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I just finished re-reading The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. I hadn't read it since high school. I have fallen in love with this collection of short stories all over again.

I told a friend that she should read it and she said "I don't like science fiction." Of course, Ray Bradbury is a legendary sci-fi writer, but The Illustrated Man is much more than a collection of sci-fi stories. In fact, I didn't even think of the category of science fiction until my friend brought it up. I convinced her that she would love it AND SHE DID.

There are a number of stories throughout the book that are genius. And a few that could be the basis for some great movies – if Hollywood continues to lack the ability to create their own original ideas.

The collection is a very short read (even for somebody like me that reads particularly slow). Make sure you at least check out the following stories in the collection:
1. Kaleidoscope
2. The Rocket Man
3. Marionettes, Inc.
4. The Rocket

Enjoy!

Been a while since I read Ray Bradbury, I may have to check it out.

Sci-fi gets a bad rap, people have an image of a bad Star Trek episode or something (I might have just offended some people), or think it's just for kids who read comic books and play video games.

I've read this collection at least twice. It has been a favorite of mine since high school. I will have to go hunt up my falling apart book.

Dexter wrote:Been a while since I read Ray Bradbury, I may have to check it out.

Sci-fi gets a bad rap, people have an image of a bad Star Trek episode or something (I might have just offended some people), or think it's just for kids who read comic books and play video games.

Oh, there were quite a few bad Star Trek episodes, in the original series anyway, I haven't watched the more recent version ... I don't think anyone should be too offended, just a statement of fact.

I've tried to read sci-fi including Ray Bradbury but it just doesn't capture my interest generally, seems sort of distant, remote and I have difficulty relating to it. But I have read fiction with sci-fi elements and enjoyed that. And sci-fi can be funny, ie Hitchhikers Guide and others. Actually, some of those bad Star Trek episodes were funny.