> > If you like science fiction, you should read
> pretty much *anything* by PKD.
>
> I agree with you there, Dave, but I made my
> post in reference to Wedge's post regarding
> his thoughts about solipsism.

Right. And I was just expanding on that. Because I think everyone should read PKD. It should be mandatory. EVERYONE GO BUY A PKD BOOK TONIGHT AND START READING IT!!

>
> For me it was "Minority Report." After seeing
> the movie I wanted to read the original story,
> and found it in a collection of PKD's stories, of
> which "The Electric Ant" was one.

I read a collection of his short stories, and I have to say that there were a few that really impressed me ("Minority Report", "Paycheck") and a bunch that just kind of weirded me out. I don't get the same thrill reading his short fiction that I do reading his novels for the most part. That's not to say his short fiction isn't any good, just that I really think his skills shine at the novel length.

>
> Of course I've known for years that "Blade
> Runner" was based on "Do Androids Dream
> of Electric Sheep," but I'd never read it. I
> aim to fix that oversight, just as soon as I've
> finished the book I'm currently embroiled in.

Yeah! Androids is a great book. I've read three PKD books so far (_The Man In The High Castle_, _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?_, and _A Scanner Darkly_) and am currently reading a fourth (_Ubik_). So far Androids is probably my favorite.

Stephen posted a link to a series of articles on K5 about mental illness (the "Living with Schizo-Affective Disorder" articles) and when I read the second part of that series, the section on Dissociation hit me hard, mostly because I realized that the symptoms being described were exactly the entire premise of a PKD book, namely _A Scanner Darkly_. I know PKD suffered from different mental illnesses himself, but it had never been shown so vividly to me before how much some of his stories are based off symptoms of mental illnesses. Probably explains why a lot of his work is so mind-bending.

-- Dave