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23 reviews for:
Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties
Alexandra Robbins, Abby Wilner
2.88 AVERAGE
23 reviews for:
Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties
Alexandra Robbins, Abby Wilner
2.88 AVERAGE
definitely recommend for anyone second guessing their choices/decisions/job/life post college
I found this incredibly infuriating at 22. I can't imagine how irritated I'd be at 30.
While the book is now a bit dated with it’s references, the actuality of 20-somethings still struggling with their place in life is more relevant than ever, and this did a great job highlighting how as a fellow 20-something, I wasn’t the only one navigating this turbulent world with the immense level of confusion and doubt no one ever seemed to talk about
The thing is, this book isn't what I was looking for. This isn't self-helpy or memoiry like so many books with titles like this one. I should have taken one look at the cover and known better. Better yet, I should have read the back cover or the author bios-- this isn't a romp in your twenties, tell all, confessional, advice columnist type book. This is a sociological look into what it was like to be in your twenties in 2001. The book was published in 2001 after doing interviews of 20 somethings so two things are very obvious: this is dated information and this is a summary/collection of those thoughts 20 somethings have.
The problem with dated information on this topic is that reading it now is jarring. The piece hasn't aged well. For one it must have been published pre-9/11 because at one point the authors note that it is hard for 20 somethings to feel connected as a group because no major event has banded them together (they give examples of WW2 or Cold War). I couldn't help to think well no that's not really the case anymore because we have 9/11 and the events that followed it. We also have social media banding us together more and more.
And the problem with reading a bunch of summarized interviews to depict what the person in their twenties is going through isn't super useful because I am in my 20's and thus know what I'm going through. Hearing that "Jessica" and "Henry" and "Alex" are feeling the same way is only minorly comforting in that at least I'm not alone.
TL/DR: This is descriptive, not prescriptive. No guidance, no advice, no zany escapades that make you feel like you have your shit together in comparison. But it's not a bad book. The bad reviews come from people like me who didn't know what they were getting themselves into when they opened the book.
The problem with dated information on this topic is that reading it now is jarring. The piece hasn't aged well. For one it must have been published pre-9/11 because at one point the authors note that it is hard for 20 somethings to feel connected as a group because no major event has banded them together (they give examples of WW2 or Cold War). I couldn't help to think well no that's not really the case anymore because we have 9/11 and the events that followed it. We also have social media banding us together more and more.
And the problem with reading a bunch of summarized interviews to depict what the person in their twenties is going through isn't super useful because I am in my 20's and thus know what I'm going through. Hearing that "Jessica" and "Henry" and "Alex" are feeling the same way is only minorly comforting in that at least I'm not alone.
TL/DR: This is descriptive, not prescriptive. No guidance, no advice, no zany escapades that make you feel like you have your shit together in comparison. But it's not a bad book. The bad reviews come from people like me who didn't know what they were getting themselves into when they opened the book.
Was helpful when I first read it at my own quarterlife crisis. Reading it for class now 6 years later, I found that it may help some students, but is very out-of-date in terms of the economy.
The synchronicities made me laughing out loud..
I was looking for a gift for my soon-to-be 25 years old best friend when I found this book, and the concept of quarter-life crisis has been a running joke for both of us; long before we even experience it.
Yeah, the quarter-life crisis is not an entirely new concept, a little unnoticed.. maybe. But it could be because we, the twenty-somethings, couldn't be easily generalized.
So when I read this book, I was annoyed with the feelings of 'being forced' to understand the sufferings of being twentysomethings. Trust us, we DO.
Still, it was nice to read some points, knowing that someone also feels the same. If only it had a right amount..
truth hits like a bricks, too many of it can suffocate you.
and then the too much 'relate to' stories feels like a constant whining. Which ironically, the thing we do too much in our twenties.
(okay, okay, *some* of us)
One way or another, I can't finished the book. It's like being preached about the details of pain when a knife cut your finger. Sometimes my dear fellows in suffer, the answer is relax, and enjoy the journey.
then..
a few shelf after it, I found [b:Time Flies|186618|Time Flies|Bill Cosby|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172535031s/186618.jpg|3091066], by [a:Bill Cosby|3537|Bill Cosby|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1198544055p2/3537.jpg]. Ah, guess which one I chose.
I was looking for a gift for my soon-to-be 25 years old best friend when I found this book, and the concept of quarter-life crisis has been a running joke for both of us; long before we even experience it.
Yeah, the quarter-life crisis is not an entirely new concept, a little unnoticed.. maybe. But it could be because we, the twenty-somethings, couldn't be easily generalized.
So when I read this book, I was annoyed with the feelings of 'being forced' to understand the sufferings of being twentysomethings. Trust us, we DO.
Still, it was nice to read some points, knowing that someone also feels the same. If only it had a right amount..
truth hits like a bricks, too many of it can suffocate you.
and then the too much 'relate to' stories feels like a constant whining. Which ironically, the thing we do too much in our twenties.
(okay, okay, *some* of us)
One way or another, I can't finished the book. It's like being preached about the details of pain when a knife cut your finger. Sometimes my dear fellows in suffer, the answer is relax, and enjoy the journey.
then..
a few shelf after it, I found [b:Time Flies|186618|Time Flies|Bill Cosby|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172535031s/186618.jpg|3091066], by [a:Bill Cosby|3537|Bill Cosby|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1198544055p2/3537.jpg]. Ah, guess which one I chose.
I enjoyed it but it definitely ran in circles at times regarding themes. This book was written in a conversational tone for a reason. It articulated what exactly was the unease of growing pains and it's done in a "you're not alone, now figure it out" fashion. I know a lot of the reviews logged for this book are people ragging on the millennial-woe-is-me vibe but that's not quite it. I think for a lot of ambitious twenty-somethings, it was just reassuring to know that other twenty-somethings - even the twenty-somethings back in 2001 - had the same "are we doing things right?" thoughts.
It was surprising how relevant some of the content was even a decade later after publication. It was definitely not a how-to book or guidebook for actually navigating the unique challenges. It covered everything from the difficulty of moving to a new city solo but how satisfying it could be, how goal posts could shift as you navigate your twenties, how you should examine if you're really learning new skills at your entry-level job, etc.
It was surprising how relevant some of the content was even a decade later after publication. It was definitely not a how-to book or guidebook for actually navigating the unique challenges. It covered everything from the difficulty of moving to a new city solo but how satisfying it could be, how goal posts could shift as you navigate your twenties, how you should examine if you're really learning new skills at your entry-level job, etc.
This book really resonating with me. I liked the idea and what the concept presented was.