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June 10, 2002
I, Microserf
I recently started reading Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. It's the story of a house full o' nerds trying to find the meaning of life while working at the largest software company in the world.
What's cool about this book (besides the fact Coupland is a good writer), is that I can relate to it in every way. Well, just about. While I don't have discussions with my girlfriend whether or not the universe is digital or analog, I do shop at the same grocery store, eat at the same restaurants and *gasp* work for the same employer. It's pretty cool reading about the main characters driving down 148th St, or buying makizushi at Uwajimaya.
Unfortunately the main characters are even nerdier than I am, going so far as to worship billg. Some of the cutting-edge 1993 technology they discuss (like the Email System, and the Information Superhighway), are commonplace today, severely dating the story. But maybe that's part of its charm.