4 ms·

I bought the kindle edition and I don't get the hype about this book at all. First of all it's barely a book, it's not even a novella, it's pretty much zine len

I bought the kindle edition and I don't get the hype about this book at all. First of all it's barely a book, it's not even a novella, it's pretty much zine length. It's a 10-15 min read. I'm thinking I made a mistake in getting the electronic version since the charm seems to be in the physicality of it. There is some cleverness in the story but it's so brief that the real phenomenon here is not poignant satire, instead it's how the zine was delivered to its initial recipients and that it got their attention in the first place.

blue11 11y ago
I don't get it either. The story is very short and barely funny. And, frankly, the whole thing feels like a PR stunt of some sort. Whatever the motivation, they seem to be succeeding though, it's definitely going viral.
StavrosK 11y ago
I read the link, and I agree. It's just a few hundred words with ridiculous tweets interspersed. Whenever the first time I hear about something is from a story about how popular it is, my spider sense tingles.
david927 11y ago
I'm surprised you felt that way. I only read the (linked) introduction so far and I was bent over laughing. The story, punctuated by the tweets, is hysterical. I don't see how the length (Candide was also short) or physicality of it matters. I find that it is, indeed, poignant satire, and that is enough for me.
- ritchiea 11y ago
  Most of the story and the best jokes are in the articles about the book and the included text.
  - david927 11y ago
    I remember once, years ago, a member of a 70's band (Jethro Tull?) being asked if he watched MTV. When he replied, "Yes," the commentator remarked that he was surprised that this person liked that music. The band member's eyes widened in horror and said, "I watch the news. That doesn't mean I like what I see." I guess I love the book for the same reason that I hate HN, despite that I check it daily. Silicon Valley has had tremendous success financially, if not technically, and that has spawned with it a strange micro-culture that is easy to skewer when you take just a few steps away from it.
    - ritchiea 11y ago
      I didn't say the skewering was the problem. The book barely scratched the surface of the material that's out there.
myth_buster 11y ago
charm seems to be in the physicality of it From what they are saying, they are impressed by the typesetting and graphics. And the novelty of having one of 140 books in production.

blue11 11y ago

I don't get it either. The story is very short and barely funny. And, frankly, the whole thing feels like a PR stunt of some sort. Whatever the motivation, they seem to be succeeding though, it's definitely going viral.

StavrosK 11y ago

I read the link, and I agree. It's just a few hundred words with ridiculous tweets interspersed. Whenever the first time I hear about something is from a story about how popular it is, my spider sense tingles.

david927 11y ago

I'm surprised you felt that way. I only read the (linked) introduction so far and I was bent over laughing. The story, punctuated by the tweets, is hysterical. I don't see how the length (Candide was also short) or physicality of it matters. I find that it is, indeed, poignant satire, and that is enough for me.

ritchiea 11y ago
Most of the story and the best jokes are in the articles about the book and the included text.
- david927 11y ago
  I remember once, years ago, a member of a 70's band (Jethro Tull?) being asked if he watched MTV. When he replied, "Yes," the commentator remarked that he was surprised that this person liked that music. The band member's eyes widened in horror and said, "I watch the news. That doesn't mean I like what I see." I guess I love the book for the same reason that I hate HN, despite that I check it daily. Silicon Valley has had tremendous success financially, if not technically, and that has spawned with it a strange micro-culture that is easy to skewer when you take just a few steps away from it.
  - ritchiea 11y ago
    I didn't say the skewering was the problem. The book barely scratched the surface of the material that's out there.

myth_buster 11y ago

charm seems to be in the physicality of it From what they are saying, they are impressed by the typesetting and graphics. And the novelty of having one of 140 books in production.