Shoplifiting From American Apparel Reading Response 10/20

I have to be brutally honest about my perspective of this book. It is not anywhere near what I expected to be reading. I will agree there was a very humorous nature about the book, which is the only think I really appreciated, that at times when I couldnt find anything to personally draw from it the humor drew me back in even if it was only for a millisecond.  When I finished reading the book my face was neutral, controlled, and calm I didnt really feel anything. When reading books I always enjoy that satisfying feeling that I entered a new world and I normally feel upset that because I am finished I now have to disconnect myself and return to reality once again. With this book there was no journey it was literally flat. However what I did gain from reading this book was just how plain and boring our generation is that so many people spend there lives just like Sam behind a computer screen that basic interactions with humans arent what they used to be. The reading was fast and nothing seemed different from the beginning to the end.

"Shoplifiting From American Apparel " by Tao Lin is about a man named Sam, a young writer. It is set mostly in Manhattan but takes us to other places like central bookings, Atlantic City, Brooklyn, and etc. Its a narrative, where Sam is trying to keep a balance of being a good person and trying to be happy whilst dealing with his failures, his succeses and dealing with his arts, finances, relationships. He is often lonely and bored and often seems to come off a tad bit confused. In comparison to Warhol and Muhammad all 3 texts seem to use postmodernism which is a reflection of society, a mirror which was discussed in last weeks class. Tao Lin gives us this perception on American culture through the Journalistic eyes of someone who is going through something a lot of people in our generation do, almost a self journey where you try and be the person you think you are meant to be while dealing with society. He doesnt focus on his future but he rather lives in the now, something I see all the time where people will not go to college and work at retail or fast food  because they rather live in the now than plan for a better future. Warhol and Muhammad too critize the society they are living in, in their own writing. Lin gives us a first hand look on someone wasting their entire life away, rather becoming who they want to be and working toward their goals and aspirations. Its something I too onced struggled with and I think Sam is a relatable character in the sense that growing up is about finding out who you are and where you want to go in life, some people figure it out and do whatever they can to reach their dreams, others like sam get lost and fall into a cycle that they dont know how to get out of.