In a Daze Work: A Pick-Your-Path Journey Through the Daily Grind

As a member of the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book generation, I have a soft spot for the modern-day, adult-oriented versions. Siobhán Gallagher‘s In a Daze Work: A Pick-Your-Path Journey Through the Daily Grind puts a twist on the genre by illustrating every option. Here’s an example page, from when you’re reflecting on your day.

The result means fewer decisions and paths than you’d expect in a 160-page book, but I like the charming simplicity of her artwork and that she makes a mundane day so involving. The choices are realistic, not exaggerated. In the morning, do you get up right away or stay in bed? In the evening, do you go out with friends or stay in? You might go to the movies or a bar on the weekend, or on a workday, you might go out for lunch or on a fix-up date.

You’re a young person in the city, reliant on your phone and trying to figure out what to eat when you don’t cook. You commute to an office job. Your life is pretty much a cliche, but it’s nice to read one of these books where there’s only potential ending where you die.

Most of the time, it’s just another day. Which makes the book not particularly memorable, but a pleasant diversion, perhaps at the workplace. There are preview pages at the publisher’s website. (The publisher provided an advance review copy.)