January 10, 2026 · 11:22 AM

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

No fan of sci-fi nor dystopian novels, this was not a read I was looking forward to. In fact, it took me two months to finish this acclaimed novel. What was alarming was the relevance to today’s prevalence of AI.

Earth has been nearly destroyed and most of those that survived, have migrated to other planets/colonies. Those left behind are either “special” or bounty hunters paid to hunt down rebel Androids disguised as humans

The novel’s central character, Rick Deckard is a bounty hunter who hopes to cash in and replace his electric sheep with a real live, and difficult to come by, animal. As his hunt intensifies, he begins to question his mission and worries that his ability to distinguish between humans and androids is failing him.

John Isidore is classified as a “special”, likely due to the results of radiation poisining. He works for a company that repairs robotic animals for people who cannot afford the real thing. He is trully isolated in that both humans and androids treat him as “less than” yet he seems to be more self-aware than those around him.

An android posing as a human, Rachel Rosen Nexus is able to manipulate Deckard in order to gain empathy for other androids.

Quotes:

The old man said, “You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity. At some time, every creature which lives must do so. It is the ultimate shadow, the defeat of creation, this is the curse at work, the curse that feeds on all life. Everywhere in the universe.”

Perhaps I could meet Mr. Dick in the windy city where I’d certainly fail at feigning interest in sci-fi. Hopefully he’d share his ability to foresee earth’s future.

My rating for Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep  is a 7 out of 10.

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Next up…Joan Didion’s Democracy…

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January 9, 2026 · 5:32 PM

Fear of Flying by Erica Jong

Reading a book with such a widely known reputation made it difficult to not have expectations, however, what surprised me most was what a brilliant writer Ms. Jong is. While I expected wild sex laden tales, instead I got flawless prose.

Published in 1973, Fear of Flying is truly a reflection of the emergence of feminism in American society. The Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision of the same year was a major turning point and I was shocked beyond belief to learn that it wasn’t until 1974 that women were (finally) allowed to have credit cards in their own name without a male cosigner. Yikes!

Travelling to Vienna with a plane full psychoanalysts, including her husband, Isadora Zelda White Wing is subconsciously beginning a journey of introspection and self examination.

Bennett Wing, Isadora’s husband is aloof and detached to his wife even in the face of her blatant sexcapades. The kind of man you’d like to slap to see if he’d react.

Adrian Goodlove, an analyst at the conference attracts Isadora’s attention and they begin a flagrant affair with only their interests of any concern. Watch out for these carefree types as they usually have a family waiting for them somewhere.

Isadora’s mother Judith Stoloff White was not a doting or warm woman. Her mantra (truly her regret) for herself and her family was to never be ordinary.

Quotes:

Bennett shot me a look which said: calm down. He hates it when I get angry at people in public. But his trying to hold me back only made me more furious.

It was clear to me that thinking yourself superior was a sure sign of being inferior and that thinking yourself extraordinary was a sure sign of being ordinary.

Silence is the bluntest of blunt instruments. It seems to hammer you into the ground. It drives you deeper and deeper into your own guilt. It makes the voices inside your head accuse you more viciously than any outside voices ever could.

Great big salty drops were running down my face and into the corners of my mouth. They tasted good. Tears have such a comforting taste. As is you could weep a whole new womb and crawl into it.

There are no atheists on turbulent airplanes.

Meeting Ms. Jong would be both remarkable and intimidating. I’d feel underdressed, underprepared, underequipped. Hell, I’d bring a bottle of something luxurious and let the conversation flow as seamlessly as her sentences in her infamous novel.

My rating for Fear of Flying is an 8 out of 10.

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Next up…Philip K. Dick’s Do Androiss Dream of Electric Sheep…

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July 22, 2025 · 5:56 PM

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

A ne’er-do-well comes up with a scheme to help pay for his mother’s medical care after he drops out of medical school and has difficulty holding down a job. He dines at upscale restaurants and pretends to choke and somehow his saviors become beholden to him, emotionally and financially. I loved the concept for this novel and who could resist this opening line…”If you’re going to read this, don’t bother.”

In addition to scamming diners at fancy restaurants, Vincent Mancini also frequents 12 step programs for sex addicts where he arrives early and convinces members to give in to their addictions with him. He slowly reveals his very troubled upbringing by an unstable mother.

Vincent’s mother, Ida Mancini, is refered to as “The Mommy” and has quite a sordid history. Continually found to be unfit, she somehow manages to keep abducting Vincent from his many foster homes.

Denny is a coworker of Vincent’s and has an assortment of behavioral issues and is likely befriended because he is relatable to Vincent.

Vincent meets Dr. Paige Marshall at the hospital where his mother is a patient and she tries to convince him that she can uncover the truth behind his mother’s very sordid tales.

Quotes:

Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because it’s only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on.

It’s pathetic how we can’t live with the things we can’t understand. How we need everything labeled and explained and deconstructed. Even if it’s for sure unexplainable. Even God.

Not sure how I’d feel about meeting up with Mr. Palahniuk and it certainly would not be at a 12 step meeting. But seriously, I think I’d really like to talk to him about his ability to create unique concepts for novels while distracting the lazy reader with sexual descriptives and keeping hold of those who could look beyond the banal.

My rating for Choke  is an 8 out of 10.

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Next up…Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying…

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July 16, 2025 · 9:09 PM

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

This was a tough read for me and I oscillated between fascination and boredom. Perhaps my disinterest in anything in the sci-fi realm is to blame.

Part mystery, part sci-fi and a hodge podge of bizarre characters, this novel includes ghosts, a time machine, and an electric monk all culminating in preventing the collapse of humanity.

Richard Mac Duff is thrown into the chaos and the madness of Dirk and becomes a prime murder suspect in need of some serious help.

Dirk Svlad Cjelli is the seemingly inept detective who ties together all the clues in the midst of trying to solve a murder.

The unusual Professor Urban Chronotis is introduced at a university event and is quite a central character as he is in possession of the time machine.

Quotes:

What I mean is that if you really want to understand something, the best way is to try and explain it to someone else. That forces you to sort it out in your own mind.

He waited again to see what he would do next and suddenly found to his surprise that he was already doing it, and it was this: he was “listening” to the music. A bewildered look crept slowly across his face as he realized that he had never done this before. He had “heard” it many, many times, and thought that it made a very pleasant noise. Indeed, he found that it made a pleasant background against which to discuss the concert season, but it had never before occurred to him that there was anything actually to “listen” to.

A meeting with Mr. Adams would certainly be centered on technology and how the heck he knew so much nearly 40 years ago that is omnipresent today. Okay maybe we’d talk about British humor instead since I don’t seem to get it.

My rating for Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency  is a 6 out of 10.

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Next up…Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke…

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June 14, 2025 · 6:45 PM

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

A young woman studying in Tokyo suffers the great loss of her grandmother, her only living relative after having lost both of her parents as a young child.

Dealing with loss and feelings of isolation, unlikely relationships are formed and a new “family” is born.

Mikage Sakurai sleeps on the kitchen floor of her grandmother’s home and eventually does the same at the Tanabe’s. Eating and preparing food becomes a source of comfort as she slowly moves forward.

Yuichi Tanabe, a fellow student of Mikage’s is also motherless and lives with his father. His kindness towards Mikage’s grandmother propels this relationship and he invites her to move into his home. Quite reserved and private, he too is dealing with isolation and an impending loss.

Eriko Tanabe, Yuichi’s father has come out and owns and works in a trans nightclub. Love and empathy are evident in the Tanabe household. A senseless tragedy upends this new family forcing Mikage and Yuichi to deal with yet another loss.

Quotes:

Truly great people emit a light that warms the hearts of those around them. When that light has been put out, a heavy shadow of despair descends.

No matter what, I want to continue living with the awareness that I will die. Without that, I am not alive. That is what makes the life I have now possible.

I would certainly love to meet Ms. Yoshimoto at the restaurant of her choosing, rather than my kitchen, where I confess, I don’t share her joy of cooking. I’d be curious to ask her more about her continuing theme of grief and loss.

My rating for Kitchen  is an 8 out of 10.

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Next up…Doublas Adams’ Dirk Gentley’s Holistic Detective Agency…

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June 10, 2025 · 3:47 PM

Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler

A detective has quite a puzzle to solve and eventually puts all the pieces together quite nicely. Set in LA in the 1940’s, Chandler paints such a vivid picture that it’s as if the reader were standing beside Marlowe himself.

From the seedy to the glamorous, the west coast ride is full speed with plenty of bumps and detours along the way.

Philip Marlowe prefers his independence, but realizes he must sometimes rely on others for help. His brusque and sarcastic manner does little to ingratiate those willing to assist, including the police and women clearly attracted to him.

Aptly named for his size, Moose Malloy seems to lead Marlowe to the answers he is seeking. Moose, just out of prison, is searching for his fiance, Velma, who may, or may not have double crossed him.

Hoping to put her past behind her, Velma Valento marries a wealthy older gentleman and is living a very pampered life as Mrs. Grayle.

Anne Riordan is a hard working and honest woman who hopes her moral compass will point Marlowe in the right direction. Her attraction to Marlowe is restrained yet quite obvious.

Quotes:

She had weedy hair of that vague color which is neither brown nor blond, that hasn’t enough life in it to be ginger, and isn’t clean enough to be gray.

That was a nice touch. They left me my gun. A nice touch of something or other–like closing a man’s eyes after you knife him.

A smoky dimly lit bar would be an ideal place to meet with Mr. Chandler. I’d need to wear a smooth fitting dress and hat covering one side of my face.

My rating for Farewell, My Lovely  is an 8 out of 10.

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Next up…Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen…

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April 26, 2025 · 4:43 PM

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

I was certainly confident that I knew what I was about to read, but was I ever taken aback. For some reason, I believed I was about to embark on a rather dull and listless political essay. A Modest Proposal indeed. I’ll say An Immodest Proposal to that!

Published nearly 300 years ago Swift’s satire is initially misunderstood due to its shocking “solutions”. It is only after the shock wears off that the message becomes quite clear, and that it is obviously a condemnation on the treatment of the Irish by English rule.

What a delight to sit with Mr. Swift and hear his thoughts on current day policies. He’d be a Tik Tokking mega influencer in today’s climate.

My rating for A Modest Proposal is a 9 out of 10.

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Next up…Raymond Chandler’s Farewell, My Lovely

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April 9, 2025 · 6:10 PM

Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner

I must admit I slogged through this novel as I also did with The Sound and the Fury and, much to my chagrin, there are two more novels on the 1001 list. While Faulkner is certainly a revered author, he is just not one I appreciate.

In 1833 Thomas Sutpen arrives in Mississippi with an architect and a group of slaves intent on getting land to build his plantation. While his drive in business is a resounding success, his success with his family is an absolute failure.

Miss Rosa Coldfield spits at the name Thomas Sutpen, the man she almost married and lives a life of bitterness and regret.

A shrewd man focused on building his plantation, Thomas Sutpen’s lack of empathy does not do for making healthy alliances with family or foe.

Thomas Sutpen’s daughter, Clytie grew up on Sutpen’s Hundred but was considered inferior to her siblings Judith and Henry. She burns the manor house down and dies as a result of it.

Quotes:

Maybe you have to know anybody awful well to love them but when you have hated somebody for forty-three years you will know them awful well so maybe it’s better than maybe it’s fine then because after forty-three years they can’t any longer surprise you or make you either very contented or very mad.

They did not need to talk. They were too much alike. They were as two people become now and then, who seem to know one another so well or are so much alike that the power, the need, to communicate by speech atrophies from disuse and, comprehending without need of the medium of ear or intellect, they no longer understand one another’s actual words.

Mississippi would certainly be my meeting place with Faulkner and I would most certainly try to focus on his younger years and steer clear of my reviews.

My rating for Absalom, Abasalom  is a 6 out of 10.

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Next up…Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal…

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March 7, 2025 · 5:43 PM

Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry

Retired Professor Vakeel lives in a spacious apartment with his two stepchildren in Bombay as the Shiv Sena party are determined to remake the city into Mumbai. The political tension matches the emotional tension that exists amongst the household.

As Mistry is skilled at doing, there is an underlying mystery that slowly gets revealed and as expected, the theme of caste is ever present.

At age 79, Nariman Vakeel finds himself physically incapacitated after a fall and must rely on family members that may not be, or may not want to be up to the task.

Stepson to Vakeel, Jal Contractor seeks peace among family but retreats when things get too heated.

Stepdaughter Coomy Contractor wears her heart on her sleeve and it is an injured one. She finds peace only when she leaves the home to attend prayer services.

Yezad Chenoy is Vakeel’s son-in-law and was very family focused until his father-in-law moved into his much smaller apartment. His self-serving actions show he puts himself before his wife, sons and in-laws.

Quotes:

“How sorry I feel for you all,” he said, unable to choke back his disgust. “You’ve grown old without growing wise.”

“Can caring and concern be made compulsory? Either it resides in the heart, or nowhere.”

“Little white lies are as pernicious as big black lies. When they mix together, a great greyness of ambiguity descends, society is cast adrift in an amoral sea, and corruption and rot and decay start to flourish. Such is the time we are now passing through. Everything is disintegrating because details are neglected and nothing is regarded seriously.”

In fact, no matter where you go in the world, there is only one important story; of youth, and loss, and yearning for redemption. So we tell the same story, over and over. Just the details are different.

Curious, he thought, how if you knew a person long enough, he could elicit every kind of emotion from you, every possible reaction, envy, admiration, pity, irritation, fury, fondness, jealousy, love, disgust. But in the end all human beings became candidates for compassion, all of us, without exception…and if we could recognize this from the beginning, what a saving in pain and grief and misery…

Mistry has that enviable knack for revealing his character’s flaws in a very relatable manner. I’d love to hear about his early life and how it shaped him into the outstanding writer he became. Wish there were more of his books on the 1001 list.

My rating for Family Matters is an 8 out of 10.

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Next up…William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom

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January 2, 2025 · 6:30 PM

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Based on actual murders in Ontario in 1843, Atwood spins a compelling yarn of the haves and havenots and what it meant to be an Irish immigrant in the early days of Canadian life.

As I read it all seemed so familiar and I realized I had seen the story reenacted on television and was pleased to find the book filled in a lot of seemingly insignificant yet vital details to the story.

Grace Marks, convicted and imprisoned for murder becomes a pet project for the locals where she is serving time and working for the governor. Is she a shrewd manipulator or a mentally ill woman suffering from multiple personality disorder? The answer is not so clear.

Housekeeper to Thomas Kinnear, Nancy Montgomery is murdered along with him. Their affair is no secret to anyone and her treatment of Grace and James McDermott, convicted of killing her, is mostly condescending and sometimes, cruel.

Jeremiah the Peddler is a master of disguises and changes names and personas on a regular basis. When he has a chance encounter with Grace decades after the murders, he agrees to hypnotize her and not let on that they knew each other many years before the infamous murders. Another con or the emergence of suppressed memories?

Dr. Simon Jordan is an American doctor hoping his interviews with Grace will reveal her lost memories with the goal of documenting his research to support opening his own clinic. Here again, it becomes unclear as to who is manipulating whom.

Quotes:

In a new country, friends become old friends very quickly.

for even upstanding and respectable people dearly love to read ill of others.

The mind, he reflects, is like a house–thoughts which the owner no longer wishes to display, or those which arouse painful memories, are thrust out of sight, and consigned to attic or cellar; and in forgetting, as in the storage of broken furniture, there is surely an element of will at work.

Atwood is quite the raconteur and I’ve no doubt she’d be quite interesting. Such a prolific author would surely have tips I’d hope she would share, but if not, her company alone would be quite worth my time.

My rating for Alias Grace  is an 8 out of 10.

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Next up…Rohinton Mistry’s Family Matters

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