Relevant post title but nothing risque..


I've now turned my reading attention to the late sci fi and mainstream writer, Philip K. Dick. His novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", was the basis to the 1982 film, "Bladerunner" and was the novel that spurred my interest to revisit his work.

Although I read books from any genre, there are few authors** that I formally collect. I am always looking to latch on to a new author or be introduced to an established one that I had not yet 'met' or had simply forgotten about, as is the case here.

My boyfriend bought me, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" awhile back, and then a recent jaunt to the book store, led me to seeking out another novel. I decided on, The Minority Report, a book of short stories. It was here that I realized that there are many novels and short stories that have been used as a movie premise:
-Minority Report (based on the short story, The Minority Report),
-Total Recall (same book title)
-Screamers (based on, Second Variety)
-Next (based on the short story, The Golden Man)
-Paycheck (same as book title)
-A Scanner Darkly (same as book title)
-Impostor (same as book title)

and several adaptations, such as Ubik Video Game based on his story, Ubik and an Opera, "Valis Opera", adapted from Dick's book, Valis. And there are others.

Many literary critics and scholars in Western and Eastern Europe, Japan, and throughout North America agree that Philip K. Dick will be remembered in years to come as one of the great novelists of the 20th century.

Although this assessment is largely based on the power and continuing relevance of Dick's science fiction novels, these critics argue that he is most accurately regarded not only as a great writer of science fiction but as a major literary figure whose works make an important and ongoing contribution to world literature of all genres.

I'm happy to see that there are several books that I have yet to read by Philip K. Dick. I won't read them all back to back, as I don't want the stories to morph into each other, but I will purchase them regularly, officially adding this writer to my collection.

I normally gulp down books, yet with science fiction, I find myself reading a bit more slowly and carefully. Often the context of a novel can be assumed, a logical progression ensues and the environments are rational and logical. In sci-fi, nothing is like that, so to glaze over a sentence could mean the difference between truly getting what the author is saying and just having a muddled sense of the story, losing the intricacies and oddities. I like to envision every detail and absorb the voice of the writer, and therefor prefer a fresh mind when settling down to read.

The one pet peeve I have about newer printing cover art is anything that is adapted to have a modern image especially when the novel was made into a movie. I do not want to see celebrities on the cover of a classic work, and while I am at it, nor do I want to see, "Oprah's Book Club" stamp of approval. Or, "now a major motion picture" label plastered across the cover. I appreciate the original cover or something that maintains the integrity of the original context. Yet, whatever gets people to buy/borrow books and read is the most important prerogative in my mind.

Another pet peeve is the failure to incorporate the original publish date. When multiple publishers print a book, they need only to include the years that they printed it, not the year that the book was originally written. Some include this information somewhere, but not always, and definitely not in a casual search. ie; a book may have a copyright of 2008, but was originally written and published in 1934.

picture of a young P.K.D.


older author


The Minority Report- the book with cover that I bought. Not sure what the original work is, if this is it or not. There are other versions.


another cover from The Minority Report


another cover art version of, The Minority Report. It is a Greek cover, but it is an example of what I don't like- a cover with a celebrity from the movie adaptation (Tom Cruise).


all pics from www.philipkdick.com


Back to collected authors..

• These are just a few authors that I add to my collection as they come out and/or as money permits.

Chuck Palaniuk
Kurt Vonnegut
Naomi Wolf
Toni Morrison
David Sedaris
Jennifer Lancaster
Paco Ahlgren
Norah Vincent
Issac Asimov
Madeline L'engle
Octavia Butler
Alexander Dumas
Augusten Burroughs
Frances Hodgson Burnett

Also, anything classic, significant, culturally revealing and impacting- ie;

Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, Kate Chopin, John Steinbeck, F Scott Fitzgerald, Leo Tolstoy, Franz Kafka, Maya Angelou, Rudyard Kipling, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, Upton Sinclair, JD Salinge, Ralph Ellison and so forth. Many works that are often listed as 'must reads' in ones lifetime. There are many I am forgetting as I am just trying to visualize my shelves, but you get the idea.

My books are beat up and smell old. There are many that I wold like to read again, as perspectives change over time and I simply forget much of what I read and the impact of it. Yet there are so many that I have yet to read, that I get overwhelmed. I know I write about books a lot, but it is truly a passion of mine, so I am bound to say the same things over and over again as though I was saying them for the first time. My excitement never wanes. I vacillate between fiction and non fiction. I read for mindless pleasure, for reflection of life and culture over time, for learning something entirely new and/or adding to my knowledge base.

From the purely informational choice of reading material, I gravitate and own several pertaining to the sciences, health, medicine, nutrition, neuropsychology, behavior modification, business, systems thinking, entrepreneurial books, quantum physics, nature, photography, art, inspirational thinking and philosophy. These naturally take me longer to read and it can take a little while for me to get into the groove of the subject matter; so I enjoy them most when I have a large chunk of time to devote to reading.


As much as I do a lot of reading online- blogs, articles, etc, I've never been fond of reading ebooks. Staring at a screen is bothersome to me, and the experience lacks the 'feel of the experience' that I am looking for. What do you think?

well, although related, this was a disjointed post. Thanks for reading, if you got this far.

Time to clean, get some work done, and run a few errands. The sunshine these past few days combined with the greenery after the snow melted, makes me think that it is warmer out than what it is. Even though it is still cold out there, it is psychologically uplifting to experience the longer day full of sunshine.


WOW!! Just looked at my calender..
Did you know that in less than three weeks we forward our clocks ahead?! and in less than five weeks it will be officially spring? yay! Good thoughts to have...

Made me laugh..

a lot.





Catchy lyrics.. sure to get stuck in your head.

I'm sad and feel a little sick inside.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of those people on the plane and in that house.

I need to turn off cnn and close out of news websites. It is too much.


A little too close to home..

came from a LOL meme, but made me feel more sappy than anything.

• sniff*

Since contemplating in (e:theecarey,47659), I decided and I've got cable now. The super basic plan of broadcast channels. Every single station 2 through 23, plus 95, 98 & 99. $5/mo for 12 months, then $9/mo thereafter. The stations through the 50's almost come in, I almost want to tweak it somehow. Sort of seeing Comedy Central is a tease.

I kinda barked at the TW guy today. I had made the appointment for them to turn the cable on today. My apartment is cable ready and other than needing to turn it on outside, I did not see a reason for anyone to come inside. I had asked questions pertaining to this matter before confirming my order. I was told that it would not be necessary for anyone to come in as long as the tv produced a picture once the cable was turned on outside. If it was anything other than broadcast, they would need to come in and check everything. I was happy to hear this, as I did not want to round up my two super curious felines and lock them up, nor move their food bowls, water bowls or food container out from the doorway leading to the basement. I go down there on occasion, and although it doesn't require any real effort, I just didn't want to do all this prep work just for someone to may or may not have to come in. Also, my cats would fly down those stairs in search of adventure upon opening that door (hence my needing to lock them up, etc). Once told that no one had to come in, I didn't bother to do anything.

Forward to cable guy ringing my doorbell.

He proceeds to come in and take off his shoes.

I proceed to question his actions, leading to him saying that he needs to check the wires, etc. I understand that TW wants to make sure everything is up to standard as this helps them to cut out time and effort on potential problems, but I had done my homework, asked the questions, know how old my wires are, where they go and when the last they had broadcast and digital coursing through them, and was therefor adamant against him coming in. I told him what questions I had asked and what responses I received. He then called TW and received the same answer, "go turn it on outside, and only then if there is a problem will you need to go in".

exactly, you go outside and do your thing, and I will stay inside and do my thing. wires and cables aren't all that complicated especially a simple one in this case.

All the while he was doing just that, I tucked my cats away into the bedroom, moved the food bowls, water bowls and food container away from the door...

just in case.. hahaha

so there is not a whole lot going on on tv during the day. I have never watched a day time soap opera, and I never intend to- even though it appears to be the only thing on mid-day. Yikes..

But I am sure to find something as background when I am working on things, and want something more lively than a dvd or music.