Good god. This book. Where do I even start?

How about with the way that this is literally just a guide to ignorantly cherry-picking from other cultures in the name of a certain aesthetic, for one. I literally couldn't tell if this was satire, because the bone-headded way the author just romps right through ancient spiritual and cultural traditions seemed so incredibly blind to the offensiveness of the practices. I thought maybe it was poking fun at all the ignorance. (And still thought it was offensive, in itself, but could have *maybe* excused it if it was trying to make a point.)

But, no. I don't think that's the case. I think the author really is just that stupid.

After all, she created "gypset" -- a super-lunkheaded combination of "gypsy" and "jet set" -- all for spoiled rich kids who want to rebel and be enlightened travelers of the modern age. It gives me a semi-permanent eye-twitch to think about for too long.

For the record, Boho Becky with the crocheted poncho on the way to Coachella -- "gypsy" is a racial slur. If you are gadje (aka, *not an actual romany*), you're not allowed to use the term to say how free-spirited you are. Period. You don't get to. You have no idea what that word means. Stop it. Now.

That said, this book goes on to appropriate everything from indigenous shamanism to sufism with equal disrespect. She treats cultures and practices like a kind of white girl spiritual tourist, dipping in and out of experiences and fitting them to some kind of disconnected aesthetic.

The whole thing is just gross. Literally stomach-turning.

Even IF, on the off chance, the author's just so "good" at satire that she can poke fun while appearing not to (which I doubt, highly), this is not a direction in which to channel that talent. The LAST thing the world needs is an easily-misinterpretable missive that encourages the kind of cultural-blindness that this thing has.

Just stop it.

And skip this book. Don't contribute to its harm with your attention.

If you want an actual tongue-in-cheek look at Bohemian culture, Lauren Stover's "The Bohemian Manifesto" (which, by the way, seems to have been blatantly ripped off by much of this book's structure and style) is much better, much funnier, and doesn't directly harm entire swathes of the world's people. Pick that one instead.

This is a cute fun book. Some of the information is practical and some of it is wishful thinking. The illustrations show a lot humor. Even if you are not ready to embrace the entire lifestyle you will still enjoy reading this book and you may pick up a few helpful suggestions. Enjoy

Humorous and interesting! Learned a lot since I am a bit older than the millennial generation that this book seemed aimed for. The diagrams of the different boho people was spot on. Liked the chart of different festivals.