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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Even though it's over 10 years old, this book captures like no other the spirit and the lives of technology people, or geeks, to make it simpler. This is really a book about relationships and feelings, and it is very easy to get caught up in the story, especially for those of us living in Silicon Valley.
Quotable quotes:
- “I used to care about how other people thought I led my life. But lately I've realized that most people are too preoccupied with their own lives to give anybody else even the scantiest of thoughts.”
- “What is human behavior, except trying to prove that we're not animals?”
- “It's starts out young- you try not be different just to survive- you try to be just like everyone else- anonymity becomes reflexive- and then one day you wake up and you've become all those other people- the others- the something you aren't. And you wonder if you can ever be what it is you really are. Or you wonder if it's too late to find out.”
- “It's like male geeks don't know how to deal with real live women, so they just assume it's a user interface problem. Not their fault. They'll just wait for the next version to come out- something more "user friendly.”
- “What is the search for the next great compelling application but a search for the human identity?”
- “In the spirit of Ethan's neurosis, we made a drywall list of keyboard buttons we would like to see: PLEASE, THANK YOU, FUCK OFF, DIE, OOPS...MY MISTAKE, DO SOMETHING COOL AND SURPRISE ME .”
- "You know how it is here - singles overwork to make themselves shine, but the *Marrieds* become the managers and move up the ladder more quickly, Elearnor Rigbys need not apply."
- “I used to care about how other people thought I led my life. But lately I've realized that most people are too preoccupied with their own lives to give anybody else even the scantiest of thoughts.”
- “What is human behavior, except trying to prove that we're not animals?”
- “It's starts out young- you try not be different just to survive- you try to be just like everyone else- anonymity becomes reflexive- and then one day you wake up and you've become all those other people- the others- the something you aren't. And you wonder if you can ever be what it is you really are. Or you wonder if it's too late to find out.”
- “It's like male geeks don't know how to deal with real live women, so they just assume it's a user interface problem. Not their fault. They'll just wait for the next version to come out- something more "user friendly.”
- “What is the search for the next great compelling application but a search for the human identity?”
- “In the spirit of Ethan's neurosis, we made a drywall list of keyboard buttons we would like to see: PLEASE, THANK YOU, FUCK OFF, DIE, OOPS...MY MISTAKE, DO SOMETHING COOL AND SURPRISE ME .”
- "You know how it is here - singles overwork to make themselves shine, but the *Marrieds* become the managers and move up the ladder more quickly, Elearnor Rigbys need not apply."
This is another all-time favorite. When I first read this book many years ago, it spoke to me like few books (or people) have ever done before or since. It was like a holy text for me for the longest time.
It's a little dated now - as are so many of Coupland's works - but it still has those timeless qualities. The basic premise is that it's the story of a group of people, their ties to each other, to love and to loss as they try to figure out what it's all about.
It's a little dated now - as are so many of Coupland's works - but it still has those timeless qualities. The basic premise is that it's the story of a group of people, their ties to each other, to love and to loss as they try to figure out what it's all about.
Microserfs is a wonderful book from Michael Copeland, from his wunderkind of Can Lit. It explores the lives a group of Microsoft Employees and the endless drugery of their lives. Until the majority of them jump ship and create a start-up and then tbe novel takes a sharp left turn. A wonderful book.
this is one of those books (there are a few here on my goodreads page) that i really loved at the time i read it. unfortunately, that was a long time ago so i really am not sure if it's 5-stars according to susie's ratings circa 2009. but accd'g to susie's ratings circa 1999, it was a winner.
Nice read about self-proclaimed geeks discovering their individual identiy and learning how to have a life.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's amazing to think that when this book was first published in 1995 it must have seemed cutting edge, dealing as it does with coding, Microsoft, geek life in Silicon Valley, and the rise of the "information superhighway". Reading it in 2022 felt more like a being enveloped in a warm, nostalgic blanket. But this book isn't really about coding and computers (even though there are pages simply filled with ones and zeroes). This book is about loneliness, falling in love, found family, and grief. The characters are warm and likable - so much so that two characters who are introduced later on, Dusty and Amy, were actually my favourites and I found myself wishing there had been more of them ("Grotacious!"... my new all-time favourite word).
Anyone who loved Halt and Catch Fire would probably love this.
Also, I would pay good money to have my very own Chyx bracelet.
Anyone who loved Halt and Catch Fire would probably love this.
Also, I would pay good money to have my very own Chyx bracelet.