JULY 30, 2024|BOOKS & REVIEWS
The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber
Here in the US, it’s time for summer jobs, August (almost!) introspection, family holidays, and the last glimpse of sanity before we get bombarded with election news and into the Fall. For some of you, this time might include some thinking about what you’re doing for work and how you’re spending your time. It might also bring up the notion of bullshit jobs. This week’s book recommendation features a title that is about exactly what you think … jobs that suck.
In the book, Graeber showcases everything from a security guard who spends his day protecting an empty room to the many insignificant things we might suffer through in service of our own work. Along the way, he makes the connection between work and our own self-worth and just how damaging it can be to realize the thing you do for work is utterly unnecessary. No one wants a bullshit job, but reducing the amount of bullshit in your job is a worthy aspiration too. Whether this is a problem you currently identify with or not, the book is a welcome read to either help you make your work better or at the very least give you reason for gratitude that at least your job has less bullshit than some unfortunate others.
| About the Non-Obvious Book Selection of the Week: |
| Every week I will be featuring a new “non-obvious” book selection worth sharing. Titles featured here may be new or from the backlist, but the date of publication doesn’t really matter. My goal is to elevate great books that perhaps deserve a second look which you might have otherwise missed. |
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How It All Started
A Short Backstory Of This Blog
This is a blog about non-obvious ideas. Originally launched on the Typepad platform in 2005 as the Influential Marketing blog, the stories at first focused mainly on digital marketing while Rohit worked at Ogilvy Advertising. In 2015 Rohit officially rebranded to the Non-Obvious Insights Blog and published his WSJ bestseller Non-Obvious. For the past twenty one years, this blog has coined new terms, introduced future marketing practices and inspired the next generation of non-obvious thinkers and marketers.
