An Unintentional Career in Retail

Upcoming Event:
Caitlin Kelly Reads from her memoir, Malled: My Unintentional Career in Retail
Magers & Quinn
Thursday, August 11, 7:30 p.m.

Although it would certainly take all the frustration out of life if you really did grow up to be a firefighter or an astronaut or a dragon, it would also suck the surprise out of every moment. New York based author Caitlin Kelly was surprised, when the recession hit, to find herself making the unintentional and very unwanted switch from journalism to retail. After losing her job as a reporter for the New York Daily News, Kelly worked for 27 months at The North Face at an upscale mall in White Plains, NY. It was that surprise, however, that led to the crafting of a memoir. Malled: My Unintentional Career in Retail is Kelly’s account of what it means to make $11/hr at the age of 50—her first low wage job since high school—as well as an examination of the recession’s effect on the third largest industry in the United States, which is of course its largest source of new and less than desirable jobs. Kelly draws from her own experience as well as that of her peers to show us just how nightmarish the retail life can be. Entertainment Weekly called it “an excellent memoir” while USA Today declared Kelly “a first rate researcher and storyteller.”

Kelly will be reading from her memoir at Magers & Quinn on Thursday, August 11, at 7:30 p.m. MCB was able to get in touch with her and ask a few questions.

Most Definitely Not Your Mother’s Book Club: Part II

When MCB arrived at The Aster last week for June’s Books and Bars discussion, MCB had the ambition to track down moderator Jeff Kamin and ask a few questions. MCB watched from the corner of the room as Kamin spent the first twenty minutes of his time at the café fiddling with the soundboard and letting loose the occasional cry of feedback or baritone throat-clearing of static. When his food arrived and the audience stopped covering their ears, Kamin relaxed and sat in his chair next to the lovely Emily of Mager’s and Quinn. That’s when MCB swooped in without mercy.