Ray Bradbury

[katiafish]

I have not seen anyone mention Ray Bradbury, is it considered lame to like his books, especially his Science Fiction? Because I do, and I wonder if anyone else does.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Goodness, I adore Ray Bradbury. I've read Fahrenheit 451, but the books I really love are ones such as The Hallowe'en Tree, Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Such beautiful writing and wonderful images (gotta love the giant kite made from animals posters in The Hallowe'en Tree). I could read these books endlessly just to enjoy his way with words.

 

[katiafish]

Exactly! What you said and more, Ray Bradbury has a wonderful descriptive way of writing things, what about the Dark Carnival, and The Illustrated Man and Martian Chronicles! The man is a genius!

 

[Nesacat]

I suspect that you are going to get many more replies in the same vein. One of my all-time favourite short stories is Bradbury's Fog Horn. Like Hoopy, my favourites are books like Halloween Tree (I read it every Halloween) and just about all his short stories. I also love From The Dust Returns which gave me Homecoming, another favourite short story. Illustrated Man is amazing ... so sad and beautiful. Imagine living like that your whole life.

 

[Fried Egg]

I've not read any novels by Bradbury but have read many short stories. One of my favourites is "Frost and Fire". I have a collection of his stories lined up in my to-read pile: "October Country".

 

[katiafish]

October country is good, very melancholic but beautiful. How about I sing the Body Electric or S is for Space

 

[Nikitta]

Like the other posters in this thread, I also enjoy Ray Bradbury's work a lot - with Fahrenheit 451 being the first I read of his, but I've since also enjoyed I Sing the Body Electric (favourite short story, probably: Tomorrow's child for some reason, though there are several good ones in this collection),The Martian Chronicles and Something Wicked This Way Comes. All, truly warm stories with something sad happening in them.

 

[katiafish]

Ah, I have to use this opportunity to ask - does anyone know the mane of the short story about the man who lies in a cocoon and emerges seemingly normal, only to fly into the sky after leaving the lab..

 

[katiafish]

Sorry, just found an answer to my question, it is called Chrysalis and is in S for Space

 

[j d worthington]

Indeed it is... and that was my first encounter with Bradbury, at the age of 7....

No, it isn't considered lame at all to like Bradbury's work -- he is simply one of many wonderful writers who have not got enough discussions going about them to warrant a sub-forum of their own... yet. On the other hand, if you do a search for Ray Bradbury, I think you'll find bushels of posts about him, as I know there are quite a few fans of his work here.

While I by no means have all of his books (though I hope to eventually do so), I have a fairly good selection (albeit I need to catch up with one or two of the more recent ones, such as Forever Summer -- a sequel, as I understand it, to Dandelion Wine), and I revisit Bradbury from time to time -- sometimes for an extensive period. One of my favorite books is his first: Dark Carnival. It has the earmarks of a young writer, true, but he did something special with that book that I've not encountered with anyone else writing such tales, and therefore it stays with me over the years.

Let's hope you can get a few good discussions going about the man and his work... I'd like to see a sub-forum devoted to someone who helped to bring sff into general (critical, at least) cognizance as a form of genuine literature....

 

[Omphalos]

I don't think its lame to like anyone's books. Bradbury is an accomplished author who has written a few pieces that will likely last a looooong time after he is gone. Personally I can not take him in great doses. There is a child-like sense of wonder in a lot of his stories that gets me really interested at first, then turns me off completely (for a while, that is). But he has written some classics and I think should be read.

 

[Lioness]

The only book of Bradbury's I've read is Fahrenheit 451. At some stage I'd like to read the others because I enjoyed F451, but I'm more of a fantasy girl and so the sci-fi gets put at the end of the to read list.

 

[The Procrastinator]

Another Bradbury fan. I've read and loved numerous of his novels and short stories. One of the things I love the most about him is his ability to marry the mind-twists of scifi with the beauty and atmosphere of fantasy. Lioness - Bradbury is excellent scifi for the fantasy lover.

 

[dreir]

There's no way that it's lame to be his fan. I'm like Eggy in that I've not read any of his books, but I've read and adore many of his short stories..

- Dreir -

 

[dustinzgirl]

Something Wicked This Way Comes.

The only book of Bradbury's I've read is Fahrenheit 451. At some stage I'd like to read the others because I enjoyed F451, but I'm more of a fantasy girl and so the sci-fi gets put at the end of the to read list.

I hate reading Sci fi (but I love sci fi movies) anyways, I'm also more fantasy sword and sorcerer (and barbarians.........mmmmmmmm..........yummy) type,

Something Wicked this Way Comes is a story I think you will love. It is not Sci Fi and is just...well you should read it. I think you will want to read it more than once.

Oh, but it is pretty scary and sad. So if you scare or cry easy you might not want to.

And now I have to go buy another book I forgot I don't have...actually I think I do have it, just not sure where it is.

 

[AE35Unit]

The only Bradbury I've read is Martian Chronicles also known as The Silver Locusts,which is very good!
The movie Fahrenheit 451 is a good un tho the thought of burning all those books makes me cringe! I have Something Wicked on my shelf but haven't got round to reading it yet.

 

[GOLLUM]

The only Bradbury I've read is Martian Chronicles also known as The Silver Locusts,which is very good!
The movie Fahrenheit 451 is a good un tho the thought of burning all those books makes me cringe! I have Something Wicked on my shelf but haven't got round to reading it yet.

What the?.... Something Wicked is one of the best books I've ever read in the Genre and Bradbury a living treasure IMO.

Enjoy......

@JD: Picked up Forever Summer last week and it is indeed a sequel to the classic Dandelion Wine. Yet to read it but it isn't a big book, so you'll probably knock it over in a couple of hours.

 

[katiafish]

I absolutely love Dandelion Wine, I shall buy Forever Summer to read it, allthough I doubt I'll read anything in couple of hours, I just don't get couple of consecutive hours at one time ..

It is interesting however, that Bradbury's books appeal to Sci Fi fans and Fantasy fans alike, I think it might be the flowing, highly descriptive language that he writes in..

 

[dreir]

Or maybe there are just many more of us who like and read *both* than most people expect? I'm one of those strange organisms who read almost exclusively fantasy novels, and almost exclusively science fiction short stories. It's something I've been wanting to get out of for a long while, but it's bemusingly difficult, for some reason..

- Dreir -

 

[kythe]

One of my favorite sci-fi short stories is "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury. I'm not sure why since it's not even among his best known works. I just find the story haunting. I'm reading Farenheit 451 now, and am about halfway through.

Bradbury seems to have a very negative view on technology and its affects on society, but there is a strong ring of truth in Farenheit 451. He has an uncanny way of reflecting real people's attitudes on books and other forms of media.