JUNE 6, 2012
Ray Bradbury, 1920-2012
When I was about 12 years old, my parents decided to switch my bedroom with my father's home office. My dad--deliberately--left behind a wall of bookshelves filled with his collection of science fiction books and magazines. All the
grand masters were there: Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Pohl. I loved those stories, filled with the robots, galactic empires, and time machines that were already part of the familiar furniture of my imagination. Some of the stories on my dad's shelves, however, were, well, strange. They had unsettling, peculiar images, a terrifying
virtual reality nursery-jungle, a
"Wonderful Ice-Cream Suit". Or their characters were just a bit too human to pin down, too individual, too sad. They encouraged me to think things I had never thought before.
Many of these strange, wonderful stories were written by Ray Bradbury, who
died yesterday at age 91. He was a magic realist before the phrase was invented. His heart, vision, and language were too big for the conventions of science fiction or any other genre.
In one of Bradbury's
most famous novels, books are outlawed and outlaws keep reading alive by remembering books. In 1971, he wrote an autobiographical essay, “How Instead of Being Educated in College, I Was Graduated From Libraries.” He was a
tireless advocate for libraries until the end of his life.
Thank you, Ray, we'll miss you.
Categories: Lets Talk Books,
Fahrenheit 451
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MARCH 20, 2008
Guy Montag ignites book discussion at Monterey's Big Read
This past Saturday at the Monterey Public Library, Guy Montag, the protagonist in Bradbury’s futuristic novel, Fahrenheit 451, made a guest appearance in the Community Room and threw a little more kerosene on a burning fire that’s been flaming since 1953. Chris Graham, a Western Stage actor, read from a script, warming up the audience.
For the fifty adults and teens who were asked what book they would save the overwhelming consensus was The Bible, followed closely by the dictionary. Others in the book discussion, for example, chose writers such as Homer, Shakespeare, James Joyce, Harper Lee, John Steinbeck, Frank Herbert, and Shel Silverstein.
Afterwards, when asked what they thought of the event, one teen said, "It opened my eyes to everyone else’s opinion." Another teen said, "The book was deeper than I thought." Someone else said, "A passion for reading survives in our society."
If you never knew Ray Bradbury, after reading 451, you might think he could be a pyromaniac.
Categories: Fahrenheit 451,
In the Know
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MARCH 12, 2008
Books I would save from the fires of Fahrenheit 451
If I could choose only one book to save from the fires of censorship what would it be? I could not limit myself to one. Here is my top ten list:
Complete works of Shakespeare
Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
Poetry by e.e. cummings or Emily Dickinson
Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Cat in the Hat Dr. Suess
Piggies by Audrey Wood
Tale of two Cities or
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Category: Fahrenheit 451
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MARCH 6, 2008
If This Goes On...
Fahrenheit 451 is a classic dystopian novel. Dystopias are the opposite of utopias: worlds that, for one or many reasons, none of us would want to live in. The word "dystopia" comes from Greek and means, roughly, "bad place".
Why would anyone want to write or read about such a "bad place"? First of all, dystopian fiction is often designed to comment on the writer's own society by exaggerating hidden flaws or pointing out the danger of emerging trends. The title of Robert A. Heinlein's 1940 short novel about an American theocracy would fit many dystopias: If This Goes On- .
Second, dystopias show how characters we care about resist, escape, survive, or succumb to the evils of the society the author has imagined. These stories can be very moving, and they encourage us to think about how we would-and do-react when we find some aspect of the world we live in fundamentally unpleasant or unfair.
You may want to check out more classic, influential and recommended "bad places" in the Library collection:
It might be discouraging to read these dark books all at once!
Please recommend your own favorite dystopias-and utopias-in the comments.
Categories: Fahrenheit 451,
Staff Reads
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MARCH 5, 2008
Fahrenheit 451 Readalikes for today's teenagers
Fahrenheit 451 is a great book for all times and all ages, but while reading it I kept thinking of some modern good books. If you'd like something written more recently and especially for young people, try these favorites:
Feed by K.A. Anderson is about a time in the future when everyone has a "feed" installed in the brain. It sends out advertisements for products of personal interest as you pass the store. Sounds like the convenience of some online sites today. But what else does the feed do to its customers? Scary, with a bit of romance.
The Last Book in the Universe by W. R. Philbrick is about a kid who meets an strange old man who can actually read and write. That survivor remembers when there were books, instead of mindprobes that "drug" the poor into complacency. 
After by Francine Prose is a creepy tale of what happens after a Columbine-like incident. To prevent violence in one school, a new administrator initiates several measures to control kids, teachers and even parents. They say its for protection, but then students begin to disappear! If you've ever wondered about what's at the bottom of the slippery slope that starts with locker inspections and metal detectors, try this book.
Uglies by Scott Westerfield is the first in a trilogy of novels about where our obsession with appearance and good times might take us. In this future teenagers are considered uglies until they have the operation that makes them "pretties" filled with "pretty thoughts". After that, parties are constant, and there are no worries. Yet, the main character hears of a place where people remain "ugly" and know about books, art, and a time when what you thought mattered - and she is determined to - escape.
These are the books 451 brought to my mind. What about you?
Categories: Fahrenheit 451,
Teen Zone,
Staff Reads
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MARCH 1, 2008
Tune In @ Your Library
March 2-8 is Teen Tech Week! Every year, the Young Adult Library Services Association celebrates technology and the teens that use it. In libraries across the country, teens and librarians are getting together to share their wisdom about the best and worst techie gadgets and to discuss the uses of technology in libraries. This year, the Monterey Public Library is celebrating technology by participating in The Big Read. Books are technology! ( Check out this YouTube video.) The Big Read book this year is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In this book, reading is forbidden and books are burned as a consequence. So here is a question for you: If you could save one tech gadget from burning (e.g. books, DVDs, iPod, T.V., Xbox, Blackberry, etc) what would you save?
Categories: Fahrenheit 451,
Teen Zone,
In the Know
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FEBRUARY 29, 2008
Burning Hot Topic
Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which books burn. It’s also the title of Ray Bradbury’s 1953 Science Fiction classic in which he serves up a disturbing vision of a future in which books are illegal and "firemen" are people who burn them. He creates a civilization of people who are "free" from the "unhappy" imaginings and ideas that can be stirred up by reading books. Instead, they achieve "peace of mind", lulled into passivity in front of large, flickering screens that push messages and images at them.
Imagine a "fireman" who rebels and embarks upon the dangerous business of saving books. Montag is such a man. What will happen when he joins an outlaw group that is covertly memorizing the contents of books so as to prevent the world’s knowledge from dying out?
This scary scenario promises to make for lively group discussion! The Monterey Public Library will host a community book discussion of Fahrenheit 451 on Saturday, March 15, from 2 until 3:30 p.m. There will also be a special appearance by a Western Stage actor portraying Guy Montag!
This event is just part of "The Big Read", an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, sponsored by the National Steinbeck Center, which has partnered with the community to present dozens of "Big Read" activities throughout Monterey County during March 2008. Copies of Fahrenheit 451 are available at your local library. Read the book, talk about it with friends, family, and co-workers. Check out the schedule of "Big Read" events and get fired up about books and reading!
Join the online discussion. You may post your comments and raise your own questions about Fahrenheit 451 on this blog. To light the fuse, here are a few questions to ponder:
- What is familiar about the society portrayed in the world of Fahrenheit 451?
- What conditions might lead a society to burn books?
- Are there instances in which burning books might be beneficial to society?
- If you could save one book from being burned, which would it be?
Let’s talk…
Categories: In the Know,
Staff Reads,
Fahrenheit 451
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