Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves - io9 Comments

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Tei — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:41:40 PDT

Philip is too repetitive to me. You only need to steal one. Maybe Ubik. If you steal more than 1, you are a dirty sick :DD

Tei

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

props_nyc — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:55:22 PDT

the B&N in union square keeps them on the top shelf

this actually lost them my sale once because initially i couldn't find an employee to help me get one down. when i did, she explained the PKD theft issue to me.

i like to take my time browsing anyway and i wouldn't want to be all "can you get this one for me, hmmmm no... ok now can you get this other one down... etc"

props_nyc

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Hart — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:15:11 PDT

Hmmm, interesting. The B & Ns and Borders in my area sell PKD. Guess I'm lucky.

Hart

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

draconismoi — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:48:52 PDT

Yeah, I'd go with the cost as for why his books (and graphic novels) are stolen more frequently. Most people who love to read and go to a bookstore - instead of the library - are willing to shell out some money. But those books are ridiculously pricey. With graphic novels it makes sense due to artwork and such. But PKD's books need to be released in a cheaper format! We're not all made of money.

Granted, I have never stolen a book. I go to independent bookstores and would feel terrible for ripping them off. A chain like Barnes and Noble or Borders would be a completely different story .....if they even had anything I wanted.....

draconismoi

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Torley — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 05:27:38 PDT

PKD junkies just keep needing their next fix!

@extracrispy: That was great. :)

Torley

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

pipboy — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:21:58 PDT

Man, a Dick book costs two LeGuins and a Gibson here.

pipboy

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Xithor — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:50:55 PDT

@ urukhaifive: We don't need to chase them. Most of them keep coming back until they get caught, which doesn't take long as most of them aren't the sharpest sword on the rack to begin with

Xithor

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Xithor — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:47:03 PDT

I've worked at bookstores for the last seven years, and I can confirm that Dick is indeed a hot item for the book thieves of the world, as is Hunter S. Thompson, Graphic Novels, Burroughs or any other Beat author, Chuck Palanuck, and computer manuals.

I wish I could say that it's about reading and good taste, but most book thieves are about stealing the books at location A, and then selling them at location B (the really dumb ones try to sell them at location A), and getting money for whatever the poor bastards are addicted to.

Xithor

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Final — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:34:20 PDT

The World Jones Made is my favorite book. I bought a Scanner Darkly way before the movie came out and never finished it, and found it strangely enough in the trunk of my car last week and started rereading it.

you would think Hunter S. Thompson would be up there on the list.

Manga I could see being lifted since it's flooded the market in the past 10 years. There's so damn much to it/ multiple volumes being released really quick. But most American comics publish so slowly you can get the money if you keep your list of trades to a minimum.

Final

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

pinafore — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:39:11 PDT

Yeah, you can never find PKD books in used bookstores because they are so damn good. People I know that I'd never guess as sf fans have several
of those unmistakable paperbacks lined up on their shelves. Once someone reads one, they tend to go through a dozen more, which is tough at $12 each.

I'd be interested in seeing a strictly sci-fi list of frequently stolen books, as I imagine the wonky stuff isn't stolen nearly as often as the more hallucinary. And to call PKD's fanbase "geeks" forgets his appeal with gutter punks, druggies, mental ill, and general crazies. And isn't that why we love him?

pinafore

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

urukhaifive — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:37:20 PDT

@fartron: Having known a few people who worked at bookstores, they are quite capable of catching them. It's just that the stores have no chase policies and all this other stuff. So basically if you steal something, no one is going to do anything about it.

urukhaifive

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Garrison Dean, King Awesome — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:09:20 PDT

@zeppelined: I will try that. Thanks.

@Plague: If that doesn't work I'll do it your legal/boring way. Frakkin good twins... so annoying.

Garrison Dean, King Awesome

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

fartron — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:07:02 PDT

Sounds like some convenient scapegoating. If the shopkeepers are managing to keep demographic profiles of the thieves, why aren't they managing to catch them?

fartron

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

MaxTwice — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:32:37 PDT

@Little Time Bomb: What in all of universal spaces is the Vault of Midnight?

@Zapp Brannigan's Girdle: Hahaha

MaxTwice

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

moff — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:32:06 PDT

@Garrison Dean: Nice.

moff

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

skeksis — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:07:24 PDT

I always start looking through the PKD books, and then ultimately put them down because they are usually more expensive than most of the other paperbacks. That was the first thing I thought of when I read this headline: it's most likely a matter of economics. There's at least a dozen of them, and the most common editions all cost more than $10.

skeksis

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Zapp Brannigan's Girdle — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:40:21 PDT

I blame academia. I had to read The Man in the High Castle for a pop culture class. And yes, before anyone asks, I paid for it.

Zapp Brannigan's Girdle

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Little Time Bomb — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:35:08 PDT

After reading the comments I'm feel extra lucky. Here in Ann Arbor the library has a whole graphic novel section. The librarians used to come into the shop all the time to see if there was anything new they should add to the section. After awhile they just asked the owner of the Vault of Midnight to act as a curator of sorts.

Little Time Bomb

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Plague — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:23:30 PDT

Y: The Last Man SHOULD be paid for.
Because it's that damn good.

As should anything by PKD.

Plague

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Ed Grabianowski — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:57:26 PDT

@Garrison Dean: You could probably find PDFs of them somewhere. A little harder to track down with Demonoid gone, and not the ideal reading method, but it works for stuff you want to read but would never pay for. I use it to catch up on the 18 trillion different titles in some lame crossover I'm mildly interested in.

Ed Grabianowski

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

MaxTwice — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:00:54 PDT

I'm sure glad my work is protected ;D

MaxTwice

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Mathmos — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:57:29 PDT

Is it just that the books disapppear and are assumed stolen?

Mathmos

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Garrison Dean, King Awesome — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:44:32 PDT

I don't know what the big deal is. Hollywood has been ripping off Phillip Dick for years.

Garrison Dean, King Awesome

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

icelight — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:43:26 PDT

I'd agree with your source, figuring it's the same reason video games are so often stolen. Many young males (it's hard to tell ethnicity from chat comments) appear to believe they're "owed" something, or that if it's available they should be allowed to take whatever they can get away with, and at least when justifying their stealing of games (based on Kotaku comments) price appears to also play a large role in their excuses. Assuming these are the same people, the fact that they own computers able to play said games would target them fairly solidly in that middle-class "I feel like I'm fighting the Man without actually risking anything" demographic. Of course, their inability to figure out who they're actually damaging quite nicely slots them into the "young" category.

icelight

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

extracrispy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:39:42 PDT

I think Dick would be ok with this news. Of course, then he'd start to wonder if he was stealing them himself.

extracrispy

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

SVreader — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:36:29 PDT

Also, going along with the whole young white male thing (though obviously, those aren't sci-fi's sole audience), I think sci-fi and genre graphic novels have more of an air of "rebellion" about them, both within plots and in discussion about sci-fi itself. "I'm going against the system!" "Cory Doctorow says it should be free!"

Also, sci-fi/genre stories are often wish-fullfillment for young males (okay, a bit of a stereotype that's becoming outdated, but still). There's a plethora of "take no shit" male rebels in sci-fi so maybe readers feel that by doing something so incredibly "daring," they're a part of that?

SVreader

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Crunchy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:32:16 PDT

Shoplifting: A unregistered trans-human interaction of media in exchange for other media. Ah... shit they are just cutting out the middleman. The middleman (hey what a great title for a new graphics novel...mmm) Me thinks thats a very good idea. . . "Please don't drink and blog, a publik announcement, Thank you."

Crunchy

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Grey_Area — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:32:14 PDT

i know a great place to shoplift them. it's called "the chop shop" on 3rd ave. next to "x'r'us". or try "mary's axes".

Grey_Area

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

vintershaype — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:30:03 PDT

i went to a bookstore in Toronto looking for The Man in the High Castle and I was just about to give up but asked, and the lady said they have to keep most of his stuff in the back because it's always getting stolen. wierrrrrrd.

vintershaype

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

MaxTwice — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:21:21 PDT

@Grey_Area: I need an ax

MaxTwice

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

SVreader — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:19:54 PDT

Both gfburke's and Constant's explanations sound likely.I'm guessing there's often a combination of those two.

However, the only person I know who shoplifts books is an adult woman, and she says it makes her feel like she's "getting back" at the world/man for past hardships. They're not sci-fi, though.

SVreader

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Annalee Newitz — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:18:07 PDT

@Grey_Area: See how everything is alright when you take keep the fluid topped up in that cortical funnel?

Annalee Newitz

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Grey_Area — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:08:56 PDT

(now typing in a strangely subdued monotone fashion)
well, i suppose some deluded unfortunate younsters insist on rebelling against society. it's a shame really.

Grey_Area

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Annalee Newitz — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:06:34 PDT

@Grey_Area: Quick! Get that man a brain implant!

Annalee Newitz

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Grey_Area — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:05:31 PDT

"Shoplifters", yeah,right!!! Obviously agents of a vast inter-dimensional conspiracy are removing PKD's "fiction" to keep us ignorant of "the Truth"!!!!!
WAKE UP YOU FOOLS!!!!!!!!!! DON'T YOU REALIZE THAT...
(flash of pink light & muffled thump)

Grey_Area

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Garrison Dean, King Awesome — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:02:17 PDT

@gfburke: And we have confused pissed off teens FTW. Good job. Mystery solved.

Garrison Dean, King Awesome

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Horselover Fat — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:01:31 PDT

you can't find them discounted or in used bookstores because no one resells them.

Horselover Fat

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

Garrison Dean, King Awesome — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:01:26 PDT

As a comic fan I understand why you would steal a 25-30 dollar graphic novel. They don't carry them in most libraries and they will take you a sliver of the time to read as a long novel that costs half as much. I'm not condoning it, but it is why I will probably never read "Y the Last Man" at this point, because I'd have to fork out over a $100 to get the whole story.

As for the Dick? Who knows. I recently bought High Castle for about 12 dollars.. a bargin.

Garrison Dean, King Awesome

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

gfburke — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:59:38 PDT

What books might one like to read while stoned or on various drugs?

gfburke

Philip K. Dick Books Are Extremely Popular with Bookstore Thieves

benjaminby — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:54:42 PDT

Hey, at least they're stealing quality.

benjaminby