Book Review: Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant-A Memoir by Curtis Chin

Detroit, the Motor City, has a rich history. Detroit gave us the automobile industry and a roster of musical greats from Motown Records. And if you read my review of Amy Elliott Bragg’s excellent book, The Hidden History of Detroit, you know this city has a colorful past that goes beyond making cars and giving icons like Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye. Once upon a time, Detroit was even called “The Little Paris of the Midwest.”

But to be honest, my first memories of Detroit weren’t always favorable. Detroit’s automobile industry began to flail in the 1970s with the launch of foreign cars, especially those made in Japan. And Motown Records left chilly Detroit for sunnier and warmer climes in Los Angeles. Detroit experienced riots, racial strife, violence, and urban decay. But what was it like to come of age in that Detroit? Writer Curtis Chin knows. And he writes about this in his memoir Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant.

Conceived in the summer of 1967 during the Detroit riots and born in 1968, Chin was one of six children of a large, extended Chinese-American family. His family restaurant, Chungs had been a mainstay of Detroit’s Cass Corridor, part of the second Chinatown. Chung’s had been in business since the 1940s and shuttered its doors in 2000. And it truly shaped Chin in so many ways.

By the time Chin was in grade school back in the 1970s, Detroit had seen better days. But it was all Chin knew at the time, and Chung’s was a bit of a sanctuary of the strife that plagued the city. After school and on the weekends, Chin spent a lot of time at his family’s restaurant, sometimes in a booth and sometimes helping out. It didn’t matter that he and his siblings were young children; everyone had to pitch in to make sure Chung’s runs smoothly.

Chung’s attracted an eclectic clientele. Politicians dined there including Coleman Young, the first black mayor of Detroit. The Jewish community liked to eat at Chung’s on Christmas day when most eateries were closed for the holiday. Chung’s attracted blue collar and white collar workers. It attracted drug dealers and drag queens. Chung’s pretty much attracted diners from all walks of life who shared one thing, a massive love of Chinese food.

One thing Chin’s parents did was have their children ask the patrons of Chung’s about their lives and backgrounds. This was great training for a budding writer like Chin and it has served him well. It gave him an education beyond the confinements of a classroom. It didn’t matter if you were a politician or a prostitute (like there’s a difference between the two). You got fed a delicious meal at Chung’s and your story mattered to the Chin family.

As the 1970s morphed into the 1980s, and Chin became a teenager, he became more aware of what was going on, not just in Detroit but throughout the country and the world at large. Race relations were always fraught, economic woes plagued the nation, and AIDS had become a real threat to the gay community. And it was the 1980s, when Chin also came to grips with his own sexual orientation as a young gay man. However, being a gay man in the still very homophobic 1980s didn’t stop Chin from being a young Republican. But don’t worry. Young Chin was more Alex P. Keaton from the 1980s sitcom “Family Ties,” than a member of the MAGA cult.

It was in high school and later at the University of Michigan, where Chin began his passion for writing and learned to hone is literary voice. It was also when he started to face the truth about his sexuality (along with some interesting dating stories), and seeing the true humanity of his Chinese-American family, all their triumphs, their setbacks, their strength, and their frailties. And just in case you’re wondering, Chin pretty much left the Republican party behind.

Chin isn’t shy about telling about the horrible things that happened within the Asian-American community of Detroit. He tells the story of one Vincent Chin (no relation), a Chinese-American man who was brutally beaten and later succumbed to his injuries the day before his wedding. At the time in 1982 there was a lot of anti-Japanese racism broiling, and Chin was assumed to be Chinese by his white assailants. The idea of a hate crime wasn’t really part of the vernacular back then but it was obvious Chin was beaten due to his race. This incident truly horrified Curtis Chin, and he really had to face the racism that could he would have to deal with himself.

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant is beautifully and honestly written. I truly felt I was there in Detroit during that particular time, and the descriptions of Chung’s food made my mouth water. Plus, I thought Chin using letters and numbers often found on a Chinese menu to note the different chapters wise quite clever (though it took a me a while to figure this out-oops). Chin’s story of coming of age, accepting himself, and the legacy of his family, all their faults and their legacy in Detroit truly interesting, and the pop culture references of Generation X truly resonated with me. Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant is one to enjoy and learn from, and will probably make you crave some Chinese food.

Retro Review: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

When the late Sylvia Plath’s novel The Bell Jar was released in 1963, it was considered groundbreaking. It focused on topics quite controversial just over 60 years ago, including ambition in young women in a time when women were supposed to desire only marriage and motherhood and dealing with horrifying mental health issues. Originally published under the name Victoria Lucas, Sylvia’s only novel is still considered a classic in the feminist canon. But how well does The Bell Jar hold up in 2024? I decided to read it and found out for myself.

Meet Esther Greenwood, raised in the Boston suburbs by her widowed mother, Esther is now in college, which is being funded by a wealthy local author. It is the summer of 1953, and Esther has procured an internship with the fictional women’s magazine “Ladies Day” in New York City. Though Esther’s days are filled with magazine-related activities, and her nights trying to socialize with her fellow interns, Esther feels disconnected and empty. She just can’t work up the excitement over this opportunity that most girls would give their eye teeth for. Esther is riddled with anxiety and depression. Can she shake out of this funk?

Several incidents occur during Esther’s internship that Plath goes into great detail to describe. Esther talks about the various assignments for “Ladies Day” the interns get to work on as well as the nice swag they all receive (not to mention the horrid food poisoning everyone gets at a luncheon). She also describes Esther trying to befriend her fellow interns like the flirtatious and sociable Doreen and the very pious and naïve Betsy, who Esther is more drawn towards. Esther also reminisces about the various scrapes she gets into when it comes to men, like when a local New York City radio host tries to seduce her, but later he decides to date Doreen. And towards the end of her internship, Esther is nearly raped at a country club party she attends with Doreen. Esther escapes but this causes her to throw out her new clothing and sends her further into despair.

After the internship ends, Esther returns to her childhood home. During this time, Esther is absolutely crushed when another scholarship opportunity, a writing course featuring a well-known author, does not come through. She is not accepted into this prestigious program. Esther tries to fill her time before school resumes in the fall by writing a novel. Yet, she thinks she lacks the life experience to write a proper book. And she also questions what her life will be like after she graduates from college. Up till then, Esther’s whole life has revolved around academics. Will she have a career or will so end up “just a wife and mother” as the fifties often dictated to women back then.

Esther continues to fall into deeper and deeper depression, not being able to sleep or attend to basic activities. She does see a psychiatrist for a while (whom she doesn’t exactly warm up to because she thinks he’s too handsome). And when this psychiatrist suggest electroconvulsive therapy, better known as ECT. The ECT doesn’t work, and Esther makes some half-hearted suicide attempt.

However, she does nearly die after she crawls into a cellar and takes far too many sleeping pills. When her mother can’t find Esther, it is assumed she has been kidnapped and possibly murdered, which the media takes note of. Once discovered, Esther spends time at several mental hospitals, the last one paid for by her college benefactor, the writer who is named Philomena Guinea. It is at this facility, Esther meets Dr. Nolan, a woman therapist, receives questionable treatments including insulin shots, and more ECT. She also meets another patient named Joan, and it is implied Joan is a lesbian who is attracted to Esther. Esther is not fond of Joan at all.

Esther also muses about her old boyfriend, Buddy. Buddy thinks the two might get married someday, but Esther won’t entertain the idea. Esther thinks Buddy is a hypocrite because he lost his virginity to another woman instead of staying pure for Esther. It is also found out that Joan also dated buddy (even though she may be heavily closeted).

During her sessions with Dr. Nolan, Esther bemoans the life women back then must lead and she wants to have the same freedom men have, which includes everything from having sex (Dr. Nolan suggest Esther be fitted with a diaphragm), and to have a full life outside of total domesticity. And as the The Bell Jar ends, Buddy visits Esther and wonders if he’s the cause of both Esther and Joan going crazy and ended up hospitalized. Perhaps he did have a part in it, but who cares? Esther is relieved when Buddy decides to end their non-engagement. Now she is free to really live.

While reading The Bell Jar, I could understand why it was so groundbreaking when it was published in 1963. It portrayed a young woman who had ambition beyond getting married and having oodles of children. It’s wonderful Esther is smart and has goals her life that don’t necessarily include marriage and motherhood solely. And as someone who has dealt with mental health issues, I appreciate a novel that spoke of one woman’s struggle and her fight to remedy herself.

However, in 2024, The Bell Jar just cuts different. For one thing, there is a lot of racism in this book. Esther talks about the ugliness of Peruvians and Aztecs. She also keeps referring to a Black orderly at the mental hospital as the Negro. He is never given a name or just referred to his profession as an orderly. Plus, I found Esther to be rather insufferable to the other women in the book whether it was her mother (who struggled greatly to raise her without Esther’s father) or looking down on a woman in the neighborhood who is raising a large brood of children.

Still, I do think The Bell Jar is an important work. Just keep in mind how things have changed since the fifties when it takes place, and in 1963, when it was published. And be grateful things have changed for women in the past sixty years…or have they? Hmm.

Book Review: Class-A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education by Stephanie Land

We were first introduced to author Stephanie Land with her debut Memoir Class (which I reviewed nearly five years ago in 2019). Maid chronicled Land’s escape from an abusive relationship with her young daughter in tow. Life was so precarious for the two of them. The faced homelessness and a tattered safety net when it comes to getting public assistance. Land tried to support herself and her daughter by cobbling together housekeeping jobs, which mostly paid really crappy wages and where far to many people don’t value as truly hard work. Maid became a blockbuster best-selling book and the Netflix series based on Maid was critically-acclaimed and a hit with audiences, and gained Land more readers and fans. Now Land is back with another memoir Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Learning.

In Class, Land is now living in Montana with her daughter Emilia. She’s still trying to support the both of them by taking on housekeeping and cleaning gigs. But struggle and poverty follow them. Land is also attending the University of Montana in pursuit of a degree in creative writing. A degree doesn’t guarantee Land will obtain a six figure job with a fancy, impressive title. But it may help her get out of poverty and provide her and Emilia with a much better life.

Land still faces difficulty. Struggle and impoverishment continue to plague Land and affect nearly every decision she makes. Land tries to balance taking care of Emilia, procure housekeeping gigs, and got to school and do her homework. I went to college with a lot of single moms, so I can easily imagine how monumental this was for Land.

Though Land’s ex isn’t completely out of the picture as he takes Emilia in during her summers off between school, he’s a total ass when it comes to paying child support. This ex has a decent job, so it’s not like he can’t help pay for Emilia’s care. Land’s concern for Emilia’s needs are viewed as a mere irritant like a buzzing mosquito rather than something that should be fulfilled by Emilia’s very own father.

Land and Emilia live in a ramshackle house with roommates. The house is very drafty during Montana’s brutal winters, and cupboards and refrigerator are often bare. Land tries to cobble some type of safety night through public aid like food stamps, but the help she reaches out for is often not there. As she seeks help, Land has to jump through many hoops and condescension and rudeness from social workers. And after all of that, she still denied the bare minimum she and Emilia desperately need. She’s told her freelance cleaning gigs don’t count as “real work,” and her pursuit of an education is frivolous and unneccessary.

And then there is Land’s pursuit of her degree. At the University of Montana, Land is an anomaly at the university. There aren’t many thirtysomething single moms in her classes. Land is more than a decade older than her classmates. But Land tries to pay of that no mind, as she buckles down with her classes, homework, and papers. And unlike her classmates, Land doesn’t have a lot of family support. Not to mention, she couldn’t exactly indulge in such collegiate pursuits like frat parties and spring breaks in Florida.

With her struggles and housekeeping work, Land is kind of seen as a “working class writer” at the university. Writing is just in her blood; Land knows she must write. She’s a storyteller at heart. She does seek out mentorship from her program’s director. This director had attended grad school as a single mom, and later wrote a book about these experiences. But instead of acting as a mentor, this woman rebuffs Land. Ah, the whole “I got mine; fuck the rest of you,” an infuriating and all-too-common trope. Not everyone who has been in similar circumstances is an ally.

Okay, Land does get into some situations that may make readers a wee bit judgmental. She has fly-by-night relationships with men where pregnancy is the result. Though Land is in her thirties by this time, she doesn’t really seem to be concerned about birth control and getting pregnant. One pregnancy prompts Land to get an abortion. But with the second pregnancy in this time, Land decides to keep the baby. It’s baffling how Land is going to handle another child while she’s dealing with school, Emilia, a crappy ex, poverty, and cobbling together housekeeping gigs. And through all of this, Land realizes who is in her corner and who isn’t. And in the end, Land graduates about to give birth to her second daughter, Coraline, with Emilia by her side.

Like Maid, Land is brutally honest with the obstacles she faced and those she made. She shows fierce love for her children and a lot of guts and grit as she tries to fulfill her dream of an education and success as a writer. Being poor single mom, I’m sure there are people out there who think Land should have studied something more practical than creative writing like accounting or she should have learned how to code or something. But why should creative pursuits be only for the privileged and well-to-do? Class will definitely challenge those assumptions.

Class is yet another literary feather in Land’s cap, and proves Maid was no one-hit-wonder fluke. Perhaps Netflix should look into making another limited series based on Stephanie Land’s Class.

Book Review: Typecast-A Novel by Andrea J. Stein

In Andrea J. Stein’s novel Typecast, protagonist Callie Dressler is living a happy and simple life. After living for a short time in Manhattan working at a posh private school, Callie is now residing in her childhood home (her parents moved to Florida for warmer climes). Callie loves her job as a pre-school teacher, and is completely devoted to her young students. She’s a creative type who loves to paint and has a handful of great friends. As for her love life? Well, let’s just say Callie is in a bit of a dry spell.

Callie is suddenly thrown for a loop when she finds out her old college boyfriend, Ethan, has written a screenplay for a movie called “Rerouting.” At it appears to have been inspired by Callie breaking up with Ethan soon after graduation. Callie and Ethan met during their freshman year in college. It wasn’t long before these two became a true blue couple, very much in love. After graduation, they were both supposed to move out west to San Francisco, but at the last minute, Callie changed her mind and broke up with Ethan…over the phone. Ouch.

Finding out about Ethan’s upcoming movie, Callie goes into a wee bit of a tailspin. She gets more and more curious about what Ethan is up to (is he married? engaged?) and she needs to know more about this movie. She watches the the “Rerouting” trailer more than once and gets acquainted with its stars Nick Sykes, who is apparently playing the Ethan character, and Sarina Apple whose character may have been inspired by Callie herself.

All of this causes Callie to question the decisions she’s made in her life, especially when it comes to breaking up with Ethan. Should she have joined Ethan in San Francisco or is her college romance with Ethan left best in the past?

And now there is about to be more upending in Callie’s life. Nina, Callie’s older sister, along with her husband, Michael, and their little girl, Zoe, are moving in with Callie while their house is being remodeled. Callie is used to her peace and quiet, and now she has to deal with three other people underfoot, and Nina is pregnant with her second child. Michael is a workaholic, Nina is a bit of a know-it-all, and though Callie loves being an aunt to Zoe, having a pre-schooler around has its challenges.

Speaking of challenges, Callie has to deal with a difficult student named Liam and her best friend at work, Tess, is egging her on to get out there and date. Callie does try to date via a dating app but her dates aren’t exactly successful. Then there is Ben, the man who is helping Nina and Michael, remodel their house. Callie finds herself very attracted to Ben, and he seems to like her. But is Ben just being nice or could Callie have something real with him?

But throughout Typecast, Callie focuses on Ethan and what happened and what could have been. And it isn’t long before she and Ethan connect. Do they rekindle their college romance or are things best left in the past?

Typecast could have easily been a light-hearted chick lit read, but there is a lot more depth below the surface. It plays on the universal theme of “woulda, shoulda, coulda” when it comes to our past, especially when it comes to our romantic history. Callie is a character that is very relatable and likable. And I appreciated how Stein ignored the usual chick lit trope of having the main character working in a “glamourous” vocation like fashion, media, or PR. Having worked in education, I know teachers live interesting lives.

Another interesting twist, is how Typecast is written. In the modern day, Callie is written in third person. When the book goes back in time to Callie’s college years and her relationship with Ethan, the book was written in first person. I thought this was a clever touch.

If you’re looking for a enjoyable and engaging read, with characters that are fully actualized and realistic, I totally recommend Typecast. Andrea J. Stein is a writer to watch. I hope she has more books for us in store.

Book Review: Uneducated-a Memoir of Flunking Out, Falling Apart, and Finding My Worth by Christopher Zara

From where journalist Christopher Zara started out, he probably shouldn’t have ended up in the exact place he is-a respected writer and happily married man. Zara grew up in Trenton, New Jersey in a time when Trenton was falling apart as was his family. A screw up as a student, Zara was kicked out of high school for behavioral issues. He also got involved in the local punk rock scene, hanging out with some less than savory people, and once battled a seriously frightening heroin habit. And how Zara overcame these insurmountable obstacles is wonderfully told in his memoir Uneducated: Flunking Out, Falling Apart, and Finding My Worth.

Born in 1970, Zara faced a childhood familiar to many Generation X-ers. His parents’ marriage was rocky and they later divorced. He came of age in Trenton, New Jersey as it was falling apart. He got involved in punk music, which was a refuge from his home life. Though incredibly bright, school was not the place for him and he often got in trouble for misbehaving. He later dropped out but did manage to get a GED. Zara also developed a heroin habit, which he fortunately was able to kick and has lived for years drug free.

For a long time, Zara kind of sleep walked through life. He moved from place to place, and worked a lot of dead end jobs. He figured this type of life was his destiny. After all, his educational history was less than impressive. He had only a GED and no college experience, let alone an actual degree.

But what Zara did have was a lot of writing talent, and a willing to work hard and prove himself. In his mid thirties, Zara managed to get an internship at Show Business Weekly magazine, a magazine aimed at those working in the performing arts. Zara was older than most other interns and wasn’t a college student. He considered himself lucky to procure this internship. Like a lot of internships, this one was unpaid, so Zara had to work at a frame shop to make some money to help support himself.

While at Show Business Weekly, Zara was involved in so much more than writing and editing articles, and he and his cohorts tried desperately to keep a print magazine afloat at a time where websites and digital media were taking over.

Once his tenure with Show Business Weekly ended, Zara got a job with the International Business Times, which had some rather sketchy ownership, and Zara goes into great lengths to explain it in Uneducated. While at International Business Times, Zara got an education on how the internet was truly changing the world of media, where SEOs, going viral, the importance of social media, and clickbait are often of utmost importance. One could write an amazing article, but it meant bupkis if it didn’t grab enough eyeballs on the World Wide Web.

Though Zara gained strength as a writer and became more successful as a writer, he still felt less than those with college degrees, often feeling like an imposter of people he felt were more qualified just because they had a sheepskin. But most of his colleagues truly accepted him, not giving a shit if he didn’t have a college degree. Zara’s talent, skill, and work ethic was good enough.

But this book isn’t just about making a career in media. Uneducated is a also a love story, with Zara telling the tale of meeting his beloved wife, Christina, their courtship and ultimate marriage. In fact, I kind of want Christina to write her own memoir.

Whether your education consisted of the Ivy League or the School of Hard Knocks, Uneducated is story for all of us. It really makes you think about the importance of education, both formal and non-formal, and how much our society measures us by our credentials and degrees. But what I also like, is how Zara never looks down at anyone who does have a college degree; there is no reverse snobbery in Uneducated. Zara doesn’t look down on anyone who did go to college and obtain a degree. He realizes there are various paths we take.

Uneducated is a wonderful tale of overcoming some pretty bad odds and making a success of one’s life. I highly recommend it for the tale it tells and the amazing way it’s written.

Book Review: Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

In Jennifer Weiners expansive novel Mrs. Everything, she tells the intricate tale of two very different sisters and their lives change, diverge, and merge together from the staid and sober 1950s through the upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s and onto the modern day.

Meet the Kaufman sisters, Josette (Jo) and Elizabeth (Bethie). Despite being related, Joe and Bethie couldn’t be any more dissimilar. Jo is a tomboy who loves to tell wild tales and dreams of travel and adventure. Bethie is pretty and charming. She loves singing and acting in both school and temple productions, and seems destined to be the proper wife and mother.

But as they grow older and come of age, Jo and Bethie’s lives take completely contradictory paths. Jo gets married, has three girls, and tries to be the proper and contented suburban housewife. Meanwhile, Bethie goes off the rails, gets involved in the counterculture, and ends up living in a commune.

Jo and Bethie’s story begins in the 1950s where they are being raised by their widowed mother in Detroit. Both have deep, dark secrets. Jo is a lesbian and she is trying desperately to keep this hidden. And Bethie is being molested by a very sleazy uncle.

It’s when both girls go to college their lives take unexpected twists and turns. Jo has an affair with the love of her life, Shelly, who later breaks Jo’s heart when she marries a man. Jo gets involved in the civil rights movement and other social issues. After graduation, she wants to be a world traveler. Bethie, on the other hand, finds flirting and having a boyfriend more important than studying and getting good grades. And she becomes quite the campus party girl.

But tragedy hits Bethie when she is brutally raped and ends up pregnant. Jo, who is now traveling overseas, cuts her vacation short, comes back to the States, and helps Bethie procure an illegal abortion. This becomes a secret that must remain only with the sisters.

As the 1960s turn into the 1970s, the Kaufman sisters’ live take on more disparate turns. Despite being gay, Jo marries a man, has three daughters, and struggles to find contentment in suburbia. Bethie is fully entrenched in the counterculture, belongs to a commune, but finds success selling homemade jam.

The go-go yuppie 1980s arrive, and both Jo and Bethie discover they have an entrepreneurial spirit. Jo has started teaching the neighborhood ladies fitness routines and aerobics. Bethie goes from the counterculture to boss babe when her jam making business takes off.

Jo and Bethie’s personal lives also go through some changes. Jo finds out her husband is cheating on her with one of her (former) best friends, and goes through a very messy divorce. And Bethie finally settles down with an old high school friend. However, she and her husband do face some hostility due to Bethie being white and Jewish, and her husband being Black and the son of a preacher.

As the 1990s and the 21st century come around, the Kaufman sisters are still facing challenges but all come to grips with their lives and the women they have become. Jo may even find love again with someone from her past, and Bethie’s marriage is in it for the long haul.

For the most part, I appreciated how Weiner captured the changing lives of women from the 1950s to the modern age through the lives of Jo and Bethie. However, I do have one quibble. The section that takes place when both sisters are at college was really off. I wasn’t around in 1962, but I hardly think boys back then were wearing their hair past their shoulders, girls were adorned in hippie-like outfits, people were protesting the Vietnam War, and hard drugs ran rampant. These scenarios seemed more out of the late 1960s, than the early 1960s. This was a glaring misstep on Weiner’s part.

Still, Mrs. Everything is a very engrossing read with two very fascinating characters.

Book Review: Profiles in Ignorance-How America’s Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber by Andy Borowitz

It seems to me, that when it comes to politics, especially for the current state of the GOP, ignorance isn’t a hindrance. Currently, Lauren Boebert, who dropped out of high school and kept flunking her GED tests, is a member of Congress. To me, this is a tragedy. But apparently her constituents in Colorado are perfectly fine with having a willfully ignorant moron representing them. Boebert is now in her second term in Congress.

Yes, the embrace of idiocy makes me want to throw things. And it turns out accepting stupidity in our politicians isn’t exactly a new thing for the GOP. It’s been going on for decades. And political satirist, Andy Borowitz, takes on this phenomenon is his book Profiles in Ignorance: How America’s Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber.

According to Borowitz there are three stages of ignorance-ridicule, acceptance, and finally, celebration.

In ridicule Borowitz discusses how an affable but dim B-list actor named Ronald Reagan because President for two terms, and how so many of his shitty policies are still having a negative impact on the United States today. Even Reagan’s speech writer called him a “barren terrain.” And remember when Dan Quayle misspelled potato? What did we do? We mocked and laughed, and thought things can’t get worse than Dan Quayle misspelling potato. But I digress.

The next stage is acceptance, where many people accepted good old boy President like George W. Bush even though he didn’t have much going on upstairs because he was the type of guy you could have a beer with. Why would we want an egghead who cares about the planet and shit like Al Gore? And who cares if Sarah Palin meandered through five different colleges and thought Africa was a country. She’s a folksy hockey mom, you betcha!

Now we’re at the most dangerous phase, the celebration phase of ignorance in politics. Our country barely survived the Trump as President, and now he’s the leading GOP candidate for the 2024 Presidential election. Several smooth brains who are also liars, uneducated, do-nothing howler monkeys like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and George Santos are in Congress. And even politicians who are relatively smart and highly-educated like Senator Ted Cruz and Governor of Florida and GOP Presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis are dumbing themselves down to appeal to voters. I don’t know about you, but I want my representatives in politics from President to my state Senator to be smart and to be willing to show it.

Of course, Republican politicians aren’t the only ones who act stupidly. Former mayor of Washington D.C., the late Marion Barry was caught smoking crack and it was filmed. And former president, Bill Clinton, had an affair with Monica Lewinsky, lied about, and got impeached. But for the most part, it’s the Republican party that has been acting like idiots and even reveling in it.

Is there hope for us who are disgusted by the embrace of idiocy in our political sphere? In the final chapter, “Conclusion: Democracy’s Braking System,” Borowitz gives us some ideas on how to fix this. Sure, we can vote, stay informed, and donate to various campaigns of candidates who aren’t mentally deficient. But Borowitz behooves the reader to get involved in the grass roots level of politics. And there are quite a few examples of how we can do this, which he lays out in book. And because so many of my readers are total braniacs, I’m sure they can figure out what they can do to insure the stupid people don’t totally screw things up…forever.

Reading to Reels: Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret

It’s been over fifty years since the Judy Blume classic book Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret was released to making it to the silver screen. And I’m telling you; it’s well worth the wait.

Not surprisingly, Judy Blume was a bit hesitant about making Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret into a film. And I can’t blame her. This book is a touchstone for generations of women and girls covering topics like wanting to fill out a bra, worrying about getting your first period, religion, family, school, and discovering boys. The film adaptation had to be made with the right touch, and with director Kelly Fremon Craig, and a wonderful cast it has.

When the film version of Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret begins, 11-year-old Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Forston) is finishing up summer camp and going to back to her parents, Barbara (Rachel McAdams) and Herb (Benny Safdie),in New York City. But there is a surprise in store for Margaret. Due to her father’s job, the Simon family is packing up and moving from the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple to the bucolic suburbs of New Jersey. Margaret is horrified. She’s going to miss the city, her friends, and her devoted bubbe Sylvia Simon (Kathy Bates).

Just as the Simon family is settling in their new home, Margaret is befriended by neighbor girl, Nancy Wheeler (Elle Graham). It turns out Margaret and Nancy will be attending the same sixth grade class at the local elementary school. Nancy wants Margaret to join a super duper secret club along with new friends Gretchen Potter (Katherine Kupferer) and Janie Loomis (Amari Alexis Price). This secret club has quite a few rules, including not wearing socks, which causes Margaret to get some painful blisters.

Margaret and Nancy, along with Gretchen and Janie, are all in the same sixth grade class. Their teacher is Mr. Benedict (Echo Kellum), and the girls are thrilled to find Philip Leroy (Zack Brooks), a total grade school hottie is in their class. They all have a crush on him. But sadly, the girls also slut shame Laura Danker (Isol Young) for developing earlier than the other girls. There are horrible rumors that Laura lets the older boys have their way with her, and unfortunately the girls believe them.

While traversing the trials and tribulations of sixth grade, Margaret and her friends deal with the various growing pains of getting older. Nancy tells the girls they all must wear a bra to be in the club, and yes, they all chant, “We must, we must. We must increase our bust!” I wanted to get up in the theater and shout at the screen, “Stop! Don’t do that. It doesn’t work. Believe me, I’ve tried!”

The girls worry about getting their periods and once they do, they must tell the others exactly what it’s like. In one funny scene, Margaret and Janie (who want to be prepared for when the time comes), buy pads at the drugstore and nearly die from embarrassment when a teenage boy rings up their packages of “Teenage Softies.”

And yes, the girls are also obsessed with the opposite sex. They get a gander at the male anatomy by looking Gretchen’s doctor father’s anatomy books. And they wonder if they’ll ever be stacked as the playmates in Margaret’s father’s copies of Playboy so they can attract boys. As previously mentioned, all the girls crush on Philip Leroy. And when Margaret is kissed twice by Philip during a party game she is on cloud nine. Sadly, Philip acts like a jerk and later makes fun of Margaret’s small boobs.

Religion is also a central theme of Are You There, God” It’s Me, Margaret, and it’s one Margaret muses on for a year long research assignment given by Mr. Benedict. Margaret was raised without religion, yet has frequent talks with God. Her parents are of different faiths. Her mother was raised in a Christian home, and her father is Jewish. Barbara Simon is pretty much estranged from her parents for marrying a Jew. And though Sylvia at first wasn’t too thrilled with Herb marrying a shiksa, she does come around and is a devoted grandmother to Margaret.

Margaret decides to examine various religions. She goes to temple with Sylvia. She attends separate church services with Janie and Nancy. She even follows Laura Danker to confession at a Catholic parish. And Margaret continues to talk to God. Sure, she asks for bigger boobs, but she also wants to know is she Jewish? Is she Catholic? All of this leaves Margaret with more questions than answers. And when things come to blows when her maternal grandparents come for a visit, you heart breaks for young Margaret.

As the movie commences, Margaret has finished sixth grade and is looking forward to junior high and is about to go to summer camp. She has learned a lot and yet, has so much more to learn. And spoiler alert. Margaret gets her period.

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret is completely delightful. I really appreciated that this movie sticks with its early 1970s timeline long before smart phones, Netflix, the internet, and doing dances on Tik Tok. Everything from the clothing to the furniture to the music is faithful to the time period. All the performances ring true. Kathy Bates is a treasure as Sylvia Simon. But Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret is truly Abby Ryder Forston’s film. She just embodies Margaret, endearing, awkward and oh, so relatable. And if you see this movie, keep your eyes peeled. The Judy Blume shows up as an extra.

Book Review: Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen

Meet Maeve Murray. In Michelle Gallen’s novel Factory Girls, it is 1994 and Maeve lives in a small town in Northern Ireland. She has just graduated from high school, and is anxiously awaiting her exam results. Maeve has big dreams to escape her small town, move to London, and study journalism at university.

But before she can do all that, Maeve needs to find a job. She, along with her best mates, Caroline and Aoife, gets a summer job at the local shirt factory. Maeve’s job is hardly glamorous, and it’s a million miles away from a career in journalism. Maeve is going to be ironing shirts at the factory all day. But she’s happy to make some money, and soon she and Caroline get their very own flat.

At the helm of the shirt factory is the very posh Andy Strawbridge. You know he’s posh because he drives a fancy Jag. Being Irish and Catholic, Maeve is a bit leery of the British and Protestant Andy. Plus, Andy has a bit of a reputation for being a total letch.

Andy seems to find some promise in Maeve, or maybe he’s just trying to get into her knickers. He does gift her with the Dale Carnegie classic book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Maeve takes the book. Maybe Andy wants to mentor her. But at the same time she wonders if he has lasciviousness designs on her.

Working at the shirt factory is the first time Maeve finds herself working and conversing with Protestants. She has always lived among Catholics and went to Catholic schools. Protestants might as well have been from Mars according to Maeve. Remember. This is 1990s Northern Ireland. The Troubles were still brewing, and Catholics and Protestants often kept among themselves. And violence was a regular occurrence. So one can’t blame Maeve for being a bit wary of her Protestant co-workers. Though it isn’t long before Maeve realizes she has more in common with these Protestants than she originally thought, and they may have to join forces when things come a bit upended at the shirt factory.

And then there is the Murray family. Maeve and her family are still mourning the tragic death of Deidre, Maeve’s older sister who committed suicide. Deeply saddened, Maeve’s Mam (mother) and Da (father) are also racked by a serious lack of money, and they aren’t exactly supportive of Maeve’s ambition.

During this summer, Maeve starts to grow up a bit and she starts to see there is a lot o grey when it comes to the strict black and white between Catholics and Protestants, and the Irish and the English. She begins the notices the class differences between herself and her friend, Aoife, who comes from a much more well to do family. Maeve deals with family strife, unrequited love, and workplace shenanigans. quite a lot for someone who is still a teenager.

And then there is Maeve’s eagerly awaited exam results. Will her results be favorable and she’ll end up at university? Or will her results me dismal and she’ll be stuck in her small town working a shite job with no future. Scary how so much is dependent on these exam results.

Maeve Murray is an interesting lass with a lot of layers. One moment she’s a partying teenager, drinking to much and cussing up a storm. And then she’s a struggling young woman who seems to have the whole world on her shoulders. But still she’s a protagonist one roots for.

Now one warning. There is a lot of Irish slang is this book that I wasn’t too familiar with. So thanks to O’Lord McGoogle, I was able to look up some Irish slang. FYI-craic means “a good time,” Prods are Protestants and Taigs are Catholics, and weans are children. Also, if you’re not familiar of the Troubles, I highly recommend doing so research.

Factory Girls takes place in 1994, but I can’t help but wonder where Maeve Murray and her mates are nearly thirty years later. Is Maeve a globe-trotting journalist? Is she still friends with Caroline and Aoife? Is Maeve married? Does she have children? I do think a sequel is necessary.

Retro Review: 13th Gen-Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail? by Neil Howe and William Strauss with Ian Williams

As I mentioned in my review of Liz Prato’s book Kids in America, Generation X captured some attention in the 1990s. I remember there were quite a few books trying to figure Generation X out. Ha, as if we’d let them.

However, in the early 1990s, I read Neil and William Strauss’s book 13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?. And at the time, I found it to be interesting and quite infuriating. It just seemed as if the Gen X lifespan was filled with so much doom and gloom.

But why did Howe and Strauss label Generation X the 13th generation? Well, it’s because they were the 13th generation to know the United States since its inception. Also, unlike other demographers, Howe and Strauss did not consider 1965-1980 to be Gen X birth years. Instead, they considered Gen X birth years to be from 1961-1981. Twenty years!

Another reason why they used the number 13 is due to the idea that it’s unlucky (Friday the 13th, anyone?). And many Gen X-ers have dealt with a string of bad luck, especially as they came of age-family breakdown, crumbling schools, gang violence and the crack epidemic, AIDS, political malfeasance, the high cost of higher education, workplace woes, and several recessions. It’s as if Gen X was dealt a bad hand.

13th Gen is divided into three sections. Part One looks at how the generations preceding Gen X shaped and molded them and how we also compared to them, mainly the Greatest Generation, the Silent Generation, and yep, the Baby Boomers. It also takes a look at the historical experiences that affected Gen X from Watergate, Vietnam, gas shortages, the Jonestown mass suicide, Three Mile Island, the Iranian hostage crisis, the election of Reagan, AIDS, and the Challenger space shuttle explosion in 1986.

Part Two is named “The American Dream Has No 13th Floor.” This section takes a look at how various issues like race, sex, money, education, the workplace, and politics affects 13ers and 13ers stake and influence when it comes to these issues.

And in the third part, Howe and Strauss examine the 13er generation’s impact on America, especially when it comes to pop culture. Remember, this book came out in the early 1990s as grunge and hip hop were becoming popular. Howe and Strauss also peer into their crystal balls and predict where the 13th generation will be as they head into middle age in the 21st century.

Howe and Strauss aren’t alone in it’s examination of 13ers. Actual 13ers, most notably Ian Williams, crash into Howe and Strauss’s digital conversation (this is when the internet was in it’s infancy) to give their two cents. Or should I say their 13 cents? The crashers waste no time telling Howe and Strauss what it is like to be a 13er, the good, the bad, and the ugly. And Ian has fun sharing his favorites when it comes to pop culture.

13th Gen is filled with fun illustrations by Robert John Matson, various factoids and lists, and compares 13ers with other generations who were stuck with a bad reputation, but turned out to be pretty awesome in the end.

For the most part, I enjoyed reading 13th Gen when I first came across it in the 1990s. I got the vibe that Howe and Strauss truly wanted to understand my generation. And I appreciated their lack of stereotypical Boomer condescension. And I really liked the crashers adding their unique voices, especially Ian Williams, who used to have a blog I read.

But reading 13th Gen decades later is also enlightening. And it’s interesting how the prediction for my generation played out now that we are in our 40s and 50s. Did Howe and Strauss’s predictions turn out to be true? Well, to me, I think my fellow 13ers need to read this book and make up their minds.

And as for the term 13er? Well, I used it for a brief time, but you can’t go wrong with a classic like Generation X.