Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World
Lisa Bloom, 2011
Vanguard Press
288 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781593157098
Summary
In Think, Lisa Bloom examines the stark paradoxes that American girls and women live today, including excelling in education but obsessing over celebrities and tabloid media, in outperforming male counterparts in employment yet spending more time and money on appearances.
Bloom wonders: How did we get from the Equal Pay Act and Title IX to celebutainment and Botox, and what can we do about it? Bloom proffers the solution: one simple word, Think.
In this provocative, entertaining, and thoroughly researched book, Bloom illuminates specific steps for women to take to reclaim their brains, regain their focus, and take charge of their lives. Think is delivered in a no-nonsense, straight-talk manner that will make you laugh, question yourself, and start thinking again. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—Setember 26, 1961
• Where—California, USA
• Education—B.A., University of California, Los Angeles;
J.D., Yale University
• Currently—lives in Los Angeles, California
Lisa Bloom is a prominent American civil rights attorney, best known as anchor of Lisa Bloom: Open Court - a two-hour live legal news program—on truTv's In Session, formerly Court TV, from 2001 to 2009. She is the only child of famed attorney Gloria Allred.
Bloom received a bachelor's degree from UCLA and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Yale Law School. Early on in her career, she earned a reputation as a champion of victims' rights. Among Bloom's many high-profile lawsuits, she unsuccessfully sued the Boy Scouts of America for sex discrimination on behalf of Katrina Yeaw, a girl who wanted to join the organization. She also filed a child sexual abuse case suit against the Catholic Church, and sued the Los Angeles Police Department on several occasions.
Bloom is a television legal analyst on CBS News, CNN and HLN, who also makes frequent appearances on The Early Show, The Insider, Dr. Phil, Dr. Drew, The Situation Room, Reliable Sources, The Joy Behar Show and Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell.
Bloom is licensed to practice law in both New York and California.
Book
Bloom's book Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World, published in 2011, encourages women of all ages to eschew celebrity culture with its focus on the superficial, and instead to spend time reading and thinking. Think has been critically acclaimed and spent weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. A promotional article for the book, "How to Talk to Little Girls," was published on The Huffington Post. Over 800 comments were posted in response. The article ranked #12 on Facebook's Most Shared Articles on Facebook in 2011 ranking. (From Wikipedia.)
Book Reviews
Think is a real eye-opener. Lisa Bloom brings her extraordinary passion, humor, and intelligence to the important subject of how women and girls can fight being drowned in a sea of pop culture, and lead lives that are fuller, richer, and more connected. Think educates, informs, and—thanks to Lisa’s wit and sense of humor—keeps us smiling along the way. Think is a must-read for all mothers and daughters.
Dr. Phil
Bloom’s manifesto mixes advice with insights backed up by examples, studies, anecdotes, and polls about our current kingdom of dumbdom, where “young women would rather be hot than smart.... The book offers step-by-step solutions in the chapter “Reclaiming the Brains God Gave Ya.” The most daunting challenge for many women, Bloom claims, is simply clawing back the time to think. How? Downsize your relationship to housework, for example, and don’t worry about your child’s every emotional upheaval. For single women, she’s equally blunt: Stop obsessing over your love life. Be busy. Be happy.
Elle
Think reads like a conversation with that best friend we all need. Funny, wise, opinionated, Lisa Bloom covers everything from Angelina Jolie to precut veggies in this how-to, what-for, this-matters guide to a meaningful and honorable life.
Jeffrey Toobin - CNN legal analyst; New Yorker writer
TV host, commentator and lawyer Bloom felt compelled to write her debut after becoming disgruntled with society's intellectual decline. Appalled by the fact that 23 percent of American women would rather lose their ability to read than their figures, the author writes with frantic urgency about the ignorance that is infecting the country and how this epidemic affects American women. A journalist whose career highlights include covering the Saddam Hussein trail, Bloom is dismayed that women are most interested in celebrity scandals, which make up more than 95 percent of the cases she is currently assigned to cover. The author urges women to reassess their priorities, put down the tabloid magazines and become more aware of world issues, many of which she indulges in detailing. Acknowledging that she would be taking cheap shots if she didn't offer solutions, the second half of the book suggests ways women can make a positive impact in their communities—e.g., volunteering and donating to worthy causes. The author also includes a list recommended reading and recipes that save time in the kitchen. While clearly written out of genuine concern, readers who are sensitive to criticism of American culture may take offense to the use of terms such as "Dumb American Syndrome." A wake-up call for women who have succumbed to a culture of mediocrity.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for Think:
1. What has happened to American culture, according to Lisa Bloom? What studies, examples, and anecdotes does she site to support her assessment? Do you agree with Bloom? if so, what evidence can you add to hers?
2. Why are smart women playing stupid? Have you known girls or women who have done so? Have you ever found yourself playing down your own intelligence or talent (come on: be honest)?
3. What happened to the women's movement, according to Bloom, which once fought for equal pay and Title Ix? What undermined the fervor for women's rights?
4. What do you know of Bloom's personal background that would spur her to speak out as she has? Who, or what, were her early influences? Is there any contradiction in the fact that many of Bloom's legal clients are celebrities, the very people she warns women against becoming obsessed with?
5. Bloom extends the repercussions America's dumbing down to the third world where women's problems are truly stark. Do you think her assessment is correct...or does she overstate her case when it comes to international consequences of American culture?
6. What solutions does Bloom offer to women and girls, married and single? Do they make sense? Can you offer any of your own advice? How would you counsel a young woman today?
7. Are women the only ones affected by the dumbing down of American culture?
8. What did you find that surprised you in Bloom's book? What about humor—anything funny in Think?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)