On Being A Geek
Per Rob O.’s recomendation, I ordered Jon Katz’ book “Geeks” (From Barnes and Noble) and started reading it tonight. My wife just finished “Microserfs” , by Douglas Coupland, and loved it. She’s already started again. Why mention Microserfs? Because like “Geeks”, “Microserfs” deals with what makes me tick.
I loved “Microserfs”. Douglas Coupland’s writing is personal, funny, ironic, and touching, all without going completely overboard. As a longtime nerd many things in Coupland’s book touched a nerve in me.
Katz’ “Geeks” is turning out to be a whole different experience. “Geeks” takes the clean-LEGO world of “Microserfs” and rubs off the shine, exposing the pain and isolation of not fitting in, as well as the triumph of being indispensible to a new world of communication. Coupland’s “Microserfs” is a novel, “Geeks” is simultaneously an expose and a manifesto, part reality-based television and part Declaration of Independence.
I’ve only gotten through the first two chapters in “Geeks”. I think I’ll have more to say later, but for now,
–Steve