Litsy

mobill76 I've never thought of it as a political book. Maybe even anti-political. But politics has grown to encompass the question of who controls “the truth“, which F451 is very much about. But, I'm always glad to see one of my favorites in the conversation. 3w

BookmarkTavern Oh yeah, that‘s a good pick. Thanks for sharing! 3w

DogMomIrene Ohhh, excellent pick. Love this book🙌🏼 3w

49 likes3 comments

Catsandbooks

Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury

so-so

2.5/5 ⭐️ This was much stranger than I remembered it being when I last read it in middle school. Still a worthy read. Thanks for hosting Sarah! #randomclassics

TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Thanks for reading with me!! I ended up with a lot of mixed feelings about this one. 3mo

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Blueberry

Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury

#ShortButPowerful. #AboutaBook

@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Eggs Absolutely 💯 3mo

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TheAromaofBooks

Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury

so-so

Hey friends!! Things got a lil busy last week and then I just honestly didn't feel like like being online much this weekend haha But I'm back for the final section of our #RandomClassic

In the end, this book was just okay for me. It felt like a weird fever dream a lot of the time. Not a lot of explanations, not a lot of character development or background, just people drifting from place to place. I was confused by some things (why did no one ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) call the authorities when Guy had a book on the train??). Part of my ambivalent attitude is probably because I actually love info-dumping world-building 😂

To me, this book felt like a warning about what happens when we, as a society, stop valuing learning and books, more than it did a warning about government overreach, like 1984 and others. While the gov't did sanction the destruction of books in this story, it was the people who ⬇ 3mo

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) originally lost interest in them. I feel like this story reflected the leaps and bounds of new tech that was becoming much more widespread at the time, TV and telephones, vacuum cleaners and washing machines, faster cars and more spare time. Things can be good until they're bad.

However, as a story I just never really connected. I didn't particularly care about Guy or any of the other characters. Although I weirdly did like the odd ⬇ 3mo

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) ending.

So tell me your thoughts!! Did you enjoy this one? Did it go places you expected? Did you have any take-away thoughts? Did you feel like the ending was optimistic or pessimistic?

@BarbaraJean @BarkingMadRead @Catsandbooks @ChelseaM6010 @Clare-Dragonfly @Daisey @julieclair @Librarybelle @nanuska_153 @StayCurious 3mo

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Librarybelle I agree that it felt like it was the people who lost interest initially and then the government sanctioned the destruction of them. I gave it a soft pick—there are parts I‘m still not sure I fully understand—but it just hits too close to the modern debate of banning books. It‘s eerie to see the parallels between a group‘s fear of books‘ contents and the eventual signing into law of book bans and punishment for providing said books to others. 3mo

Clare-Dragonfly I agree, the worldbuilding is surprisingly thin! I don‘t think Bradbury took any time to consider the economics of his world, which makes sense when you think of it more as a warning than immersive storytelling. I think it‘s a pretty effective one. Obviously it‘s enduring. My thoughts on the ending below a spoiler tag… 3mo

Clare-Dragonfly I was surprised by the ending—even though I‘ve read this before! I remembered the group of Book People, but not the city-flattening bombs. It felt both too optimistic (the bad civilization is ended, now the good guys can restart it with the books in their head) and too pessimistic (not reading leads directly to WWIII), as well as too pat—like, Montag is the only important person, so now that he understands the world, it can be destroyed. 3mo

Clare-Dragonfly The declaration of war probably served as foreshadowing for Bradbury‘s 1950s readers, but it didn‘t for me. Montag makes a comment to Faber about the war seeming far away, like something that is going to happen to someone else. Well, as a USAmerican born in the 1980s, that *is* my experience of war. I honestly didn‘t expect it to mean anything to the characters, especially after all the bombers flying past meant nothing to them. 3mo

Susanita I wonder if I would have gotten more out of it if I‘d read it for a class, but then again maybe not. I‘m glad I read it though and can check it off my list. 3mo

julieclair Didn‘t get to it, and since it‘s a re-read, based on the comments, I probably won‘t. 😎 3mo

TheAromaofBooks @julieclair - I still think it's a worthwhile read (and it's less than 200pgs so not a huge commitment). I'm wondering if it's a book I would get more from reading it a second time, because it just wasn't at all what I was expecting. 3mo

julieclair @TheAromaofBooks Oh… interesting! I‘ll keep it on my list, then. And of course I can follow the discussion at any time, due to the magic of Litsy! 3mo

Catsandbooks I wonder why I liked this when I was younger because I find it kind of strange now. I do wish there was more world building. And also the ending seemed too simple. Like oh a bomb hits the city now things are all better to go back??? I am glad I read it though. I might check out the HBO movie version of it they made a few years ago. 3mo

BarbaraJean Popping in late—it‘s been a necessary introverting week for me! Fever dream is such a good description. I read this in the early 2000s, and re-reading it, I couldn‘t believe how little I remembered. Maybe that's because so much of the story feels like just vibes. 😆 The ideas are intriguing, but it‘s sketched out rather than fleshed out. I did enjoy it—the ideas & concerns it raises are still so relevant, both the lack of value for books or ⬇ 3mo

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) ...real ideas and the book-banning side of it. The only part I really remember is the ending and the idea of “being” a book—I loved that so much!! Like you @Clare-Dragonfly I remembered the group of people but not the rest of it. I did feel like it was an optimistic ending, in a weird, apocalyptic, wipe-it-out-and-start-again-but-also-carry-the-torch kind of way. 3mo

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Clare-Dragonfly

Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury

pick

I had to include my water bottle in the photo because it matches the book 😂

I do love this book. I didn‘t remember the ending and I‘m not sure I appreciate it—but I won‘t spoil that here! Bradbury‘s characters and world are thinly but sharply drawn. The vision of a world in which books are illegal because everyone is afraid to think is dark and all too real. When I compare the TV-wall parlor with social media, I want to throw away my phone.

31 likes

Clare-Dragonfly

Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury

Oh, that‘s why this edition seems to be so much bigger than the tiny book I remember 😂

dabbe That part 😱 me! 😂😂😂 3mo

30 likes1 comment

TheAromaofBooks

Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury

I feel like I need to start this post by confessing that I really struggle with spelling the world Fahrenheit. Why is the H before the R!?

This is a very strange book. The world-building is so odd. I don't really have any idea of how people actually spend their days or what they do. There was a little bit of discussion at the end of the last post, that while most dystopian novels are speaking against a type of government overreach, in some ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) ways this 1951 novel seems to be speaking more to what could happen to society if they allow technological advancements to replace books and a genuine interest in learning/science/debate/discussion. While the firemen are presumably government sanctioned, it definitely doesn't have that same level of Big Brother as a book like 1984. What do you think?

We seem to be picking up this story at a breaking point in Guy's life. The hoard of ⬇ 3mo

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) books indicates that he's been uncertain about the “rightness“ of his job for a while. Do you think his behavior is reasonable/realistic?

This section ended on a cliffhanger for sure, and I am genuinely so curious to see how this story comes out! I can't say I'm enjoying it exactly, but I have found it very readable. Let me know your thoughts, and we'll be back next week for the conclusion!! 3mo

TheAromaofBooks #RandomClassics

@BarbaraJean @BarkingMadRead @Catsandbooks @ChelseaM6010 @Clare-Dragonfly @Daisey @julieclair @Librarybelle @nanuska_153 @StayCurious 3mo

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Librarybelle I also cannot say that I am enjoying it but it eerily parallels what we‘re seeing today with book banning. Because I‘m not a dystopian reader, I am puzzled by a lot and am also wondering what exactly goes on during the day. I think you‘re right in that this is a cautionary tale against technology, and I would say too it‘s a tale of masking knowledge and truth. Why destroy books unless you want to prevent people from reading them? Onto the last bit 3mo

Susanita Yes, this is an odd little book. Montag is all over the place, and there isn‘t really a lot of world building. I‘m very interested to see what happens next! 3mo

BarbaraJean I had the same thoughts about how people spend their days. It seems like the wives all stay home & watch the walls! Clarisse gave us a glimpse of what school is like, but everything is so focused on Montag that the broader world is a mystery. In a lot of ways that makes it more ominous to me. It seems that‘s how people within this world experience it—they don‘t have a broad understanding of what their world is even like.⤵️ @Librarybelle @Susanita (edited) 3mo

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) I also don‘t think people care to find out what the broader world is like! The conversations when the women came over to the Montags seemed to show that. There is the suppression of knowledge and truth (much like present-day book banning), but they‘re so far past that that very few people are even interested in what knowledge they‘re missing, so it‘s easier to control the outliers like Clarisse. 3mo

Clare-Dragonfly It sounds like what people do during the day is be bored and try to distract themselves… and when they can‘t, they court death. The whole “women stay home and watch the walls” thing definitely seems of its time, the 1950s, when so many women were medicated because they were expected to just stay home and keep the house nice. Also, someone must be teaching the kids—probably a miserable job! 3mo

Clare-Dragonfly I was really struck by the image of newspapers dying like moths. A lot of Montag‘s world seems alien to me but some things, like that, seems eerily prescient on Bradbury‘s part. 3mo

Daisey This is a reread for me, but I don‘t remember much at all from the first time, except that I felt I read it too quickly and didn‘t rate it highly. In rereading, I think part of this is the lack of clear world building which seems intentional for the reasons mentioned about people not really caring about the wider world. I am appreciating the purpose of this more now, but I still feel it‘s missing. 3mo

Daisey I was the most surprised I think when he carried the book in public and people basically ignored it. After all the build up with his experience I expected him to be much more cautious when he did start to do something. 3mo

ChelseaM6010 I‘m going to be echoing a few people here and agree—there doesn‘t seem to be much world building, which is a little odd to me, but I‘m along for the ride so far! 3mo

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TheAromaofBooks

Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury

(thru part 1) What an intriguing beginning! This section felt slow, yet weirdly addictive. I definitely wanted to find out more about this culture and what is happening, and found Beatty's “lecture“ to be very interesting. What do you think so far? What do you think of Guy as a character? What do you think happened to Clarisse?

I think I've always thought of this one, Brave New World, and 1984, as being the “classic“ dystopian novels. Are ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) there others you would add (or remove) from this list? I feel like both the other two books gave us more detail about the world-building at the beginning, while 451 seems to be feeding us just a little at a time.

Like I said, this is my first time reading this one and I actually have no real idea what happens at all, so I'm quite intrigued to keep reading!! Let me know your thoughts!! 3mo

TheAromaofBooks #RandomClassics @BarbaraJean @BarkingMadRead @Catsandbooks @ChelseaM6010 @Clare-Dragonfly @Daisey @julieclair @Librarybelle @nanuska_153 @StayCurious 3mo

Susanita I think Guy is a very interesting, conflicted character. I‘m afraid to know what happened to Clarisse. This book is a “classic,” but for some reason I never read it until now. 3mo

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Librarybelle This is also my first time reading it, and it is considered a classic. I‘m not the biggest reader of dystopian fiction—I did like The Handmaid‘s Tale—so I‘m still putting together in my mind how this society operates. I like Guy so far, and I‘m afraid something bad happened to Clarisse. 3mo

ChelseaM6010 First time read for me as well! I agree with what‘s been said about Clarisse—I‘m scared to know what happened 🫣 3mo

KAO Such a good book! I enjoyed teaching this one many times over the years. So many great discussion points! 3mo

dabbe Loved teaching this! One of his best IMHO. #themechanicalhound 😱 3mo

Daisey It did feel kind of slow, but also very much building tension with only bits of information at a time. I read this once before very quickly and don‘t remember the details, so I‘m very much looking forward to reading it again with discussion. 3mo

BarbaraJean I've read this before & thought I remembered it, but apparently not—I'd completely forgotten Clarisse!! I love the way Bradbury sketches out the world, slowly bringing out small but key parallels to our own. Beatty's lecture hits on so many cultural trends that I can see happening now, that have been happening for a while—it's so interesting to think back to what society was like when this was written vs. now. 3mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I agree with your idea of a classic dystopian trilogy! Like @Librarybelle I would add Handmaid's Tale to the list. I find it interesting how all four of those books have a slightly different take on a dystopia—Brave New World and this one kind of emphasize how entertainment masks the dystopia, then the other two are more clearly oppressive without a panacea to distract. 3mo

TheAromaofBooks @Librarybelle @BarbaraJean - I've never read Handmaid's Tale, although it's on my list. It would definitely be the most recent of the group (Brave New World is actually the earliest - 1932) so it's also interesting to see what “fears“ have changed or stayed the same. 1984 was published emerging from WWII (1949) and you can feel that in the writing. 451 was published 1953, an era where home advancements were happening rapidly (TV, phones, etc) ⬇ 3mo

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) so I wonder how much of this was a response to the idea that new and different media might “kill“ reading and books? @Susanita @ChelseaM6010 @Daisey 3mo

Catsandbooks Last time I read this was in 8th grade and all I remember was I liked it. It's interesting to see the world he created and then comparing it to now. When Mildred puts the "seashells" in her ears I thought of airpods. I know there's lot of people who don't read and are definitely more interested in media and tech but I'm also glad that's there's still a ton of us who love books. 3mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Yes, I definitely see this as a response to the rise of media like TV. I wonder what Bradbury would've woven in about smartphones & streaming platforms if he'd written this later on?! @Catsandbooks I was thinking similarly & comparing the world we see here with present-day media trends. It's encouraging that there are still lots of book-lovers & large swathes of society who highly value the written word & books through the ages. (edited) 3mo

TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean @Catsandbooks - To me this one has a vibe of being more of a warning about what happens if people stop reading/learning more than it is about government overreach (like the other dystopian novels we mentioned), but it's definitely good to know that there are still communities of us who still embrace books and use modern media to make them more widely available and to share our love of them with one another!! 3mo

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LitsyEvents

Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury

Via @TheAromaofBooks
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2755060
August's #RandomClassic is Fahrenheit 451. l've never read this one and honestly know very little about it, so l am going in almost completely blind.
The book is divided into three parts, so rather than following a chapter a day, we'll be reading one part per week. Since the 1st is on a Thursday, I'll try to post discussion posts on August 8, 15, and 22.

TheAromaofBooks Thanks for reposting!! 4mo

37 likes1 comment

TheAromaofBooks

Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury

August's #RandomClassic is Fahrenheit 451. I've never read this one and honestly know very little about it, so I am going in almost completely blind. The book is divided into three parts, so rather than following a chapter a day, we'll be reading one part per week. Since the 1st is on a Thursday, I'll try to post discussion posts on August 8, 15, and 22.

As usual, I'm tagging my master list for this group. Please let me know if you'd ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) like to be tagged specifically for August.

Side note: if you have any books you'd like to have added to my list, let me know!! I basically have a spreadsheet that has a bunch of titles on it and use a random number generator to determine which one is coming next haha As you can tell, these aren't all “classics“ per se, it's more “random books I always see on those lists of books that everyone should read that actually look interesting“😂 4mo

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) However, that's kind of long for a hashtag, so I simplified. Anyway, I still have 38 books listed, but I'm always happy to add others into the mix, so let me know if you have one you'd like to tackle - no promises, but it can have its chance to be drawn!!! 4mo

TheAromaofBooks @AnneCecilie @BarbaraJean @BarkingMadRead @Bklover @BookingitwithSandra @Bookwormjillk @catiewithac @CatLass007 @ChaoticMissAdventures @ChelseaM6010 @Clare-Dragonfly @CoverToCoverGirl @Cuilin @eeclayton @janeycanuck @julieclair @Lcsmcat @Librarybelle @Meshell1313 @nanuska_153 @Read4life @SamAnne @TheBookHippie 4mo

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Librarybelle I‘ve not read Fahrenheit 451 either, so this will be interesting! I have my copy on the way!! 4mo

BarkingMadRead I read this at the beginning of Covid, so I probably won‘t read it again, but I‘ll join in on the discussion 4mo

BarkingMadRead Also, I read Christy when the series with Kellie Martin first came out. It had a cliffhanger ending and I wanted it as if the book was the same way 🤣 I can‘t wait to read it again, it‘s been close to 30 years! 4mo

TheAromaofBooks @BarkingMadRead - I loved Christy when I read it back in high school, so I'm interested to see if I still enjoy it a few decades later 😂 4mo

ChelseaM6010 I‘ve not read this one. Count me in! 🙂 4mo

TheBookHippie I‘ll be back in October 😂😬 I read this one yearly with students 😅 and no more Steinbeck for me. 😝🙃 4mo

Read4life I won‘t be joining in August but please tag me again in September. 4mo

Daisey I hope to join in August. I've read this one, but I think it deserves a more focused reread. 4mo

BarbaraJean I love this one! It's not like I need another buddy read, but Fahrenheit 451 is short, so why not? Please tag me! (Also I'm definitely in for reading Christy in November. Like you, I read it in high school and am so interested to see what I think now!) 4mo

nanuska_153 I loved this one although I haven't read it that long ago. I'm not 100% sure that I'll join the read, but I'll join the discussion, so please tag me! 4mo

Clare-Dragonfly I‘ll join in! No idea if my copy from school is in a box somewhere, but that‘s what the library is for. 4mo

julieclair I‘m looking forward to re-reading this one. It‘s been years! 4mo

wordslinger42 I‘d love to be added to the list! I don‘t know that I‘ll join in every month, but definitely want to read The Three Musketeers! 4mo

TheAromaofBooks @wordslinger42 - I added you to the master list so you'll get tagged each month and can decide if you want to join!! Did you want to read Fahrenheit 451 in August? 4mo

wordslinger42 @TheAromaofBooks Yay! I think I‘ll sit August out! 4mo

Liz_M @LitsyEvents 4mo

Catsandbooks I'm hoping to join in for August! 4mo

StayCurious Can I be added to your master list? And definitely am in for August. I‘ve read this one and remember liking it a lot. 4mo

TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean @BarkingMadRead @Catsandbooks @ChelseaM6010 @Clare-Dragonfly @Daisey @julieclair @Librarybelle @nanuska_153 @StayCurious - Excited to read this one with you all this month!! I'll try to check in next Thursday (August 8) so we can share our thoughts on part one!! 4mo

Librarybelle Yay!! 4mo

Daisey Thanks for the reminder! 4mo

BarbaraJean I appreciate the reminder, because I had totally forgotten about reading this in August! 😂 😂 Now adding it to my reading plan for the month... 4mo

Catsandbooks @TheAromaofBooks hooray! Thanks! 😊 4mo

ChelseaM6010 Yay! Thank you for the reminder 😊 4mo

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