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Careering

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Hilarious and unflinchingly honest, Careering takes a hard look at the often toxic relationship working women have with their dream jobs.

careering (verb)
1. working endlessly for a job you used to love and now resent entirely
2. moving in a way that feels out of control
 
Imogen has always dreamed of writing for a magazine. Infinite internships later, Imogen dreams of any job. Writing her blog around double shifts at the pub is neither fulfilling her creatively nor paying the bills.

Harri might just be Imogen's fairy godmother. She's moving from the glossy pages of Panache magazine to launch a fierce feminist site, The Know. And she thinks Imogen's most outrageous sexual content will help generate the clicks she needs. But Imogen's fairy-tale ending soon sours as she finds herself putting more and more of herself into writing for a company that doesn't care if she sinks or swims.

Neither woman is aware of the crucial thing they have in common. Harri, at the other end of her career, has also been bitten and betrayed by the industry she has given herself to. Will she wake up to the way she's being exploited before her protégé realizes that not everything is copy? Can either woman reconcile their love for work with the fact that work will never love them back? Or is a chaotic rebellion calling . . .
 

401 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 10, 2022

214 people are currently reading
14422 people want to read

About the author

Daisy Buchanan

14 books235 followers

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5 stars
481 (10%)
4 stars
1,410 (30%)
3 stars
1,927 (42%)
2 stars
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1 star
145 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 525 reviews
Profile Image for Lucy Jane Wood.
17 reviews2,847 followers
February 22, 2023
During my time at uni, instead of going to lectures which could have actually enriched my mind, I spent many solitary weeks untangling necklaces inside dingy fashion cupboards and feeling sick at the thought of asking editors what they needed me to do next. So, as soon as I saw the premise, I was all over Careering.

The slightly cringeworthy humour put me off this to begin with, but I eventually fell into the main characters and their relatable dual storylines of extreme burnout, crushing creative self doubt, and the bubble burst realisation that your ‘dream job’ might not be such a dream after all.

If anything, I felt this one tried to cover *too* many important millennial topics to its detriment? And only skimmed them for the sake of it, rather than exploring a handful of the most interesting ones properly. But it was an enjoyable, light and easy read with satisfying punchy chapters (and made me very grateful that I don’t get sent out to buy soya lattes with company credit cards anymore).
Profile Image for Michelle.
1,555 reviews256 followers
May 31, 2022
As soon as I saw the premise for this book I was interested to pick it up. After two years of lockdowns and working from home I think a lot of people can relate to the tag line of 'Imogen has a toxic relationship with her job'. We've all had emails from colleagues in the early hours of the morning and no separation between work and personal lives.

We have two main characters.

Imogen, late twenties interning for a very popular fashion publication.  She's full of determination, hopes and dreams for her future career but the late nights, an empty bank account and a rented room without a window aren't making climbing the corporate ladder particularly enjoyable.

Harri is two decades older than Imogen. Harri has suffered a massive personal loss which resulted in her marrying her job. She's safe there, it keeps her busy at all waking hours and leaves her little time to think of much else. Its all consuming climbing the career ladder for the next promotion.

While there's many The Devil wears Prada vibes here, this felt like a much more relatable to me.

The characters are raw, they are vulnerable,  they are flawed and floundering in a world which is telling them that its all about female empowerment but quick kick you down for expressing your views. It's all about female pleasure they cry, but call you a slut when you grab that pleasure with both hands.

A great exploration of relationships with ourselves, our families, our colleagues, our past and futures, our careers, our dreams, our voices.

Four stars. Will check out more titles from the author.
Profile Image for leah.
518 reviews3,380 followers
March 23, 2022
careering follows 20-something imogen, a struggling intern at a fashion magazine who also runs a successful blog on the side, and 40-something harri, who just got passed up for the role of editor in chief and is now trying to launch a new online feminist magazine.

the book largely revolves around the pressures and stresses women face in the modern day workplace, shining a light on the detrimental effects of ‘grind culture’, especially in terms of all the things women are expected to sacrifice in order to be a ‘successful career woman’. it explores the burnout that comes with working tirelessly towards your dream job, sometimes up to the point when it ceases to even be a dream anymore, along with the inherent privilege surrounding the notion of a ‘dream job’. there’s also some great (and to me, very relatable) commentary on the class and financial inequities that come with working in the media industry, and also the struggle of being a working class 20-something living in london.

the narrative did feel a little disjointed due to the quick pov switches between imogen and harri, and some of the dialogue was a little cringey at times. but overall it’s a very fast and easy read, and perfect for fans of netflix’s ‘the bold type’.

[gifted by the publisher in exchange for an honest review]
Profile Image for Monica.
201 reviews1 follower
April 29, 2022
When you cut back the fat, Careering by Daisy Buchanan is essentially a story about perfectly capable, imperfect women struggling against the weight of rigid workplace structures and expectations.

Harri is vying for Editor-in-Chief at Panache, but instead is redeployed to lead a low-budget online website as a complement to the institutional magazine. Imogen, an unappreciated intern in her late 20s, is working multiple fringe jobs in order to supplement her unpaid day job at Panache. It’s Imogen’s sex blog, a side hobby, that gets her noticed by Harri.

Brace yourself. It goes downhill from here.

There is a plot, but I personally found parts of it to be uneven, and frankly, implausible. So implausible that I felt like it diminished the originality of the premise. Sometimes it swerved from being a comedy to a serious confessional in a matter of sentences.

A wide sample of tropes are continually introduced, but skimmed over without much afterthought (for those interested — racial discrimination, classism, power dynamics, the patriarchy, imposter syndrome, sexual harassment, sexual freedom as feminism, familial tensions, anxiety and panic attacks, grief… and that’s not even the complete list).

Characterisation-wise, it was a bit inconsistent. Sometimes Imogen was pretty naive, other times unusually savvy. Harri is meant to be a well-respected old-timer in the publishing world but some of her actions (or more appropriately, inactions) reduced me to skepticism. The rest of the cast are bordering on one-dimensional caricatures, space fillers really, the relationships all feeling a little disingenuous.

I know there’ll be plenty of others out there who would love this book but it didn’t connect with me the way I thought it would. Easy page-turner, but lacked substance.

Review copy from Hachette Australia.

Find more of my reviews on Instagram: @tackling.my.tbr
Profile Image for Anna.
1,078 reviews832 followers
April 25, 2023
This is the girlsplaining meme in book form.

I just read an article in one of the Sunday supplements about these elevens, the pair of short, vertical frown lines that form in the gap between our eyebrows, which apparently must be Botoxed into oblivion before they start to multiply into other numbers. This new knowledge has ruined faces for me, for ever.

This type of new irrelevant knowledge has ruined the book for me. That, and the fact that the story seems to take place in an alternate universe where basic common sense is… not a thing.
Profile Image for emma.
334 reviews297 followers
October 30, 2023
Careering centres itself around the pressures women face in the workplace and in the case of this novel within the media industry, where we face criticism and nuclear burnout to become the idealised ‘successful career woman’ with it all. The burnout we face then quells any sense of love we have for the job, taking what we once believed we were made for into something we dread showing up for unless we take change into our own hands.

It is not all so perfect, however, as the prose reads like a Netflix original series plagued with cringe phrases and POV switches that allowed little depth to be added to the story or its characters - that, may I add, were easy to root for despite this, as a woman who understands the pressures faced. How you will connect to the characters is the highlight. With this, I would recommend but advise you to be cautious that you will not be getting all you expect from a novel that focuses on the topics above upon reading.
Profile Image for Shannon.
8,306 reviews423 followers
August 21, 2022
I loved the premise of this book!! Reading about a woman dealing with career burnout was utterly relatable but I found the execution fell a little flat for me. Just an okay read. Would definitely recommend for fans of A hundred other girls by Imani Hairi-Kia. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
Profile Image for Brooke — brooklynnnnereads.
1,313 reviews267 followers
October 4, 2022
This book and the plot started out so promising! It contained elements of stories I love and became somewhat of an amalgamation of Sophie Kinsella's "Shopaholic" series, Lauren Weisberger's "The Devil Wears Prada", and the movie "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days".

However, somewhere along the way, the story lost its original momentum and that is where I also lost my enthusiasm.

If this book was shorter, with parts of it removed, I could see it being a better story. I did really enjoy the fist half and the encouraging positive message for women, but I couldn't maintain that interest for the duration of the book.

***Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending me a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review***
Profile Image for Samantha Kilford.
211 reviews107 followers
August 21, 2024
Some mild ptsd back to my intern days of toxicity and coffee runs, but a relatable, fun and occasionally thought-provoking novel on being a woman in the workplace and the reality of dream jobs.
Profile Image for Liya.
103 reviews1 follower
July 8, 2022
Started strong but lost interest less than halfway through. We were supposed to root for the main protagonist - Imogen but she came across as judgemental and annoying plus she wasn't written very inconsistently, her actions just didn't make sense which made the whole reading experience way more boring, frustrating, and trite.
I was hoping for some raw and accurate portrayal of the "dream job" illusion and yet it didn't land. The grind culture was celebrated as a badge of honour rather than criticised for its patriarchal and elitist nature. Apparently the dozens of unpaid internships where she was treated badly were what "made" her who she is today... And yet she kept saying how much she hated them all and how demeaning they were. Like pick a side, girl...
The novel just couldn't make its mind just like its "ambitiously genius" characters.
Profile Image for Book-Social.
499 reviews11 followers
October 20, 2023
First of all I loved the name of this book. The double meaning and how well it fit with the story. I also loved the industry it was set in – the publishing world with it’s writers, editors and fashionistas. Amongst the glamour though there was the very harsh reality of those starting out. Too poor to buy shampoo, going hungry despite working more than 12 hour days. It felt very real and very sad. Imogen was such a lonely character. Her home life was difficult and she had very few people she could realistically lean on. This all jarred with her sex blog, a girl so confident she would publish her sex life for all to read, including her possibly violent father. I felt Buchanan never fully managed to merge the two sides of Imogen. I couldn’t connect between the Imogen I was reading about, having a panic attack, hiding in a cupboard and the Imogen who would go to a sex party.

I also didn’t get Harri’s relationship with Imogen. Why Imogen? Was it that Harri saw something of herself in her? If she did, it needed to be brought out more as it was hard to find.

The book was at times humorous and at times spilled in to Bridget Jones territory, I’m thinking the Gentleman interview. But overall it was a gritty look at faking it until you make it. I didn’t really like the ending. I found it a bit too sweet compared to the rest of the book but I appreciated its hopefulness. And I loved that title.
Profile Image for Gabrielle Davis.
176 reviews8 followers
November 16, 2022
3.75 !!
Really enjoyed this one, very funny and relatable! This is the adult version of Angus, thongs and full frontal snogging !
Profile Image for Svenja Bunte.
110 reviews2 followers
October 8, 2024
I found this engrossing and a page turner and it felt visceral in the descriptions. An insight into the arts industry that eats you up and spits you out. Fell short slightly of relating to some of the characters especially Harri but unsure how. Great read from Daisy as per though!
Profile Image for Madeeha Maqbool.
214 reviews105 followers
April 5, 2022
A lovely book about the burnout and severe anxieties of work life but which is very very comforting as well. I want to hug it!
Profile Image for Lucy.
60 reviews
December 8, 2024
This book may be triggering if you ever were an unpaid intern within the creative / media industry haha; but also kinda validating. An industry that just eats you up and spits you out, selling your soul almost for the what ifs or the hopefulness of finally getting paid and being ‘seen’ professionally. A definite page turner and I think a lot of people will be able to relate to how work or a job can take over our lives, it tells you that there is more to life than your career. This book is for anyone who has experienced the trauma of unpaid internships or for someone who despises looking at their inbox in the morning and wondering if they should do it all again tomorrow. Careering is the perfect cross between Bridget Jones’s Diary and Devil Wears Prada. I loved the drama, I loved the themes it touched on, it’s a very good read and I think I’d read more from this author! 4.5 stars
Profile Image for Gia (지아).
298 reviews5 followers
October 31, 2022
Eh. Yet another book that seems fun in theory and not in practice. Maybe it's my fault for reading so many books about lost 20-somethings (don't read into this too much) but this book felt like it had been done so. many. times. before. I found myself relating to some of Imogen's thought processes and difficulties, but every time I had to sit through a chapter from Harry's perspective I felt my eyes roll into the back of my head because it was so boring and so nothing. Moreover, every side character felt like a complete caricature of what I would've imagined people in ~publishing~ and ~digital media~ to be like when I was 15.
Profile Image for Ian.
382 reviews
January 22, 2023
If you asked me how to describe this book, I would tell you the Easiest way to do that would be its the Bold Type but in Fictional form; okay maybe it’s a little different but its set around publishing and it really does remind me of The Bold type and exploring the highs but mostly lows of writing for a Magazine.
 
We follow Imogen; a 20-something struggling intern working a fashion magazine but who runs a successful blog on the Side in her free time all about Sex and relationships, we also follow Harri; A 40-something woman who has just been passed up for the role of editor in chief and she is now trying to launch an online feminist magazine.
 
This book revolves around the pressures, stress along with highs that Women face in the modern world and workplaces. The book does a great job at singing a huge spotlight on the Grinding culture and the things that Women must sacrifice to be “Successful” It shows the pressure that is put on them as well to land their dream job and, in some cases, the hard work leads that dream job to turn into the thing that is running you into the ground.
Buchanan does an amazing job at bringing this all to light within this Novel, but the quick POV changes were at times a little confusing and make some of the narrative jumpy, but this is a fast read!
Profile Image for Bee.
170 reviews
January 9, 2023
Not sure what to say about this book since the plot is terribly boring and predictable. Maybe some good sides: easy and quick to read.
Profile Image for Anne.
121 reviews
March 15, 2022
A page-turner about a young woman (Imogen) finding her way in a competitive office.
While in parallel we learn about her boss (who in Imogen's eyes is immensely successful) going through similar struggles.
Imogen is an excellent writer and she is clearly being unappreciated. She has years of temping experience and struggling to keep ends meet. I think it was quite an honest take on what does it really look to make yourself be heard. Incredibly relatable.
Clever and funny and sexy. I really enjoyed this.

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for the e-ARC.
Profile Image for Haley Joy.
27 reviews5 followers
December 1, 2024
This book is filled with explicit scenes, but lacking any romance or meaning behind them. It’s a tragedy of women who fall in love with the concept of working themselves to death. Unfortunately, there’s no real resolution to their workaholism, just a change from one hard job to the next and the realization that women don’t need men to please themselves. Do not recommend!
Profile Image for Seò.
72 reviews78 followers
May 1, 2022
after 200 pages I just Did Not Care, some insightful bits about being a woman in a professional writing space (which I am) but everyone was just annoying or embarassing
Profile Image for Ruby Burke.
116 reviews4 followers
February 18, 2023
Boring, long, the characters are so self depricating and not in a good way, fml
Profile Image for Cristina Umanzor.
49 reviews1 follower
June 24, 2023
Some good and cute quotes in here but not worth the read. I didn’t really see a definitive plot or lesson to be learned. Not a book for me!
Profile Image for marcy.
96 reviews5 followers
September 4, 2024
was hoping for a gen z “Clockwatchers,” got a shitty “A Devil Wears Prada” fanfic instead
Profile Image for Kendra Hicks.
51 reviews6 followers
March 8, 2025
I finished this book in record time…because it was that horrible. This will be my first 1 star read in a WHILE…but I’m not sure where to begin with this one. This book was an ultra left-wing amateur p**no graphic amateur novel at BEST. (No shade to your political standings, what I’m saying is that this author FORCED her political opinions into the plot where they didn’t make sense, it sounded redundant and quite honestly seemed uneducated.) The plot was a 10 minute story that was painstakingly stretched into 381 pages, with salacious content that served no purpose other than an excuse for the author to prove that she knows what sex is.
I looked into the author; she is a journalist first and a nonfiction author second. It makes sense that this fiction book wouldn’t be up to par with most others out there…but we all have to start somewhere. What is lacking most is traditional plot structure (there was NO rising action or climax), any character development, and any personality or chemistry between the female main characters. Which is ironic because the book is meant to be all about their professional interactions.
I’m disappointed because the blurb made me so excited to begin the book; the choppy dialogue and lack of proper plot advancement was my first red flag. Only 40 pages in and I could barely follow the story due to the constant inner dialogue and off-topic tangents.
I could go on and on…but I’d rather think about literally anything else.
Profile Image for Amy Wood.
164 reviews
October 4, 2022
This is a story about Imogen's long fight for her 'dream job' and the pressures women face getting there, especially in the media industry.

It's ok.

Imogen is relatable but other characters are extremely stereotypical. Chapters are split between Imogen and her boss, Harri. But you hear from Imogen a lot more and I didn't feel like I got to know Harri, so I'm not sure what her character's point-of-view added to the story.

As Imogen is a sex blogger, I think the book is trying to send some sort of message about the modern woman feeling empowered and yet shamed for it?

I listened to this on audio book, so that may have made a difference as to why I didn't connect that well to it. It's just ok.
Profile Image for Ellen.
5 reviews
January 22, 2024
As someone far removed from corporate life in London I didn’t necessarily think I’d relate to this book. However the protagonists thoughts and experiences of sex and intimacy were very validating to read, if at times sad and prompting of self reflection lols
Recommend if you’re a corporate queen or just a 20-something slag
“I could marry a vicar next year, and I’ve still done something crazier and sluttier than most people. All my life, I’ve worried I wasn’t pretty enough, that I wasn’t hot enough, that no men would want me. But in that moment, two men wanted me at once!”
“…his ‘you like that, don’t you?’ And how I hate myself a little bit for liking it, and for liking what he tells me to like.”
Displaying 1 - 30 of 525 reviews

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