willpower #nonexistent

"Every decision you make in life sends you down a path that could turn out to be a wrong one..."

Y'all, this is what I think every time I make a major decision and it's the absolute worst. This is why I struggle so badly when I have to choose. ?

So I think I'm technically too young to be part of the target audience of this book but its description resonated with me so I'm reading it anyway ??‍♀️

"... Generation X is America's neglected middle child...a low-slung, straight line bridge between two noisy behemoths. We are the Jan Brady of generations..."

Y'all I'm dying ???

I was hoping for some solutions but at least I‘m not crazy? 🤷🏼‍♀️

So it‘s great to know that as a Gen X woman, I‘m not alone but now I‘m even more depressed with all there is to deal with. Ada provides some interesting facts that I never knew. One thing we all could do to help each other is to be supportive of each other, not just women like us but ALL women. That one step would certainly help.

Many Gen X women feel like they are underwater, not accomplishing enough, and not allowed to complain. Ada Calhoun explains where this comes from and the pervasiveness of these crisis feelings in our generation. I felt validated and seen by this book and, ultimately, calmer after reading it. I struggled to put it down. Thank you, Ada, for shining the light on forgotten women.

I love this dedication. Hopefully it bodes well for the book.

Very heavy on the statistics but peppered with enough anecdotal stories to keep it interesting. Light on the solutions, but straight forward enough to tell you that people giving you "solutions" is part of the problem. We don't need more on our to do lists!!

This spoke to me deeply. As someone who doesn't have a network of IRL friends of a similar age, and no one IRL that is also single, never married, and childless, it's amazing to feel like I'm not alone in the things I feel on a regular basis. I think this is ideal for American Gen X women and does end with a hopeful note (you just have to make it to the last chapter to find that hope).

I almost forgot this week‘s #bookreport. In my defense, it‘s been an emotional roller coaster of a week. I did start several ARCs, but didn‘t make any progress in the other book I wanted to finish. I only finished audio.
Medicus: meh
Tom Sawyer: pick with reservations
Christmas Carol: LOVE
(ARC) Tagged book: tough but good so far
(ARC) Forever Duke: tedious so far
(ARC) New Kings: dull. Switched to audio - still dull
Baba Yaga: starting tonight

I finally started this ARC, and I promise not to spam your feeds with quotes even though that would be so easy, and I know I haven‘t gotten very far into it, but I feel seen. This is going to be a tough read, and I expect lots of tears, but this feels like my truth in print.

This book made me depressed! The boomers really screwed us. But at least I‘m not alone. Women who were born in the 70‘s were given such unrealistic expectations and so many of us have been suffering in silence thinking we‘re the only one who feels exhausted from doing so much and having so little to show for for it. In reality, it‘s the majority of us. The upside is that we‘re a resilient generation and now it‘s our turn to take the reins. #nfnov

I got approved for this on NetGalley, but then won a print giveaway from Goodreads. As a GenX Woman, this is aimed at me, and I‘m looking forward to it. It arrived today. 😊 It‘s rapid arrival makes me really worried about receiving the LibraryThing EarlyReviewers books from June and July. I can‘t report July‘s book as “not received” until Friday, but the odds of it showing up now are slim to none and I never received the June book. 😭😭

Just started this ARC and all of a sudden, I feel slightly more sane. Gen X women who feel like all the promises that were made when we were kids haven‘t panned out might want to head to NetGalley and request a copy.

I got this book as an ARC, and finally got to reading it. While it's well written, informative & interesting...it's only target is gen x'rs starting or in their midlife crisis

I did not expect to get approved for this, but I‘m actually really excited to read it. It‘s way outside my comfort zone, but as a Gen X woman heading into perimenopause, I‘m definitely intrigued by the description.

#netgalley

Written by a middle class gen x woman for others in the same boat. Lots of good commiseration, but light on solutions. #netgalley