The Vintage Book of Office Life, edited by Jeremy Lewis (Vintage, £7.99 in UK)

Is nothing safe from the anthologiser's beady eye? Apparently not, for Jeremy Lewis has assembled a collection of your worst …

Is nothing safe from the anthologiser's beady eye? Apparently not, for Jeremy Lewis has assembled a collection of your worst working nightmares, from knock-kneed interview situations to sudden, unexplained departures. Horribly familiar as it is, office life is a topic which needs to be spiced up with some care if it's not to become as drearily predictable as the real thing. Lewis does his best, sifting and filing his authors with care so that P.G. Wodehouse nestles next to Herman Melville, Olivia Manning follows Nicholson Baker, and there's always Reggie Perrin or Keith Waterhouse to lighten the mood - but unless you're an incorrigible workaholic, or have recently won the lottery, the chances are you'll find this collection a bit of a chore to wade through.

Arminta Wallace

Arminta Wallace

Arminta Wallace is a former Irish Times journalist