August - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The premise of this 'dystopian' novel becomes more unlikely by the day. I don't feel this way because I think the idea of ‘fire fighters’ burning books (and book owners) is preposterous - I feel this way because with each passing day more people voluntarily trade in their books for a high-tech Game Boy that beeps and whistles every eleven seconds.
As the written word cedes center stage to digital content, our society finds a different path up the mountain to Bradbury's summit where the shallow observation serves as an acceptable substitute for deep thinking.
Parting thought: It is not intelligence that we fear but rather the inherent unpredictability of the intelligent – who knows what could be on someone’s mind?
November - Broken Vessels by Andre Dubus
This was a great essay collection and I really enjoyed Dubus’s measured, understated writing style. I’m looking forward to digging into more of his work in the coming years.
Parting thought: Express grief, shock, and rage through meticulously detailed observation.
