Lisa Bloom

I would like to thank Vanguard Press and Goodreads for offering this book in the FirstReads contest. As you can tell, I'm a happy winner :)

Lisa Bloom is the daughter of Gloria Allred (a fact marveled on by all who read my book jacket). Bloom wrote this book to encourage girls and women to THINK about things, and consider them in a new light. Not exactly a "question authority" kind of thing, just a "why are you conforming to stereotypes" thing. Her parents raised her to be a free thinker, challenging Bloom's assumptions about the world, and encouraging her to be her own person. In chapter one she discusses her childhood, (fondly remembering how she was the First Girl to take wood shop), reminisces about things she learned from her Mom's law practice, and shares how her Dad always admonished her to THINK, thereby provoking her response of "I never thought of it that way before".

In the second chapter she discusses how we, as Americans, practice not-thinking, starting off with the general dumbing down of schools and learning, the growing fascination with pop culture and fashion, and finally, a section on how girls are focused on being "hot" instead of smart. Bloom quotes statistic after statistic on how much we spend on makeup vs books, how many girls/women are ignorant of all things political, and how we are obsessed with the Kardashians and American Idol.

The third chapter deals with our lack of awareness/interest in humanitarian and ecological issues. She talks about genocide in Rwanda, global warming, and all the hot button political issues that Americans are ignorant of. She especially grinds her proverbial axe with the story of Angelina Jolie, who most of us know as Brad Pitt's wife, the one with all the kids, who is Jennifer Aniston's sworn enemy.....but who also is a woman who spends time in Pakistan and other 3rd world countries, trying to make their quality of life better. Bloom's complaint is that we would rather read Vogue to hear about what makeup she uses, or what she cooks Brad for dinner, rather than appreciate her for her forward thinking and caring for the poor.

The second part of the book consists of Bloom's solutions to the not-thinking problem. She is a voracious reader, and certainly her thoughts and admonishments about reading rang true with me. She also advocates "farming out" chores to your kids, limiting time on social media websites, and other things like that so as to have more "you" time and not be so frazzled. High on her list is self acceptance, of course, and she quotes more shocking stats on how many girls are thinking about breast implants more than they think about what college they want to get into.
Pages 160 to 191 was my favorite section by far, as she gave reasons to read, suggestions on what to read (everything!) and ways to make your kids WANT to read, which is her starting point for helping us start to THINK. If we as Americans can THINK more in our daily lives, we will be smarter and happier, according to her.

I tend to agree, but I believe a lot of people will take issue with this. Most of us want to read People instead of the NY Times, and most of us WOULD rather watch American idol instead of some boring political debate or Senate hearing. Bloom just wants us to be well rounded, and not be experts on pop culture only.

The one thing that sticks in my head is how we talk to little girls when we meet them: "Oh, what a pretty dress, did your Mom do your hair, what a cute dolly" etc etc. We should THINK, and say to them "Who is your favorite author, what is your best subject in school, what are you reading now" etc.
Women should not encourage little girls to obsess over their figure, or to be all pink and frilly. Bloom's message is for every girl to THINK for herself and accept herself for who she is. Well done! This book should be a gift to all girls from their Moms.… (mer)

I really wanted to like this book. In fact, I'd say I loved the first part of the book, which details the problem, and found it very informative.

The solution section, however, just got more disappointing the further I read.

Depending on who you are, there are some very practical ideas in this book for carving out more free time, improving your mind, and making yourself happier and more involved in the world around you. However, the further you get from her apparent assumption that you're able-bodied, only working one job, live near a library, and have internet access in your own home, the less useful her solutions will seem.

Oh, and there's a nice healthy does of fat shaming lurking in the pages too. Newsflash Ms. Bloom, while ideally everyone should eat healthy and get plenty of exercise, it doesn't actually magically cause you to lose weight, and also isn't possible for everyone for a wide variety of reasons. Nor does being "overweight" magically mean you're unhealthy. There are even fat active vegans in the world. (

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In Think, Lisa Bloom asserts that our society (and women in particular) has succumbed to our narcissistic, self-indulgent, consumer driven culture. Women in our culture are smart and have more options available to them than ever before--and what are most of them doing? Applying for The Bachelor, wondering what the hell is going on with Kim Kardashian's marriage or divorce or whatever it is at this point, considering a plethora of cosmetic procedures, and reading online gossip blogs (if they're reading at all). What are they not doing? Using their intellect and first world education to address serious problems, like poverty, hunger, and the repression of women in countries far less fortunate than ours. In other words, they're not thinking. Amen, amen, amen! Obviously, Lisa Bloom is preaching to the choir here and I'm probably not her target audience, but it is certainly nice to feel some affirmation for the intellectual and educational choices I make on a daily basis since they do go against the norm. For example, most women would rather lose their ability to read than their figure (oh, hell no!) or win America's Next Top Model than win the Nobel Peace Prize (my heart weeps).

I'm not necessarily giving Think a 5 star based upon it's writing style (although it is accessible and often funny) and there are some points that ever-so-slightly rubbed me the wrong way. For example, Bloom asserts that cleaning is not a woman's job (no complaint from me here) and we should simply outsource it to someone else so we have time to read and think. We should also have our children pitch in and do their part. These are not concepts with which I disagree, but they are easier said than done. Many women can't afford to hire a maid (even on a bimonthly basis) and even the most cooperative of teenagers will pitch a hissy fit upon occasion when asked do their part, yet Bloom makes it sound so effortless. However, I am giving it a 5 star because anyone who advocates the need to read, that it's valuable and worthy of our time, is someone with a message that today's culture needs to hear. Don't believe me? Check out the NEA statistics from the 2007 To Read or Not to Read report (also quoted in Bloom's book):

--80% of American families did not read or buy a book last year
--70% of adults have not been to a bookstore in the last 5 years
--1/3 of high school graduates never read another book after graduation… (mer)

Super interesting look at the Trayvon Martin case, especially the evidence that the prosecution had but did not present in the manner that would have convinced the jury - especially the location of Zimmerman's gun. Also looks at systemic discrimination in the justice system and overall within the US education and social systems. The title derives from the suspicion that most US citizens have of black youth and how that ripples negatively throughout the justice system, including the Trayvon Martin case, where "race" was not an issue.… (mer)