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A Day in the Life: Work Memoirs

Think your job is the worst in the world? Take a gander at these work memoirs to walk a mile in someone else's work boots!
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742 books · 431 voters · list created August 5th, 2008 by Tara (votes) .
134 likes · 
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Comments Showing 1-14 of 14 (14 new)

dateDown arrow    newest »

message 1: by Muzzlehatch (new)

Muzzlehatch Very cool idea for a list! At first glance I've only read one, and it's hard to think of more for me, but there are some neat books here.


message 2: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Agreed, a very interesting list and I would like to read some of these. I'd like to read the ones based on an entire career, though, not the people who decided to take up something as a lark, or do it for a year in order to publish a memoir.


message 3: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Nov 08, 2015 12:42AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) I doubt whether One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (#17) and Three Men in a Boat (#419) should be on here, as they are not memoirs (both are considered works of fiction), as far as I know.

Lobstergirl wrote: "I'd like to read the ones based on an entire career, though, not the people who decided to take up something as a lark..."

Round Ireland with a Fridge (#442) certainly fits your comment :-0


message 4: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Booklovinglady wrote: "I doubt whether One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (#17) and Three Men in a Boat (#419) should be on here, as they are not memoirs (both are considered works of fiction..."

I deleted them.


BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Lobstergirl wrote: "I deleted them...."

Thanks :-)


message 6: by Kyle (new)

Kyle Nicholas Parenthood is not a job.


message 8: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl I have my doubts about Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, #69. First, slavery is not exactly a job. At least not a paying job. Second, while it is a memoir, only a small part of it covers her work as a slave. Most of it is how she goes into hiding, and then escapes from her master, and flees north, where she then leaves in fear of being recaptured.


message 9: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Kyle wrote: "Parenthood is not a job."

Have to disagree with you there. It is for a parent who stays at home, rather than going to work at a paying job. It's a childcare job. Just because a parent is a parent rather than a nanny or a worker at a daycare center doesn't mean stay-at-home-parent is not a job.


message 10: by Olivia (last edited Jan 02, 2018 05:53AM) (new)

Olivia Lo Does anyone know any work memoirs by translators or interpreters? Don't know if I can ask this question here... My MA thesis is about this kind of books, but I can only find 4 in English so far (though I also include those originally written in Chinese or translated in Chinese from Japanese). Searched this list with some keywords but didn't find anything.

I've added to the list three of the memoirs I've included in my thesis. There is another I would like to add but cannot find the title here: Life behind an Author's Works--Memoir of a Translator: How I Came to Translate Witold Gombrowicz and the Many Faces of Thom by Danuta Borchardt.


message 11: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Olivia wrote: "Does anyone know any work memoirs by translators or interpreters? Don't know if I can ask this question here... My MA thesis is about this kind of books, but I can only find 4 in English so far (th..."

I suggest you post your request in this group

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/185

more specifically, here:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

People may be able to help you out and your request will get much more visibility than it will here.


message 12: by Olivia (new)

Olivia Lo Lobstergirl wrote: "Olivia wrote: "Does anyone know any work memoirs by translators or interpreters? Don't know if I can ask this question here... My MA thesis is about this kind of books, but I can only find 4 in Eng..."

Thank you very much!
I've posted a thread as you suggested and am waiting for possible replies :)


message 13: by Lagobond (last edited Dec 03, 2019 07:43PM) (new)

Lagobond This list is awesome, thank you. I did come across a few entries that don't belong, just as a heads-up / in case you still maintain the list. I've read several of these books already and am excited to see so many more.


BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Lagobond wrote: "... I did come across a few entries that don't belong, just as a heads-up / in case you still maintain the list. ..."

Give me the titles and numbers, and I'l remove them.


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