Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Summary: Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.

Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.

When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.

My Thoughts: Wow, so I never really was into these type of books before. You know, the books that are from a "literary" standpoint- Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Austen, etc. Basically the books where they aren't mean solely for entertainment but are meant to write about society or whatever. And I will be honest, reading the intro to this book, I was VERY bored. There was too much exposition. I was waiting and waiting for it to dive into to the action, but the first two chapters were all setup. I'm assuming this is how it is for all other high-literary works but I was very disappointed. However, as I got into the third chapter (of a three chapter book), it was really riveting. All the exposition I had skimmed through all locked into place, and I have to say I was very satisfied with the third chapter, when he is on the run. I would definitely recommend this book if you're like me wanting to get into this higher-level literature but don't know where to start. The exposition is a little boring but it is definitely worth it.