Fire is bright and fire is clean

I come home and turn the TV on to “My baloney has a first name; it's O-S-C-A-R” - aw, that’s cute – I pick up the paper to see what’s going on around me. Ugh, it’s just so depressing. I’ll just skim through the headlines online later. For now, better stick to Primetime TV. I need something that will help me forget about my worries… And there we have it, my life could be a scene right out of Fahrenheit 451, except the only difference is the books I’m not reading aren’t hidden in ceiling panels but sitting on a bookshelf staring straight at me. I look around for the electrical hounds - whew, there is still time, better start reading!

I might sound a little alarmist, but I just finished the first chapter of my copy of 451 to discover that Bradbury’s science fiction novel is not coming across as fictional as I anticipated. His descriptions of common household wall-size TVs, globalization of quick recaps of information, and a seemingly scripted political correctness designed to minimize offensive opinions are right on target. I’d be really terrified if I had not just helped the library hand out 3,000 copies of this book in practically one week. Feeling confident I live in a community that values reading and books, I’m moving on to chapter 2.

Nobody can read just one

So, you have finished F451. Are you hungry for more? (Honestly, Guy Montag would not want you to stop with just one book.) If you are looking for more anti-utopian novels or just great titles that illustrate the power of the written word, then you should check out the following books.

1984 by George Orwell
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Ape and Essence by Aldous Huxley
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Ex-Libris by Ross King
The Librarian by Larry Beinhart
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Bookwoman's Last Fling by John Dunning
334 by Thomas M. Disch
We by Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
The Destruction of the Books by Mel Odom
The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay
Smoke Screen by Marianne Macdonald
The Book Borrower by Alice Mattison
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (a personal favorite)

Books should be seen (and heard)!

Intrigued by the fact that copies of Fahrenheit 451 were suddenly all over the place and free for the taking, people have begun to share stories of their experiences with the novel.  Some read it in school under duress, some read it on the recommendation of a friend.  Their responses to the book varied in intensity, but none were negative.  Some people were grateful for the reading freedoms that we enjoy; some shuddered at the thought of ever having to live in a Fahrenheit 451 type of world that takes away the simplest of freedoms under the guise of protection.
My own reaction when I read the book eight years ago was that I thought we were all practically force-fed too much entertainment as it was.  I also used to reject the idea of books on tape because I saw it as an easy way out until I learned about auditory learning and realized that just because one heard a book instead of read it didn't mean the words and ideas were any less glorious or had less of an impact.  It was ideas and the feelings that they conjured up that the society in F451 was being "protected" from.   Those ideas and feelings came from the words in the books, whether seen or heard.  Mrs. Phelps breaks down and cries (something she probably had not done in a very long time) when Montag reads Matthew Arnold's poem "Dover Beach" because it mirrors the life everyone was living.  It handed her this terrible realization that their own "land of dreams" was a painful place to be.  She did not see the words; she heard them.

The intake of breath

Self-censorship: noun control of what you say or do in order to avoid annoying or offending others, but without being told officially that such control is necessary. From: the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

I do this every day. You do this every day. Self-censorship is the intake of breath as one decides to smile instead of sneer, to say "yes" when you think "no," or even to keep silent when another person voices a contrary opinion. It is a gained professional trait and a skill that is developed with maturity of character. It is valuable as restraint and the ability to temper emotions.

But self-censorship can also lead to the repression of beliefs and opinions out of fear of retribution. It is the symptom of an oppressive government. And in extreme circumstances the silence of a censored voice is more damaging than the sound. "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter" (Martin Luther King, Jr.).

Our country's ideals and its identities are solidified by the words of the Constitution. "We the People..." are a multiplicity of voices and words, a plethora of beliefs and feelings, and sometimes a barrage of disjointed opinions. The Fourteenth Amendment states "no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States..."

With the intake of breath when we self-censor, we are making a decision about the things that matter most to us as individuals, professionals, and community citizens. It is this choice that is bestowed upon us by our Constitutional Rights. It is this choice that makes us free-thinking individuals. It is this choice that was repressed and that resurfaced from the depths of humanity in the dystopic nightmare of Fahrenheit 451.

I am proud of my restraint, but I am also proud of the intake of breath that prepares me for self expression. I am proud to proclaim my beliefs, but with this pride must come a willingness to listen to others and their own self expression. Otherwise, would I be better than Captain Beatty? Or vapid Mildred Montag?

When was the last time you censored yourself and for what reason? Was it worth it to you?

Message Board Now Available

We just put up a message board for you to leave your comments about any aspect of Fahrenheit 451, The Big Read or the related events.

Find the F451 Message Board link on the right under Get Involved!

Tell us what's on your mind.

Connect! Chat! Bookmark! Share!

We've added two features to the blog today.

Chat
Look for the link under Get Involved! to enter a F451 chat room. This room is not moderated, so please be on your best behavior. :)

Bookmarking
Look for a new set of links on the right called Bookmark & Share! You can easily add the blog to your del.icio.us or Digg account.

We welcome your comments and suggestions! We want to help everyone connect and get involved.

Temperature's Rising!!

Yesterday, 5 minutes after kicking off The Big Read, I saw a woman in our coffee shop deep into Ray Bradbury rapture. Two hours later I entered a classroom @ Fayetteville High School and witnessed 30 teens finishing chapter 1. And then! This morning! I called the Bank of Fayetteville to check the day’s weather and they told me to join the Fayetteville Public Library for The Big Read! Let me tell you what’s happening with the weather ~ the Temperature’s Rising! We’re even going into the Washington County Jail with this book!
Laura @ the Library

Come and get it!

Yesterday, the library officially kicked off The Big Read! Mayor Dan Coody invited the entire community to participate.

3,000 copies of Fahrenheit 451 are being given away at the library while supplies last. Stop in, pick up a copy. Read it and pass it on!

Be ready to join us for a week of activities around the themes in the novel, April 14 - 21, 2007.

Have you read it??

Controlled Burn

The strangely sensible rationalization for F451 society's book prohibition is revealed early in the novel--to rid the country of the woes brought on by free thought. The purpose, according to Captain Beatty, is the mental well-being of society. Books make people think, agonize, wonder, realize their differences. "Don't give them any slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy." Montag learns that Clarisse, the young girl who sparked his breakdown, is most likely dead, and he is party to a burning that claims a willing human victim. He steals a novel from this burning and spends the next day in bed, where he is visited by Captain Beatty. Beatty's speech to Montag, quiet, eloquent, and peppered with literary quotes, explains that by giving the people endless entertainment and taking away the thinking consequences of reading knowledge, the government is ensuring that the deepest desire of humanity is met. "Ask yourself, what do we want in this country, above all? People want to be happy, isn't that right? Haven't you heard it all your life? I want to be happy, people say. Well, aren't they? Don't we keep them moving, don't we give them fun?" Montag struggles under the weight of Beatty's chilling logic, the stolen book burning a hole under his pillow.

Are we there yet?

Paper burns at 451 Fahrenheit, leaving smoke and fragile ash. So fireman Guy Montag plies his book burning responsibilities with the full consent of a dystopia society. A society of surround room TVs, news radios plugged directly into the ear, a focus on technology rather than nature, personal relationships usurped by “devices,” group suppression of critical thought and pleasurable distractions for the masses. Fast forward to HDTV, 24/7 streaming news, cell phones, wireless technology a la Bluetooth headsets connected to personal computers providing constant connectivity and access. A time when parallel living is offered up through cyberspace, computer games are available for all tastes and ages, and “sports” are played in the comfort of a living room. Acceptance by the masses of governments and religions that hawk misinformation, thinly disguised tyranny, rabid intolerance and censorship. Occasionally a misfit cries out through the smoke remembering… something. Ah, Ray, did you mean us? Are we there yet?
NH 3/07

Big Read Art Contest

Submit art: April 1-April 12
Grades 7th-12th

Read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and submit your artistic interpretation of what you read and how it made you feel. Art will be displayed in the library April 14-21 as part of The Big Read celebration. The winner will receive a gift certificate to Hobby Craft. Submissions can be dropped off at the Children’s Desk and should include name, grade and phone number.

...and our brave firemen are there whenever we call

If you live in the world of Fahrenheit 451 and have even a single book in your house, the last knock you want on your door is that of The Firemen.

Books are illegal.
They must be burned.
It's for your own protection.

451 degrees Fahrenheit --

the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns!

"paint with water" illustration by Sean, age 3

the future's so bleak, I gotta wear shades

Ray Bradbury accounted for a good chunk of my high school curriculum, thanks in part to the borderline unhealthy obsession of my 9th grade English teacher, Miss Debusk. She was an extremely chipper woman whose affinity for Ray Bradbury was equalled only by her affnity for Scottish Terriers (half of her wardrobe consisted of sweaters with scotty dogs on them). I remember Miss Debusk going so far as to say that she was in love with Ray Bradbury and would marry him in an instant, which I thought was bizarre because Ray Bradbury didn't look like the kind of person women would dream of marrying and, perhaps more importantly, he was already married. Thanks to Miss Debusk and the Springfield Public School System, I read Dandelion Wine, The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes and last but not least, Fahrenheit 451. Admittedly, I thought it was a gimmicky premise for a book (I've never really been a science fiction buff) but by the time I was done reading it, I had changed my tune. Not only was Fahrenheit 451 better than I thought it was going to be, but it was also my first experience with dystopian literature and it scared the bejeezis out of me. With shades of 1984 and Brave New World, Bradbury's story presents an Orwellian nightmare not too far removed from our current society--an age where television reigns supreme and knowledge and literacy are all but extinct. While this concept might have been unimaginable when the book was first published in 1953, the sad truth is that it doesn't seem so far-fetched today. Bradbury's frightening vision of the future is not only more than plausible--considering how our current culture continues to applaud ignorance and emphasize entertainment over ideas, it seems almost inevitable.

Transformative joys

Hey, I really like Kirk's synopsis of the book! I'm so happy that the National Endowment for the Arts has given us the opportunity to " unite community through great literature " and is " encouraging Americans to discover the transformative joys of reading ". ( Dana Gioia, Chairman NEA ) I'm sure looking forward to all of the great event I know FPL will be planning and I encourage folks to participate. Enjoy our community... Discover transformative joys. Show the NEA that we really appreciate the grant they've given us.