Dickhead!
by Will
Ok, so I’m reading a bunch of Philip K. Dick books. Oh, because A Scanner Darkly is coming out, you say? Not at all. Then you say, oh because one of your favorite authors, Jonathan Lethem, likes Philip K. Dick? Not really, no.
It’s because I saw a top ten list of “best Philip K. Dick books.” And my robotic nature is compelled to complete most lists that I read as if they were assigned to me by my innermost DNA.
Other lists I have tried hard to “complete”:
- 20 Scariest Movies by Entertainment Weekly
- 100 best rock albums ever, by Rolling Stone (published in the spring of 1987, introduced me to Elvis Costello)
- AFI’s top 100 comedies (a terribly compiled list, and yet I nearly finished it)
- Comic Journal’s top 100 American comics
The list of Philip K. Dick book was compiled by Lethem (in this essay), but that was incidental. It could have been written on a gum wrapper at the bottom of the Lorimer St. subway station train track and if I had spotted it, I would have been compelled to finish it.
I’ve always wanted to read PKD anyway, so I don’t mind. But because I’m being driven by a list, I’m racing through at a machine-like rate! I’ve read Ubik, A Scanner Darkly and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Next up: The Man In the High Castle, then Time Out of Joint, Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said and VALIS.
“Ubik” is the most hilariously geeky name for a book I’ve ever heard. That’s why I started with that one (it was a blast).
Comments
I enjoyed “Time Out of Joint” but not so much “The Divine Invasion.” Also, “Dr. Bloodmoney” was only OK.
I don’t feel compelled to finish lists, I usually just cherry-pick the top item and check it out.
So I have to read “Beloved” someday soon.
I’ve seen all but 3 of the scary movies.
Yet Will has no desire to read the PKD book I recommended to him on at least 3 occasions (maybe more).
I should have put a number in front of the recommendation.
When I was in high school, I tried to read the complete works of Vonnegut and John Irving in the same year. I stopped the Vonnegut-quest because his worldview was depressing me, and the Irving-quest ’cause his prose was depressing me.
In maybe that same year, EW published a full “Seinfeld” episode guide. I burned through that like nobody’s business thanks to twice-nightly syndication. That was WAY less depressing.
This is not so much a list thing, but if I were to buy ONE Love and Rockets collection to introduce me to the series, which one would it be?
I’ve read a bunch of Vonnegut — but mostly according to the list of his own books he provided in “Palm Sunday” (where he grades all of his novels to that point. Actually, I skipped one “A” — Jailbird.
Irving — I read Garp, Owen Meany and the autobio thing — Piggy Sneed?
Love and Rockets — I might be giving up on trying to show people a door in. It seems to be impenetrable. That said, I’d say “Chelo’s Burden” — Love and Rockets Volume 2 — is your best bet for starting.
http://www.fantagraphics.com/artist/losbros/losbros.html
Now Wait For Next Year — I’ll get there, Kevin.
I have a similar disorder: I am compelled to read books and watch films in order. For instance, I decided that I wanted to watch Hitchcock’s early masterpiece Rebecca so naturally I had to watch every available Hitchcock film preceeding it first. Then I figured, “Well, I got this far. I may as well watch his whole oeuvre.” I just finished Lifeboat!
I gave up on “Jailbird”…it was a little too infuriated about an event (Watergate) that I had little interest in and know next-to-nothing about, and the outrage was making it hard to learn anything. I imagine it would be like somebody twenty years from now trying to read one of those epic Calvin Trillin poems about George W. Bush.
- from 9 years old on I was a latchkey kid- got home and there would be phone calls from neighbors- I alway answered the phone – the calls would consist of neighbors callin to shut the hell up of my new puupy up or they would shoot her- sometimes people would call and ask for dick and I was like what and they would say I would like to talk to Dick – I didn;t undertsand it just grossed me out- then it was explained to me my dad’s name was Dick- I still don’t get it – Richard = Dick…huh?
Now Wait For Last Year is my favorite so far.