5 Books you want to read this year

[Phoenix Dark]

One of my new year's resolutions is to read more books, and I noticed many people here have similar resolutions. I plan on reading 5 books at the least. The following list doesn't include the fantasy books I'll be pouring over throughout the year (GRR Martin, Erikson)

1. Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer - James L. Swanson
http://www.amazon.com/Manhunt-12-Day-Chase-Lincolns-Killer/dp/0060518499

I read a bit at Barnes n Noble and really liked it. A historical murder thriller? Sign me up

2. Theodore Rex - Edmund Morris
http://www.amazon.com/Theodore-Rex-Modern-Library-Paperbacks/dp/0812966007/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199833791&sr=1-1

Teddy is my favorite US president so a huge book detailing both his terms is candy to my eyes.

3. Valis - Philip K. Dick
http://www.amazon.com/Valis-Philip-K-Dick/dp/0679734465/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199833899&sr=1-2

Another book I checked out at Barnes n Noble; the very first paragraph hooked me. I don't know anything about Dick's work outside of it influencing many films, but I want to start with this book

4. The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Sleep-Raymond-Chandler/dp/0394758285/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199834012&sr=1-2

Should I be ashamed that I'm interested in the book due to The Big Lebowski? The cool looking Coen brother kept name dropping Chandler during an interview that's on the Lebowski DVD, mentioning that many parts of the film were inspired by his work.

5. The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why - Jabari Asim
http://www.amazon.com/N-Word-Who-Can-Shouldnt/dp/0618197176/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199834140&sr=1-1

I also read a lot of literature that deals with African American issues, and after putting off reading this for so long I finally figured it's time to check it out due to the recent "revival" of the word in the media

[Vizzys]

total recall was so awesome

[CajoleJuice]

The books I own that I haven't read yet. I think there's five.

Actually, that Philip K. Dick short story collection has like 22 stories.

[TVC15]

You'll appreciate Valis more if you read a few Dick books beforehand, and maybe read the Wiki-ized biography.  It's a great book fo' sho, but you'll get the most out of it if you know PKD a bit.   There are. . .circumstances.

[CajoleJuice]

I took a PKD break after High Castle and Palmer Eldritch. After I'm done with The Selfish Gene, I think I'll read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Ubik.

[Phoenix Dark]

You'll appreciate Valis more if you read a few Dick books beforehand, and maybe read the Wiki-ized biography.  It's a great book fo' sho, but you'll get the most out of it if you know PKD a bit.   There are. . .circumstances.

Which one should I read first, Electric Sheep? I read like 5 pages of Valis and was like wow, this is crazy as fuck but awesome.

[CajoleJuice]

Buy the collection BlueTsunami and I own. It rocks hard.

[Robo]

You should just watch The Big Sleep instead.  Humphrey Bogart and a screenplay by William Faulkner!

[Joe Molotov]

Here's a list of books that have been kicking around my nightstand for the past few years that I'd really like to finish this year.

1. The Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton


2. Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco


3. Count Zero by William Gibson


4. On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers


5. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

[TVC15]

You'll appreciate Valis more if you read a few Dick books beforehand, and maybe read the Wiki-ized biography.  It's a great book fo' sho, but you'll get the most out of it if you know PKD a bit.   There are. . .circumstances.

Which one should I read first, Electric Sheep? I read like 5 pages of Valis and was like wow, this is crazy as fuck but awesome.

All of the big name ones are good.  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, UBIK, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch,  Flow My Tears the Policeman Said, The Man in the High Castle, A Scanner Darkly.  They're all really quick reads, too.  And you can't go wrong with his short stories, either.

[Madrun Badrun]

I would recommend not reading Valis as your first Dick.

What was your first Dick? 

[Madrun Badrun]

How did you like your first Dick?  Were you satisfied in the end? 

[Ichirou]

When you were experiencing your first Dick, did you feel it, deep inside?  Did it touch you, in a way no other author had?

[Eric P]

You should just watch The Big Sleep instead.  Humphrey Bogart and a screenplay by William Faulkner!

veto

it's a film so confusing even the author doesn't know who did what.

[Van Cruncheon]

my first dick was shallow but still quite satisfying: do androids dream of electric sheep

[Joe Molotov]

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch was my first Dick. It left me satisfied and exhausted.

[Eric P]

i went from a moorcock reading jag to all dick books in one summer

so i was bouncing from moorcock to dick

[CajoleJuice]

my first dick was shallow but still quite satisfying: do androids dream of electric sheep

I read an article in Wired that said Ridley Scott couldn't read more than a few pages because the plot was so complex, lol.

[Cormacaroni]

You should just watch The Big Sleep instead.  Humphrey Bogart and a screenplay by William Faulkner!

Yes, but Chandler is a fantastic writer. "She was a dame, the kind of dame that could make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window".  He tosses off hard-boiled gems like that in every paragraph.

[Cormacaroni]

Here's a list of books that have been kicking around my nightstand for the past few years that I'd really like to finish this year.

I've read all of those except the Illuminatus Trilogy...i've always heard the premise is more interesting than the actual book. Maybe it's time to check it out though, since our tastes otherwise appear aligned...

[Eric P]

I've read all of those except the Illuminatus Trilogy...i've always heard the premise is more interesting than the actual book. Maybe it's time to check it out though, since our tastes otherwise appear aligned...

the actual book is great fun if not great literature

[lordmaji]

Gonzo  : The Life of Hunter S. Thompson

Tibetan Book of the Dead

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

[tiesto]

2. (Image removed from quote.) Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco

This has been sitting in my car for the better part of a year now, I'd like to finish this one too.

[MrAngryFace]

I wanna read the stuff I bought last year

[FlameOfCallandor]

[TVC15]

Here's a list of books that have been kicking around my nightstand for the past few years that I'd really like to finish this year.

I've read all of those except the Illuminatus Trilogy...i've always heard the premise is more interesting than the actual book. Maybe it's time to check it out though, since our tastes otherwise appear aligned...

It's a fun book to read.  I think it kind of loses some steam about 3/4ths of the way through, but that's still like 500 pages of head-fucking fun.  It's got a clever set of premises, has a convincing (whhen it wants to be) air of erudition, and it's written in a highly entertaining manner (the first 50 or so pages are basically a staring contest with the reader.  Don't buckle).  I'm not about to start calling it a classic or anything, but it is worthy of the cult props it receives.