Weird Like Us: My Bohemian America

Well written, insightful, entertaining. Suggested reading for anyone interested in the counter-culture/underground of the '80s and for fans of North America's best city, San Francisco.

Well worth the read, offers an insight into a life you might not lead (certainly not my own). Coming from a middle-class mid-west family home, the subjects in Weird Like Us: My Bohemian America are almost 'taboo'. Surely my mother would be shocked at what was in the book, it's not for children. It's very real and honest and tells Powers' truth. It's very well told and I would recomend it to anyone. Even if you don't have a praticurally open mind on subjects like drugs and sexuality, it's still something I would recomend. Powers tells her stories with a honest, humbling vigor, and reminds the reader not to judge with steriotypes. The people in this book are alive, are human. What's considerd 'taboo' by most Americans is justafiable in this 'Bohemian America'; which is more of a democracy and expression of freedom than its 'American Ideal'counterpart. This book reminded me of what America is made to be, to choose your own. That 'morals' are not defined by one person or a group of people, especally in America, that my choices are seperate and are [supposed] to be untouched by anothers bias or oppinion. This is certainly not the life I choose, but I respect it and have no right to judge. When you read this book, do so objectively. No one is asking you to do anything Ann Powers has, and she is not attempting to influence you to, just accept her right as an American to do so.

The people who dismiss this as a personal memoir about the author's life seem not to have really read the book. I was really impressed at how Powers turns a very thoughtful, perceptive spotlight on aspects of our culture that usually go un-analyzed. The chapter on thrift shopping, for example, was a great exploration of this phenomenon--why do people do this? Why does it have meaning? What does it say about them? And the same for drugs, group houses, sex, etc. This isn't just reminiscence by any means, but is an incredibly interesting hard look at WHY these bohemian practices exist, and WHAT they mean to bohemians and (I think this is the real point) to everyone who seeks to fashion a true self in today's culture.

I found this book a fascinating read. I can somewhat identify with Powers' experience as I am about the same age (on the older side of Gen X) and lived through some of the same things. It was intriguing to hear recent events from our culture given such a respectful and thoughtful treatment.Powers is at her best when writing about people she knows well and the complexities of their ongoing relationships. I was particularly drawn into the experiences of long term roommates, many of whom made a somewhat rash decision that they would be able to act as substitute family for each other and then had to deal with the increasingly complex challenges offered by the need to make up rules for a life with no rules. In fact, a general theme of the book is the intensity of youthful passions, and how those passions interact with the unanticipated burdens of growing up a bit. Powers has a rare ability to both understand and value such passions, and at the same time look unflinchingly at what happens to them over time. And her candor about her own experiences and decisions -- good and bad -- give her writing a remarkable depth of authority and feeling. It may not stand up as a definitive work on what bohemianism really does or doesn't mean, but I don't think I'd be interested in the kind of book that would. As the subtitle implies, this book is a insightful personal look at life just slightly outside the mainstream of American life. I highly recommend it.

Weird Like Us is an amazing account of the ways smart, cool people lead lives beyond the mainstream. Ann Powers explores the ways like-minded adventurers identify, nourish and support one another in hidden (or not so hidden) communities all around us. Her writing is moving and personal, but always clear.She asks all the hard questions: How does the mainstream reflect alternative, marginalized or minority viewpoints? How can we tell the difference between the manipulation of the public and real popular culture? How can we integrate our values into our daily lives? What does it mean to be a family, a friend, a fan? She combines criticism, memoir and journalism to look at the history, impact and potential of alternative culture. She describes the successes and failures of her friends, family and colleagues as they make new rules for living through work, living arrangements, sex, and art. She finds that it is the responsibility of the Bohemian to introduce her values to the mainstream and transform it, rather than railing against the co-optation of Bohemian innovations and sensibilities by Madison Avenue and its clients. I'm telling all my friends who live in boring parts of America to read this book so they can see they are not alone and have the power to change their worlds and the lives of people around them.