It's Getting Hot In Here.

Perhaps the best quote from Fahrenheit 451. My favorite, at least.

First, let me apologize for the horrible attempt at titling this post. Ray Bradbury would probably be ashamed.

Few books have withstood the test of time, and they're usually the ones that pop up in English classes across the country as required reading. I'll be the first to admit that if a teacher tells me to read a book as part of curriculum, I'm instantly determined to hate it. Such was the case with a lot of my peers, and to this day, most of them haven't given these books a second chance. I guess I'm a rarity.

I don't remember my feelings the first time I read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, but I can tell you it was nothing like what I feel for the book today. The thing about this book is that it's got some incredible quotes tucked inside it's covers. The world that the author creates is futuristic, but more than anything, realistic to the kind of society we're seeing shape right before our own eyes. 

It's not the easiest to understand, but if you keep an open mind and really pay attention, Ray Bradbury can blow you away. His quotes fit perfectly into the middle of the book, slipping almost unnoticed unless you're paying just enough attention. 

I've read it five times now and I can't help but grab a highlighter each time I crack it open again, hoping to stumble into another beautiful example of the true power of words. Here's a list of some of my favorite quotes from the book:

• "We begin by beginning."
• "You don't stay for nothing."
• "I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe, if I talk long enough, it'll make sense."
• "I sit here and know I'm alive."
• "That's the good part of dying; when you've got nothing to lose, you run any risk you want."
• "You're afraid of making mistakes. Don't be. Mistakes can be profited by."

Anyway, I hope you're open to the idea of giving those classics your teachers shoved down your throat another chance.