Really OT but nonetheless....RIP Ray
He is up there with Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke.....and one of the most gracious, down-to-earth individuals (I met him a few times at book readings).
Ray Bradbury for those who don't know who Ray is.
"I don't try to predict the future; I try to prevent it." --Ray Bradbury
RIP.
Never heard of this guy
Just kidding. Kind of. RIP, Ray.
Farenheit 451. Great book. And he did predict the future in it! (there was a new Beetle).
and I have enjoyed much of his work. One of the most erie books I've ever read was a collection of short stories entitled "The October Country."
I completely forgot about these! A Good Man is Hard to Find and The October Country are my two favorite short story collections. We lost a good one today.
That book is so Northwest Pennsylvania.
I don't know why, but I HATED Farenheit 451 but I LOVE Dandelion Wine. Of couse, I read these in sixth grade, so my perspective would be different now. Really really great writer. I always associated him in my mind with John Updike, whom I loved to read. Its sad to me that so many of my favorite writers from my childhood are dying off even though they are way before my time.
was a transformational book for me...tought me a lot about the craft of creative writing. A master at creating a palpable feel for the environment/setting without getting too bogged down in detail. He will be missed.
By the pricking of my thumbs...
But it sure wasn't Bradbury, which is probably why he could write about it as he did.
A couple of my colleagues were fortunate enough to meet with him in just the last couple of years-- he was so together it's hard to think he could slip away at the young age of 91. One met with him in his home and sent a gorgeous picture of the two of them. He was so generous with his time, even well into his 80s, mentoring and encouraging. Unusual for someone who's been a legend longer than most of us have lived.
Sorry. Did someone just commit and tie up the server?
Good OT. Only on MGoBlog.
A tough loss, as he is truly one of the greatest sci-fi writers ever.
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them."
Bradbury was a great author, writing about important and interesting topics in an engaging manner. Fahrenheit 451 is a tremendous read and my favorite of his works. He will be missed.
How many copies?
Edit: I am reminded at this time of an acquaintence I had in college. I gave him a copy of 451 to read from my collection. It was a newly printed copy, with some modernized cover art, so I didn't beat him within an inch of his life, though I wanted to, when he told me:
"That book is a total rip-off of 'Equalibrium'", after reading it.
The Martian Chronicles was the first science fiction book I ever read. Made me NEVER want to go to Mars.
RIP Ray
Remember reading Fahrenheit 451 back in the day.
I've only read the Martian Chronicles for class once, I loved it, though. I was already a big sci fi fan. I'll have to read some more of his stuff.
RIP Ray. The Martian Chronicles was one of my favorite reads as a teen. When I went to Michigan (dark ages, sometime around 1250), only one person in the English department admitted to reading Bradbury, Tolkien, Delaney, Ditsch, and LeGuin. I'm glad that's changed with the presence of Eric Rabkin...
I remember my last semeseter of my senior year, '96, taking a sci-fi works exploration type class... may have been Professor Rabkin... had to read a book a week and write a few "insightful" pages on it. LOVED that class. Martin Chronicles, Left Hand of Darkness, War with the Newts, A Canticle for Leibowitz, Frankenstein, The Futurological Congress, on and on. Cemented my love for the origins of science fiction and for authors like Ray Bradbury. Sad day.