Timberland Reads Together: ‘Fahrenheit 451’

Published 5:00 pm Thursday, September 27, 2012

PACIFIC COUNTY, Wash. – Reading a book can be exciting, inspiring, informative or relaxing. And it’s mostly visual. But each October, Timberland Regional Library (TRL) turns reading a book into a multisensory experience. Libraries fill with the buzz of book conversations, the sights and sounds of live theater and film presentations and the tangible materials of displays and exhibits.

Experience the many dimensions of reading with a month-long series of programs and events designed around one great book, the focus of the library system’s eighth annual Timberland Reads Together program: Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451.”

To participate, read or listen to the book, view the film adaptation and join librarians, friends and neighbors for some of the programs happening Oct. 1 through 31. Events include dramatic readings by Book-It Repertory Theatre of Seattle, book discussions, film screenings, activities and exhibits. The events are free of charge.

All Timberland branches have copies of the novel to lend in various formats, including regular print, large print, Spanish (print) and audiobook CDs. Downloadable audiobook and e-book copies are at the library website, www.TRL.org. The library system also offers the graphic novel edition and DVDs of the movie adaptation.

A powerful cautionary tale, “Fahrenheit 451” depicts a totalitarian society where books are burned, minds numbed and original thinking suppressed. Guy Montag is a fireman in a world where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction. His job is to destroy books along with the homes in which they are hidden. The books ignite at 451 degrees Fahrenheit.

Montag never questions his work, returning each day to his bland life and his 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.

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

All programs are open to the public free of charge and are held at library branches and other locations throughout Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Pacific and Grays Harbor counties. Events include live theater presentations, book discussions and movie screenings, including “Fahrenheit 451” and other dystopian films – films set in imaginary places where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives, places in which worst-case scenarios are explored. Some libraries are also offering contests, interactive displays or art exhibits.

Major opening events: The first week of Timberland Reads Together coincides with Banned Books Week (Sept. 30 to Oct. 6). Events include performances of “Danger: Books!” by Seattle’s Book-It Repertory Theatre at branches throughout the five counties. Book-It actors will present dramatic readings of controversial sections from three books that have been banned or challenged in the United States, including Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451.” The group will then lead a discussion about the First Amendment and how and why books are banned. The local performance will be from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, at Naselle Timberland Library at 4 Parpala Road.

Ray Bradbury wrote his first book at age 12 and in the following eight decades, wrote hundreds of short stories, nearly 50 books, and numerous poems, essays, operas, plays, teleplays, and screenplays. His most celebrated works include “Fahrenheit 451,” “The Martian Chronicles,” “The Illustrated Man,” “Dandelion Wine,” “Something Wicked This Way Comes” and the screenplay for John Huston’s film adaptation of “Moby Dick.” He also adapted 65 of his stories for television’s “The Ray Bradbury Theater.”

Bradbury received a multitude of awards for his science fiction, fantasy, horror and screen writing. He was the recipient of the 2000 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2004 National Medal of Arts and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation. Bradbury died June 5, 2012, at the age of 91. More information about his life and career is online at RayBradbury.com

Timberland Reads Together is an annual program that the Timberland Regional Library District has provided since 2005 in order to provide, as stated in its mission: “information, resources, services and places where all people are free to read, learn, connect and grow.” One book is chosen each year that has widespread appeal across various interests. Programs are designed to bring richness, depth and community to the experience of reading.

A printed brochure about Timberland Reads Together is available at Timberland libraries. In addition to a listing of all programs, the booklet includes a summary of the book, a biography of Ray Bradbury, questions for thought and discussion and other information to enrich the reading of Bradbury’s masterwork. The information is also available on the Timberland Reads Together webpage at www.TRL.org/ProgramsResources/Pages/TRT12/TRT.aspx or by calling a Timberland branch, or 800-562-6022.