Book Review: What My Refrigerator Said to Me

As a copywriter, I think about artificial intelligence daily. Many companies are already using generative AI platforms like ChatGPT to write blog posts, website content, and social copy for them, and I think we have only just seen a glimpse of how AI is going to change the way we work, live, and play. Bruce Wetterau’s What My Refrigerator Said to Me: Misadventures in the Digital Age explores some of these possibilities, taking a satirical approach to digital progress in our world today. 

What My Refrigerator Said to Me is a collection of twenty-one short stories, all focusing on technology and life in the digital age. The titular story involves a “smart” refrigerator with a proclivity for racism, eco-consciousness, or misogyny (depending on the model). You’ll also read about a device that allows you to talk to your pets, internet addiction, and even a revisionist history of Paul Revere’s midnight ride. The stories are every bit as outlandish as you’d expect, but this is purposeful, bringing attention to some of the bizarre things we’ve accepted in our future-forward culture. 

My favorite story in the collection is called “Web Surfer Blues” and follows the story of Harlan, a man who is addicted to his computer. When his house catches fire, he doesn’t realize it until he sees a news article about it online, and by then, it’s nearly too late. While satire, this story struck me because I know how much of a chokehold my smartphone has on me. While I know I would recognize a fire, it made me wonder how many other parts of life I’m missing out on when I give so much of my attention to the 6-inch screen in the palm of my hand. 

I met Bruce Wetterau at the Roanoke Regional Writers Conference in January and had the pleasure of enjoying lunch with him and a few other conferencegoers. He provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

I enjoyed reading Wetterau’s book. I’m not usually one for short story collections, but I think the format worked for his subject matter. It was also interesting seeing the digital age through the eyes of someone from a different generation—someone who didn’t grow up with the internet, smartphones, or even word processors. Wetterau brings an insightful (and often hilarious!) perspective to the challenges of our current technological landscape, and his work made me think a lot about my own part in it. I'm sure it will inspire some self-reflection in you as well!

Final Note: Wetterau's views do not reflect my own, and I don't endorse the content of any book I review on my blog. I read widely and with an open mind, and I think you should too. Reading books that bring us out of our comfort zone helps us grow personally and intellectually. With this collection being satire, there are plenty of things that gave me pause, and that's the point—stories like these provide a mirror in which we can examine ourselves and the world we live in so we can get an up-close look at our flaws and choose to do better.

About Bruce Wetterau

Author Bruce Wetterau

Author Bruce Wetterau spent many years as a down-to-earth, serious guy who wrote a lot of serious books—sixteen to be exact. Then a year or so ago, he concluded he couldn’t stand to be so serious anymore. So he wrote What My Refrigerator Said to Me, which made him laugh a lot. He hopes you will too.

If you really must be serious for a while, he ardently recommends any of his three Clay Cantrell Mysteries: Lost Treasure; Killer Fog—The Veil of Mist Obscures a Deadly Conspiracy;  or The Girl Behind the Wall—Edgar Allan Poe, the Girl, and the Mysterious Raven Murders. 

All his books are available online from Amazon in e-book or print formats, and locally in print format at Book No Further in Roanoke. Visit his website, MyMysteryTime.com to read sample chapters, for links to booksellers, and more.