Queuing for Beginners: The Story of Daily Life from Breakfast to Bedtime

by Joe Moran

Why do so many people go on about queuing? Have we always been obsessed with traffic? And why do so many of us now eat lunch at our computers – al desko? We spend our days catching buses and trains, writing emails, shopping, queuing...But we know almost nothing about these activities. Exploring the history of these subjects as they come up during a typical day, starting with eating breakfast and ending with sleeping, Joe Moran tells a story about hidden social and cultural changes in Britain since the Second World War. Drawing on his academic research on everyday life, but writing with wit and lucidity for a popular audience, he shows that we know less about ourselves than we think…

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Sociology

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

Joe Moran is Professor of English and Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University and is the author of seven books, including Queuing for Beginners: The Story of Daily Life from Breakfast to Bedtime, Armchair Nation: An Intimate History of Britain in Front of the TV, Shrinking Violets: The Secret Life of Shyness and First You Write a Sentence. He writes for, among others, the Guardian, the New Statesman and the Times Literary Supplement.

Reviews

[Dorian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a history of various everyday things, not only queuing, but also breakfast cereals, pedestrian crossings, business meetings, weather forecasts, and more. It ought to be very interesting. Unfortunately, the author's pedestrian writing style not only renders it rather dull, but also somehow manages to hide the information he's trying to impart, so that I put it down feeling that he'd spent 200 pages saying nothing very much. Most disappointing.

[Michael Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifty years ago, as an undergrad student picking up some necessary sociology credits, I took a seminar in the “anthropology of everyday life,” which turned out to be a fascinating introduction to ethnography and its methods. As part of this, we were told to record every mundane event and action in which we participated on a given day and then to analyze the results. Turns out this was done systematically in Britain in the 1930s by the Mass-Observation Project, which queried ordinary people about the detailed ordinary events of their ordinary lives. Now, three-quarters of a century later, that ethnographic data has become a gold mine of material for comparison against similar quotidian activities in the present day, especially in exploring the changes since World War II.

Moran’s academic qualifications are never stated but he seems to have done quite a good job, dividing his observations into sixteen not-long chapters tied more or less to the hours of the normal waking day. Chapter 1 considers the place of the “Full English” breakfast in the traditional Englishman’s life, which is supposed to consist of bacon, eggs, tomato, sausage, and toast -- but finds that this repast actually was disappearing at about the time it was being enshrined in tradition, a victim of wartime rationing and the invention of dry breakfast cereal. And then the postwar commuter culture didn’t allow time for a hot breakfast. Now, most people make do with a tub of yogurt or a “breakfast bar,” as long as tea is available.

Subsequent chapters deal with the growth of commuting to work by train or bus, the evolution of contemporary office culture (the bullpen of rows of desks gave way to the open-plan office, then to the cubical, always in search of greater efficiency and a more contented workforce, but the worker always seems to lose out along the way), the role of water-cooler gossip, the business lunch (which now means eating almost entirely at your desk), the rise and decline of the public smoker, after-work pub culture (even though we invented “happy hour,” the U.S. doesn’t really have the equivalent of the local), the role of the sofa as the center of the home, and so on.

The author obviously has done his research and there are a great many citations, so it’s pretty clear that his observations in recent social history are accurate. However, they’re also often extremely British, with no clear parallel to the lifestyle of the American office worker. Fair enough: It’s a British book intended for British readers. But it’s also very London-centric, ignoring the large percentage of workers, especially younger ones, in smaller towns. There’s no mention of those in the military, or in government jobs, or who work for small, innovative start-ups, or on farms, or who are self-employed. It’s an interesting book but be aware of its limitations and generalizations.

[Sijmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a varied view of British cultural history, every chapter in this book captures the history of some everyday thing, such as toasters, commuting, zebra crossings, lunch breaks, and the bedroom.

While these things may seem mundane, they often have a surprising history. Take for example the silent commute, seemingly a constant of English culture. Well, not so much: this really is quite a recent invention from the end of the second World War. There are some great quotes from letters of upset “old-school” commuters to papers on how antisocial these people who hid behind books and papers and didn’t talk to their fellow passengers were.

The author references older studies and has a lot of sourced anecdotes which make for excellent further reading and viewing. There’s a lot of auxiliary information and it really shows that the author has been doing his research. This is certainly not a me-too book.

If you want to learn and be surprised about everyday things, this is your book. Be aware however, that this book is not a study of modern English culture. For something like that, consider Watching the English by Kate Fox.

[Rose Merritt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admittedly, I came into reading this book with a set of expectations different from what this book actually is: I thought this would be heavier on “understanding the genesis and evolution of British culture,” but perhaps more for outsiders. Instead, this reads more as a general sociological/anthropological study - by Britons, for Britons, with not a lot of emphasis on “Britishness” per se - in other words, a lot of the phenomena captured in this book could apply just as easily to Americans, too. That said, I did enjoy Moran’s chapters on pub culture and television - for an even better Moran book, I’d recommend his work on British television history.

[Ida Ottesen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've ever wanted to get a sense of the various habits that the British have, and how those habits have changed through the years, this book is for you!

It takes the reader through an average day, from breakfast, the commuter journey, lunch breaks, meetings, pubs, dinner and bedtime. I especially enjoyed the chapter on meetings, because we have so many of them online now, and it was fun to see how they still retain some structure from irl meetings, and where they differ.

The best bits is when Moran describes the time just before the habits we now take as normal came in. For example, I had no idea that there was a time when the recipient of your letter had to pay for delivery (which my anxious introverted self wouldn't have been able to cope with), and that someone once said cigars were not preferable to a woman's company, but a consolation. Also, the frankly hostile reception of PowerPoint (or Slideware) and the fact that in the mid 1950s, only 2-3% of British households had a fridge 🤯

Read this, if you have an interest in the British or the minutiae of everyday life.

[Laura Pugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting close analysis of our daily behaviour, taking things we see as perfectly normal and questioning them until our lives seem bizarre! We are taken on a journey of our most mundane days, from getting up and eating cereal, through office emails and tea breaks, to our evening TV watching and bedroom arrangements. I don't think I can ever look at our 'ordinary' habits with the same blind acceptance again.

[Mike Spink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst I enjoyed it in parts, I think there’s a better, shorter book in there that’s been extended a bit too far to be engaging all the way through. Did enjoy many of the walks through work and office life though and, looking in on them, their absurdities!

[Rachel Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep dive into Extreme Sociology/social history, perfect for the nerd in your life. Could be read as a companion piece to At Home by Bill Bryson.

[H Flaxa · Rating 5 out of 5]

an enthralling and fascinating look at everyday British folk and our habits - eg. toast and queuing, unironically genuinely engrossing and endearing

[Ketan Shah]

A fascinating look at how everyday activities in England have changed through the years.Everything from the traditional bacon and egg breakfast to morning commute to work to the design of the local pub and the amount of time spent in front of the television. Joe Moran takes a day in the life of an average person and uses it as the framework for to educate us about how the behaviour we percieve as run of the mill today,evolved over time.he also makes some interesting points about the adoption of new technology and how it ripples through society.If you enjoyed this,you might enjoy Malcolm Gladwell's the Tipping Point and Blink,Steven Leavy's Freakonomics and the science writing of David Bodanis,especially in The Secret Family and The Secret House. You might also like Richard Wiseman's Quirkology. Also highly reccomended would be Poplorica: A Popular History of the Fads, Mavericks, Inventions, and Lore that Shaped Modern America by Martin J Smith and Patrick J kiger ,as well as The Dreams our Stuff is Made Of ,by Thomas Disch.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm surprised I'm the first one to review this book, but then, it is on a fairly mundane subject, which is the whole point! Moran takes through a "normal" daily routine, whilst analysing the rituals involved, and their evolution following WWII. Of course, as Moran himself admits in the introduction, the book is very office-orientated, and as I've never had an office job, I couldn't really relate to some of the chapters. However, the ones on things I definitely do take part in, like watching TV and eating, I found informative and entertaining. I was disappointed that Mass Observation was only mentioned here and there; judging from the intro, I thought more of the book would be focused on their techniques and findings. Moran also seems to overuse the same descriptive words again and again; it seems like quotidian was on every other page. Overall, I give this middling book on the middle classes an appropriately middle of the road score, 3 stars.

[southernmyst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly excellent book, filled with masses of information. He's explained the stories behind so many things, like the drink machine (and thus why instant coffee is ubiquitous in Britain), the weather forecast, pedestrian cross walks, queuing (and no, the British aren't exceptionally wonderful at it; and no, they haven't been doing it since time immemorial), breakfast, commuting (the history of rail transport and the rise of the car, and the hindrance of the car in the London area are all explained), smoking, meetings, ready meals, and so much more. It's easy to read, not dry and dull, and he gives color to the stories, so they are interesting to read - and fun to tell your friends.

I shall definitely read this again, and highly recommend it to all interested in British or English culture.

[Tom Calvard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing and informative book on key aspects of everyday life in post war Britain, researched up to about 2005 or so. I liked the innovative idea of having the chapters follow the arc of waking hours in a single day, with each chapter covering a different routine or ritual shared by many humans in their everyday lives.

Lots of trivia about the history of the pub, television, office etc. and an easy, enjoyable read. Would definitely recommend. It's a hackneyed phrase, but I believe it can 'change the way you look at the world' significantly (the idea that all books do notwithstanding), given that as the author notes, our everyday lives can become very invisible and taken-for-granted, that is, until disrupted by historical forces and processes that call them into question...

[Te · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lightly told, this book is pop sociology, researched in a scholarly manner, but presented and written for the lay reader. It examines the "infra-ordinary" - the actions performed by large groups that are so everyday and routine they go unnoticed and unremarked upon by social historians, despite making up a large and important part of our daily lives. With chapters on breakfast habits, commuting, queuing and the history of the British sofa, Queuing for Beginners is a fascinating look into why we do what we do - little people living our little lives with historical significance. An unusual and refrehing approach to history, and highly entertaining!

[Sharon4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It didn't tell me a lot I didn't already know, but that was the point - the author sets out to encourage us to take a fresh look at what is already familiar and known and he does a fairly good job of it. While reading about M&S sandwiches, the etiquette of queuing and why the duvet was originally called the continental quilt, I picked up one or two new titbits, like, for example, dentists warning that children who watched TV with their chin in their hands would develop buck teeth. So there you are then - something else we can blame the goggle box for;-)

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book that investigates how things we take for granted in our daily lives came to be. For instance, "Why do we eat cereal for breakfast?" (Turns out we used to eat bacon and eggs, but they became more expensive for farmers to raise during WWII, so it was cheaper to grow grain and keep a cow around for milk. Even after the war, we were so used to our fast breakfast, that we saved the more time-consuming bacon and eggs for the weekends). Interesting stuff.

[Rob Adey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The trouble is, the internet is made of this kind of stuff now. You're probably familiar with a lot of this stuff (well, that's the point - what I mean is you're probably familiar with this way of looking at everyday things). I felt each topic could have done with way more exploration to get past the TV documentary-level stuff, as Moran's excellent book on TV did.

Enjoyable, though, and a welcome snack after Middlemarch.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moran's 2007 book takes its cue from the Mass Observation project of postwar Britain that looked at people's everyday habits - what they eat at breakfast, how long they watch TV and so on. each chapter looks at a different part of normal everyday life with lucid academically informed thought and overall sense of bliss. the loud cover is a distraction - Moran is a reluctant poet and a gr8 one

[Alexis]

Queuing for Beginners: The Story of Daily Life from Breakfast to Bedtime by Joe Moran (2008)

[Carl Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

i learned that the email "revolution", far from creating a paperless workspace, has actually caused the amount of paper we use to go up by about a third.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes the boring more boring: and there can be no higher compliment paid to a book.

[Duncan McLaren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather lightweight and lacking in purpose

[Myron Schirer-Suter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating discussion of daily life in Britain.