Numbers Challenge Wrap-Up

Wow. I need to do a better job of keeping track of my books and challenges. Especially of reviewing books right after I read them... and not say... 3 months later. Or so.

For example, I finished the Numbers Challenge quite awhile ago and really that calls for some sort of announcement or celebration, right? My first completed challenge!

My Selection:
1. Six of One by Rita Mae Brown (review here)
2. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (review here)
3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (review here)
4. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (review here)
5. One Hundred Years of Solitute by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (review here)

Favorite: Probably Slaughterhouse-Five. I don't know why it took me so long to read it.

Least Favorite: The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I knew it was a bad idea, but sometimes peer pressure gets to the best of us.

Thanks to Callista for hosting a great challenge!

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is one of those books that was required reading for everyone in high school... everyone but me. I'm actually a little shocked that it took me so long to read. The Numbers Challenge gave me the motivation I needed.

The novel is a futuristic look at censorship. In the future firemen no longer quell the flames. Instead they use their massive kerosene hoses to ignite fires in the homes of those who hoard books. While the firemen are busy starting fires and the book hoarders are busy hiding, the rest of the people are busy living their lives in front of their television screens (which now take up all four walls in living rooms).

When a rogue fireman, Guy Montag, becomes entranced by books his life quickly becomes a whirlwind of confusion.

The scenario presented by Bradbury is an interesting look at the dangers of censoring intellectual freedom. To be honest, I'm still digesting all the implications of this novel.

In the afterward Bradbury talks further about his characters. In Beatty's words: "I ate them like salad, books were my sandwich for lunch, my tiffin and dinner and midnight munch."

Recommendation: Give this book the time it requires. Read it with a friend or when you have time for proper digestion.