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Checkout Girl: A Life Behind the Register
by
Anna Sam
My name is Anna. I'm 31 years old with a degree in literature and a life story that is both completely ordinary and a little bit unusual
Former cashier Anna Sam offers an insider's peek at what really goes on behind the register. In the wise and witty voice of the college-educated, underpaid retail worker, Sam comments on everything from ill-cut uniforms, to drunken custome...more
Former cashier Anna Sam offers an insider's peek at what really goes on behind the register. In the wise and witty voice of the college-educated, underpaid retail worker, Sam comments on everything from ill-cut uniforms, to drunken custome...more
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
April 5th 2011
by Sterling
(first published January 1st 2008)
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*Please note that this book was received as a free Advanced Readers Copy. Obtained through the Goodreads First Reads program*
I have mixed feelings on this book. When reading the synopsis I expected funny stories of different people that came through the writer's line. And there is that, but there's some other stuff too that I wasn't as taken with.
In this book, Sam ranges all over the job of a supermarket cashier. From uniforms to early birds and all other types of customers, she covers everythin...more
I have mixed feelings on this book. When reading the synopsis I expected funny stories of different people that came through the writer's line. And there is that, but there's some other stuff too that I wasn't as taken with.
In this book, Sam ranges all over the job of a supermarket cashier. From uniforms to early birds and all other types of customers, she covers everythin...more
Empfohlen gekriegt, gekauft, gelesen - nein verschlungen und nun hier das Fazit.Ich hab mich und vorallem meine Kunden so wiedererkannt. Die Buchhändlerin an der Kasse sagte etwas ähnliches. Sie liest das Buch nämlich auch gerade. Alle, die ihre Kassiererinnen manchmal etwas besser verstehen wollen oder an der Sache an sich ein wenig Interesse haben, sollten das Buch unbedingt lesen. Zwar ist der Supermarkt, in dem Anna Sam gearbeitet hat, etwas größer und damit die Abläufe ein klein wenig ander...more
Sep 23, 2009
Kirsti
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Kirsti by:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106913239&f
Three and a half stars. Anna Sam took a job as a supermarket checkout girl to pay for her university studies. Then she graduated and couldn't find a better job. So, at age 28, she published a memoir . . . and I say God bless her.
It's always interesting to get a peek into someone else's life. It seems that a checkout operator in France has a considerably better safety net than a checkout operator in the United States.
This book is short, light, and humorous, as if the author didn't want to wear ou...more
It's always interesting to get a peek into someone else's life. It seems that a checkout operator in France has a considerably better safety net than a checkout operator in the United States.
This book is short, light, and humorous, as if the author didn't want to wear ou...more
I bought this book after hearing an enthusiastic review on the radio, out of curiosity to find out more about the view from the other side of the till. I was also very taken with the term "beepeuse" from the French original.
Unfortunately I found it very disappointing. The sketches were superficial and brief, none of them especially memorable or illuminating. There were also two serious distractions from the original content of the book: (1) the publisher's unaccountable decision to pretend the w...more
Unfortunately I found it very disappointing. The sketches were superficial and brief, none of them especially memorable or illuminating. There were also two serious distractions from the original content of the book: (1) the publisher's unaccountable decision to pretend the w...more
I have worked on a checkout myself and thought this may be an interesting book to relate to. However when i first read it i thought it might be American, because of the way she was talking about supermarkets. I found out after its the life on a French Till, and some of the jokes and insights don't translate well. This makes sense now looking back but it really is not the same as an English Supermarket.
Addtionally it felt more of a job description than funny stories and anecdotes from behind the...more
Addtionally it felt more of a job description than funny stories and anecdotes from behind the...more
So I have a few thoughts about this one.
-I assumed from the getgo that this was a case of a blogger getting a book deal. And I've never read the blog in question (apparently it's in French? More on that later), but I get the impression that it's in a different format than the book. The book is really general, with only a few specific examples of the crazy behavior she describes. The strongest and most interesting parts were the anecdotes and dialogs, and there weren't nearly enough of those.
-App...more
-I assumed from the getgo that this was a case of a blogger getting a book deal. And I've never read the blog in question (apparently it's in French? More on that later), but I get the impression that it's in a different format than the book. The book is really general, with only a few specific examples of the crazy behavior she describes. The strongest and most interesting parts were the anecdotes and dialogs, and there weren't nearly enough of those.
-App...more
Une lecture un peu différente pour changer, j'ai été attiré par les critiques/pubs que j'avais lu dans divers magazines. En tout cas ça se lit vite, ce n'est pas désagréable, et parfois assez cocasse.
Anna Sam décortique en catégorie d'événement qu'il peut lui arriver en tant que caissière, que ça soit en rapport avec son métier ou par rapport au client. C'est ce deuxième cadre qui est le plus intéressant selon moi. Certaines situations sont un peu folles et peuvent faire rire, d'autres faire hal...more
Anna Sam décortique en catégorie d'événement qu'il peut lui arriver en tant que caissière, que ça soit en rapport avec son métier ou par rapport au client. C'est ce deuxième cadre qui est le plus intéressant selon moi. Certaines situations sont un peu folles et peuvent faire rire, d'autres faire hal...more
Chapters are independent and easy to read. Good reminder re. polite behaviour to all. Funny.
blog can be found : caissierenofutur.over-blog.com
blog can be found : caissierenofutur.over-blog.com
Breezy and predictable, this collection of blog posts--by an educated young woman with literary ambitions who finds herself trapped in a bad day job--gets by on the author's abundant good will, but her observations are banal. The form of the book--short entries/chapters that satirize everyday human foibles--allows for impressionistic snapshots rather than developed ideas, so what we get are many extremely familiar scenes of a dreary job enlivened by the humor of the author, which isn't the worst...more
I picked up this book on a whim, thinking it would be a fun, fast read. I love reading retail memoirs -- I mean, really, lots of time libraries are pretty much just glorified retail so I find tons to commiserate with. This book, though, was light on humor and insight and heavy on uninspired complaining. This book was less than two hundred pages long, but I couldn’t muster the energy to finish it. Whether it was the fact that it was translated from French, the weird blogger-gets-a-book-deal tone,...more
After reading the description of this book, I figured Checkout Girl would be a witty insiders peek of all the hilarious, crazy, and usually gross happenings in the cashier world. However, Anna Sam's book is simply an overly sarcastic, generic commentary of common issues faced by cashiers. Having been a cashier myself, I know she could have drawn better from her actual experiences and written something with more humor and insight than this. Though, I can see others who work or have worked in publ...more
Une bonne partie de plaisir avec ce livre reçu dans le SWAP par Tigrouloup (je la remercie pour cette agréable lecture !). Ce livre est tellement facile et court, qu’on peut le lire en une ou deux fois, ce que j’ai fait. Ce type de livres fait beaucoup de bien quand on veut faire une pause de lecture sans arrêter la lecture.
En effet, la lecture était très amusante, j’ai même beaucoup rit pour les réflexions très comiques de l’auteur, elle décrit le client comme un être complètement différent qui...more
En effet, la lecture était très amusante, j’ai même beaucoup rit pour les réflexions très comiques de l’auteur, elle décrit le client comme un être complètement différent qui...more
Review Posted on Reading Lark 5/1/11: http://readinglark.blogspot.com/2011/...
*I won this through First Reads*
I don't think I would have picked this book up if I had not won it through First Reads. I mean a memoir about working as a cashier in a grocery store for eight years doesn't sound like riveting reading material. However, I'm not one to knock a free book and in the spirit of the First Reads program I wanted to read and review this one. However, the best thing I can say about this book is...more
*I won this through First Reads*
I don't think I would have picked this book up if I had not won it through First Reads. I mean a memoir about working as a cashier in a grocery store for eight years doesn't sound like riveting reading material. However, I'm not one to knock a free book and in the spirit of the First Reads program I wanted to read and review this one. However, the best thing I can say about this book is...more
May 07, 2010
Janne Varvára
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
humour,
non-fiction
This book is based on the blog of Anna Sam, a chasier at a French supermarket who blogged to unload her work stories at the end of the day.
I had such a laugh with this one! The moment we heard about this book at the bookstore where I work, we all vowed we'd read it, and I for one wasn't disappointed!
See, I don't think it matters much what it is you're selling, wether you work in a huge supermarket like Anna Sam, or in a bookstore like me, we do share those costumer stories, and I think everyone...more
I had such a laugh with this one! The moment we heard about this book at the bookstore where I work, we all vowed we'd read it, and I for one wasn't disappointed!
See, I don't think it matters much what it is you're selling, wether you work in a huge supermarket like Anna Sam, or in a bookstore like me, we do share those costumer stories, and I think everyone...more
Setting aside the monumental impact that supermarkets have on society, they amount to some of the world's largest employers. In the UK, something close to a cartel on the verge of monopoly means that every now and again noises are made about inquiries regarding supermarkets' relationships with suppliers and so forth.
Often overlooked is the role supermarkets play in the working lives of hundreds of thousands of staff that they directly emply (as well as those they often don't - cleaners, staff c...more
Often overlooked is the role supermarkets play in the working lives of hundreds of thousands of staff that they directly emply (as well as those they often don't - cleaners, staff c...more
Dec 05, 2009
Leah
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-read-2009,
for-review
Checkout: A Life on the Tills is the memoir of Anna Sam, who worked in a French supermarket for 8 years. After a while she decided to start a blog telling people about her working days as a check-out girl. (You can see her blog here, it’s in French though: http://caissierenofutur.over-blog.com/). She gained quite a following and ended up with a book deal. Enter: Checkout: A Life on the Tills.
Checkout is a very short book and an incredibly quick read. I read it in under an hour and a half. It has...more
Checkout is a very short book and an incredibly quick read. I read it in under an hour and a half. It has...more
If you’ve ever wondered what life is like on the other side of the checkout as you buy your weekly shopping, then wonder no more as Anna Sam talks to you as if you were applying for the job yourself.
I learnt that supermarkets in France don’t supply their customers with free bags anymore, unlike the UK where they’re given out every day in their thousands and then thrown carelessly away, cluttering up the rubbish dumps.
I also discovered what the three most common questions the till operators are a...more
I learnt that supermarkets in France don’t supply their customers with free bags anymore, unlike the UK where they’re given out every day in their thousands and then thrown carelessly away, cluttering up the rubbish dumps.
I also discovered what the three most common questions the till operators are a...more
Although I could definitely relate to parts of this book the way that I knew/hoped I'd be able to, there were other parts that just didn't hit a note with me at all. Also, I really didn't care for Sam's writing style at all. It was very clinical-seeming, more like I was reading a self-help book or an instruction manual than what was supposed to be a funny book. It did have a few real laugh out loud moments though, so all is not lost. If you're expected a book filled with real-life tales of how r...more
Cute book. My friend got it from the library and I read it. Very quick read. The book is set up with different vignettes of a day in the life of a cashier. The book is extremely detailed on what a cashier goes through day in and day out. It has hints of Nickeled and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, in describing the low pay and working conditions working retail. Pick it up when you want to take a break from other you are reading .
I found this dirt cheap in a bookshop and at first I thought I had found myself a witty cheap book, however half way through I began to feel a little depressed and bored at the writing style, probably something to do with the English basic translation. I did laugh, but this was few and far between. The author came across as quite arrogant and irritating at places.
This was a goodreads first reads freebie. I suppose if you are going to be a cashier and don't know what to expect, than this is the book for you. Its not really a novel nor does it have much of a story line. Once in awhile you will stumble upon an entertaining encounter the author had in her line of work but really, your time will be better spent elsewhere.
It's interesting to read about the supermarket experience from the cashier's point of view, for once. Don't expect any pity for harried clients with children who are trying to fit in the shopping chore in their busy Saturdays; all the pity is for the cashiers and the cashiers only (and when clients wipe their boogers on their shopping for the cashier to scan, who can blame them?).
This book is based on a blog by the same author. Some blogs lose a lot of their quality when they are turned into bo...more
This book is based on a blog by the same author. Some blogs lose a lot of their quality when they are turned into bo...more
J'ai beaucoup ris !
C'est une lecture raffraichissante !
L'auteur y décrit son quotidien lorsqu'elle était "Caissière".
On se retrouve forcement à un moment donné dans les des personnages principaux ou secondaires.
Après avoir lu le livre, à l'époque, je faisais attention quand j'arrivais à la caisse, je pensais énormément au livre ! ^^ :)
C'est une lecture raffraichissante !
L'auteur y décrit son quotidien lorsqu'elle était "Caissière".
On se retrouve forcement à un moment donné dans les des personnages principaux ou secondaires.
Après avoir lu le livre, à l'époque, je faisais attention quand j'arrivais à la caisse, je pensais énormément au livre ! ^^ :)
A cashier wrote this memoir about her years as a cashier after graduating from college, which was very light and a very fast read. It was not nearly as good as Waiter Rant and not remotely like it in tone or feel. Despite that, it was cute. I believe she originally wrote it as a blog, in French.
Amusant et souvent très bien vu mais peut-être quelque peu décousu. On sent que ce sont des articles de blog qui ont été réunis et non un livre écrit en tant que tel.
Mais j'ai quand même ri à haute voix plusieurs fois, donc rien que pour ça, ça vaut la peine.
Mais j'ai quand même ri à haute voix plusieurs fois, donc rien que pour ça, ça vaut la peine.
Musste bei der Lektüre mehr als einmal Schmunzeln. Kassiererin in einem Supermarkt sein ist nicht einfach, Anna Sam schildert ihren Alltag jedoch mit viel Humor und sprachlich ausgezeichnet. Das Buch wurde in Frankreich nicht zu Unrecht ein Bestseller...
Die Autorin schreibt nur aus Frust. Leider fand ich das Buch gar nicht lustig, sondern nur beleidigend.
Ich hoffe keiner hat 19,99 Euro dafür bezahlt. Ich selbst bin froh dass ich nur 3.49 Euro dafür als Mängelexemplar bezahlt habe. Das war sowieso zu viel..
Ich hoffe keiner hat 19,99 Euro dafür bezahlt. Ich selbst bin froh dass ich nur 3.49 Euro dafür als Mängelexemplar bezahlt habe. Das war sowieso zu viel..
I couldn't find the French title on Goodreads, but that is the one I read. I see they've made a film of the book as well...it looks wonderful!
This book is great! It is a collection of blog entries by a literature major who spent a few years working as a checkout clerk at a French supermarket. Her observations are brilliant: if you have ever spent any time behind a cash register, you will recognize every customer, boss, and co-worker that Anna Sam profiles in her extremely witty way. I do not kno...more
This book is great! It is a collection of blog entries by a literature major who spent a few years working as a checkout clerk at a French supermarket. Her observations are brilliant: if you have ever spent any time behind a cash register, you will recognize every customer, boss, and co-worker that Anna Sam profiles in her extremely witty way. I do not kno...more
Mal ecrit, acide, une liste de fait divers pris uniquement du point de vue de la caissiere, sans reelle analyse, sans aucune balance. Les 3 4 petits essais d'ouvertures analytiques sur le sujet du consumerisme tombent relativement hors propos et ne sortent pas du sens commun. Le bouquin se voudrait drole mais l'ambiance de grande rancoeur fait tomber l'effet radicalement a l'eau. L'occasion etait pourtant cree de faire reflechir voire changer le chalant, mais le ton plus accusateur et reprobateu...more
This comedic memoir of a French cashier is painfully unfunny. The humor isn't dry. It isn't ironic. It's just mild and damp, like hypoallergenic baby wipes. I enjoyed one laugh: each day, a customer approaches Anna's checkout station and asks, "Are you open?" She responds: "Me? No. My register? Yes."
Yet this book was a sensational bestseller in France, where it is being adapted for the stage and screen. Today, a few years after its publication, it might have a tremendous audience in the USA, wh...more
Yet this book was a sensational bestseller in France, where it is being adapted for the stage and screen. Today, a few years after its publication, it might have a tremendous audience in the USA, wh...more
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Apr 06, 2012 03:17pm