Remembering Ray Bradbury

{"I'm surrounded by metaphors." - Ray Bradbury; photo via} 

I don't claim to be the most literate person (I'm working on that), but when such an iconic writer passes, it's hard not to pay attention. Ray Bradbury is one of the best science fiction writers of all time, known specifically for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles. The first novel of his I ever read was The Illustrated Man, the first book that I read for my Honors English class Freshman year of high school. It was a novel that resonated with me throughout my entire education, and sparked my interest in science fiction.

Bradbury lived a full and interesting life. Here are some things that I found interesting about him:

Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in the basement of UCLA's Powell Library for $0.20/hr. He wrote it in 10 hours.

In 1951, Bradbury predicted an automated machine where you push a button and it gives you cash instead of going to the bank.

He also predicted that humanity would become so obsessed with entertainment, that we would resort to watching car chases on television.

Bradbury suffered a stroke in 1999, and dictated his works over the phone to his daughter until his death in 2012.

Ray Bradbury was the genius behind the Oscar nominated film adaptation of Moby Dick.

Follow my lead and buy Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

{Ray Bradbury, American science fiction author}