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"I've got to read. I've got to…catch up with the remembrance of the past!" - Guy Montag from Fahrenheit 451.
That quote from Fahrenheit 451 (the movie) explains how I sometimes feel these days. With a birthday just passed, I more than ever feel that time is something I can waste little of. I've long joked that I probably have a stack of books stuffed in my closets and elsewhere enough to last me until my dying day. It was once hyperbole, but alas I fear no longer. I probably do have enough books at this point waiting to be read that it might require the rest of my time here on the planet to get it done.
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That idea is something I got from Ray Bradbury indirectly. I've taught Fahrenheit 451 many times and always the students can be downright gleeful to read a book which describes a society in which reading is outlawed. They think this is a dandy idea sadly enough, so sometimes the point of Bradbury's deeper themes escape this younger audience. But we must keep trying.
I don't regard Ray Bradbury with the same veneration as many I guess, but he's always seemed a worthy enough writer. He is an artist who validated a useful and worthwhile romantic view of the world for many of us. For that I thank him.
Rest in peace Mr.Bradbury.
Now I've got reading to do.
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Rip Off
Gosh that's funny that kids have the opposite reaction and say "I like a world where I don't have to read and think." But I remember what my High School was like and I believe you. I was in an English class that was so dumbed down all we did was listen to Shakespeare on audiobooks and for most people, I doubt any of it sunk in. If you wanted to, it was easy to just tune it out and think about the latest pop songs. I wonder what percentage of people end up being readers when they are adults?
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