Reader discussion: Pillar of Fire

Public reader discussion about Pillar of Fire in the WeRead Catalog by Ray Bradbury.

What 3 books have you read that you think expanded your mind? Changed your view of the world? Had the most knowledge?

By dullorchid1997

I’m working security at a construction site like 12 hours a day. Honestly there isn’t much going on most of the time. I’ll step out and walk the perimeter every so often just to check nobody’s messing with stuff on the grounds, but yeah… it’s pretty boring. I’d like to use the time better though, so I’m looking for book recommendations to learn from. I don’t care if the topics are dull or super specific—I’m open to anything.

Was Ray Bradbury a pyromaniac or something?

By grandHammer49

I read *Fahrenheit 451* a while back, and then I just finished “There Will Come Soft Rains” this morning, and wow… I’m kind of spiraling. That whole thing is just unbearably bleak. Also, the way he talks about burning is weirdly intense. Like in both stories it’s almost treated like this cleansing, purging kind of thing, and he makes it sound kind of beautiful and “transforming,” which is not a vibe I was expecting. Random question, but does anybody know if he was maybe a pyromaniac or something? The whole fire obsession in his writing makes it feel like he’s really, really into it.

TIL: Fahrenheit 451 wasn't about government censorship, said author Ray Bradbury, it was about watching too much TV.

By Autumn-Bowl1993

Kinda weird, because I keep seeing the same take over and over, but when I read the book that’s basically what I got from it. I didn’t dig in super long or anything—I mean, it felt pretty obvious from how he talked about TV in his world (and the driving stuff too, like the constant need for instant gratification), especially compared to how they handled books.