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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
An illuminating read. Made me think of my early 20s where my passion for film was my central identity. And my late 20s where being a journalist was my central identity and how these are just things to do - not peoples to be.
Very nicely written, personal yet academic, with lovely anecdotes peppered throughout.
Very nicely written, personal yet academic, with lovely anecdotes peppered throughout.
medium-paced
This one was a stinker for me, and I nearly DNF'd at the last 2 chapters but powered through because that Goodreads challenge ain't gonna complete itself.
I loved the idea of this book in theory - meditations on having a healthy relationship with work, not entirely defining one's sense of self and self-worth by one's job, etc. The book presents stories of people who have grappled with these struggles in their job. I wanted this to be interesting but, fully acknowledging the extreme privilege I myself have - it becomes quickly insufferable to read about the struggles of a bunch of people who were almost exclusively ages 29-40 and who were often coming to terms with their over-dependence on a work identity while, you know, taking months-long sabbaticals with no financial stress over doing so due to the wealth they had amassed. It's not that those struggles aren't legitimate (or that they did not work very hard for the wealth in most cases)! It's just uh, not super compelling reading. To his credit, the author acknowledges that his focus is primarily on white-collar jobs. But, how much more interesting would it have been to explore a wider range of ages and employment types? He notes, "I interviewed more than one hundred workers--from corporate lawyers in Manhattan to kayak guides in Alaska, stay-at-home parents in Copenhagen to fast-food workers in California--to select the nine people profiled in the chapters to come." So like... why didn't any of those other employment types make it into the book? Some reasons are given, but one was that white collar workers are "the most likely to look to work for meaning and identity," and frankly I am just not sure if that is true.
These were interspersed with the author's own reflections on his personal struggles with these things. Again, it's not that the ideas aren't interesting or compelling, but they also seemed not especially groundbreaking most of the time. Rather it felt more like reading the journal of someone you sort of know, who is kind of just working through Their Own Stuff, and who unnecessarily often mentions that they previously worked in design, and tech, and journalism, and idk some other hip fields. The same "here's the wisdom I've gained on sabbatical" issue appears when, in the final chapter, the author is quite literally taking an extended vacation with family in Italy, and writing about what they've learned while, you know, not working.
In general, it felt a pretty shallow read that on Googling I think is partially a vehicle for speaking gigs.
I loved the idea of this book in theory - meditations on having a healthy relationship with work, not entirely defining one's sense of self and self-worth by one's job, etc. The book presents stories of people who have grappled with these struggles in their job. I wanted this to be interesting but, fully acknowledging the extreme privilege I myself have - it becomes quickly insufferable to read about the struggles of a bunch of people who were almost exclusively ages 29-40 and who were often coming to terms with their over-dependence on a work identity while, you know, taking months-long sabbaticals with no financial stress over doing so due to the wealth they had amassed. It's not that those struggles aren't legitimate (or that they did not work very hard for the wealth in most cases)! It's just uh, not super compelling reading. To his credit, the author acknowledges that his focus is primarily on white-collar jobs. But, how much more interesting would it have been to explore a wider range of ages and employment types? He notes, "I interviewed more than one hundred workers--from corporate lawyers in Manhattan to kayak guides in Alaska, stay-at-home parents in Copenhagen to fast-food workers in California--to select the nine people profiled in the chapters to come." So like... why didn't any of those other employment types make it into the book? Some reasons are given, but one was that white collar workers are "the most likely to look to work for meaning and identity," and frankly I am just not sure if that is true.
These were interspersed with the author's own reflections on his personal struggles with these things. Again, it's not that the ideas aren't interesting or compelling, but they also seemed not especially groundbreaking most of the time. Rather it felt more like reading the journal of someone you sort of know, who is kind of just working through Their Own Stuff, and who unnecessarily often mentions that they previously worked in design, and tech, and journalism, and idk some other hip fields. The same "here's the wisdom I've gained on sabbatical" issue appears when, in the final chapter, the author is quite literally taking an extended vacation with family in Italy, and writing about what they've learned while, you know, not working.
In general, it felt a pretty shallow read that on Googling I think is partially a vehicle for speaking gigs.
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
medium-paced
I feel like this further validated my already established work life balance. I make as much as i need and have so much time to myself (whatever society might deem as a “good job”). Might send to some of my corporate homies bc i feel they might need it
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This book made me think about my relationship to work. I do often list myself as a librarian first. Is that something I should change? This book was a good place to start to reflect.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced