sparky27's review against another edition
4.0
Working at a grocery store is the same the world over...
_onemorepage_'s review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
3.0
Good book for French learners!
kairosdreaming's review
3.0
*Please note that this book was received as a free Advanced Readers Copy. Obtained through the Goodreads First Reads program*
I have mixed feelings on this book. When reading the synopsis I expected funny stories of different people that came through the writer's line. And there is that, but there's some other stuff too that I wasn't as taken with.
In this book, Sam ranges all over the job of a supermarket cashier. From uniforms to early birds and all other types of customers, she covers everything there is to know about the job. Some of the stories are just plainly told, while others are set up in a dialogue format. She weighs in on bosses and Bargain Hunters (coupon people).
Since it is a collection of stories, as said before I expected just funny dialogues, much like you see on the spoof online sites out there. She does this, but it's a smaller part of the book. She gives other things a lot more detail, like uniforms. Honestly I thought she was overly snarky on the uniform descriptions. She may have been going for funny, but it sounded more sour. This same feeling holds true for her thoughts on asking "Are you open?" The snarky reply to that "I'm not, but my register is." And this is only done because she feels it is rude to equate the cashier with the machine. As a linguist this doesn't win with me and instead of feeling sympathetic towards the plights of cashiers in this book, instances like this make me roll my eyes (and that's coming from someone who was a cashier for years). I also felt sorry for the poor Bargain Hunters (coupon deals and such) that she chose to make fun of. They get her scorn but she doesn't know why they might be trying to save a buck.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that a good portion of the writing left a bad taste in my mouth. I tried desperately to enjoy it but there was just so much that wasn't funny in the book that it was hard to enjoy the good parts. And there were good parts. Her drunken customer descriptions and the late nighters stories were good. She can definitely write well it's just the tone I think needs work.
I would probably give this book a 2.5. I almost gave it a two but there was a good portion of the book I enjoyed. I just wish she had found a way to be funny without being cruel to certain types of people.
Checkout Girl
Copyright 2011
178 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
I have mixed feelings on this book. When reading the synopsis I expected funny stories of different people that came through the writer's line. And there is that, but there's some other stuff too that I wasn't as taken with.
In this book, Sam ranges all over the job of a supermarket cashier. From uniforms to early birds and all other types of customers, she covers everything there is to know about the job. Some of the stories are just plainly told, while others are set up in a dialogue format. She weighs in on bosses and Bargain Hunters (coupon people).
Since it is a collection of stories, as said before I expected just funny dialogues, much like you see on the spoof online sites out there. She does this, but it's a smaller part of the book. She gives other things a lot more detail, like uniforms. Honestly I thought she was overly snarky on the uniform descriptions. She may have been going for funny, but it sounded more sour. This same feeling holds true for her thoughts on asking "Are you open?" The snarky reply to that "I'm not, but my register is." And this is only done because she feels it is rude to equate the cashier with the machine. As a linguist this doesn't win with me and instead of feeling sympathetic towards the plights of cashiers in this book, instances like this make me roll my eyes (and that's coming from someone who was a cashier for years). I also felt sorry for the poor Bargain Hunters (coupon deals and such) that she chose to make fun of. They get her scorn but she doesn't know why they might be trying to save a buck.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that a good portion of the writing left a bad taste in my mouth. I tried desperately to enjoy it but there was just so much that wasn't funny in the book that it was hard to enjoy the good parts. And there were good parts. Her drunken customer descriptions and the late nighters stories were good. She can definitely write well it's just the tone I think needs work.
I would probably give this book a 2.5. I almost gave it a two but there was a good portion of the book I enjoyed. I just wish she had found a way to be funny without being cruel to certain types of people.
Checkout Girl
Copyright 2011
178 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
thefiercecat's review against another edition
2.0
Parfois drôle, parfois touchant, un bel hommage au métier de caissière. Mais cependant parfois longuet et répétitif, on a vite fait le tour des types de clients et de situations.
robinsbooks's review
2.0
Thought this would be a fun "industry insider" book about being a supermarket checkout clerk (don't laugh, but it was my dream job when I was 10 years old, something about using cash registers just appealed to me!) but turned out I couldn't get through it. The author's tone was annoying and the snarky and attempts at humor fell flat.
dorod59's review
3.0
Une lecture un peu différente pour changer, j'ai été attiré par les critiques/pubs que j'avais lu dans divers magazines. En tout cas ça se lit vite, ce n'est pas désagréable, et parfois assez cocasse.
Anna Sam décortique en catégorie d'événement qu'il peut lui arriver en tant que caissière, que ça soit en rapport avec son métier ou par rapport au client. C'est ce deuxième cadre qui est le plus intéressant selon moi. Certaines situations sont un peu folles et peuvent faire rire, d'autres faire halluciner! J'ai bien aimé, mais sans plus, le livre est inégal, il devient sûrement plus intéressant si l'on a été soi-même caissière.
J'aimerai beaucoup lire la BD par contre!
Anna Sam décortique en catégorie d'événement qu'il peut lui arriver en tant que caissière, que ça soit en rapport avec son métier ou par rapport au client. C'est ce deuxième cadre qui est le plus intéressant selon moi. Certaines situations sont un peu folles et peuvent faire rire, d'autres faire halluciner! J'ai bien aimé, mais sans plus, le livre est inégal, il devient sûrement plus intéressant si l'on a été soi-même caissière.
J'aimerai beaucoup lire la BD par contre!
kmc3050's review
1.0
After reading the description of this book, I figured Checkout Girl would be a witty insiders peek of all the hilarious, crazy, and usually gross happenings in the cashier world. However, Anna Sam's book is simply an overly sarcastic, generic commentary of common issues faced by cashiers. Having been a cashier myself, I know she could have drawn better from her actual experiences and written something with more humor and insight than this. Though, I can see others who work or have worked in public service posts picking this one up for a quick and easy read.
I did receive a copy free from Goodreads' First Reads and while it wasn't my favorite, I am still thankful to have received it. Thank you!
I did receive a copy free from Goodreads' First Reads and while it wasn't my favorite, I am still thankful to have received it. Thank you!
goldiefan's review against another edition
2.0
I found this dirt cheap in a bookshop and at first I thought I had found myself a witty cheap book, however half way through I began to feel a little depressed and bored at the writing style, probably something to do with the English basic translation. I did laugh, but this was few and far between. The author came across as quite arrogant and irritating at places.