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April 10, 2003

Microserfs

One of my all-time favorite books is Microserfs, by Douglas Coupland. The book is about a group of Microsoft programmers (called Microserfs) and their struggles at work and their attempts to find a meaningful life. While it's a fictional account, I get the feeling that Coupland did some serious research and probably conducted interviews with current and former Microsoft employees to help paint an accurate picture of Microsoft culture.

I was most intrigued by Coupland's character development, his detailed descriptions of life inside Microsoft and his dry sense of humor. As a single guy at the time, I could (to a degree) relate to many of the characters lifestyles. I certainly knew what it felt like to pull an all-nighter for a hot deadline and was also very interested in all things tech.

Funnily enough, I originally read Microserfs when it first appeared in the January 1994 issue 2.01 of Wired magazine, long before release of the book. At the time I thought it was just a short story published by Wired, and maybe it was. I don't know for certain if Microserfs was published to promote the book, or whether the short story was so popular that it became a book.

I still recall the evening I first read Microserfs. I'd just come home from work, and was excited about receiving the latest issue of Wired magazine. I immediately found a comfy chair and skimmed the issue (a ritual I still continue to this day). When I came across the Microserfs article, I stopped to read it and was immediately drawn into the story.

Two hours later, I finished the article, thoroughly enjoying the read and wanting more. Little did I know I'd only read a small portion of what was to become an entire book entitled Microserfs.

Four years later, I was at Barnes & Noble and found a book called Microserfs in the discount bin. I checked the book out and sure enough -- it was the same story I'd read in that Wired Magazine with much more to read! I bought the book and devoured it over the next two weeks, enjoying every twist of the plot and nuance of the characters I'd known from years earlier.

So, if you're at all interested in a great story centered around technology, interesting characters and the quirky atmosphere of Microsoft, I can highly recommend Microserfs.

April 10, 2003 8:43 PM | Books | add to del.icio.us