2014 Book Goal: 52 (mostly non-fiction)
2014 Books Read: 47 (89% non-fiction)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is one of those classics that everyone should have ready long ago-right?  Well much like Slaughterhouse Five, despite being a scifi guy, I never found time to read Fahrenheit 451.  

I have to tell you – I did not like it.  This dystopian tale of a world where books are banned and firemen are employed to destroy any found, was just too negative for me.  It went from a creepy tale of a miserable middle-aged fireman to just a sad tale on every possible front.

I’m sorry, I just have to have some sunshine in my escapism.  In fact, I only made it about two-thirds of the way through the book before I just had to put it down.  It felt like a waste of my time that took me to a downer place that I didn’t want to be.

Call it a classic.  Call is the great American novel.  You can call it whatever you like, I just will have to agree to disagree.

Who knows?  Maybe the world was in a darker place and the publishing world was in a darker place, but it just creeps me out and saddens me.  Sure, the message of the importance of books is one I can get behind, but I think this one was just popular because the editorial world promoted it.

by Chris Doelle

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