LaserWriter II

Staff Top Fives

Our booksellers' favorite books of the year!

I’m positive that Tamara Shopsin reached directly into my heart and pulled this book out of my combined desires for fiction that is odd, scrappy, and deliciously niche and to know things that are odd, scrappy, and deliciously niche. A coming-of-age set inside the legendary nineties indie Mac repair shop Tekserve. It’s wistful fiction and fascinating history. I’m old enough for floppy discs to have been on my school supply lists — only just — and this blip of messy analog techno-curiosity and “do right” ethos teetering on the edge of a world of Genius Bars and planned obsolescence hits just right. Recommended By Sarah R., Powells.com

"A crisp redraw of a time when Apple Computer was the rebellious choice, poor rebels could afford to live in the Big Apple and—in more ways than one—people found themselves offline." —J.D. Biersdorfer, The New York Times Book Review

LaserWriter II is a coming-of-age tale set in the legendary 90s indie NYC Mac repair shop TekServe—a voyage back in time to when the internet was new, when New York City was gritty, and when Apple made off-beat computers for weirdos. Our guide is Claire, a 19-year-old who barely speaks to her bohemian co-workers, but knows when it’s time to snap on an antistatic bracelet.

Tamara Shopsin brings us a classically New York novel that couldn’t feel more timely. Interweaving the history of digital technology with a tale both touchingly human and delightfully technical, Shopsin brings an idiosyncratic cast of characters to life with a light touch, a sharp eye, and an unmistakable voice.

Filled with pixelated philosophy and lots of printers, LaserWriter II is, at its heart, a parable about an apple.

"Tamara Shopsin . . . is ingenious at conjuring reality-adjacent worlds, filled with odd ducks and moments of Kismet." Molly Young, Vulture

Tamara Shopsin is a renowned illustrator, graphic designer, writer, part-time cook, and co-owner of the distinctly New York City eatery Shopsin's. She is the author of Mumbai New York Scranton, What Is This?, and Arbitrary Stupid Goal; designer of the 5 Year Diary; and coauthor, with Jason Fulford, of the books This Equals That and Offline Activities.