Written in 1953, the novel revolves around Guy Montag in a future, dystopian American society where books were banned. Montag was a fireman. Instead of fire-fighting, Montag's job was to actually burn books.
His perceived happy life was drastically changed by three separate incidents: his meeting with a 17-year-old neighbor Clarisse McClellan, the near-death of his TV-addicted wife Mildred, and seeing an old woman who burnt herself with her books rather that to stay alive without them. These made him really question about his own life and the society at large. Later in the story, he became an outlaw himself and took part in rebuilding his society.
As a mildly-avid reader myself, a world like Montag's would be hell for me. Fortunately, I seriously doubt such thing would happen in our world. While e-books are gaining popularity among the masses, with some people fearing that it may replace the good ol' stacks of neatly-bound printed papers, it still show that a lot of people still enjoy reading. And I really don't think that e-books will truly replace paper books.
After reading this book, it made me treasure my collection even more.
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