Fahrenheit 451: A Novel (original 1953; edition 2013)

DNF at 43% read

You've seen the move, now read the book. Which is what I did and I don't think that was a good idea.

The book jumps right into the story and you get introduced to people as they come up.

It seems like a story from the future, yet the cost of everything (and equally the pay) seems like the past. The cost of tearing down a wall and putting up a tv costs 1/3 of the yearly pay of a firefighter.

Some paragraphs I think are very long, while sometimes that's ok, sometimes they feel like a run-on.

"Have you seen the two-hundred-foot-long billboards in the country beyond town? Did you know that once billboards were only twenty feet long? But cars started rushing by so quickly they had to stretch the advertising out so it would last."

"No one has time any more for anyone else. You’re one of the few who put up with me. That’s why I think it’s so strange you’re a fireman, it just doesn’t seem right for you, somehow."

"It’s been a long time since anyone cared enough to ask."

While did I finish this book? It seemed like there was so much filler, and while that does create a backstory of what happens, I feel like there were many things that could have been removed. Maybe I should have read this book before watching the movie, maybe not.

Framtíðarsýn Rays Bradburys í þessari vísindaskáldsögu er glögg að mörgu leyti en um leið hryllileg.
Hann lýsir hér framtíðarríki sem bannar bækur og lætur markvisst eyða öllu ritefni því að raddir óánægjuhópa og ekki síst minnihlutahópa geta birst þar.
Að hluta til er þetta auðvelt fyrir ríkið því að almenningur hafði æ minni áhuga á lestri en því meiri áhuga á afþreyingu þar sem heilu veggirnir í íbúðum voru innréttaðir sem sjónvörp og allt snérist um skemmtun.
Slökkvilið var orðið óþarft því brunavarnir voru innbyggðar í húsnæði en í þess stað voru starfrækt Brunalið sem sáu um að leita uppi bækur og brenna þær.
Saga Bradburys er séð með augum brunaliðsmanns sem smám saman verður andsnúinn bókabrennunum og gerir að lokum tilraun til bókalesturs og flótta úr samfélaginu.
Bradbury segir bókabrennur nasista og fleiri menningarþjóða ásamt McCarthy-tímabilinu hafa orðið innblástur að ritun sögunnar sjá þessi merki þöggunar á gagnrýnni umræðu á prenti og fjölmiðlum víða í dag. Þetta er saga sem hlotið hefur ótal verðlaun og m.a. verið kvikmynduð 1966 af François Truffaut, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060390/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1. Mæli með sögunni. ( )

This book is an absolute must read, whether you're a bookworm or not this needs to be put in the hands of every person, preferably as soon as they are mature enough to handle the slightly questionable content in some places throughout the book. No body could ever change my mind on this one.

This is actually the third time I've read this book. I was 12 when I read it the first time, 16ish the second. Since that was far too long ago it was time to pick it back up and reread it (something I suggest everyone who has already read it in the past to do). The book was an instant favorite even at 12 and that hasn't changed. Fahrenheit 451 is one of those beautifully written stomach-churning stories, a warning at the time it was written and now it seems very close to our reality

This story is more than just books being burned (which, as a bibliophile is horrific enough to think of) it's about censorship of every kind, it's about tv's replacing any other form of entertainment, about everything reduced to the shortest headlines possible. Look around the popular social media sights, and probably your own text message log and you'll see emoji's and terms such as brb and lol have taken over and actual words are dwindling away. WE let this happen, just as they did in the book.
E-books are even taking over whats left of the literary world and while I do indeed utilize ebooks I make a point to purchase physical books as often as possible. Just reading a physical book is a statement of rebellion these days, akin to writing a handwritten letter and sending it off via post. Books are pieces memories, history, learning tools, entertainment, the better ones inspiring creativity and/or action. Bradbury knew this. Some of us still remember as well but others have long forgotten. So do the world a favor. Log off, turn off the tv and open a book. A physical book. and enjoy, knowing you're holding something that represents so much more than the story contained in the pages. ( )

This one will probably stick with me, I find Bradbury’s writing to be pretty captivating. Yet not among my favorites, not a lot of meat... ( )

Case 13 shelf 2