quote:

Originally posted by oldpink:
Two personal favorites for me would be the melancholy "Fog Horn" and the magnificently haunting "There Will Come Soft Rains."
btw...does anyone out there have the full listing of all the stories contained in "The Stories of Ray Bradbury" and "Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales?"
I am strongly considering ordering both, but I hope they contain most or all of my all time favorite short stories from the old master.

Both of those books contain, at most, 10% of Ray's short stories. But, they are both great collections and per story are a good value.

Phil, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
It took a little bit of poking around on your site to locate the contents for the second book, but that also led me to your ENORMOUS amount of detailed information of ALL of his books.
I think you take top honors as the ultimate Bradbury fan, judging by all the work you put into your site.
I will be using your site as the singular reference point for this great writer.

I could have made it easier for you, but where would be the fun in that? For anyone else who is struggling to find the contents of Ray's two "greatest hits" collections, here are direct links: The Stories of Ray Bradbury and Bradbury Stories.

"The Veldt" is a perennial favorite of mine, and where I go in sublime fantasy to allow me moments to take revenge on everything from personal demons, to politicians I despise.

Actually, RB has had three "greatest hits" collections, the earliest being The Vintage Bradbury (1965).

But the two mentioned in previous posts are the ones to have. They contain exactly 100 stories each, with no overlap at all.

I have pretty much all the Bradbury that's available to the general reader (the major omissions are Summer Morning, Summer Night, and the Complete Edition of the Martian Chronicles) after updating my records today, I counted exactly 372 stories. So we can expect to see quite a bit more of the old stories coming out to play.

But the point is, I've accumulated those 372 stories in 24 different collections and a few scraps in non-Bradbury books. So just think - by buying just two books, you can have more than half my collection in one swoop!

By the way, there are 5 or 6 stories I have, but haven't even read!

quote:

Originally posted by douglasSP:
...By the way, there are 5 or 6 stories I have, but haven't even read!

Well, what are you waiting for?!

Actually, I own a couple of BOOKS of Bradbury that I haven't read yet. AHMED AND THE OBLIVION MACHINES for one, BULLET TRICK for another. And I have only dipped into MASKS.

Since this is turning into a confessional ...

I also haven't read Ahmed and the Oblivion Machines, and in fact I haven't read Farewell Summer, either.

But I have a semi-respectable reason for the latter. Eller and Touponce have a fascinating chapter in their book about how Dandelion Wine, Farewell Summer, and Summer Morning, Summer Night all relate to one another, and as soon as I have all three (I see there's an affordable edition of SMSN scheduled for the near future), it would be fun to read and re-read them all in a row.

As to why I haven't read that handful of stories yet - well, there ARE other authors who write books as well, you know!

"The Fog Horn"..."In a Season of Calm Weather"..."Dark They Were and Golden Eyed." Hard to believe that three such different masterpieces came from the same writer.

My all time favorite Bradbury...story, short or otherwise?
Today, we read RB and viewed RBTh The Toynbee Convector. What a timely theme, in view of the state of affairs in every corner of the Earth, on her seas, in the sky, and throughout her human population. Poignant...
So many stories of Mr. Bradbury seem to be "the best" when their metaphors awaken one's heart and mind.

I once orally read The Drummer Boy of Shiloh to a class of freshman, only to be startled moments later when we referenced the historic day of the battle. Our reading of the story took place on April 5th, the Civil War narrative's actual calendar date. I can not buy my boys new shoes without thinking of Sanderson's Emporium and finding a need to prompt them to rock back and forth, run up the isle a couple of times to feel the loam. Or how about simply sitting on a side porch on a warm summer eve, watching neighbors walking up the street, and feeling like I am at the Spaulding boarding house, just relaxing and waiting for the fireflies to arrive? As for walking at night; be careful late...Walking! Just Walking!

Then, of course, the beautiful prose of the red planet Mars! "We'll go no more a rovin"... until it is time for the million year Picnic! Of course, Montag experiences as great a metamorphosis as any literary hero written of. And Beatty never really saw it coming... So when, the boys at Heeber Finn's Pub hold their "on again off again" Sprint to the door, I too remained in my seat, having fallen in love with Deanna Durbin! Or on a whole different tone, I shudder to sense the hopelessness deep space pioneers are consumed by as ships are ripped open and crews kaleidoscope across the galaxy, or nothingness calls at no particular time at all...

Ravines I walked at night in my own home town, green apples I've eaten and thrown, pumpkins and trees carved, circus tents snuck under. Yes! I've done that, too, and found painted faces, tattooed freaks, and snakes larger than myself. That's something to think about as fatigue creeps in to your room when one is 12 or 13 years of age. As well, when does the train pass through town late at night, or the earliest hour of morning, that a Bradbury story does not rush, whistling into mind? No One Gets Off, The Dragon roars as most everyone sleeps, a distant carnival arrives at midnight, and maybe, just maybe, a small child named Joey is told a story that begins like this, "Once upon a time..."

I could go on! But I need to figure out which RB is the best...

Well said, Butch!

Every sentence brought back images and feelings...

Hey there, Sundance! Always something to ponder in a RB story, whether new releases or those many times read!!

I have just ventured into the first several chapters of McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, after some conjuring from the recent "greatest American novel" post. I've made time for sitting in our quiet backyard to flip pages, interrupted by only by our calico cat, the rustling of maple trees, or an occasional dragonfly skittering back and forth from our now blooming garden.

What an amazing narrative! With several days left of classes, grading (*@endless%#) papers, finals, reports, and "always purposeful" meetings, I anxiuosly await being able to seriously hit the trail with Augustus and Woodrow. An excellent summer escape..

How go things, ol' Pard? Quite well I hope!

Good to be here.
How go things?
Suffice it to be said, I can say "I'm tired" in a dozen languages!
(I really can!)

I'll be nominating: "The Terrible Conflagration Up at the Place"

Never got over how beautiful that painting is...

I am lucky to have met Ray Bradbury on three occasions - once on his doorstep in Cheviot Hills, once at a post-talk party in Boulder, Colo. and once at an art gallery in Denver. At the gallery, I told him my favorite of his short stories was "Powerhouse" and he looked at me in surprise: "I can honestly say I've never heard anyone else name that story," he said.

I thought that was cool.

Welcome to the Board, claybonnyman, we hope you stay long!


Powerhouse~! That is a rare one. I have a copy of The Stories of Ray Bradbury, and I looked that one up when you mentioned it. An Excellent story indeed, but on a later note, would your name happen to be Clay Evans?