February 06 BotM Thread - A SCANNER DARKLY

[Adam Balm]

These choices are based on books that are either 1) timely (I.e., having a movie based on them either in theatres or coming to theatres) , 2) have been discussed in the books forum recently or 3) Were suggested by book forum members either in the last poll or via PM.

It seems I can't lock this thread without it disabling the ability to vote, so I'll just ask that no one post below until the poll closes on February 1st. The reason being so we don't have 5 or 6 pages of debate that someone has to wade through before they can start discussing the chosen book of the month. Until then you can discuss your pick or make any further suggestions here in the regular Zoner Book Club thread. And the January Book of the Month thread will remain open for anyone who wants to continue discussing Heart of Darkness.

I’d recommend picking a short book, since this is a short month.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

can we post here yet?

[Adam Balm]

Sure. Why the hell not...

[havocSchultz]

Everybody Poops...



oh - wait - that discussion's been had already...

[Seppuku]

Remember A Princess of Mars is up online for free, so it'll save people having to buy it if they vote for it (even though I voted for Dick). 258 Votes (and counting) for Everybody Poops so far...

[Keepcoolbutcare]

I'm confused...is it Everybody Poops or A Scanner Darkly?

edit: Thanks for that link sparky!

[Adam Balm]

Dick or Poop?

The eternal question when making a joke at the Zone..

[havocSchultz]

I'm confused...is it Everybody Poop or A Scanner Darkly?

maybe it's Everybody Scans a Dark Poop....























yayayaya... i know... b4nn3d...

[Keepcoolbutcare]

Dick or Poop?

The eternal question when making a joke at the Zone..

is there a book about dirty sanchez's?

[DennisMM]

You take enough Pepto-Bismol, you be knowing about those dark poops. More I am barred from writing.

[Bob Samonkey]

Dick or Poop?

The eternal question when making a joke at the Zone..

I love it when you get philosophical about fecal matter.

[Bob Samonkey]

You take enough Pepto-Bismol, you be knowing about those dark poops. More I am barred from writing.

Yes but how do you scan one? Is it addressed in the book?

[DennisMM]

More I am barred from writing, except to say that a drop-through scanner is not ideal for the purpose.

[Adam Balm]

*smoooooooosh*

[Ribbons]

So... has the poll stopped for this one? And in that case, which one is it that we're reading? And how did Everybody Poops get 250 votes?

[Adam Balm]

No, the poll continues til tomorrow at around 9:30 PM board time, unless I'm mistaken.

[Bob Samonkey]

You think anything will pull ahead of poop?

[Adam Balm]

It will now...

[Bob Samonkey]

No more poop

[Lord Voldemoo]

No more poop

yeah, it's too corny.





















sorry

[ONeillSG1]

What happened to Hitchhiker's Guide, Adam? I thought that was next.

I'm sorry I wasn't more of a force in the January thread, it has been a busy month.

But, I will try to do better with Feb.'s thread.

[Adam Balm]

Eh, sorry. Forgot. Next month, I promise.

[Bob Samonkey]

Great now I am going to have to go out and get A Scanner Darkly







I already own Everybody poops

[havocSchultz]

Zombies on a muthafuckin cell phone people...


and - i bet it also has people pooping... and some sort of weird processed corn snack...

[ONeillSG1]

Eh, sorry. Forgot. Next month, I promise.

Hey, no problem. It's not easy when you are trying to convert the most powerful of Jedi to the way of the Bertrand Russell.

Now, Bertrand Russell as a Sith! That's an avatar I can get behind!!!

OWNAGE!!!

[Adam Balm]

Eh, sorry. Forgot. Next month, I promise.

Hey, no problem. It's not easy when you are trying to convert the most powerful of Jedi to the way of the Bertrand Russell.

Now, Bertrand Russell as a Sith! That's an avatar I can get behind!!!

OWNAGE!!!

You have to mention this at the end of the day? Where was this idea when I needed it?? Now I'm stuck with mopey livejournal Palpatine...

[psychedelic]

Is that Peter Bogdanovich on the Smart Puffs bag? I never would have imagined Peter Bogdanovich on a bag of snack food. Far out...only in America. How about Robert Altman on a bag of Doritoes in honor of his honorary Oscar?

[Adam Balm]

Hah! Thanks for pointing that out. Seems tonight we had a merry prankster going in and editing posts to insert product placement. I edited it out.

[Adam Balm]

We have a winner. With the polls closed, the official Zoner February Book of the month is.....










































































A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick





The final tally for each selection stands at:



A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick
32% [ 10 ]
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
6% [ 2 ]
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
22% [ 7 ]
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx (Only 64 pages!)
6% [ 2 ]
Cell by Stephen King
16% [ 5 ]
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
3% [ 1 ]
1984 by George Orwell
12% [ 4 ]

[DennisMM]

With the votes for Everybody Poops conveniently swept under the rug, which is now lumpy.

[Adam Balm]

SILENCE!

[Ribbons]

Ewww...

By the way, I was the lone putz who voted for Battle Royale, in case anyone was wondering.

[Adam Balm]

That's odd. That was Iconoclastica's request, I assumed it was her.

[DennisMM]

I have no idea how to find Battle Royale, or I'd have considered it. A Scanner Darkly I can easily get through our interlibrary loan service.

[Ribbons]

Yeah. Either Iconoclastica noticed something she hadn't read that she really wanted to or she decided it'd be funny to vote for.... that book that shall not be named.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

a warning...

this book is heavy.

Written after PKD had stopped taking the obscene amount of speed, acid, 'shrooms that he had so voraciously consumed prior to his seeing "VALIS", it's an elegy to all of his friends and acquiantances whose lives were cut short or irreversibly altered through drug use.

It is his most heartfelt work, and most gut wrenching.

"This has been a novel about some people who were punished entirely too much for what they did. They wanted to have a good time, but they were like children playing in the street; they could see one after another of them being killed-run over, maimed, destroyed-but they continue to play anyhow. We really were happy for a while, sitting around not toiling but just bullshitting and playing, but it was such a terrible brief time, and then the punishment was beyond belief: even when we could see it, we could not believe it...
There is no moral in this novel; it is not bourgeois; it does not say that they were wrong to play when they should have toiled; it just tells what the consequences were....
If there was any "sin", it was that these people wanted to keep on having a good time forever, and were punished for that, but, as I say, I feel that if so, the punishment was far too great...
The "enemy" was their mistake in playing. Let them play again, in some other way, and let them be happy."

Don't get me wrong, I love this book. But ya'll been warned...

[Ribbons]

Whoa. I totally didn't know anything about that. Thanks kcbc.

[Cabiria]

Yea! I voted for Dick...umm...

Anyway, this is great news. This is one of those titles that has sat on my shelf for ages, but I've never managed to begin it. And now I have the perfect excuse.

[buster00]

How did the cover of that paperback manage to avoid becoming someone's avatar pic?

[brainiac]

OK... finally got my hands on a copy and it is the first Dick I have ever read. (Is that joke old already?)

So far, it is kinda' sad...

[Keepcoolbutcare]

what pg. are you on?

[brainiac]

Started last night, in bed, then fell asleep at pg 20 starting chapter 2.
I plan to do better tonight... really... if the aphids don't get me, that is.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

lol.

well, it brings the funny soon.

By funny, I mean "Ha! That's some authentic stoner-speak" kind of funny. You know the kind of druggy conversations you have with friends that you wish, for just this once, you had recorded? That type of funny.

[Carolian]

The thing that stuck with me when I read this book was how incredibly hopeless it seems. Dick's dedication to all his burned-out/dead friends was just the icing on the cake.

The people in ASD were so fundamentally broken that it actually hurt to read it. I just read THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE a few weeks ago, and it's stunning how different Dick's writing style was. His life had definitely taken its toll on his mindset.

That passage KCBC quoted above is just heartbreaking. What an amazing book.

[brainiac]

The whole thing felt like Gonzo Sci-fi. Does that make sense? Although the sci-fi aspects were limited, the book felt Hunter S. Thompson-esque.

And sad, yes... those "children" in the dedication needed adults around to say "Knock that shit off!"

Here is a look at the movie trailer:
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/ascannerdarkly.html

[Ribbons]

So I just finished reading this the other day and was wondering if anybody else wanted to talk about it. It is funny, but also pretty sad. It was a good read though.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

So I just finished reading this the other day and was wondering if anybody else wanted to talk about it. It is funny, but also pretty sad. It was a good read though.

what would you like to discuss?

[Ribbons]

Oh, put the pressure back on me, eh? Damn youse... I don't know, it doesn't matter. There are a couple of passages that I thought were interesting that I suppose I could bring up, but I don't know how well those would make for discussion points. I guess whether or not anybody else thought that Dick was trying to make some comment about the relationship between cops and criminals in the real world, and if they did, if they could do me a solid and tell me what they think that relationship is. That's kind of a boring topic, but it's all I got right now.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

no, no, good topic, but where do you wanna run with this...breaking down the Arctor/Fred dynamic, or the blatant disregard of individual humanity shown by Donna (and by extension the entire Narcotics Division) in making someone an unknowing guinea pig for the "greater good"?

[Ribbons]

I guess I was leaning more towards the latter one, but I think they're both supposed to be extensions of the same thing. Like... one relies on the other, or something; although I feel more comfortable just saying that they're both a part of this same, endless cycle. The manipulation of drug addicts ultimately led to the group behind those rehab centers, right? Or am I forgetting something?