{"id":199,"date":"2008-05-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-05-05T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2010-10-29T16:56:26","modified_gmt":"2010-10-29T21:56:26","slug":"recommended_reading_surf_com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/recommended_reading_surf_com\/","title":{"rendered":"Recommended Reading: Surf.Com"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a lifelong Santa Cruz native who’s paid the bills with a high-tech day job for more years than I care to acknowledge, I couldn’t help but LOVE “Surf.com”, the latest novel from local author Fred Reiss<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The story is set way back in 1999, when the dot com boom hit Silicon Valley and spilled over onto “our side of the hill”, leaving “instant locals”, SUVs, and million dollar plus homes in its wake. The story is told through the eyes of local hero, “Vic”, who’s dealing with local surf spots invaded by dot com-ers buying their way into Santa Cruz. He’s also deciding where he fits in when he’s offered wads of money to be an icon for the “Surf.com” startup, a gig which includes fringe benefits with an “Execu-Diva” named Andrea.
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\nClick to order “Surf.com”<\/strong><\/a>
\nThe clever mix of local color with dot com era makes a great read. It’s also very funny. Here’s how Vic processes his early reaction to a group of techies:<\/p>\n

“Just about all of them had that soft-white bulb office tan. Laminated company badges were clipped like hunting permits on their belts or pockets. They yammered on cell phones, headsets, and only took a break from clicking their keyboards to check beepers and palm pilots for incoming calls or e-mails. Their hand-held devices might have been communicating online, but for people who took pride in their networking skills, none of the dot-comers looked like they were connecting with one another or the world around them. I couldn’t tell if they were talking to themselves, speaking on a telephone headset, having a conversation with the person across from them, or babbling incoherently to an imaginary playmate.”<\/p>\n

Reiss himself is a real Jack of All Trades. (“Surf.com” is his third book – he’s previously published “Gidget Must Die”<\/a> and the non-fiction self-help book “Insult and Live”<\/a>.) Back in the late comedy scare of the 1980s, he was my favorite insult comedian (click here for a nostalgic trip back in time<\/a>). These days you can hear his KFOX Weekly World Update<\/a> on Sunday mornings. And on most weekends, you’re likely to find Fred running the tasting room room at Roudon-Smith Winery in Scotts Valley.<\/p>\n

Not completely uncoincidentally, I’ll be playing up at Roudon-Smith the weekend of 5\/31 and 6\/1, along with Sherry Austin, Chuck McCabe, Jay Howlet, and Bev Barnett and Greg Newlon during Vintner’s Festival Weekend. Check out the complete schedule on the right-hand side of my main page<\/a> to see who’s playing and when. And if you do make it out to the festival, pick up a copy of “Surf.com”. You’ll find them next to Fred in the tasting room.<\/p>\n

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