The Farenheit 451 Commission

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You're on the Farenheit 451 Commission (don't ask *me* how you got there) and you've been asked to pick one book to remove from society and hit the book burning pile. The only proviso is that you can't pick a religious text.

What do you pick and why?

― Kevan (Kevan), Sunday, 21 November 2004 08:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Damn, I mean Fahrenheit.

― Kevan (Kevan), Sunday, 21 November 2004 08:28 (twenty-one years ago)

'Century in Black, a history of rugby in NZ' or whatever it is called. Because I would feel no loss.

― isadora (isadora), Monday, 22 November 2004 00:42 (twenty-one years ago)

I would pick Animal Farm. I would make lots of announcements about how I was going to ban and then burn this subversive text, and then loads of people would hide it and it would become a cult. It's a small and simple enough book that it would be easy to hide, and indeed to memorise, so it could continue to be passed down from one generation to the next even when all original printed copies of it were gone, and eventually me and my kind would be swept away by a proper People's Revolution, one that had learned all the lessons that Orwell wrote into the book.

Or, I would burn any one or more of Barbara Cartland's books, because no-one will ever read them again, and anyway there's 160 unpublished ones lying around somewhere that we have to make room for.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Monday, 22 November 2004 11:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Or I'd burn that fairy book for girls that was around last Christmas. It had a pretend little credit card in it. Grrr.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Monday, 22 November 2004 16:40 (twenty-one years ago)

SurelyFahrenheit 451 is the obvious choice.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Monday, 22 November 2004 19:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, I don't pick a religious text, I pick all religious texts.

― Dan I., Monday, 22 November 2004 19:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I would quite like all books by celebrity authors to disappear, but of their own accord - autobiographies, novels, advice, that kind of thing. Just think how much publishing space/muscle would be freed up for, erm, equally worthless stuff by non-famous people.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 09:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Anything by Ray Bradbury.

― MikeyG (MikeyG), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 10:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I have had a bit of time to think about this. I think I'd have to go with Ulysses by James Joyce.

I'm so tired of people saying: "Oh, you should read it.", I'm tired of picking it up and reading a few pages and then giving up. I'm tired of it sitting on the unread shelf of my bookcase and staring out at me, it's about a foot and half away from my left ear as I type this.

I'm tired of being in a society where Ulysses exists. Burn it.

― Kevan (Kevan), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 21:42 (twenty-one years ago)

"The Crimson Petal and The White". It would serve as a warning to all purveyors of shite.

― Phastbuck, Tuesday, 23 November 2004 21:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Screw Ulysses, what you really want to read is Finnegans Wake.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 00:48 (twenty-one years ago)

MikeyG, I assumed you'd pick Perfume.

I wouldn't pitch anything onto the fire. I'd be dancing around it, trying to pull flaming books out. I would also be saying things like, "No! Not that one! Are you cr- What are you doing! That one wasn't bad! Aw c'mon, give it another shot..."

― Vermont Girl (Vermont Girl), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 12:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Perfume, my god yes, may it burn.

I've always thought, in an ideal world, the Pope would say "Christianity is bigger than the Beatles" and people would be offended and start burning their bibles.

― MikeyG (MikeyG), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 14:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I recently bought a book from the charity shop and inside it was a cutting entitled 'God replies...' in which The Big Fella points out that he actually is more popular than Oasis, despite Noel G's claim to the contrary. However, it omits the stark-staring obvious fact that by Oasis playing Knebworth (oh the glamour), God *is* playing Knebworth. Even I know that, and I'm a hardcore satanist. Not really, do not strike me down.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Thursday, 25 November 2004 08:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I would burn "The Fountainhead". I already threw it into a street and watched cars run over it. Ok, Bye Bye! See ya! Au revoir! Cheerio!

― aimurchie, Sunday, 28 November 2004 13:53 (twenty years ago)

ten years pass...

I've always thought, in an ideal world, the Pope would say "Christianity is bigger than the Beatles" and people would be offended and start burning their bibles.

― MikeyG (MikeyG)

not bad idea imo

― post you had fecund thoughts about (darraghmac), Saturday, 4 April 2015 23:13 (ten years ago)

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