Reading the Classics discussion

Fahrenheit 451 beat both Lady Chatterley's Lover and To Kill a Mockingbird by 9 to 7 in the polls, so it is our June 2015 group read.
There's still time to get the book and get started.
Any feelings or expectations about this book yet?

I hadn't read this before, but saw a mix of positive and negative reviews here on goodreads. Some gave it 1-2 stars, some 5. Some find the execution beyond the dystopian concept lacking, some really like the writings style. The most important thing seems to be the dystopian concept itself, a hell for book lovers.

I guess I'll have to find out myself :)

I've never read this one, but I did see the movie years ago, so I'm looking forward to this read.

I read this for the first time about a year ago and, as a librarian, I found it terrifying.

Karen wrote: "I read this for the first time about a year ago and, as a librarian, I found it terrifying."

I personally cannot fathom a world without books. It is a terrifying concept. "The things you're looking for Montag, are in the world, but the only way the average chap will ever see ninety-nine percent of them is in a book"---It's so true.

I love that book! I couldn't put it down!!

Jennifer, then you will see a world without books in Fahrenheit 451! Be prepared ;)
I guess we'll open other discussion threads chapter-wise or for the whole book with spoilers soon. If you want to discuss the first chapters of the book, feel free to open a thread on your own! (i hope you can do that)

This is my first time reading this book and it is an interesting idea but also a strange picture of what the large cross-section of of society (both eastern and western) look like today. Almost eerie considering that this was published in 1953.

I just picked up this book at the library yesterday. It was shelved under YA fiction, to my surprise. The rest of Bradbury's work is in the general fiction category except for a couple shelved as mystery novels.

I've only finished the first part so far but it's very compelling.

Interesting book. I liked the (view spoiler)[chase (hide spoiler)] and how sensationalized it became for the viewing public. It felt like the kind of stuff the you would see on the TVs now. This whole book felt eerily like how the world is now.

I've finished the first part and I can still hear Beatty's voice. And the shocking thing is he sounds like so many people today--there's no logic or true reasoning in his words, but they're delivered with such confidence and assurance that you can imagine people agreeing and accepting. The book is creepy in its sense of how we are moving forward today.

It's almost as if Beatty is a politician: delivering charismatic speeches about nothing.

Susan wrote: "The book is creepy in its sense of how we are moving forward today."

That was the first thing that struck me about the book. It was published in the '50s but somehow predicted the presence of now.

I remember reading this when I was a kid and really liking it. I hope to be able to snag a copy and join in this month's read!

I agree with you, the book seems quite prophetic and our present not so far away from its imagined future, with the shallow entertainment on TV many consume, though i think there are very worthwhile, valuable shows and entertainment even on TV if you know where to look.
Also, what struck me the most in the book, was the shallow level of conversation and thinking of most people. They almost seem like animals, with their short attention spans, looking for intense thrills, car chases, etc. They have no culture to speak of, in part because they don't read.
This also made me realize again, that reading a classic, a complex book requires much more energy and work for you than easygoing, shallow entertainment, but the rewards are much bigger, and you risk losing the capacity and willpower to go for that instead of being seduced more and more towards passive entertainment.

One passage in particular struck a chord with me. Near the beginning Montag hears laughter from Clarisse's house, before he's met and talked with her. He says, "Above all, their laughter was relaxed and hearty and not forced in any way, coming from the house that was so brightly lit this late at night while all the other houses were kept to themselves in darkness."

He's struck by the naturalness of their conversation, and his talks with Clarisse are indeed relaxed, with questions so innocent and yet so profound.

I've often wondered why our TV shows are so loud, the main characters delivering every line with high volume and maximum tension. I think Bradbury is underscoring the work required to be false to ourselves, as well as the damage that it does.

Simon wrote: "Also, what struck me the most in the book, was the shallow level of conversation and thinking of most people. They almost seem like animals, with their short attention spans, looking for intense thrills, car chases, etc. They have no culture to speak of, in part because they don't read.
This also made me realize again, that reading a classic, a complex book requires much more energy and work for you than easygoing, shallow entertainment, but the rewards are much bigger, and you risk losing the capacity and willpower to go for that instead of being seduced more and more towards passive entertainment. "

This. So much yes. I appreciate the heritage and availability that we have access to in art, literature and music. I feel I owe so much gratitude to the artists for their contributions and it is a shame when many don't get what they are missing by a steady diet of shallow entertainment and conversations.

I just finished the book. (Sorry for my English, it's not very good)

Before I started it I read some critiques comparing it to Orwell's 1984, and I have to say in this case it was much easier for me to relate to the story, as you already pointed out it is very close to our reality (although I liked both of them very much).

Also I felt it very real when they talk about former Harvard Professors having to hide. I know it's an extreme, but if one thinks about our world, usually knowledge it's not that appreciated. I always thought outrageous that celebrities and such people are much more rewarded than most writers, scientists, doctors...

I felt extremely sad for Mildred as well, unfortunately there are a lot of people nowadays like her that choose to fill their lifes with shallow things. And losing the ability to think for oneself is terrible.

Another thing that shocked me is how accurately Bradbury predicted some of the technologies we have nowadays, it really is outstanding.

Don't feel the need to excuse your English, Alba, even if it were bad, which it isn't! What you want to say is very clear, and there are hardly any mistakes.
I haven't read 1984 (some say that 1984's vision is now harmless compared to the NSA revelations), but I agree with your other points.

I've also just finished the book, and want to remark on the professor's "lecture" to Montag about what counts. What counts is what is in the book, not the book itself. He makes this point repeatedly, and he's right to do so. It would be easy for some to worship the object rather than what it contains or represents. The change in Montag is almost like an illness that he can't will himself out of. And the professor's analysis of his own character is so realistic and honest that I can't fault him.

My Enslish isn't very good either, but I'll try to do my best. Fahrenheit 451 is one of the most beautiful books I've read this year and this have been such a good year so far!

I was really surprised; the only dystopian books I had read before were The Hunger Games and Divergent and I was expecting F 451 to be kind of a cold, dry, concise book but... IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. This book made THG and Divergent look like simpleton and normal. Ray Bardbury's writing is just beautiful and lyrical. This book has some really touching, intense, unforgettable moments. I would like to say more things about it but I guess I will have to wait for the discussion with spoilers.

I think so too, Maria! I think Fahrenheit 451 just radiates a love for books and has a lot of ideas to share, where The Hunger Games from what i can see through the movie is more about suspense and young adult adventures.

I read it in high school but missed so many of the layers to it. I love that the chief fireman (view spoiler)[knows what he's doing is wrong, but continues to do it anyway, believing the general populace just can't handle deep knowledge, which, often is sadly true (hide spoiler)]