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The Working Life
On the Job Reading in Fiction and Nonfiction
Return to Fiction_L Booklists Menu
April 2008
Compiled by Neil Hollands
of the Williamsburg Regional Library from contributions by the members of Fiction_L.
(To use this list in your library, book club, etc., please include the following credit line: "Compiled by the subscribers of the Fiction_L mailing list." This list may not be used for commercial purposes.)
NON-FICTION
Ackerman, Diane The Zookeeper's Wife
Albarelli, Gerry Teacha! Stories from a Yeshiva
Albert, Alexa Brothel: Mustang Ranch and Its Women
Allison, Peter Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide
Angell, Jeanette Callgirl
Balfour, Sandy Nursing America: One Year behind the Nursing Stations of an Inner-City
Hospital
Bloom, Stephen G. Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland Iowa (meat processing)
Bogira, Steve Courthouse 302: A Year Behind the Scenes in an American Criminal Courthouse
Bombeck, Erma any book (housewifery)
Borchert, Dan Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library
Bourdain, Anthony Kitchen Confidential
Bowe, John et al Gig: Americans Talk About their Jobs
Brenner, Leslie Fourth Star: Dispatches from Inside Daniel Boulud's Celebrated New York Restaurant
Bronson, Po What Should I Do With My Life?
Buford, Mark Heat (restaurant work)
Burana, Lily Strip City: A Stripper's Farewell Tour Across America
Burau, Caroline Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat
Burton, Betsy The King's English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller
Buzbee, Lewis The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop
Bryan, Mike Baseball Lives: Men and Women of the Game Talk about Their Jobs, Their Lives and the National Pastime
Cecchini, Toby Cosmopolitan: a Bartender's Life
Cheever, Ben Selling Ben Cheever: Back to Square One in a Service Economy
Codell, Esme Raji Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year
Cody, Diablo Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper
Conlon, Edward Blue Blood (police work)
Conover, Ted Newjack (prison guard)
Conroy, Pat The Water Is Wide (teaching)
Cox, Lynne Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer
Cronkite, Walter A Reporter's Life
Danziger, Danny Museum: Behind the Scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Daria, Irene Lutece: A Day in the Life of America's Greatest Restaurant
Dolnik, Edward The Rescue Artist (art theft investigator)
Dusenberry, Phil Then We Set His Hair on Fire
Ehrenreich, Barbara Nickel and Dimed: on Not Getting by in America Bait and Switch
Febroriello, Courtney The Wife of a Chef
Feynmann, Richard Surely, You Must Be Joking Mr. Feynmann (physics, teaching)
Firlik, Katrina Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside
Foss, Rene Around the World in a Bad Mood: Confessions of a Flight Attendant
Gass, Thomas Edward Nobody's Home: Candid Reflections of a Nursing Home Aide
Gawande, Atul Complications; Better (surgeon)
Gill, Michael Gates How Starbucks Saved My Life
Ginsberg, Debra Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress
Goldman, William Adventures in the Screen Trade (screenwriting)
Grosz, Terry Wildlife Wars: The Life and Times of a Fish and Game Warden
Hamper, Ben Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line (automobile industry)
Hayden, Tory any book (special needs education)
Heron, Echo Intensive Care: the Story of a Nurse
Herriott, James any book (veterinarians)
Hester, Elliott Plane Insanity: a Flight Attendant's Tales of Sex, Rage, and Queasiness at 30,000 Feet
Hickam, Homer The Coalwood Way (mining)
Hochschild, Arlie The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work
Johnson, Jennifer Getting By on the Minimum
Johnson, LouAnne My Posse Don't Do Homework
Jordan, Pete Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States
Kaplan, James Airport: Terminal Nights and Runway Days at John F. Kennedy International
Karesh, William Appointment at the Ends of the World (wildlife vet)
Kelly, Shawna I Was a Teenage Dominatrix
Kennedy, Dan Rock On: An Office Power Ballad (music industry)
Kidder, Tracy Among Schoolchildren
Kidder, Tracy House (construction; contracting)
King, Stephen On Writing: a Memoir of the Craft
Kleinfield, Sonny The Hotel: A Week in the Life of the Plaza
Kollman, Dana Never Suck a Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI
Laurance, William Stinging Trees and Wait-a-Whiles: Confessions of a Rainforest Biologist
Lefcourt, Peter and Laura Shapiro The First Time I Got Paid for It (screenwriting)
Lehman, Elton House Calls and Hitching Posts
Leon, Vicki Working IX to V: Orgy Planners, Funeral Clowns, and Other Prized Professions of the Ancient World
Lewis, Michael Moneyball (baseball management)
Lynch, Thomas The Undertaking
Maclean, Norman Young Men and Fire
Martin, Steve Born Standing Up (comedy)
Mason, Bill Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief
McCourt, Frank Teacher Man
McPhee, John Giving Good Weight (truck farmers, chef) Looking for a Ship (merchant marine) Uncommon Carriers (transportation)
Michaelis, David Schulz and Peanuts (cartooning)
Morris, Charles R. The Surgeons: Life and Death in a Top Heart Center
Owings, Allison Hey, Waitress: the USA from the Other Side of the Tray
Paul, Caroline Fighting Fire
Perry, Michael Population, 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time (volunteer firefighting)
Petroski, Henry The Paperboy
Plaut, Melissa Hack: How I Stopped Worrying About What to Do With My Life and Started Driving a Yellow Cab
Rafkin, Louise Other People's Dirt (housekeeping)
Reavill, Gil Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up after CSI Goes Home
Reichl, Ruth Garlic and Sapphires (restaurant reviewing)
Reillly, Rick Who's Your Caddy?
Robinson, Jeffrey Hotel: Backstairs at the World's Most Exclusive Hotel
Rodriguez, Debra Kabul Beauty School
Ruhlman, Michael The Making ofÉ; The Soul ofÉ; The Reach of a Chef
Sapolsky, Robert M. A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life among the Baboons
Selzer, Richard Moral Lessons: Notes on the Art of Surgery
Shea, Suzanne Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Bookstore
Shipler, David K. The Working Poor
Smart, Alexa Brothel
Snowden, Lynn Nine Lives: from Stripper to School Teacher
Snyder, Robert W. Transit Talk
Stern, Jane Ambulance Girl
Taylor, David Going Wild: Adventures of a Zoo Vet
Terkel, Studs Working
Thompson, Chuck Smile When You're Lying: Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer
Transue, Emily On Call: A Doctor's Days and Nights in Residency
Trout, Nick Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing, and Hope in my Life as an Animal Surgeon
Wenzel, Ty Behind Bars: Straight-Up Tales of a Big City Bartender
Wilkinson, Alec Moonshine: A Life in Pursuit of White Lightning
Wilson, Phillip Driver: Six Weeks in an Eighteen-Wheeler
Yancey, Richard Confessions of a Tax Collector
FICTION
Barry, Max Company
Bartlett, Gerry Real Vampires Have Curves (vintage clothing)
Benson, Robby Who Stole the Funny (sitcom director)
Brooks, Geraldine People of the Book (rare book conservation)
Cabot, Meg Boy Meets Girl
Campbell, Rebecca Slave to Fashion
Cleland, Jane Josie Prescott mysteries (antiques)
Cockey, Tim Hitchcock Sewell mysteries (undertaking)
Colapinto, John About the Author
Coupland, Douglas The Gum Thief (office supply store) Microserfs (software design)
Davidson, Diane Mott Goldy Bear mysteries (catering)
Downs, Tim Bug Man mysteries (entomologist)
Dreiser, Theodore Sister Carrie (chorus girl & actress)
Dunant, Sarah The Birth of Venus (painting)
Evanovich, Janet Stephanie Plum series (bounty hunting)
Ferris, Joshua Then We Came to the End (advertising agency)
Fielding, Helen Bridget Jones's Diary; Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason
Fitzgerald, Penelope The Bookshop
Flinn, Elaine Molly Doyle mysteries (antiques)
Follett, Ken The Pillars of the Earth (construction) Paper Money
Ganek, Danielle Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him (art gallery)
Gore, Kristin Sammy's Hill; Sammy's House (political aide)
Hart, Carolyn Annie and Max mysteries (bookstore)
Hazelwood, Robin Model Student (modeling)
Hellenga, Robert The Sixteen Pleasures (book restoration)
Heller, Ted Slab Rat (magazine publishing)
Ishiguro, Kazuo Remains of the Day (domestic help)
Kaufman, Bel Up the Down Staircase (domestic help)
King, Stephen The Green Mile (prison guard)
Kinsella, Sophie Can You Keep a Secret
Levison, Iain Since the Layoffs
Lodge, David Small World; Trading Places (academia)
Malone, Michael Foolscap (playwrighting)
McCouch, Hannah Girl Cook
McLaughlin, Emma & Nicola Kraus The Nanny Diaries
Moody, Martha Office of Desire (medical office)
O'Nan, Stewart Last Night at the Lobster (restaurant management)
Ondaatje, Michael In the Skin of a Lion (bridge building; tanning)
Pearson, Allison I Don't Know How She Does It (housewife)
Pelecanos, George A Firing Offense (electronics sales)
Pollero, Rhonda Finley Anderson Tanner mysteries (paralegal)
Purser, Ann Lois Meade mysteries (housekeeping)
Putney, Mary Jo The Bartered Bride (tea merchant)
Rand, Ayn The Fountainhead (architecture)
Roberts, Wendy The Remains of the Dead (crime scene clean-up)
Russo, Richard Straight Man (academia)
Salzman, Mark Lying Awake (nuns)
Sayers, Dorothy Murder Must Advertise (advertising)
Scheibe, Amy What Do You Do All Day? (housewife)
Sinclair, Upton The Jungle (meatpacking)
Smiley, Jane Horse Heaven (horseracing)
Stegner, Wallace Angle of Repose (geology in early west)
Sternberg, Alan Camaro City
Stivers, Valerie Blood Is the New Black (fashion magazine)
Turner, James Rex Libris (librarian)
Viets, Elaine Dead End Job mysteries
Viets, Elaine Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper mysteries
Wax, Wendy Single in Suburbia (house cleaning)
Weisberger, Lauren The Devil Wears Prada (fashion magazine, internship)
POETRY
Rogauskas, James Office Haiku: Poems Inspired by the Daily Grind
YA
Avi The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (sailor)
Bauer, Joan Hope Was Here (waitress) Rules of the Road; Best Foot Forward (shoe sales)
Webster, Jean Dear Enemy (orphanage director)
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