Because of Google News, I read an article in the Jakarta Post (!) titled, “Generation X is on the Rise” by Vishnu K. Mahmud. Of course, Barack Obama — who considers himself part of the post-boomer generation but does not call himself Generation X — spent some of his childhood in Indonesia. But I had NO IDEA that people in Jakarta would relate to the term Generation X, much less in a very pop culture way:
Soundtracks from movies such as Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club and others are taking us back to a time where responsibilities were minimal, homework practically constant and 24’s terrorist hunter Jack Bauer was a vampire in The Lost Boys. But for those who remember all this, the Gen X-ers born between 1965 and 1980, times have changed.
Indeed! That is precisely what Slackonomics is all about.
Luckily, unlike the baby boomers before us, our generation is more flexible in handling change — moving from a time where letters via post was the only affordable way to communicate to sending video messages over Facebook.
I couldn’t have written it better myself! The writer asks:
So the question is now, where are you heading? As an individual, are you content to remain outside the global digital community or would you like to participate and reconnect? … After all, we don’t want to end up like Die Hard’s John McClane: a Timex watch in a digital age; or that man who brings a knife to a gun fight in The Untouchables. What are you going to do about it?
What did I do? A very old-fashioned thing: wrote a book. Maybe my fellow Xers in Indonesia are a little more forward-looking! I love it!
I happened across a Gen X blog that reviewed my book and I couldn’t be more pleased that it actually resonates with someone who goes by “junkdrawer67: One GenXers Take on Stuff.” So here’s one GenX bloggers take on my book:
I was a little leery before reading it, dreading that it might be another dull book about economics, even if it was the economics of Generation X. It is anything but dull. … Slackonomics is the author’s term for Generation X’s particular economic predicament, history, mind-set, etc. And it is more than just some hip, pop culture, ironic wink. There’s good, quality stuff in here.
My hometown daily paper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, reviewed Slackonomics last Sunday. As the editor-in-chief of a Village Voice-owned weekly in Cleveland (1999-2002), I spilled a good amount of ink beating up on the PD. Sometimes the paper deserved it and sometimes not, but it seems to be all water under the bridge — or maybe our criticism was irrelevant to begin with. Either way, I’m grateful for the positive, if somewhat disjointed review:
Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 3, 2008:
Cool word, slackonomics. Cool idea, too, to meld attitude and what Lisa Chamberlain admits is an intuitive grasp of economics in her prickly, entertaining book about the changing of the guard from baby boomer to Gen Xer. Studded with insight into pop culture and today’s turbulent society, “Slackonomics” aims to give Gen X, or people in their 30s and 40s, its props. … She has a testy, smart style, is well read and peppers her book with factoid strips and graphics. … The fluid marketplace Chamberlain explores is hard to pin down, let alone navigate. But she and her peers bespeak a flexibility and fearlessness suggesting they will not only survive, but also prevail — and, perhaps, guide the world to greater sense.
It’s the dog days of August but Slackonomics — despite its moniker — doesn’t rest! I was interviewed on Marketplace about my book this morning. It’s pure, unadulterated easy listening! Stacey Vanek-Smith did a great job. Click here to listen.
The good news is, this actually translates into book sales! My ranking on Amazon jumped considerably to #5,548 as of about 3:00 this afternoon. So I’m pretty happy about that! Click here to order from Amazon.