ISP Blog Post #2

ISP Blog Post #2

            As I continue to read Jpod, I still find that there is a lack of concrete plot. Because of this, there is no catalyst to push character development to it’s full potential. Without this, it can be difficult for a reader to distinguish a specific and individual specific meaning from the book. The “plot” does focus primarily on a video came design firm. My previous knowledge of a post industrial society leads me to believe that one must be unique and adaptable to be successful in a modern workplace. Jpod focuses heavily on the quirks and individualistic characteristics of each member of the company’s staff. One example would be the games that Jpod plays. An example would be where they all wrote descriptions of themselves as if they were being sold on craigslist. The winner would receive a prize. All of the descriptions were very precise and really contrast and compare each character of the book. I feel as though the author did this purposefully to show to extremes that one must go in order to stay effective. I think that is the meaning that Jpod is trying to convey. Individually, quirks and personality traits make a person truly unique. But together, unique individuals come together to make a dynamic and productive team. With my knowledge of the information age, I feel as though Jpod is trying to parallel the word that we live, and will potentially work in. 

ISP Blog 1

Jpod ISP Blog 1

            I would just like to start off by saying that this book is absolute hilarity, I just breezed through it and very much look forward to reading the rest.

Right from the get go, people look for some sort of plot in a book. This is okay because that’s what is expected from them as a reader. I found this to be somewhat difficult because I cannot distinguish a cohesive plot in this novel. The book is centred around 6 people working in a video game company. Because they all have a last name starting with J, they were nicknamed “Jpod”. I find in the first fifth, there has been no inciting incidences to move the plot along. Yes there have been events in the book that impact the protagonist, but do not seem to have an impact on the actual storyline as a whole. Ethan, the protagonist, is a near thirty game developer who understands what it’s like to work hard to get where he needs to be. The most interesting and question raising aspect of Ethan’s personality is his trait to not be phased by anything. *SPOILER* Just in the first fifth of the book, he helped his mom hide a dead body, caught his dad cheating on his mom, and helped his brother harbour 20 or so illegal immigrants. Even though all of those things are completley ludacris, Ethan shakes it off like it’s something a little weird that happened to him. Because of this lack of plot so far, I have several questions as to how stories will unfold. Copeland does not use any kind of foreshadowing that I can tell, so the book is an almost huge grey area. Hovever, Copeland does give a very interesting view of the post-industrial society. He potrays his chacters as cunning and adaptable, two key characteristics of the post-industrial workforce. Considering they are working in a video game company, these characteristics have to be present to show the “Nerdyness” of the characters. With that said, the lack of plot does make this boom seem like the almost existential crisis that people seem to not realise it is. As I read, I have yet to figure out what the universal truth behind this book is, and that is troubleing to me. As enjoyable as it is, the book is sometimes a chore to analyze simply because nothing really happens. As a become more comfortable with the book, I find it a tad easier to analyze this text. Maybe as the book progresses, a more clear ideology will become clear. Beside the parallel to today’s society, I can’t find any other views. Maybe this one track book is making it hard for a reader to become intimate with the text. I feel as though there is a distance between me and this book because there isn’t really that much that appelas to human emotion. It’s not non-fiction, but it certainly has that flavour sometimes. As a reader that can be refreshing, or it can be annoying. I am still on the fence about this. Hopefully I can become more involved as a read further.