Oh my, where do you start (or stop) with that one? There's so many....

Of course there's-

"We can't stop here. This is bat country."

The Wave Speech, the piece about Timothy Leary, and the opening paragraph alone are worth the price of the book.

I just flipped through the book at random and picked one...

"The decision to flee came suddenly. Or maybe not. Maybe I'd planned it all along-subconsciously waiting for the right moment. The bill was a factor, I think. Because I had no money to pay it..... We never knew the total, but just before we left my attorney figured we were running somewhere between $29 and $36 per hour, for forty-eight consecutive hours. 'Incredible', I said. 'How could it happen?' But by the time I asked this question, there was nobody around to answer. My attorney was gone." pg 69

What a day to leave my book at home!

KY's right - where do you start or stop with this one? I don't think there's a page in the book where I didn't laugh out loud at something.

Sadly I don't have the book, but I do have the soundtrack!

my favs are , buy the ticket, take the ride
and

I don't know all the words, but something to the effect that

In San Fransisco in the middle sixties....
that universal sense that whatever we were doing it was right....
we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave.... and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high water mark, that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.
(his voice is awesome!)

I really hate asking stupid questions but...

Who is Timothy Leary?

Timothy Leary was a kind of drug guru, who advocated the use of LSD as a means to enlightenment. He had a famous catchphrase at the time, that I can't remember clearly - something like "turn on, tune in, drop out". Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, Hunter's speech about him in the book is one of the absolute high points, along with the Wave speech. Timothy Leary led a lot a people down the garden path.

Thank you Lumineuse

Just a heads up - we will be discussing the Wave passage and the Leary passage for those that are interested. Okay, favorite passages...

This line from their trip to the gun club jumped out at me in the beginning of the book. I just thought it was very lyrical. It reminded me of Hunter's writing in The Rum Diary. "The shooting provided a certain rhythm--sort of a steady bass line--to the high pitched chaos of the bike scene."

The whole passage on Circus Circus, from the time they spied the turnstiles until they jumped off the carousel cracked me up. Also the passge about the neon sign outside their window. As you all said, there are so many!

Good choice, KYW! Those two would be mine, to be sure, and I also love the scene where he almost escapes from the traffic cop, page 90:



And of course every chapter heading, for example 5: A terrible Experience with Extremely Dangerous Drugs I just love the use of capitals in these! (But I'm one of nature's punctuation fiends. )

I hadn't really looked at the headings much, Endora. Thanks for pointing those out. Look at this one in light of your opinion yesterday about his making fun of the press:


5.
Covering the Story...
A Glimpse of the
Press in Action
...Ugliness & Failure

The hitch-hiker scene is definitely one of my favourites, in the book and the film. I think it's because I've been on both sides of that coin -the hitcher who finds themselves trapped in a car with raving and possibly dangerous lunatics, and the slightly crazed car owners trying to put a hitch-hiker at ease and failing miserably. And every time I even think of Tobey Maguire's face in the film I crack up. Especially when Duke asks him if he's prejudiced and he says 'Hell, no!'

Couldn't resist, mates - I had to go home and grab my book over lunch. Here's a few of my faves from the beginning of the book:

"No point mentioning those bats, I thought. The poor bastard will see them soon enough."

"My blood is too thick for California: I have never been able to properly explain myself in this climate."

We're right in the middle of a f**king reptile zoo! And somebody's giving booze to these goddamn things!"

I totally agree, KY. But as you said, there are so many. Here is one that made me laugh out loud and also answers yesterday's question.

Pg. 44. "This was Bob Hope's turf. Frank Sinatra's. Spiro Agnew's (a name I hadn't heard in a while). The lobby fairly reeked of high-grade formica and plastic palm trees--it was clearly a high-class refuge for Big Spenders." (notice the capitals, Endora)

Those are classics, Lumi.



Sands, I'd much rather live vicariously through Duke and Gonzo.

well can only quot from the movie but ;
"quick like a bunny" that was just so funny
greets,
es