Customer Reviews

100 Words per Minute: Tales from Behind Law Office Doors

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What "The Nanny Diaries" did for babysitters this book does for clerical workers. It gives voice to the deep soul in ridiculous circumstances. It's an uncategorizable combination of prose and poetry that perfectly captures the spirit of a person trapped in a cubicle. The closest thing I can compare it to is the movie "Clockwatchers" by Jill Sprecher. It cuts chillingly close to the bone and is yet funny.

Several years ago I read Ms. Sara's book of poetry, To Be Filed, which I enjoyed quite a bit. So I was very happy to find she'd published a new book of both poems and stories, 100 Words per Minute.

Like "To Be Filed", this book focuses on her experiences working in various law offices since the 70's. The stories are a blend of the funny, nostalgic, and reflective. For anyone who works in a law office, you'll recognize many of these characters. For anyone who hasn't, this will be a revealing peek into the real world of law. The egos, the conflicts, the deadlines and stress. It's all here. Sara weaves together tales from all over to create a coherent whole, held together by her constant longing for something different, and her continual return back to the belly of the beast.

Those who enjoy this book will also like "Legal Tilt" which also looks inside the legal world and exposes the truths hidden there.

I have been a legal assistant/paralegal for over 15 years and was excited to find a book about my life. I read it in one sitting. I loved it! I laughed a lot and cried too. Thank you for the wonderful tribute to our profession.

A touching, unpretentious examination of a lifetime of law office work, paced for the coffee break. Denizens of cubicles everywhere will recognize themselves and know that they are not alone in their isolation.

You may not enjoy it but if you have ever worked around or for attorneys, you will understand the reasoning and why Adena has shared some personal stories with us. Share it with your working friends.

anyone who has any understanding of how difficult it is to be even a mediocre legal secretary, much less an actually competent one: read this book. This is a nice look inside the cliche of the legal secretary, and through poetry and prose, the cliche is given the shredder. I'd give this book as a gift to anyone who still doesn't understand how hard some of these cubicle jobs can be, or anyone who doesn't respect the work that a secretary (or paralegal/legal assistant/whatever, no difference -- but that's another topic) does in a law office. More importantly, we get to those nagging issues of waiting for the "real job" and how the "real job" is the one you have, the life you live now, etc. And even with all that, the book made me laugh out loud a couple of times.

Part short fiction anthology, part memoir, 100 Words Per Minute: Tales From Behind Law Office Doors is a collection of ultra-brief, wry, witty, sometimes nasty, always insightful short stories by veteran law office worker Adina Sara. From backbiting coworkers to clueless bosses to litigators of all flavors from megalomaniacal to nearly-dead from exhaustion, 100 Words Per Minute offers a wry glimpse into trials and tribulations, and what working within America's legal system is really like. 100 Words Per Minute is a singularly delectable collection, whether the stories are savored a few at a time or all at once.

100 words per minute is a lively fast read that tells stories of what it's really like to work in a Law office. Besides the crazy and wonderful characters Adina Sara describes, there is a profound message underneath about how sometimes a career finds you and that can turn out fine. A job is something that you do to pay the rent and a career is supposed to be an area where you have much interest and grow and develop. But a job can turn into a career and sometimes it can do more for you than make money. The people you work for and work with are often where the most learning lies. Adina Sara was appreciated for her skills and that is what kept her in the Law field. This is a good read for all office workers.

A masterpiece of workplace sociology! To begin with, Sara is an absolutely amazing writer: the poetry throughout, even in the prose, is stunningly beautiful. And the service she has provided to clerical workers and their bosses by writing "100 Words Per Minute" is immeasurable and invaluable.

Alice Kisch
Editor, Retired Legal Secretary