His neighbor and best friend is a telepathic slime mold

Favorite PKD, corporate-espionage screwball comedy: Roundup 03/10/2025

Greetings from Read Max HQ, and welcome to our weekly roundup column, in which I pick out some worthwhile and often overlooked books, articles, movies, and music to recommend to paying subscribers.

Before we get there--I was really pleased to appear on the Bang Bang podcast with Van Jackson and Lyle Jeremy Rubin, discussing the last dad thriller ever made: Sum of All Fears. Video preview below; the episode is here.

For this week’s round-up, I’ve got:

• Some Philip K. Dick recommendations for the curious newbies;

• columns and articles about the short-term future of “A.G.I.” and the greatest TikTok of all time;

• a corporate-espionage screwball comedy from a great director;

• four songs I’ve been loving.

If any of that sounds interesting--and if you want to support Read Max in its continuing mission of explaining the future to relatively normal people--please subscribe below. Subscribers get access to these weekly emails and to the comprehensive Read Max Master Lists of Good Movies to Watch and Good Books to Read--as well as preferred pricing on merchandise like the Read Max “EMAIL SUPPLY” caps. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you.

I love to hear from readers who want to recommend a cool book or movie (or whatever!) to me, or from readers who are looking for specific kinds of recommendations. Just leave a comment or drop me a line at maxread@gmail.com.

Finally, please note that I may receive a small commission if you purchase books via links in this email.

Now, the roundup: