Book Club!
Drum roll please: The first selection for eMusic’s brand new, sure to be stimulating book club is…
Philip K. Dick’s sci fi masterpiece evokes a dystopian version of Orange County (no Seth Cohen witticisms or indie pop to be found here!) in which drug addiction is rampant and the government will go to any lengths to stop its spread. A Scanner Darkly is set in the year 1994 (the book was originally published in 1977, so at the time 1994 was the near future), but I think you’ll find its themes to be just as resonant today. Off the top of my head I’d say we’ll be discussing topics such as identity, paranoia, psychosis, reality, surveillance, and addiction. Heavy, right? But I should also mention that Scanner is funny—disturbingly so—and that Paul Giamatti is a first rate narrator. Should make for a challenging but entirely enjoyable listen.
I’d like to start posting some initial thoughts about the book on the main eMusic audiobooks page this Monday, October 29th. Sound OK? From there, our discussion can move to the message boards, where I’m thinking of posting a new topic every three days or so. Does that give you all enough time to get some solid listening in? Lemme know if you feel strongly about timing, one way or another. And thanks to everyone who weighed in on book selection. Opinions were surprisingly diverse, so I’m gonna put In Cold Blood and The Devil in the White City on the back burner until it’s time for next month’s pick.
And, we’re off!
No discussion yet? I haven’t listened to much of it yet but I’ll say Giamatti’s reading is surprisingly bearable. I was expecting him to be in “Sideways” mode.
I think the book club is a brilliant idea - count me in.