Due to Lack of Interest, Tomorrow Has Been Canceled

by Irene Kampen

When Irene Kampen returned to the University of Wisconsin as a 45 year old undergraduate, she discovered, among other things:
*Saul Bellow wrote Herzog. Or did Herzog write Bellow?
*A magic marker was absolutely necessary (because when taking lecture notes you had to put a mark through a particularly important note so that when you were studying you would know it was a particularly important note
*Her old sorority house had been converted to the Ayn Rand Co-educational and residential eating co-operative house
*There wasn't quite as much room on the walls of those "Hallowed Halls" for the ivy since the student underground had taken to leaving messages like: Due to lack of interest, tomorrow has been canceled.

Genres: Humor, Fiction

168 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[Janice Dick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Irene Kampen returned to university to complete her degree 25 years after she abandoned her studies. Written in 1969, this is a hilarious and only slightly exaggerated—unfortunately—picture of university life at the time.

[Derek L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that Irene Kampen is a very good writer in her own right, and she has a flare for humor in this book, but at the end of the day this book just wasn't meant for me.

Yes, this book was published back in 1969 and its age definitely shows throughout the entirety of this narrative memoir. That made it enjoyable for me - it was a nice portrayal of Kampen attending a couple of classes at the University of Wisconsin as a 45 year old woman. But the thing that was a deal breaker for me was the racism that finds its way every now and then throughout the book.

Great humor (for the most part) but overall the book just wasn't great.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read about a 45-year-old mom and author who decides to go back to college for one semester to the University of Wisconsin; she only had 6 (or was it 7?) credits to complete to get her diploma.

She ended up sharing an apartment with a "typical" 60s student, who had all sorts of extremely eccentric friends who were there all the time. Ms. Kampen kind of stretches the credulity when she describes these teenagers; I know it was the mid-60s but they couldn't have ALL been this strange. However, I love her writing style in general, so I enjoyed the book a lot. Of course her roommate and friends thought she was elderly, but who didn't think 45 was really old when they were 20?

Any fan of humor writing (like, say, Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry) would probably enjoy this book; I certainly did.


**#95 of 100 books pledged to read/review during 2015**

[Thom Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very hyperbolic.

[Athena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious. Published in 1969, it’s the greatly exaggerated story of Irene Kampen’s return to college as a 45-year-old divorcee and her run ins with hippies, protesters, free love, and school bureaucracy.

When your new classmates call you Mrs. Kampen and ask you about the flappers back in your day, just hike up your leotard for folk dancing class and try to remember if Saul Bellow wrote Herzog or if it was the other way around.

[Majenta · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Gaudemas igitur!"

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of 40-something Irene Kampen's return to the University of Wisconsin to complete the six credit hours she requires to finish her degree in journalism. Kampen left the University of Wisconsin in 1943, returing in 1968 at the height of campus radicalism. This book is a fictionalized version of her true life experiences. She has created some interesting and amusing characters and provides a gentle satire of "the generation gap" and university life in the 60s. She also deals with some surprisingly frank issues. Kampen's book *Life Without George* tells the story of her divorce. This book inspired *The Lucy Show*, which featured a recently divorced Lucille Ball (who is presented in the show as recently widowed rather than recently divorced).

[Leslie aka StoreyBook Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a seemingly true story about the author, Irene Kampen, going back to college to finish that last semester and graduate from college. It is set in 1968 and things are definitely different from when she left in 1943. After all, 1968 is the "hippie" time frame and students are in to peace and love. And it doesn't seem to matter that she is 45 in this book, she still has to abide by the unmarried students rule and has to get a letter from her mother saying she can live off campus.

All in the the book was good and amusing to see it from another perspective. It was a fairly quick read.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very glad that college registration and the attitude of it's administration is different than the mind-boggling nonsense Mrs. Kampen had to navigate. Very funny tale of Kampen going back to school to get the degree she left in 1943. Now in the middle of the 1960's, Kampen's college experience is quite entertaining. The snaffoos she encounters with the undeviating registrar and counselor are irritating and get tiresome (surely they would make an exception to the parental approval for off-campus lodging for a 45-year old woman?), but overall fun. And very easy read. Hippies unite.

[Rusty Henrichsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful tale of a 40-something woman returning to the University of Wisconsin to finish up her degree in journalism. Kampen was a comedy writer who was a co-creator of the last of Lucille Ball's series, so this book is a mix of fact & fiction. It is hilarious to see this woman integrating herself into the late 60's campus life of protests, free love, etc. Read it for fun, you can get through it in an afternoon.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the rare books that I found to be laugh out loud funny. Very fast read. It was a great find at a garage sale or library sale, I can't remember which but I got it second-hand. The title was just too intriguing to walk away from!

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever, funny. Open-ended finish...not a big fan of left off endings. It was written in the 1960's, but I could easily relate. Which is kind of weird. I think this is more about mature people in an immature venue than old people in a young person's college.

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a cute book about a woman returning to college. However the book is extremely dated.

[Elian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Well-written, easy to follow, and interesting insights...
The only thing is that the very end (last few sentences) of the book felt rather unclear.
Recommend!!

[Diane Wachter · Rating 3 out of 5]

HB-M @ 1969, 9/69. The story of a woman's return to college at 45 years of age. Funny.

[Lizzerbeem · Rating 2 out of 5]

A wry observation of college life in the late 1960s by a "non-traditional student" - a woman who nearly graduated 25 years prior (early 1940s), but got married instead. It is interesting to read her reactions to the experience. However, I found it to have no plot and no character development. It was a rather unthinking commentary: a rant, if you will. I'm not entirely sure what she hoped us to take away from the experience.