Characters Whose Job I Wish I Had

Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl!

Honestly, it's easier for me to think of characters whose jobs I don't wish I had. I don't want to be a defense lawyer. I don't want to travel through Mordor to throw the Ring into Mount Doom. I might want to be a librarian or a bookseller (assuming I could make a living), a writer or what I already am, a teacher. I want more of the jobs from cozy, safe types of books--although I threw a few nonfiction in too.

1. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

Job: Bookseller

2. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

Job: Owner of a book van/traveling bookshop

3. Playing with Matches by Hannah Orenstein

Job: Matchmaker

I wouldn't have picked this before I read the book, but the way she spends most of her time just looking at online profiles and then setting people up kind of sounded fun.

4. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Job: Anything on a spaceship. I (almost) don't care! I could be the cook or help out in hydroponics. I just want to be on the ship!

5. A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

Job: Aeluon Parent. In this culture, it's basically like being a preschool teacher. You raise a bunch of kids as your full-time job, along with your team of co-parents, so it's easy to get a break when you need one.

6. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

Job: Baker/Magical Wizard Baker--I'll take either (she can tell the dough not to dry out! or burn!)

7. Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch

Job: Internet linguist. !!!

8. The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty

Job: Writer/food historian

9. Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce

Job: Advice columnist

10. The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish

Job: Tenured professor researching a Jewish woman writer in early modern England

Comments

Anne@HeadFullofBooks said…

You thought of so many different jobs. Not me. I went off the board this week because I couldn't remember anyone's professions except for the teachers and since I'm one that wasn't fun. Check out my off the board list please. Thanks you. My TTT

March 2, 2021 at 12:56 AM

Lydia said…

Working on a space ship in any capacity would be super cool!

My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-characters-whose-job-i-wish-i-had/

March 2, 2021 at 7:28 AM

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said…

Golly, how did I forget being on a spaceship? Yes, a librarian on a spaceship, I think, who is often called upon to assist the captain on her important missions.

March 2, 2021 at 8:09 AM

Judy Krueger said…

I like the way you did this! I once ran my own daycare in my home. I'd like to find a book about that job. It was not easy!

March 2, 2021 at 10:44 AM

iloveheartlandX said…

I'd quite like to be a bookseller, though having worked in other areas of retail before, I have no doubt that bookshops also face their share of awful customers.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2021/03/02/top-ten-tuesday-305/

March 2, 2021 at 11:20 AM

Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse said…

Being a matchmaker sounds fun, but also like there would be a ton of pressure to get it right.

March 2, 2021 at 12:27 PM

Space Station Mir said…

@Deb omg, yes, a librarian on a spaceship! That is exactly what I want to be!

@Judy yes, I think a book where a character runs a daycare would be quite interesting! I've worked with preschoolers and enjoyed it, but running a daycare would be too much for me I think!

@iloveheartlandX I've been a bookseller, actually, and it was surprisingly lovely. Almost all of the customers were incredibly pleasant and I only have a few mostly funny stories about their behavior. I'd wager bookstore customers are generally more pleasant than other retail, in fact. The only reason I didn't stick with that job was because it was minimum wage.

March 2, 2021 at 9:28 PM