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Copy/paste the text below into your blog. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7082.Do_Androids_Dream_of_Electric_Sheep_?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1165606383m/7082.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7082.Do_Androids_Dream_of_Electric_Sheep_?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4764.Philip_K_Dick">Philip K. Dick</a><br/><br/> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22144926?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a> rating: 4 of 5 stars<br/><i>He thought, too, about his need for a real animal; within him an actual hatred once more manifested itself toward his electric sheep, which he had to tend, had to care about as if it lived.</i> <br/> <br/>I'm still reading this book. I've read it before but it's been at least 10 years if not more. <br/> <br/>I don't know why this time around the animals and Deckards drive and need for a real animal is hitting close to home for me. I can't imagine living without animals. Earlier this week I walked over to the Hub on campus to grab lunch. This little sparrow was having the time of his life in a rain puddle. He was not afraid of me walking up to him and he wasn't afraid of the students walking about. He just happily fluffed his wings, gave himself a rather thorough bath, and enjoyed himself. To me it was such a wonderful thing to watch. I love animals. I love watching them and attaching personalities to them. As I watched the bird, a guy walked past me and smiled saying, "it's a bird!" as if I didn't know. I just smiled back and continued watching until the bird had finished up and hopped away. <br/> <br/>It's understandable that Deckard needs to have something real in his life - everything is so automated - you buy a box so you can feel empathy, you dial a number so you can feel something else. But I also think there is a joy in having real animals to watch, to love, to care for. The book doesn't really go into domestic animals so much - Deckard says that his electric sheep doesn't know that he, Deckard, exists. When I get home from work I'm greeted (most days) by at least one of my cats. If I had an electric cat or dog, would I receive that same kind of greeting? <br/> <br/>I used to think Sony's robot dog was really amazing, but it's still electric. It can learn and it can respond, but it's not going to greet me at the door with licks and tail wagging. <br/> <br/>That's heartbreaking. To live where there is no real feeling anymore. No real emotion or love. I think the only real feelings the people in this book have is fear. <br/> <br/>May 23rd - I don't remember feeling this worn out and depressed the first time I read this book. The book is so bleak. The ideas expressed within are unsettling - that we would create robots to be human-like and then give them the drudgery work. If we're going to create robots to do the dirty work for humans, why make them human-like at all? Why not leave them to be just machines without free will and thought process? <br/> <br/>It's never really explained why the Rosen corporation felt they needed to make the andys better and better and more human like. We know the androids were created to go to Mars and build the colonies, but beyond that, that's pretty much it. <br/> <br/>Why did the andys get imbedded with ways to kill people? If they're just diggers, why not only give them digging thoughts? Why create humanoid beings at all? <br/> <br/>In these novels, and movies like this, where the robots suddenly rebel it's always because the humans have decided to give the robots some free will and the ability to think and grow for themselves, to learn from it's experience. Hello! That's where the trouble comes into play! Duh! We're the humans. They're the machines. It's okay for them to not be human like. <br/> <br/>Other things that bothered me in the story was how the society is now segregated into people who were "normal" and people who were "special" (as in having to take the Special Bus to school kind of special). Only the normal people were allowed to live off world. Earth is in ruins and the people who aren't considered smart enough or mentally sane enough are not allowed to leave. What were the parameters? Who decided who was special and who wasn't? I've heard that in England a person's medical history is public access. WOW! That's insanely scary and leading right down this road to the government making a decision about who gets to have what based on their mental capacities. <br/> <br/>The future looks bleak, if you follow Mr. Dick's writings. Very, very bleak indeed. <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/844658?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>