{"title":"Joanna Biggs","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"all-day-long-book-joanna-biggs-9781781251874","title":"All Day Long","description":"The average person spends 100,000 hours of their life at work, but how much do we really know about what we do with it? What is it really like to work in advertising, to be a train driver, a sex worker or an orthodox rabbi? What do we do in our working hours, and how does that colour our life, beliefs and happiness? And what happens to how we feel about work in a recession?  In All Day Long Joanna Biggs finds the answers to these questions and more, by talking to the interns and bosses, professionals and entrepreneurs, and thinkers and doers who make up the workforce. Her journey takes us from Parliament to the long grassed fields of the Outer Hebrides, from a hospital in Wales to the wings of the Royal Opera House, introducing us to the different worlds of work and the people who inhabit them.   Full of human detail and street level observation, Joanna Biggs' writing combines genuine empathy with social, cultural and political awareness. Like Studs Terkel's classic book Working did several decades ago in America, her book paints a portrait of the UK right now, showing us who we are through what we do.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49508492149009,"sku":"GOR006560824","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50771595591953,"sku":"GOR008846288","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1781251878.jpg?v=1751434248"},{"product_id":"all-day-long-book-joanna-biggs-9781781251881","title":"All Day Long","description":"Nearly all of us have to work, but how much do we really know about what other people do all day? What is it like to be a fishmonger, a sex worker or an Orthodox rabbi? Or a banker, a research scientist or a carer? How do our jobs affect our lives, beliefs and happiness? And what happens when we don't work?   Joanna Biggs has travelled the country to find the answers, talking to interns and bosses, professionals and entrepreneurs, thinkers and doers. She takes us from Westminster to the Outer Hebrides, from a hospital in Wales to the industrial Midlands, introducing us to different worlds of work and the people who inhabit them.  Rich with the voices of the wealthy and poor, native and immigrant, women and men of the UK in the twenty-first century, All Day Long shows us who we are through what we do.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49544781299985,"sku":"GOR007377876","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52765733814545,"sku":"GOR008131923","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1781251886.jpg?v=1772273947"},{"product_id":"life-of-one-s-own-book-joanna-biggs-9781474621229","title":"A Life of One's Own","description":"I took off my wedding ring - a gold band with half a line of 'Morning Song' by Sylvia Plath etched inside - and for weeks afterwards, my thumb would involuntarily reach across my palm for the warm bright circle that had gone. I didn't throw the ring into the long grass, like women do in the movies, but a feeling began bubbling up nevertheless, from my stomach to my throat: it could fling my arms out. I was free.  A few years into her marriage and feeling societal pressure to surrender to domesticity, Joanna Biggs found herself longing for a different kind of existence. Was this all there was? She divorced without knowing what would come next.  Newly untethered, Joanna returned to the free-spirited writers of her youth and was soon reading in a fever - desperately searching for evidence of lives that looked more like her own, for the messiness and freedom, for a possible blueprint for intellectual fulfillment.  In A Life of One's Own, Mary Wollstonecraft, George Eliot, Zora Neale Hurston, Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir, Sylvia Plath, Toni Morrison, and Elena Ferrante are all taken down from their pedestals, their work and lives seen in a new light. Joanna wanted to learn more about the conditions these women needed to write their best work, and how they addressed the questions she herself was struggling with: Is domesticity a trap? Is life worth living if you have lost faith in the traditional goals of a woman? Why is it so important for women to read one another?  This is a radical and intimate examination of the unconventional paths these women took - their pursuits and achievements but also their disappointments and hardships. And in exploring the things that gave their lives the most meaning, we find fuel for our own singular intellectual paths.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49724684042513,"sku":"GOR013130119","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49741562216721,"sku":"NGR9781474621229","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50268590965009,"sku":"GOR013087937","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50521139806481,"sku":"GOR013483896","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1474621228.jpg?v=1751178386"},{"product_id":"life-of-one-s-own-book-joanna-biggs-9781474621243","title":"A Life of One's Own","description":"'A beautiful, deeply philosophical book about reading as a form of existential consolation' Literary Review 'Acute and tender . . . alive with discovery and desire' Observer 'A meditation, by turns glorious and aching, on what it means to be a woman and to try to be free' Amia Srinivasan     'A gift to readers of all ages. Engaging . . . poignant . . . uplifting' Washington Post 'I adored this book . . . a generous, enlivening work, destined to be passed from friend to friend for a long time to come' Megan Hunter  In this intricate, intimate and dazzlingly original group biography, Joanna Biggs looks to eight revolutionary women writers who each sought freedom and intellectual fulfilment in their lifetimes and asks: why is it so important for women to read one another? By illuminating the motivations, desires and disappointments of Mary Wollstonecraft, George Eliot, Zora Neale Hurston, Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir, Sylvia Plath, Toni Morrison and Elena Ferrante, Biggs lights a way past the traditional goals and expectations of femininity and towards a life lived generously and joyfully for oneself.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49754129793297,"sku":"NGR9781474621243","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49965408485649,"sku":"GOR013824356","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52476020293905,"sku":"NLS9781474621243","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53097581183249,"sku":"GOR014738756","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53102810628369,"sku":"GOR014741762","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1474621244.jpg?v=1766138616"},{"product_id":"life-of-one-s-own-book-joanna-biggs-9780063073104","title":"A Life of One's Own","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNamed a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Week\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eVulture\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eElle,\u003c\/i\u003e and The Millions\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA piercing blend of memoir, criticism, and biography examining how women writers across the centuries carved out intellectual freedom for themselves--and how others might do the same\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eI took off my wedding ring for the last time--a gold band with half a line of \"Morning Song\" by Sylvia Plath etched inside--and for weeks afterwards, my thumb would involuntarily reach across my palm for the warm bright circle that had gone. I didn't fling the ring into the long grass, like women do in the movies, but a feeling began bubbling up nevertheless, from my stomach to my throat: it could fling my arms out. I was free. . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA few years into her marriage and feeling societal pressure to surrender to domesticity, Joanna Biggs found herself longing for a different kind of existence. Was this all there was? She divorced without knowing what would come next, a journey she chronicles in this moving divorce memoir.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNewly untethered, Joanna returned to the free-spirited writers of her youth and was soon reading in a fever--desperately searching for evidence of lives that looked more like her own, for the messiness and freedom, for a possible blueprint for intellectual fulfillment and creative self-discovery.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eA Life of One's Own\u003c\/i\u003e, Mary Wollstonecraft, George Eliot, Zora Neale Hurston, Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir, Sylvia Plath, Toni Morrison, and Elena Ferrante are all taken down from their pedestals, their work and lives seen in a new light. Joanna wanted to learn more about the conditions these women needed to write their best work, and how they addressed the questions she herself was struggling with: Is domesticity a trap? Is life worth living if you have lost faith in the traditional goals of a woman? Why is it so important for women to read one another?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis is a radical and intimate examination of the unconventional paths these women took--their pursuits and achievements but also their disappointments and hardships. And in exploring the things that gave their lives the most meaning, we find fuel for our own singular intellectual paths. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis profound work of creative nonfiction is a vital and intimate guide to building a life on your own terms, exploring:\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Feminist Literary Tour:\u003c\/b\u003e Join Joanna Biggs as she revisits the lives and work of Mary Wollstonecraft, Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison, and others, seeking a blueprint for intellectual and personal freedom.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMemoir as Criticism:\u003c\/b\u003e A powerful blend of personal narrative and biography that asks the urgent question: how does a woman build a life of her own outside of traditional expectations?\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe Search for a Blueprint:\u003c\/b\u003e Follow a deeply personal journey, begun after a divorce, to find a new way of living through the stories of the world's most influential women writers.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFor Readers of a Room of One's Own:\u003c\/b\u003e An essential companion for anyone who has ever wrestled with the questions of domesticity, creativity, and what it means to carve out a singular intellectual path.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49884463595793,"sku":"CIN0063073102G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49918025990417,"sku":"CIN0063073102VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50983181484305,"sku":"NIN9780063073104","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0063073102.jpg?v=1750692752"},{"product_id":"life-of-one-s-own-book-joanna-biggs-9780063073111","title":"A Life of One's Own","description":"\u003cp\u003eNamed a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by the New York Times, The Week, Vulture, Elle, and The Millions\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA piercing blend of memoir, criticism, and biography examining how women writers across the centuries carved out intellectual freedom for themselves--and how others might do the same\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eI took off my wedding ring for the last time--a gold band with half a line of \"Morning Song\" by Sylvia Plath etched inside--and for weeks afterwards, my thumb would involuntarily reach across my palm for the warm bright circle that had gone. I didn't fling the ring into the long grass, like women do in the movies, but a feeling began bubbling up nevertheless, from my stomach to my throat: it could fling my arms out. I was free. . . .\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA few years into her marriage and feeling societal pressure to surrender to domesticity, Joanna Biggs found herself longing for a different kind of existence. Was this all there was? She divorced without knowing what would come next.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNewly untethered, Joanna returned to the free-spirited writers of her youth and was soon reading in a fever--desperately searching for evidence of lives that looked more like her own, for the messiness and freedom, for a possible blueprint for intellectual fulfillment.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn A Life of One's Own, Mary Wollstonecraft, George Eliot, Zora Neale Hurston, Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir, Sylvia Plath, Toni Morrison, and Elena Ferrante are all taken down from their pedestals, their work and lives seen in a new light. Joanna wanted to learn more about the conditions these women needed to write their best work, and how they addressed the questions she herself was struggling with: Is domesticity a trap? Is life worth living if you have lost faith in the traditional goals of a woman? Why is it so important for women to read one another?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis is a radical and intimate examination of the unconventional paths these women took--their pursuits and achievements but also their disappointments and hardships. And in exploring the things that gave their lives the most meaning, we find fuel for our own singular intellectual paths. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50268273541393,"sku":"CIN0063073110G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50983178862865,"sku":"NIN9780063073111","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51412334575889,"sku":"CIN0063073110VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0063073110.jpg?v=1750973278"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-joanna-biggs.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}