I picked this one up, thinking that with all the focus on the emerging adulthood of the Millenials, not much has been said about the Gen Xers recently.

In this humorous memoir, a Gen X woman named Jennifer and her husband, Fletch, navigate the world of adulthood, learning lessons along the way about housing contracts, the importance of friends, eating food that won't disagree with one's digestive system, catching escaped cats, and wearing clothes that fit properly when meeting with the bank.

The stories were funny and readable, although I didn't particularly like the author's writing style; it was a little like reading an older, toned-down rendition of Hyperbole and a Half, dogs and all. Which is fine, if you're into that, but I just didn't find it all that appealing, and probably won't pick up any of her other books. ( )

I had no knowledge of Jen, or her previous books, before I picked this one up. This was a fun, pop-culture, reality-check kind of read. It helps that Jen and I are almost the same age, so her references to things like Rick Springfield, Teen Beat, etc were strong teen memory twigs for me. She is also a very relatable type of writer. She calls a spade a spade (politely) and is the first to admit her own short-comings, so a breath of fresh air to follow her as she goes through a number of "must grow up" rights of passage covering everything from mortgage applications and buying your first home to the necessary task of setting up a will. She still covers some frivolous fun topics, my personal favorite being the outcome of her decision to take the plunge with a skirted bathing suit (cute and figure flattering can have a downside!). I also took away some great travel advise from Jen who proudly admits she can pack for a book tour with just carry-on luggage.

Overall, a fun book filled with some really good advice for Generation X, and Generation Y. ( )

Reluctant adult lessons learned....for Jen. I'm still slogging behind, as I listened to this audio book scarfing down a jumbo sized box of Count Chocula. Someday I'll join adulthood with my peers.

I discovered Jen years ago and have read nearly all her books. I get a kick out of her sardonic wit and she can really tell a funny story. I found myself laughing out loud several times with her recount of making the mistake of wearing the "fancy" bra from your drawer or the hysterical tale of her cats getting out. Always a pleasure...especially on audio read by the author herself.

Jeneration X: One Reluctant Adult’s Attempt to Unarrest Her Arrested Development; Or, Why It’s Never Too Late for Her Dumb Ass to Learn Why Froot Loops Are Not for Dinner by Jen Lancaster
368 pages

★★★★

Oh Jen Lancaster, how I love you and your humor. Seriously. I love this author. She has never disappointed me in her many memoirs and luckily, this one was no different. What was different for me was that instead of reading this book, I listened to the audio version – narrated by the author herself. As usual, this book goes into the humorous situations that Jen manages to find herself in and a range of her thoughts are thrown in for good measure. This book focuses on her attempts to become an adult, at 42ish years old, and wins and fails along the way. While Jen’s stories are often humorous, they work not only because they make you laugh but because they are relatable. I dare you, in one of her many books, not to find one time you relate to her.

The audio version was something new for me with this author. At first I had difficulty with it. Jen Lancaster is a fast reader and this was somewhat annoying to me. But I quickly got into the rhythm of it and it just felt right, like there was no other way you would expect Jen to narrate. Her inflictions made parts of this book even more humorous than if I had just read them. Not only does this author’s writing continuously make me smile and laugh but so does her reading. As usual, a winner if you are a fan of Jan Lancaster.
( )

Fun as always. My only disappointment was that a lot of the material had been in her blog. Still it was worth reading.