I have just finished reading JPod by Douglas Copeland. Good read, is definitely about geeks from a somewhat geek perspective, but is more accessible I reckon than Microserfs. Mrsfb complained heavily about that being just a world she could not access, nor wished to. I think JPod is somewhat different.
For one, there are of stylist tricks and riffs I haven’t seen him use before, especially the heavy use of himself as a character. Definitely reminded me of Kurt Vonnegut, the extent to which he gets involved. I think also it maybe seems more accessible as this is now a world that has geeked out more in the time since Microserfs. People’s Grandparents are using ebay and dating online now. These are still ubergeeks of which he talks, but they are far less removed from most people’s world now. Or maybe that is just me…
Anyway, very enjoyable, apart from where he lists circular breads of the world, and misses out one of the finest, the Stottie Cake.
And whilst I am in a photo mood, here is my work from Saturday afternoon:
Comments
2 responses to “Just finished reading JPod”
Ok. I am a Copeland fan, but his work is inconsistent and I need to guage your very British use of “enjoyable.”
Would that mean:
Run out and buy a copy now
Wait a bit and buy a gently used copy
Borrow it from a friend the moment they finish reading
Or, just borrow it from the library.
I would suggest isn’t his best, it isn’t perhaps a significant book in the way Microserfs was, but I did enjoy it, laughed quite a bit, nodded sagely at some of the metafictive tricks he used in pushing himself into the book. (I was obsessed with this sort of thing when I was at University, part of my degree dissertation was about it).
I’ve got a bit of a fetish for beautifully presented books. So the hardback edition I purchased here was in part because of that, and in part because it was signed. If you are not bothered about that, and it is available in paperback over their, I would probably walk slowly to the bookshop, rather than run.