Tammy Lee

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Tammy Lee is currently reading

Dark Matter

by Blake Crouch (Goodreads Author)

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Oct 01, 2026 05:05PM

Tammy Lee is currently reading

Fahrenheit 451

by Ray Bradbury

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in August 2024

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Tammy Lee said: " 4⭐️

Wow. I had to constantly remind myself when this was written. The ‘Seashell’ earphones, the giant televisions, and the way those things have not only replaced reading in people’s lives, but led to a disconnect between people, even in the same hous 4⭐️

Wow. I had to constantly remind myself when this was written. The ‘Seashell’ earphones, the giant televisions, and the way those things have not only replaced reading in people’s lives, but led to a disconnect between people, even in the same household. The way we sit in the evenings and watch a show, or go about our lives wearing our AirPods more than we talk to each other. The dumming down of our society. These are things Bradbury is warning against, without knowing the way the world would turn out while he was writing. I had to do some quick research because I thought for sure earphones weren’t around until much later, but headphones were definitely already in use, and earphones had been invented but not commonplace like today. So not a prediction of a future technology, but definitely in the way he describes their use. Similarly with the televisions, of course they had them but not full screen walls. Not only are our TVs much bigger today, but modern houses include a media or theatre room, a whole room of your house dedicated to watching television. A room separate from the living area of the house, to go and shut yourself in, like the parlour room his wife practically lives in.

It felt strange to read about these things, things that are part of my everyday life, in the tone which this book was written. To see them portrayed as mindless, dehumanising and addictive, made me then reflect on how they impact my own life. Ironically the only thing he got really wrong was the old man having a small television he can hold in his hand so that he could put it away, that by having the small one he wasn’t quite conforming to what everyone else was. Just ironic that (I’m sure we can all agree) phones are today’s greatest source of this mindless entertainment that he warns against.

I also thought going into this that it was a dystopian novel. Surely a society where books are outlawed and burned is a corrupt government! But it doesn’t seem that way to me at all after reading. The people don’t fear the government, they are completely content with the way things are - it is what they want. They love their fast cars, and their television parlour ‘families’. They have no interest in reading anyway (mostly). Just like most of our society today.

Anyway this book made me think, and reflect, and I really liked that.

However it won’t be for everyone. It is written in a way that includes long passages of overly descriptive scene painting. It isn’t filled with action, and will feel slow for many readers. It doesn’t have chapters either, but is written in three sections, which isn’t my favourite, since if you only have a short time to read you have to stop in the middle of something. I think it’s on the cusp of something I found to be a challenging read, but still enjoyed enough to feel it was worth it. I also think it’s the kind of book you will get more from every time you read it, so definitely plan to pick it up again. ...more "

progress:

(page 35 of 249)
— Jul 26, 2024 02:36PM

Aug 13, 2024 04:58PM · see review