Welcome to Litsy!

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This cultural history of 90s America covers politics & pop culture, music & sports, the dawn of the internet, & more. Klosterman makes you feel how foreign the 90s are to today, from our relationship to TV to the iconic “too cool to care” mentality of Gen X, which seems so distant to today‘s attitude. A fascinating read, but not as fun as I‘d hoped—the frenetic focus & lack of structure made it a bumpy ride & the author‘s viewpoint a bit narrow.

This is a fascinating book, and feels like it could have been specifically written for someone who sat their Sociology A Level in 1999. It's incredibly broad in its scope, covering music, film, TV, sports and politics, and it rightly gives popular culture equal weight to geopolitics. I really enjoyed this.

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#12Booksof2023 I loved this book, and it spoke directly to me as a GenXer who graduated high school in the early 90s and was in college & grad school throughout the rest of the decade. And yes, I was so excited when I got one of these phones. 😄
 @Andrew65

Soft pick. Lots of good conversation starters in these essays but the later essays dragged and I was kinda bummed by the USA-only focus.

Klosterman dies a great job of analysing the cultural, technological and political shifts of the 1990s. For me, some parts were outstanding and others just so-so. Thats on me though - Im not versed enough on topics like baseball and Garth Brooks to get much out of those analyses!
Also having a slow time of reading as my dad is back in hospital and its 50/50 as to whether he will make it back out again. Just very old and frail ⬇️

A good trip down memory lane

3.5 ⭐️ for my April #Roll100 pick

Happy to be back with Klosterman on this ride through the 90s, the decade that took me through my tweens/teens. I especially enjoyed the sections on music, TV, movies…he also took a deep dive into politics…

Loved this look at such an influential decade…I was a child in the 90s and though I remember some of the events, it was through the lens of childhood and I‘ve been interested to learn more about huge cultural moments as an adult. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author which was presented in a mostly lighthearted but still informative way. Entertaining and educational, my favorite kind of NF!

If you‘re a fan of the nineties like me I highly recommend, lots of things were discussed!

Oh, this brings me back since I'm Gen Xer. The 90's were on the cusp of a precursor for technological and social change before 9/11, Y2K, and electric cars. It's a reflection of the changing music scene of Grunge in Seattle, open discussions about sex due to HIV and the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, social change with the OJ verdict and the LA Riots, and the advancements of computers and phones. In a series of essays, Klosterman gives you nostalgia.

I feel seen, heard, and understood! 😀 As a Gen-Xer, this book is all about the things that shaped our generation. I really enjoyed the first part of the book and all of the nostalgia it evoked, more so than the second part of the book about politics and news. But it was still interesting reading about politics and news, since they also helped shape the decade.
#2023ReadySetRead @clwojick
#BookChain @TheAromaofBooks
#NoBuy2023 @PuddleJumper

I've been looking forward to starting this one that I got for Christmas, and today is the day! Saturday morning #coffeeandabook

#12Booksof2022 🎶 On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me, a trip back to the nineties 🎶

For my twelve, I‘m highlighting my favorite audiobooks of the year. Great books that were all the more enjoyable thanks to outstanding narration &/or production.

Thank you so much for the gifts Catie! I've seen this coffee before and wanted to try it but never have. I will definitely put the coloring book to use- how fun! And I can't wait to read this book- I'm a Gen Xer, so I'm definitely looking forward to all the nostalgia!
@catiewithac

This was definitely like reliving my teenage years but with much more in-depth analysis. I did find myself distracted with the audio at times, some chapters weren‘t as interesting as others. I found the sections about Clinton & George W really interesting, as well as Nirvana & Tupac. 3.5/5 ⭐️

I was hoping for some feel good nostalgia, but was sadly mostly bored...

First, let me say that I loved the 90s! I miss the 90s. This book starts with the fall of the Berlin Wall in ‘89 and ends with the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11. A lot was covered, certainly not everything, but it seemed the main highlights of the decade were covered. Too many to list, but as a Gen Xer who lived through all the things discussed, I think it was well done.

#bookspinbingo - my #doublespin for this month
#nonfictionnovember

The cover of this book was a huge draw. I owned that phone; I'm part of the Oregon Trail generation, a subset of millennials who literally spent half their adolescence without the internet and half with it. Parts of this book were quite interesting, but other parts felt kinda meh or just drug along. (I couldn't resist using the 1998 Cam app for some authenticity 😂)

I went through my TBR and requested all the ones my local library had at the moment (bottom 5 in stack). And then I remembered it was pub day for Celeste Ng's new book today so, of course, I had to swing by my local indie bookstore and snag that. Now I have no idea where to start 😂

If you‘re desperate to feel older than you already do, this is for you! 🥴
I‘m only half kidding.

I enjoyed this one for the nostalgia plus I always enjoy Klosterman‘s writing but it was less than I was expecting, I wanted more of a deep dive into the actual culture of the 90‘s and what it actually meant.

Another wonderful book just arrived; thank you Meg! @Megabooks

This was on the #camplitsy long list too and I‘ve been meaning to read it ever since. You picked two fabulous books!

And Henry said ‘I remember exactly how to pose when you get a new book, Momma; I did this yesterday!‘ He did lick this one though, so I‘ve put it well out of reach, although he‘s never chewed a book yet!

#ArtfulAugust Day 9: Apparently, there is a book entitled #1990s or The Nineties.

Overall, this book is a pick. The actual reading of it went in waves; certain chapters were fascinating and others really were a drag. I am part of the core demographic that this book was talking about and so there were a lot of insights that were fun to look back and reflect on that new perspective. I‘m curious how someone who didn‘t live through the 90‘s would receive this book.
#bookspin for July @TheAromaofBooks

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this. The 90s overlapped with my adolescence through young adulthood. I remembered most of what was in here and enjoyed having it put in some context. It‘s definitely through the lens of what was covered by mainstream media, which was dominated by white voices, but does acknowledge that at the beginning. I‘d be interested in talking about it with younger adults who don‘t remember much of the 90s.

I think I was hoping for more nostalgia with this, and there was some of that, but not as much as I craved. It was more a recollection of events and then an analysis of how each impacted society. Not bad, but not as immersive as I‘d hoped.

A fun, but also serious, pulpy but also analytical look at some significant cultural moments of the nineties. Klosterman‘s book is by no means an exhaustive encapsulation of this moment in time, but he strikes a great balance of social, cultural. political, and economic moments to unpack. It reads like a series of podcasts. I‘m obviously the target audience and from this vantage point, Klosterman nailed it.

I long for the 90s as critique of the millennial & Gen Z generations stems far beyond the usual intergenerational differences. This book however, is blatantly one guy's perception of that decade. I had to stop reading only in Chapter One when he spent several pages making clear that he didn't understand the premise of the movie Reality Bites. It would be a great topic if it were covered by someone who understands things beyond the surface.

My July #bookspinbingo layout! As I read the books, I will add to each square to turn the star into fireworks. Super excited about this one!!

Tagged book is my #bookspin for July. @TheAromaofBooks

#thoughtfulthursday @MoonWitch94
📖 Tagged book- I rarely read non fiction but I love me some Klosterman!
📖🤯💔🪐🔺: love a good sci fi love triangle!
📖cover art for sure

I‘ll tag : @h.schlabach5 @JaarnBee

Not a shabby place to finish this one!

Lunch time reading with a view. Gotta love the “sky deck” the hospital gives the employees for lunch. It‘s too hot for the garden, so I‘ll take a rooftop.

Day 1 Progress for #MarvellousMay

64/150 I was 26 at the beginning of the 90s, and although I associate more with the 80s, in music especially, I felt an overwhelming sense of warm nostalgia from this book. Not all of the Nineties was great, some parts I'd forgotten were down right lousy, but overall it was nice to look back on a time I still remember fondly. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

The Nineties began on January 1, 1990, except for the fact that of course they did not.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

I graduated high school in 1999. Reading this book was like time traveling back to my youth. The nostalgia I felt while reading this may make me biased, but I thought Klosterman did an excellent job of capturing the essence of what the 90's felt like.

Side note: I made a lot of phone calls on a phone just like the one on the cover. 😁

I loved everything about this. I was born in ‘83 so the nineties were my decade. I still love everything nineties; it‘s my favorite music, movies and TV shows. I love all of Klosterman‘s books and find them super amusing and insightful. He always writes about all things pop culture related and this did not disappoint. I mean do you all remember getting tons of AOL CDs mailed to your home? If you do, read this book! 😂

An interesting look back at the decade that encompassed my teen years and early adulthood. Klosterman leans heavily on the idea that we can't remember things accurately because, since we know what comes next, the significance and context shift in our minds so that the known future appears inevitable in retrospect. It's likely accurate, more or less, but perhaps obvious enough that it doesn't need quite so much repeating.

Listening to the tagged book while packing up high school yearbooks from the 90s feels quite apt.

I was in my teens and 20s in the 90s, so for me this was a fun look back at the decade. I especially appreciated the inclusion of what it was like at the time vs how the same thing was perceived/remembered later. What I didn‘t like was the audiobook including Dion Graham, then criminally underutilizing him to the point I found a little insulting.

A blast from the past! It‘s interesting to see how so much has changed in the last few decades from politics, technology, entertainment and even how we perceive the world then and now. #booked2022 ~new in 2022

This is a wonderful account of the decades‘ influences and quite a bit about Gen-X and the world the emerged into. So many historic, pop culture, political and social references that explains those effects on us. Really fascinating and hard to put down!

I graduated high school in ‘93, so this book was like a time machine to my teens and early 20‘s.

90‘s politics, sports (I may have skipped some of that part), music, tv, movies, and culture all get addressed. Total nostalgia but also we can see it all now from a different angle.

I don‘t know the last time I thought about Paulie Shore! Lol.

If you‘re a Gen Xer, I bet you‘ll enjoy this too!

Friday I took myself to the Art Institute with my audiobook and visited some of my favorite ladies who just want to read in peace, among other things.

I have read and enjoyed Klosterman in the past, so when I saw he was writing a book about the 90s I was thrilled. I don‘t know if it is the current climate or just me changing, but this book feels like the author is creating a series of elongated tweets, inserting as many SAT words as possible making fun of the public figures responsible for our entertainment. What I was hoping would be a fun journey back was like reading a rant on social media.

I'm wide awake when I should be asleep, so thought might as well catch up on Litsy. I finished this audiobook this weekend. Very much enjoyed. I graduated high school in '98 and remember lots about what he writes. He brought back so many memories. He writes about politics, current events, and pop culture from that decade without over idolizing or critizing. It was a pretty unique decade I think, or maybe because I experienced it at a young age.

This is a great book for anyone interested in recent (mostly U.S.) history. If you remember this decade it feels incredibly nostalgic and if you don‘t, it‘s very informative. While the book is entertaining, I thought it was a bit more serious than the cover implies. #nonfiction

Watching The Gilded Age while reading The Nineties. 🤷🏻‍♂️
#GenX #GenerationX #TheNineties #90s