Sry, I was reffering to All Summer In A Day (or whatever its called)

The first Bradbury book I ever read was SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES which for many years was a Halloween event for me.

Every October when dark clouds scratched the skies and the wind hinted a smell of burning leaves from faraway shores, I'd pull this book out and re-read it from start to end, deliberately wiling myself not to recall what came next, losing my imagination in the richness of imagery and nostalgic delight. In my mind's eye Green Town was the whole of the neighborhood I grew up in, the library the sharp corridors of my grade school, the Illustrated Man the epitome of the dark and sly bullies who wax softly but stalk deeply.

Even now so many years later I recall the delight of hairs dancing on my neck as Mr. Dark strolled the shadowy rows of books seeking Will and Jim hidden among its lost tales. . .

In later years I would wander the shores of lost Mars, cheer the courage of Montag in his quiet desperation, rush away from The Crowd, and wave good-bye to Mssrs. Hemingway and Wolfe.

Any friend of Nicholas Nickelby is still a friend of mine.

And whether it is recalling the opening paragraph of OCTOBER COUNTRY or the closing lines of LET'S KILL CONSTANCE, Raymond Douglas Bradbury is still a favorite author of mine.

-- Doc

Deep within these nearly 200 posts on "What Got You Started?", I commented on the collection of Golden Apple of the Sun, as a high school (9-10th gr.) reader. If I may:

"So: we stretched out our beggar's cup...
The Cup dipped into the sun. It scooped up a bit of the flesh of God, the blood of the universe, the blazing thought, the blinding philosophy that set out and mothered a galaxy, that idled and swept planets in their fields and summoned or laid to rest lives and livelihoods...
The Cup, lid shut, dripped yellow flowers and white stars..."

And now, this just in - right out of the short story itself of "Golden Apples" - http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/04/06/solar.booty/index.html

The first Bradbury story I read was A SOUND OF THUNDER in a short-story school textbook. I think was 11 or possibly 12. Around that same time, I saw KING KONG and THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS on television for the first time. Soon after that, I discovered FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine and watched THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD on the big screen during its original theatrical release. By the following year, I had devoured THE OCTOBER COUNTRY and the book that would become my all-time favorite novel, SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. By the time I turned 13, that Holy Trinity of Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen and Forrest J Ackerman had become my imaginative idols. Wonder of wonders, they remain so today. Who says you should never meet your heroes?

my god, dandelion, what a huge thread. i think ill come back in a year or two and copy it.

The first Bradbury story I heard was on the radio when I was 8 or 9. It was "The Small Assassin".

Three or four years later I borrowed R is for Rocket from the school library, so the first story I read and loved was the title story (originally titled "King of the Gray Spaces").

Only later did I discover that the scary story from the radio was by Ray. I still don't have kids.

HA! 200!

My experience was similar to yours. The first show I saw was the movie of the week "The Screaming Woman," but didn't know till about three years later that the story was by Ray. My niece is about the age I was then and at about the same level as far as her concept of Ray: "I've heard of him, but I'm not sure who he is." Her older brother flat out said, "I never heard of him," a sure sign he is not being brought up properly and must be taken immediately in hand.

201! i said this in another thread but my first story was "The Veldt" my mom said she read it once, lost it, but remembered it for years because she loved it. she tried for years to find it again, too.

My first Bradbury was Fahrenheit 451 when I was 15. Years later in the workplace, I found a colleague of mine had similar literary tastes but she had never read Ray.
I loaned her the book and she enjoyed it so much that she "forgot" to return it when she changed jobs! Still it's gratifying to know
that somebody else found the magic and it gave me an excuse to get a spanking new trade paperback copy. There was a great afterword by Ray where he mentions ideas he had later that he wished he had included in F451. My favourite was Beatty having a roomful of books which he shows Montag. As he says to Montag it's not the having it's the reading that's the crime and he never touches the books.

i read "Soft Rains..." in sophomore english, and that really gave me chills. i loved it. i've read more of ray's works since then. i forget the title, but i remember his story of the sea monster was on my junior HSPA test, which was cool. okay, i am doing research on ray right now for an english project, so i should get back to that before i get in trouble for goofing round.

Hi guys, i just got started on ray bradbury with fahrenheit 451. i had to read it for school and fell in love with it. and now i've finished it--where's my story?! i almost wish i hadnt read it yet so i could read it for the first time again. i do plan on continuing to read bradbury's books. so feel free to give me some that you recommend!
alyssa

All too many years ago--2nd, 3rd grade maybe--read a wonderful story in a reader called "The Sound of Summer Running." Born in So. IL and raised on sneakers, dandelions, fireflies, and falling stars, I thought the writer had written this story just for me. Couple of years later, bought The Martian Chronicles and was hooked. Only years later discovered Summer Running was an excerpt from Dandelion Wine. Have been reading Mr. B for close to 40 years now. Effect on my life? Hmmm. . .priceless.

um. the martian whatever at 13.

Uh-oh. Don't let Translator read that last post!

He-he! Now I'm adding more posts to this thread! Anyone wanna wager still?

The Martian What? Invasion? Soil?

Cheers, Translator