Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs

I saw Gig when I was lolling around the Sociology section of Bongs & Noodles, and I inspected it closely and bought it a few days later. It is so cool! It is the result of interviews with people in all sorts of different jobs – palm readers and bus drivers and book scouts and just dozens of things. The interviewees have about two to five pages where they describe the job, how they got into it, what a typical day looks like, a story or two, and where they want to go from here.

MY GOD this book is just relentlessly fascinating. I especially like it when people in jobs I would never consider doing, or didn’t know existed, talk about what inspires them. There’s a corporate identity consultant who goes on at some length about Apple’s show more logo, and how it’s such a legendary logo because of all the things it implies about the company. I don’t know – it’s just that I would never have thought of doing that job, so I would never have had to think about the Apple logo at all, if it weren’t for that book. Or, possibly a more interesting example, from a produce stand owner:

I started off cooking peanuts back in 1956. I was fourteen. Sold ‘em for ten cents a bag. And see, I’ve always cut my peanuts with lemon. That’s what makes mine different. Most people just boil ‘em in salt. Well, I’ve always cut them with lemon. I got that idea from the Good Master – the Good Master up there. I dreamed it one night. And I just woke up one morning knowing I was gonna start putting lemons in.

Though just when I think this guy’s a dear, this happens:

I’ll have pumpkins in October and Christmas trees for Christmas. And all year round I’ll be selling pillows, bandannas, quilts, the Aunt Jemima dolls – which I’m probably gonna get a kick from the [African-Americans but that isn't the word used here] about that, but that don’t mean a damn thing with me. Ain’t nothing they can do about it, you know?

Blech.

Or, this is nicer, the flower lady – she seems so sincere!

I always want flowers. I still spend my money on flowers. Even when I’m around them all day, I still want them at home. And I don’t care that they die. I think that the ephemeral quality of flowers is really seductive. I think there’s something really wonderful about the fact that they really only last for a certain amount of time. Within that time, they can be more beautiful than something that might last forever.

Some of these people have terrible stories to tell – bad things that happened to them, bad things that happened to their clients and coworkers. Bad things they’ve done. Look at this corporate headhunter lady:

But still, there’s lots of ways to get names. I’ve gone into bars in Silicon Valley after Happy Hour and stolen the bowl where everyone drops their business card for a sandwich drawing every week. I wear a trench coat or something and just walk out with seventy-five leads…You just need to be ingenious – hang out in the lobby of a company, and tell the receptionist you’re waiting for your friend to meet you, and then when the receptionist turns away, steal the directory from her desk. Whatever it takes.

…And although it is deceptive, it’s lying sometimes, it’s not immoral, I don’t think. Because I’m helping people.

Sure, lady. Whatever helps you sleep at night.

I felt like the Doctor when I was reading this book - you know how one minute David Tennant’s all “The human race! Indomitable!”, and then the next second he’s all “Run and hide because the monsters are coming: the HUMAN RACE” and bringing down governments and things. I mean you read this book and you can really see both points. (Was that a superfluous Doctor Who reference? Perhaps. But I show less

This is a book I read every few years or so. The book basically consists of people from all walks of life talking about their jobs. The jobs run the full gamut -- from Kinko's employee to actress (Debra Messing) to crime scene cleaners. Each interview has a unique voice depending on who is telling the story. You really get a glimpse inside each person's working world and their life. In my view, it is a more modern version of Studs Terkel's Working, which I just found too dated for my tastes.

Covers more ground than its model, Studs Terkel's "Working," but seems much less personal somehow. I remember (vaguely) what people said about the nature of their jobs, but I don't remember the people themselves.

Ever wonder what a food stylist does, and what they think about it? How about a transvestite prostitute, buffalo rancher, or "Elvis Presley interpreter"? These and other unique jobs are mixed in with temps, Kinko's co-workers, waitresses, and bar owners. With text straight from these people's mouths, it's like sitting down and having a cup of coffee with them. The short sections are perfect for a quick read when you only have a couple minutes to fill. A very fun book.

(Q)

Completely unique book - unlike any I've read before. Compilation of short true stories from various Americans talking about their jobs. Most are quite frank in their assessment of the down and dirty of their professions - an amusing potpourri of people from all walks of life.

I really enjoy reading this book. It's about people describing their jobs honestly. They tell what they exactely do, whether they like what they do or not etc. Interestingly, I had no idea that some of these jobs even exist.

I first read this (inhaled it, actually) while collecting NY State unemployment for the first time. Now I'm re-reading it slowly. People's relationships to their jobs are so interesting!