It is the first of January, and I devoured Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 today. In a nutshell that does not do it service, this 1953 novel tells tale of a shallow and violent future society. It is a society which has traded in quality of thought for entertainment, and in an arguably prophetic way, it stands as both a warning to America and a love letter to ideas. It’s a classic for a reason, but not just because of the beautifully poetic writing. The ideas contained within resonated with me so strongly that I felt essentially connected to it and the author. I could not help but feel somehow that I’ve robbed my past self by not reading it earlier, and I could give no stronger recommendation to a book.
It’s late, and has been a long first day of the year, but a beautiful start of the year. Here’s to ideas in 2016.
“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” – Ray Bradbury