"You've got to jump off cliffs all the time, and build your wings on the way down."
If you know me, you know that books about dystopian societies are totally my jam. It began with a grade school reading of The Giver and continued on to The Handmaid's Tale, 1984, Brave New World (from which my precious Aldeux was given his name) and more recently The Hunger Games. Today, we celebrate the life of an author who gifted us with one of the most seminal pieces of dystopian fiction... Fahrenheit 451. This book is especially important to book lovers the world over, as it analyzes the effects of censorship on society. Fahrenheit 451 highlights the dangers of the rampant book bannings throughout our nation's history as a way to discourage dissenting ideas within our society. And who gave us this amazing, scary and thought-provoking story? The one and only Ray Bradbury.
Ray Bradbury died peacefully at his home in Los Angeles Tuesday night, at the age of 91. Along with Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury's prolific career included such gems as Something Wicked This Way Comes, Dandelion Wine and The Martian Chronicles. His stories foretold of advanced technology that had not yet been invented... such as the ATM and live broadcasts of fugitive car chases. Although his death is a loss felt deeply by all readers and fellow writers, his career spanning seventy years left behind a legacy that future generations will be able to enjoy... and learn from