Ask Lemmy

I can't recommend trying to read 1984 to you enough. It's not always an easy read, but if you enjoyed 451 I think you'll like 1984.

I very much enjoy F451. It's ultimately a book of hope, about breaking free from the chains of societal/governmental control and seeking knowledge and truth in literature. The context in which it was written (the McCarthy Era) is paralleled by current events, and the book becomes ever more relevant. History doesn't repeat, but it sure does rhyme.

Yeah it's a great book, A brave new world is another good classic dystopian book you might like. Similarish to 1984 but maybe slightly less known

I read it 25 years ago in high school. I remember being horrified by the author's depiction of what is now modern-day streaming. It basically sucked the soul out of the protagonist's wife. Seems that was a bit overblown, looking back

I read Fahrenheit 451 quite a while ago but I found it pretty good. Though, I compared it to much to 1984 and found 1984 better.

Agreed though, it feels similarly to today’s age and the future. People nowadays rather be easily entertained (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok etc) than to make an effort and read for enjoyment and education. The government also seems to continuously try to make people avoid reading.

If I remember well there’s this quote in the book to F451:

We bombard people with sensation. That substitutes for thinking

Which is happening today.

I liked it, didn't love it.

The whole central image of it, setting fire to books, and the way they go about it, just felt too direct to me. Still, it weaves a good story and the ideas resonate well enough.

I didn't expect this book to look like it was going to describe the future very accurately

Read more Bradbury short stories (try The Illustrated Man collection to start), and more sci-fi in general if you want to see reflections of humanity and (often disturbing) true things being predicted from well in the past.

I know it's not a good idea to compare fiction with reality, but it's hard not to compare this book with reality, don't those who have read it agree?

Some books are written with the intent of comparing them to reality, and the author hopes you will do so, and come to important conclusions.

I'm a big sci-fi fan, but... Man, I know I am a minority in this, but to me F451 was pretty bad. I had to really force myself to finish it despite being such a thin book. Everywhere I look I see almost everyone praises it like it's the best book ever written, deep, thoughtful, etc. And I'm sitting here thinking: Have I read the same book?

Edit: I wasn't forced to read the book (like in school), I wanted to read it to see why the hype. And got disappointed. While there were books from similar era with similar reviews that I really enjoyed - like e. g. Clarke's Rama or Pohl's Gateway.

I have been a huge Bradbury fan since childhood. I have read and watched everything he has touched. However now that I'm older I see elitism in Fahrenheit from Bradbury's prejudice against all media except books.

People can dissociate from the world into books just like any other media.

It's one of my favorites, athough it's been a while since I read it.

Earler today I found out about short story Bradbury wrote called 'There Will Come Soft Rains' that hits close to home as well. A musician I follow released a recording of it that is really good, although you can read it for yourself it you want to as well.

Yeah you can think about AI and the current events and compare with F451. It's been almost a decade since I read it but personally, I'd say Brave New World had me thinking more about the present and future than F451. Maybe we're in the middle of the distopian trilogy - 1984/F451/BNW

I like the idea, and might get back into it (restarting), but previous time I started it I was thrown off by the overuse of metaphors. Maybe it's just an introduction-thing, but I found it very cumbersome to always have to read "The thing was X, like and Y that had undergone Z" instead of just "the thing was worn and green".

Yes, I know that writers should show rather than tell, but when the reader has to spend most of the reading time parsing metaphors that could've instead just been a factual statement, it becomes a very cumbersome read.

But I will give it another go. I like the sci-fi classics, and I suspect I'd like this one too

It's been too long for me to remember specifics but I remember not liking it very much.

But I really enjoyed his Martian Chronicles. It's a collection of short stories about Mars and its colonisation. Some stories have similar themes as Fahrenheit 451.

Hot

I read it around 20 years ago or so, I found it very visionary and very much more akin to our reality than 1984. Scary.

I haven't read that book since high school (well over 20 years ago) but I just want to give you your props. You recognized a limitation in yourself and you addressed it. Great job!

From what I remember Fahrenheit 451 was a very important book about the dangers of blind obedience and not thinking for oneself. Great first choice.

It was the only school-assigned book that i ever enjoyed

I thought it was interesting, I didn’t personally enjoy the writing style very much but I think that’s more about when it was written than what it’s about.

It was a quick read - pretty sure I burned through it in a weekend. Message was right up front, poignant, and unmistakable. Most importantly, it’s not “heady” literature. It’s written in a clear, accessible way, which is a good way to make sure your message reaches the widest audience possible.

It's hot!

I love F451, and it’s usually the book I recommend to people who want to get into serious/thought-provoking reading. It’s quite short for a novel and very approachable, the vocabulary isn’t too complex, the characters are easy to get into, and the story is compelling — it’s basically a light thriller. But when you put it down you can’t help but think, “wow, I just read something really important”

I was too young when I read it. I did not understand it properly, and now I don't like it anymore

It's dumb.

there is a reason it's assigned to 8th graders. they tend to enjoy dumb stories, that require a minimum effort to read and very little effort to understand.