Working 9-5 Archives - Awful Library Books

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February 25, 2022 Holly Working 9-5 4 comments

100 Best Careers for the 21st Century: 2nd Edition
Field
1999

Submitter: I found this book while weeding my high school library’s non-fiction section. It was published in 1999, and may have been correct at one point, but now all the information is outdated, from the earnings to the tips on how to get the job. I will give it credit in the technology section. They say that it is growing so fast that it’s good to keep as up to date as possible with information in that field, however it seems they didn’t predict how prevalent the internet was going to be.

Holly: Submitter chose the perfect two careers to include (images below): travel agent and print reporter. Those jobs have changed drastically in the last two years, let alone the last two decades.

Unworkable Lives

February 14, 2022 Mary Kelly Parent/Teacher Collection, Working 9-5 8 comments

Working Women, Workable Lives
Linamen and Holland
1993

This is another of those books that attempts to help women solve their problems with juggling home and family obligations against those of one’s career. I should make these books their own special category. Check out a couple of examples here, here, here, and here.) They all have suggestions like:

Stay more organized
Take time for yourself
Hire a babysitter
Talk to your husband
Meditate

I feel like I read most of the ones published between 1989-1995 when I was trying to to get a handle on my life. None of these books have any real solutions. Even the privileged mother with lots of cash, supportive family, and a staff would find these suggestions ridiculous. The reality is that none of these books go after the real problems or working women. You know, those pesky problems like wage inequality, lack of childcare, sexism, racism, worker exploitation, poor management, etc. You know, the problems that plague 99% of working families.

Behaving at the Office

January 20, 2022 Mary Kelly Working 9-5 11 comments

Uncivil Wars
Men, Women, and Office Etiquette in the 90s
Patrick
1994

This is another of the million books published about how to get along at the office and succeed. As women entered the workforce, issues of “new” office etiquette were being discussed. Discussions targeted at both men and women centered on catering to their supposed needs. For example, women being coached to get along with the boys world of work, how to dress, and level up in management. Men were told to not “make a pass” and be polite to the ladies.

Babysitting Basics

January 17, 2022 Mary Kelly Talkin 'Bout My Generation, Working 9-5 12 comments

Babysitting
Dayee
1990

I’m going to have to award this book “most boring cover art.” Seriously, this book design looks like they had some bad wallpaper laying around and someone said, “Hey, put that on a book, the teens will love it.”

Cover “art” not withstanding, the content isn’t too bad. The book is written in scenarios, followed by a brief discussion. There is also a business-like theme so kids think about this professionally, including interviewing. The general advice is okay, but the technology available these days (cell phones, nanny cams, etc.) definitely needs to be discussed for 21st century babysitters.

Home Office Advice

October 11, 2021 Mary Kelly Bleeding Edge, Working 9-5 2 comments

The Home Office Book
Alvarez
1990

Time to get your home office in shape. This book is pretty comprehensive. All the those important decisions on furniture, equipment, and design are helpfully analyzed for convenience.

What version of DOS do you need?
IBM Clone or the real IBM?
Lotus 1-2-3 or VisiCalc?
America Online or Prodigy?
Cordless phone or phone with a cord?

Of course you should also consider driving or walking to the post office because this book is still a few years from widespread home use of the Internet. Maybe you want to consider getting a fax machine?

I did get a kick out the bygone days of the early 1990s. Clunky computers, dot matrix printers and so many floppy disks are quite a contrast to the technology of today. COVID makes home offices kind of important, so maybe a more up to date book on home offices is required.

what to do with the rest of your life cover

Figure Out Your Life

September 28, 2021 Mary Kelly Ladies only!, Working 9-5 One comment

What to Do With the Rest of Your Life
Catalyst
1981

We have had a couple of books authored by the organization Catalyst. This non-profit advocated for women in business. They published career advice for women in the 1970s and 1980s. If you have been a long time reader of this blog, you might remember this particular book.

It felt like this book was more about introspection and finding your “perfect” career path. It was definitely published with nice, privileged, ladies in mind. See the bottom paragraph on the introduction page.

Like I have commented before, this very much is for that 1% of working women that have resources and a nice safety net. I doubt that the single mother trying to make ends meet has time to have an introspective meditation on career satisfaction.

Really, just get in there and weed those career advice books.

High School Resumes

March 1, 2021 Mary Kelly Working 9-5 4 comments

Creating Your High School Resume
Troutman
1998

Of course anyone hanging around this site already knows, I have a serious issue with old career materials. Well, add this one to the pile of irritations. First, it is dated. Obviously the impact of technology changes how we even go about finding jobs. (Note the recommendation of using Alta Vista for searching.) Second, resumes for high school students seems a bit much. The subtitle implies college and post college too. If the title said High School, I doubt a college level student or post grad will think this is appropriate for their needs.

Offbeat Careers

January 29, 2021 Holly Working 9-5 6 comments

Offbeat Careers: The Directory of Unusual Work
Sacharow
1988

Submitter: Well, Al and I have very different opinions about what constitutes “offbeat.” Mainly things that aren’t actually careers, maybe not even jobs. Miss America? Game Show Contestant? Dated and just… odd. Mary may be interested in at least one of the careers listed! LOL!

All career books need careful curation, but this one was an easy weed!