Book Report

I thought I would let you all know that I finished my first book of the year. For those of you who don't know, one of my New Year's resolutions was to read more. You can read about my new resolution here. Anyway, I decided to start my new era of reading with the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I read another of his books, The Martian Chronicles in high school and really enjoyed it. I felt this book would be very appropriate for the first book in my return to reading. The book is set in the future when books have been banned and anyone found to have them is put in jail and the books are burned along with the house they are found in. The story follows a fireman (a person who burns the books) and his journey from burning books to having an awakening that books are not evil and ultimately turns against the system. He becomes a criminal because he starts reading books, his home is burned and he has to flee the city and go into hiding to survive. The story is very relevant today, even more so than when it was written I think. The main reason people in the book don't care about not being able to read is that television is all people care about for entertainment and social interactions. Ray Bradbury stated that the book is a story about how television destroys interest in reading literature, which ultimately leads to ignorance. (now you see why it was so appropriate for my first book) People in the book have stopped interacting with other people except on tv. Families don't sit around and talk and bond, instead they just watch tv while at home. No one discusses ideas or issues anymore.

Does all of this sound somewhat familiar. It seems like people today are always watching tv while at home and not interacting with their families and friends. Even meal times takes place around the tv or with the tv on. Children can not play or entertain themselves without a tv, dvd, or a video game going. One thing I found very interesting in the book was that when people weren't at home and were out in public, everyone wore ear "shells" that played music, commentary, or news. These kept people from having to interact with others. When I read this I thought of ipods and how everyone has them now. Ipods are one of my pet peeves when some people always have them on when they are out in public, whether shopping, eating, or anything else. It drives me crazy. I think all of these things are a major problem these days and I want to try and change it at least with my family and friends. I am as guilty as the next person but it is never too late to change and do something about it. This is part of the reason I have started reading. So, I encourage all of you to interact more with others. Invite neighbors or friends over for dinner and after dinner instead of watching tv, just sit around in talk or play a board game. Turn off the tv once in a while in the evening and interact and play with your family. Go outside and enjoy nature. Invest in people.