Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America’s Future by Jean M. Twenge (★★★☆☆)
Audiobook • Libby • Nonfiction • 2023
Short synopsis: A groundbreaking, revelatory portrait of the six generations that currently live in the United States and how they connect, conflict, and compete with one another.
I am fascinated by the topic of generations, so this book seemed to be right up my alley! To put it in perspective, my grandparents were part of the silent generation, my stepdad is a baby boomer, my mom juuuust makes the cut for Gen X, my brother and I are millennials, many of my cousins and my older nephew are Gen Z, and my younger nephew is Gen Alpha.
I enjoyed getting a glimpse into the generations before me, since there is a lot I didn’t know about what was happening at this time and how those events shaped their overall characteristics. So, I was in a great mood as I started the millennial chapter. I was excited about what she had to say about my generation! And… oof.
Maybe I’m being overly sensitive as a millennial, but I could just feel the disdain she had for my generation. It got to a point where I had to look up reviews of this book to make sure I wasn’t alone in my thoughts, and a lot of other people agree that she seemed to cherry-pick research and statistics that would suit her narrative about millennials and Gen Z. I just found so many gaps in her research and writing.
She harped on the fact that starting with Gen X, people started waiting to get married to have kids. Hmm… wonder why that could be. Perhaps because women couldn’t even open a bank account in their own name until 1974? This was literally never brought up in the chapter about Gen X and how women finally having more rights as independent people led to a lot of change in the culture. She badgered millennials and Gen Z about declining birth rates and our inability to buy houses, even though she doesn’t think affordability is an issue. She buys into the lazy narrative that all millennials want participation trophies and spend too much time on our phones. And I found the Gen Z chapter really confusing. It feels like this author has never even talked to Gen Z people, conducted any sort of focus group, or discussed what’s really important to this generation.
I’m sticking with a 3-star rating because I did find parts of the book fascinating, but I was hoping for something a lot more inclusive and expansive than I received. But hey, maybe that’s the millennial in me who was hoping for a sweet participation trophy while reading about her generation! (Recommendation source: Sarah of Sarah’s Bookshelves Live)
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano (★★★★☆)
Audiobook • Libby • Mystery • 2025
Short synopsis: When a body turns up in their nosy neighbor Mrs. Haggerty’s yard and the investigation begins to target Finlay’s ex-husband, Finlay and Vero are reluctantly pulled into helping her—and into uncovering dangerous secrets before their own come to light.
This is the fifth book in the Finlay Donovan series, and I still love this series so dang much. Is it great literature? No. Is it realistic? Absolutely not. Do I care? Not one whit. I love Finlay and all of the craziness she gets herself into. (Actually, maybe I like her nanny, Vero, better. I would absolutely date Vero if I could.) In this book, Finlay attempts to clear her ex-husband’s name while discovering some intriguing hobbies her nosy neighbor has taken up. It’s fun, frothy, and propulsive, and I could barely put it down!
Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brené Brown (★★★☆☆ 1/2)
Print • Library • Nonfiction • 2021
Short synopsis: In Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through eighty-seven of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human.
I’m someone who’s very in tune with my emotions and is always trying to better understand why I feel the way I feel. This book is organized into sections based on different emotional experiences (aka, places we go when we’re hurting or places we go when things don’t go as planned). Brown walks you through 87 emotions, from the uplifting to the devastating (I cried while reading about anguish).
While the book is easy to read and engaging, I’m not sure it’s something I’d rush to recommend. Brown repurposes a lot of her own previous writing, along with a fair amount of other people’s work (all properly credited, of course). I don’t know… I just didn’t love it. It didn’t feel fresh or new. But maybe that wouldn’t bother other readers, and I’m just being a Critical Cathy.
I’ve read several of Brené Brown’s books, and I always walk away feeling like I should be getting more out of them than I do. Maybe she’s just not the behavioral expert for me.
What are you reading?
Ooh that book on the generations sounds good, but I agree that in general, Millennials get a bad rap. i’m also Gen X, barely. If I had been born two years earlier I would be a Boomer. My husband is a boomer, and I like to smugly remind him that I’m Gen X, heh heh.
i haven’t read any Brene Brown, but I do know what you mean about books like that. A lot of times I feel like they should be more helpful or meaningful than they are. I’m sure there are a lot of people who love this one, but I doubt I’ll read it.
I always think a Brene Brown book is going to hit me SO deeply, but then it doesn’t, and I’m unsure what to do about that! Ha.
Your mom is Gen X. This is my takeaway. YOUR MOM AND I ARE BOTH GEN X.
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Okay, I’m back. That was quite the realization! Anyway! My kids are Gen Z and I think that generation is, frankly, awesome. They are so open minded and wonderful. I really bristle when I hear people complain about this younger generation. The younger generation is SO much kinder than us Gen Xers ever were. I mean, I can think of a million examples of when I was young versus when my kids were young(er), how awful people were to each other.
I read the first Finlay Donovan and it was pretty cute, I probably won’t read more though. It was fun but I don’t think I am drawn to more!
I had the same kind of feelings about that Atlas of the Heart. The way people talked about it, I thought it was the literary second coming. It was NOT. It was fine. But I sure don’t think it was groundbreaking.
If it helps, she JUST makes the cut (1965) so she’s really more of a cusp-er.
I think the younger generations are awesome, too, and it makes me hopeful for the future. Just think about how much more open-minded people are about LGBTQIA+ people and focused on climate change and all of that. It’s pretty amazing!
ROB WAS BORN IN 1965!!!! Lolololol!
I haven’t read Finlay Donovan yet, but it sounds like a fun one to add to my TBR. I’m a millennial too, so I imagine I might have similar feelings to you about the book!
The Finlay Donovan books are great when you need something fun and frothy to read! I recommend them. 🙂
I kind of straddle the Gen X and Millenial generations. They refer to my generation as the “Oregon Trail” generation. We were coming up age at an odd time because we did not have the internet and cell phones until our late teen years so we are kind of an odd intra-generation. My direct report is a Gen Z and he’s amazing! My kids are Alphas. It’s too soon for me to draw any conclusions about his generation. I hear people complain about Gen Zs and how they’d rather have time off than a raise and I’m like – and you care why??? I had thought about reading this book but it sounds like it would piss me off. I think it’s positive that people are having kids later. And while the declining birth rate is challenging for demographics/funding social security – oh well? Women have more choices and freedoms so of course the birth rate is going to decline.
I’m reading too many books right now TBH! My eBook is Dream Count by Chimamanda Cgozi Adichie. I am really enjoying it. I’m also reading a physical copy (from the library) “Through the Banks of the Red Cedar” which is about the desegregation of college and professional football. It’s written by the daughter of a man who played for the Vikings so some of it is set in Minneapolis. But I am setting that physical copy aside so I can read “11/22/63” with you! Now that Paul wants to read to himself, I try to always have a physical book going to read when he does his 20 minutes of reading.
Ooh, I have not heard of the Oregon Trail generation! And it was definitely not mentioned in this book, lol. There was some good stuff in the book, but I was really disappointed in how she portrayed millennials and Gen Z. Blergh.
I discussed what I’m reading in my comment to the blog post “What We Read in November” that Lisa @Lisa’s Yarns wrote 2 days ago. I’m not sure those 2 books that I read in November count as “What I’m reading” as in the present tense, though.
1. “When Breath Becomes Air” by Dr. Paul Kalanithi and Dr. Lucy Kalanithi
2. “Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy” by Ms. Mary Roach
Those are two books I have on my TBR, but I’m not sure when I’ll be in the right headspace to read When Breath Becomes Air!
Oh dang! That generations book is so biased! Ick!!!! I’ve gotten more interested in understanding generations lately to try to approach our parents with more empathy, understanding, and patience (while still having major boundaries). It’s helped. LOL at this author blaming our gen for all that stuff. Eff right off.
You’re allowed to be a Critical Cathy! In fact, we welcome it 😉
I just started a new romance (Duke, 4th in series) and am trying some fantasy Jamie recommended on audio but not sure I have it in me to listen to a fantasy right now. I will give it a bit more time!
I found the chapters on the silent generation, baby boomers, and gen x to be really fascinating when thinking about my mom’s/grandparents’ generations, but she totally lost me when she started talking about millennials and gen Z. What a disappointment!
What a bummer with the generations books. But at least you could enjoy a few chapters.
Can you believe I have never read a Rene Brown book. I don’t know… it just never really sparked me to pick it up. I am continuously wondering if I miss something.
My reading live is complicated this year and especially lately. Sigh. Everything is just boring or bad or hard.