Fahrenheit 451 for my 505

[LiquidHAL]

There's a reason you've been having trouble finding an ebook edition of Fahrenheit 451.

http://gizmodo.com/5302357/ray-bradb...h-the-internet

Bradbury is from a different time. He's used to how things were when he was young and doesn't feel like he should have to change. But like the man said in No Country for Old Men,

You can't stop what's coming, it ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity.

Isaac Asimov wrote about the first time he used a word processor, after writing with a typewriter for half a century. He was terrified of the concept until he actually got his hands on one and started using it, and quickly realized that in many ways it was better. That was in 1981. Bradbury still uses the typewriter, and remains terrified of change.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by LiquidHAL

There's a reason you've been having trouble finding an ebook edition of Fahrenheit 451.

http://gizmodo.com/5302357/ray-bradb...h-the-internet

Bradbury is from a different time. He's used to how things were when he was young and doesn't feel like he should have to change. But like the man said in No Country for Old Men,


Isaac Asimov wrote about the first time he used a word processor, after writing with a typewriter for half a century. He was terrified of the concept until he actually got his hands on one and started using it, and quickly realized that in many ways it was better. That was in 1981. Bradbury still uses the typewriter, and remains terrified of change.

I wouldn't say he is terrified of change. I would think he is adamantly opposed to what he sees as an irrelevant process, ie, the internet.

That's his opinion, and while we all might disagree with it, he has definitely earned the right to distribute his books as he see fit.

He's also earned the right to make any comments he wishes about how his books could be distributed.

The man was a frickin' genius, and few contemporary authors can match him.

[LiquidHAL]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Thats his opinion, and while we all might disagree with it, he has definitely earned the right to distribute his books as he see fit.

I disagree. The original purpose of copyright is "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

Until 1906 copyright lasted 14 years from publication plus an optional 14 year renewal. Through lobbyists and healthy campaign contributions, large corporations have pushed legislation through congress to effectively never have their copyrights expire. Fahrenheit 451, for example, would be in the public domain by now if each successive copyright extension hadn't been retroactive. This perverts the original intent of copyright. It hinders progress rather than promoting it. Bradbury has even attempted to use copyright to alter new works that reference his own. His books have been influential enough to become a part of our culture, and new generations must be allowed to build on that without having to constantly worry about stepping on toes.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by LiquidHAL

His books have been influential enough to become a part of our culture, and new generations must be allowed to build on that without having to constantly worry about stepping on toes.

Says who? Yes, he has been very influential. And his books are available world wide, in every tiny used bookstore in the world, I'm betting.

But he owes no one anything, no more than JK Rowling or any other author who chooses to not make their books available.

Publishers are another matter.

[Riocaz]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

But he owes no one anything, no more than JK Rowling or any other author who chooses to not make their books available.

Twaddle.

They owe a lot, if not everything to their fans. And in the genre he writes in his "fans" tend towards the geeky.

He claims to love reading, and while I agree with his love of libraries I can't begin to understand his comments about the internet. Particularly as it will gave more people access to his work. To be able to read it and to become new fans.

He's also failed to note that the demographic of his fans, means that a lot of them have put a lot of their time and effort into that "meaningless" "distraction". And by making such an uneducated, and frankly idiotic statement he has done little but push them/us away.

So by his actions he is going to slow the growth of his fanbase. By his words, he is alienating the existing ones.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by Riocaz

Twaddle.

They owe a lot, if not everything to their fans. And in the genre he writes in his "fans" tend towards the geeky.

He claims to love reading, and while I agree with his love of libraries I can't begin to understand his comments about the internet. Particularly as it will gave more people access to his work. To be able to read it and to become new fans.

He's also failed to note that the demographic of his fans, means that a lot of them have put a lot of their time and effort into that "meaningless" "distraction". And by making such an uneducated, and frankly idiotic statement he has done little but push them/us away.

So by his actions he is going to slow the growth of his fanbase. By his words, he is alienating the existing ones.

You don't understand his comments about the internet because you are not from his generation. You had to live then, before there was tv in homes, to understand it. Personally, I feel the same way about TV.....altho I watch it. And I think the internet is way overrated as well. Altho I use it.

It was a much more 'interactive' time before these things. We had to interact with each other, not with faceless beings across the world.

People had to use their imaginations, not depend on visual aids so much. And guess what? He obviously doesn't care about more access to his work.

Slow his fanbase? Are you kidding? Geeky? Maybe by todays standards.

No one familiar with his works could be alienated by his words.

[Moe The Cat]

I think Mr. Bradbury's comments were less "anti-Internet" and more "pro-Library". He was trying to encourage people to read, rather than simply surf the Internet for silly videos and typing messages like: "R U OK? GR8!"

Good points, Grandma!

[Riocaz]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

You don't understand his comments about the internet because you are not from his generation. You had to live then, before there was tv in homes, to understand it. Personally, I feel the same way about TV.....altho I watch it. And I think the internet is way overrated as well. Altho I use it.

So from twaddle you descend into condesending twaddle.

I can understand where he's coming from. Nostalgia for things past is common to us all. I wish my nephews could experience some of the things I had as a kid. But things move on, some for the better, some less so.

As for him being a product of his age, take the example of my father who is of a similar age to him. He bought a ZX81, upgraded to a BBC Model B and was online by 1987. He still has a laptop (though I admit I bought it for him) and until recently had a DSL dervice to keep upw ith his email. He only gave this up because the exchange rate from £ to euro dropped so much it became a luxury he could no longer afford.

So yes, you are damn right I don't understand him. Why would anyone with a grip on reality want to understand him?

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

It was a much more 'interactive' time before these things. We had to interact with each other, not with faceless beings across the world.

People still interact with one another. The medium has just changed somewhat. Just because I can't see your face doesn't make you "faceless".

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

People had to use their imaginations, not depend on visual aids so much. And guess what? He obviously doesn't care about more access to his work.

Slow his fanbase? Are you kidding? Geeky? Maybe by todays standards.

No I'm not kidding. What do you think the result of preventing new access to his work and alienating his longterm fans will be. It's not a poison pill it's a slow strangulation.

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

No one familiar with his works could be alienated by his words.

How can they become familiar if they can't read his works. Why would they bother searching out paper copies, when the only words they have access too are idiotic, irational, ranting.

Frankly the best one can hope is that eventually his rights pass to someone who retains their faculties.

[Moejoe]

I love Bradbury, he's my fiction writing mentor and I own everything he's written in multiple paperback and hardback copies...saying all that, he really hasn't got a clue about the world we live in. If he truly loves reading and the ability to read, he wouldn't be so anti-ebook.

Doesn't matter anyway, this is the digital age, most of his work is available illegally and found in a matter of seconds with a simple Google search.

[Dr. Drib]

I love Bradbury's work too, although I feel his best work was in the 1950s and '60s.

He is able to evoke a Time and a Place, and his sentimental words create real emotion in his readers, in those individuals who are capable of remembering their own childhood and the wonder of waking up to a new day when everything created seemed marvelous and fresh. He captures those moments of universal innocence and makes of them shared moments of Wonder.

As to his decisions in which he makes his books available, my opinion is that it is between himself, his accountant, and his publisher.

He owes us nothing; rather, we who love his work owe him thanks and a blessing (if one is of that bent) for creating worlds beyond our (often) meager imaginations, and for taking us on a journey that allowed us to discover the grace we are capable of showing in our everyday, normal existence.

These are merely my opinions, and you do not need to endorse them or damn them. They are simply opinions.


Cheers,
Don

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by Riocaz

So from twaddle you descend into condesending twaddle.

I can understand where he's coming from. Nostalgia for things past is common to us all. I wish my nephews could experience some of the things I had as a kid. But things move on, some for the better, some less so.

As for him being a product of his age, take the example of my father who is of a similar age to him. He bought a ZX81, upgraded to a BBC Model B and was online by 1987. He still has a laptop (though I admit I bought it for him) and until recently had a DSL dervice to keep upw ith his email. He only gave this up because the exchange rate from £ to euro dropped so much it became a luxury he could no longer afford.

So yes, you are damn right I don't understand him. Why would anyone with a grip on reality want to understand him?

People still interact with one another. The medium has just changed somewhat. Just because I can't see your face doesn't make you "faceless".

No I'm not kidding. What do you think the result of preventing new access to his work and alienating his longterm fans will be. It's not a poison pill it's a slow strangulation.

How can they become familiar if they can't read his works. Why would they bother searching out paper copies, when the only words they have access too are idiotic, irational, ranting.

Frankly the best one can hope is that eventually his rights pass to someone who retains their faculties.

I don't think you understand where he is coming from at all.

I think you are too busy insisting he conform to your opinion of a modern "with it" kind of guy, like your father.

Ray Bradbury has made his mark in literature, he has paid his dues, and needs no one to tell him what he needs to think, or do.

Interacting on the 'net is nothing like doing it face to face. You do not know who you are speaking with, you only know who they tell you they are.

The idea that his works will languish and fade away unless they are available to all online is ludicrous.

As for his words being "idiotic, irrational and ranting", well, I'd have to know the entire conversation first. All we got was one reporters version.

There are many many books and authors not available as ebooks right now. Eventually, all, even Ray Bradbury's, will be.

Ranting and demonizing because he chooses to take a different view only shows the typical "I want it and I want it NOW", outlook of many today.

[Riocaz]

Do you actually bother to read what was posted?

One: I said that it's enevitable that his fanbase will shrink if he actively prevents access to his works AND alienates his current fanbase.

Two: This is not the first time he has made idiotic, irrational, rants about technology. After all according to him the "internet is a scam" and "Computers are just typewriters" and ATMs are "inefficient".

It was your assertion that I didn't understand him because I was not of his age. I merely gave my father as an example of the opposite extreme.

Finally you appear to have missed the point. You are right that Ray Bradbury has paid his dues and left a mark in literature... However even the greatest of authors can have their works lost to time because they were no longer available...

Just look at the lost plays of Shakespeare. Or closer to the present, the infamous suitcase of Hemmingway's writings his wife lost on a train.

Thankfully this is less likely, if not impossible in the case of Ray Bradbury... Because of the systems he denigrates.

[khalleron]

What you need to grasp is, Bradbury's problem isn't *nostalgia*, it's disappointment. Here's a man, born near the turn of *last* century who's spent much of his life dreaming and writing about space exploration, who grew up fully expecting that by the time he was 50, people would be living on Mars, and here he is nearly 90, and instead, technology allows us to play World of Warcraft and post pictures of our infants spitting up on Facebook.

He doesn't dislike cars because they're not horses, he dislikes them because they're not spaceships.

Yes, he's missing the many ways technology enhances our lives on a daily basis, but I don't blame him for being upset about it.

And he's a magnificent writer - if you pass him by just because you don't agree with him about modern technology, you're doing yourself a disservice.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Riocaz

Finally you appear to have missed the point. You are right that Ray Bradbury has paid his dues and left a mark in literature... However even the greatest of authors can have their works lost to time because they were no longer available...

I think if you used the word accessible instead of available then you'd make a better point.

His works will be available, but not as accessible as they should be.

[slayda]

My personal opinion, is Bradbury in ebook format is a waste of 1's & 0's.