1990s 20-something 21st-century 21st-century-society 21st-century-society. absurd absurd-characters absurd-humor absurd-situations absurdism absurdist absurdist-fiction absurdity addiction adventure advertising alienation alternative-lifestyles anti-hero art art-and-design artificial-intelligence artistry atr avant-garde bizarre black-comedy black-humor blackberry-addiction boredom bureaucracy bureaucracyinfiction business canada canadian canadian-author canadian-authors canadian-fiction canadian-literature canadianfiction canadianliterature celebrity-culture chaos character-driven codependency coding collegesuccess comedic comedy coming-of-age computer computer-culture computer-games computer-programmers computer-programming computerindustry computers conspiracy-theories consumer-culture consumerism contemporary contemporary-culture contemporary-fiction contemporary-literature contemporary-satire contemporary-society corporate corporate-culture corporate-environment corporate-life corporate-world counterculture coupland coupland-douglas creative-writing creativity cubicle-life cult-classic cultural-commentary cultural-critique cultural-references cultural-satire culture cyberculture cyberspace cynicism d dark-comedy dark-humor digiorno-pizza digital-age digital-culture digital-media disconnection disillusionment douglas douglas-coupland drama drug-culture drugs dysfunction dysfunctional dysfunctional-characters dysfunctional-families dysfunctional-family dysfunctional-relationships dysfunctional-workplace dystopian eccentric eccentric-characters electronicgamesindustry electronicgamesindustryinfiction employee-relations english entertainment-industry escapism existential existential-crisis existentialism family family-drama family-dynamics family-relationships fiction friendship gamers games gaming gaming-culture gaming-industry geek geek-culture geeks geeks(computerenthusiasts) gen-x general generation-x generational-conflict generational-divide generational-satire globalization high-tech hilarious human-relationships humor humorous humorous-fiction identity identity-crisis indie-culture indie-music individualism individuality innovation intergenerational-conflict internet internet-culture irony isolation jpod life-in-the-digital-age literary-fiction literature literature-of-the-absurd marketing media media-and-entertainment media-industry media-influence media-satire media-saturation meta-fiction metafiction microserfs mid-life-crisis middle-management midlife-crisis millennial millennial-culture millennial-generation millennials misfit-protagonists modern-fiction modern-life modern-society narrative-style nerd-culture nerds nerdy nerdy-humor nerdy-protagonist neurotic-characters newyorktimesreviewed nihilism novel novels obsession obsessiveness offbeat offbeat-characters office office-culture office-drama office-dynamics office-life office-politics parody pastiche personal-identity pop-culture pop-culture-references pop-references popular-culture post-modernism postmodern postmodern-fiction postmodern-literature postmodernism postmodernity programmer programming protagonist quirkiness quirky quirky-characters quirky-plot reality-tv rebellion relationships sarcasm sarcastic satire satire-of-consumerism satirical satirical-fiction self-aware self-awareness self-awareness. self-deprecating-humor self-discovery self-identity self-reference self-referential self-reflection self-reflexivity sitcom slacker slacker-culture small-screen-addiction smart-comedy social-alienation social-commentary social-criticism social-critique social-satire software-development storytelling subculture suburban-life subversion subversive surreal surreal. surrealism tech-industry techno-culture techno-geeks technology technology-addiction television tr unconventional unconventional-characters unconventional-narrative unconventional-storytelling underground-culture unique-characters unorthodox-characters urban-life vancouver vancouver-island video-game video-game-design video-game-development video-game-industry video-games wit witty work work-culture work-life workplace workplace-comedy workplace-culture workplace-drama workplace-dynamics workplace-ethics workplace-humor workplace-politics workplace-satire young-adult