Ego massage ...

The reviews of our manuscript for MIT Press, Code/Space, turned up yesterday. Thankfully they were, on the whole, positive and provided a nice little ego massage. Well, two of the reviews did, the third brought us back down to ground with a bump. Here's a couple of nice snippets and then the bump.

"This is an excellent draft of an interesting book and I strongly recommend that MIT publish it. The book is nuanced and sophisticated in its portrayal of software as socially created, with complex and contingent effects. Overall, I find it to be engaging, convincing, and formative in its analysis of how software is injected into, and transforms, innumerable spaces of contemporary society."

"Code/Space will be a really influential text. No other book is as informed, comprehensive or accessible on the subtle and crucial intersections of code and geography. Few other authors understand these often opaque, ignored or misunderstood processes as well as Dodge and Kitchin."

"My overall and honest reaction to this text was to dislike it."

Just as you think it can't get better review number 3 pops up to put sand in the massage oil, which is probably no bad thing (although I'm quite used to sandy oil at this stage, usually accompanied by a rejection letter!)

We now have until April 15th to address the reviewers comments for it to make a Spring 2011 publication. That's going to require a little rejigging of the diary, but it'll have to be done to avoid further delay in publication. Goodbye reading time ...