I read about one or two a year, Our Friends from Frolix-8 most recently. Good, but not top tier imo
― woof, Tuesday, 26 January 2016 22:20 (eight years ago) link
This was pretty good light zany reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zap_Gun
― dow, Wednesday, 27 January 2016 03:38 (eight years ago) link
Think the copy my local library used to have sported a better cover.
― dow, Wednesday, 27 January 2016 03:39 (eight years ago) link
Clans is so much fun
― flappy bird, Thursday, 28 January 2016 17:19 (eight years ago) link
it's funny how much of Dick's b-grade material just runs together for me, given that he recycled so many tropes and types and scenarios I always have a hard time remembering which one is about the people living underground in a post-nuclear drug-induced haze as opposed to which one is about the people living in a drug-induced haze and being controlled by telepathic aliens and Richard Nixon automatons or time-traveling idiot savants
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 28 January 2016 17:37 (eight years ago) link
so many homeopapes and conapts and wubfurs
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 28 January 2016 17:38 (eight years ago) link
and battleaxe ex-wives
― flappy bird, Thursday, 28 January 2016 18:54 (eight years ago) link
and mysteriously alluring innocent ingenues
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 28 January 2016 18:55 (eight years ago) link
slime molds
― carly rae jetson (thomp), Friday, 29 January 2016 11:23 (eight years ago) link
flapples
― めんどくさかった (Matt #2), Friday, 29 January 2016 17:16 (eight years ago) link
rubbish
― flappy bird, Friday, 29 January 2016 18:15 (eight years ago) link
GUBBISH
― flappy bird, Monday, 1 February 2016 01:36 (eight years ago) link
it would be kind of interesting to run data on his themes and motifs, intentional or un-.
slender dark-haired woman?character named 'pat'pottery?black iron prisons?WASPy guy with two-syllable name who works in HVAC or equivalent? Jim Gunt? Hank Zip? Gord Hapfh? gormless alien schmo?
― remy bean, Monday, 1 February 2016 02:36 (eight years ago) link
WASPy guy with two-syllable name who works in HVAC or equivalent? Jim Gunt? Hank Zip? Gord Hapfh?
oh man i never even noticed this one!
― carly rae jetson (thomp), Monday, 1 February 2016 11:58 (eight years ago) link
i thought and still think a good critical study could be written of dick that focuses on the themes/motifs/obsessions, not as psychologically revealing or whatever (blah) but as a kind of key to the processes of a certain kind of paraliterary reading, idk
― carly rae jetson (thomp), Monday, 1 February 2016 11:59 (eight years ago) link
character named 'pat'pottery?black iron prisons?
tbf these are only in a couple.
I would swap in "powerful male businessman w/fluid ethics and/or bitchy ex-wife"
― Οὖτις, Monday, 1 February 2016 16:12 (eight years ago) link
that pynchon thread revive makes me think that PKD is my TP. only PKD's shaggy hepcat hijinx easier for me to read and more entertaining and i get more WOW factor than i ever did from TP. PKD slays all beatniks too. in my book. no need to try to endure burroughs with him around.
(i never tried very hard with pynchon though. would get frustrated and bored and give up...)
― scott seward, Monday, 1 February 2016 16:20 (eight years ago) link
this is neat, i had no idea The Owl in Daylight was basically the premise of TRON, which came out seven months after PKD died http://www.avclub.com/article/read-philip-k-dicks-unfinished-final-novel-might-h-231491
― flappy bird, Monday, 1 February 2016 20:41 (eight years ago) link
huh. never heard that before.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 1 February 2016 20:44 (eight years ago) link
I have put holds on three P.K. Dick books at the library and plan to read one of them as my next book. Among these three titles, which should I read first:
Flow My Tears, the Policeman SaidA Scanner DarklyValis
― Respectfully Yours, (Aimless), Tuesday, 8 December 2020 20:55 (three years ago) link
scanner darkly is my favorite of those three
― the late great, Tuesday, 8 December 2020 21:22 (three years ago) link
Mine too
― Lily Dale, Tuesday, 8 December 2020 21:24 (three years ago) link
Scanner is the most powerful of these three, but it's depressing
I like Flow My Tears, it's sort of a throwback (from 1974) to his classic style of the 1960s
Valis is theological metafiction, not my favorite of his modes but biographically important
― Brad C., Tuesday, 8 December 2020 21:38 (three years ago) link
scanner fucked me up, but is prob the best.
― Fizzles, Tuesday, 8 December 2020 21:43 (three years ago) link
Valis def for last, though I like them all, it's just a particular thing that is probably best coming at after you've read a few.
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 8 December 2020 22:17 (three years ago) link
yeah i think i've said it before on another thread (maybe the one about the film adaptation) but the end of scanner destroyed me
a more astute reader might see what's coming, but i didn't :(
― the late great, Tuesday, 8 December 2020 22:48 (three years ago) link
Scanner was the first thing by PKD I read, and though nothing else I've read by him has quite measured up to it, it wasn't a bad place to start. I actually think it gave me a lot more patience with his less coherent books than I would have had otherwise.
So I'd say Scanner, then Flow My Tears, then Valis.
― Lily Dale, Tuesday, 8 December 2020 23:34 (three years ago) link
Had totally forgotten about this thread (incl. my posts), thanks! On ILE, also worth keeping up with: philip k dick C/D, S+D
― dow, Wednesday, 9 December 2020 00:53 (three years ago) link