Ray Bradbury at the 2008 University of California, Riverside Eaton Conference (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As mentioned a few posts ago, I’ve been reading Ray Bradbury this summer. I started with books/collections yet unread. First choice was The Cat’s Pajamas. Published in 2004, all but two of the stories were new to print. Here is a list of story titles including the years they were written:
Cover of The Cat’s Pajamas: Stories
- “Chrysalis” 1946-1947
- “The Island” 1952
- “Sometime Before Dawn” 1950
- “Hail to the Chief” 2003-2004
- “We’ll Just Act Natural” 1948-1949
- “Olé, Orozco, Siqueiros, Sí!” 2003-2004
- “The House” 1947
- “The John Wilkes Booth/Warner Brothers/MGM/NBC Funeral Train” 2003
- “A Careful Man Dies”—previously published in November 1946 New Detective 1946
- “The Cat’s Pajamas” 2003
- “Triangle” 1951
- “The Mafioso Cement-Mixing Machine” 2003
- “The Ghosts” 1950-1952
- “Where’s My Hat, What’s My Hurry?” 2003
- “The Transformation” 1948-1949
- “Sixty-Six”—previously published in December 2003 The Strand 2003
- “A Matter of Taste” 1952
- “I Get the Blues When It Rains (A Remembrance)” 1980
- “My Enemies Are Dead” 2003
- “The Completist” 2003-2004
- “Epilogue: The R.B., G.K.C., and G.B.S. Forever Orient Express”—a poem 1996-1997
This book was a good starting point for picking up Bradbury again. There was a fascinating range of subjects covered in this collection–one about a longing for something almost impossible, a few about presidents, a handful of murder mysteries–one of which was an art mystery, another about a money-pit house and a new marriage, a few on magical trains, one on a hemophiliac writer (my favorite), some with romance, several touching on racism, and an unexpected poem honoring some of his favorite writers.
You may not like all the stories; however, his talent for storytelling and character creation is undeniable. Another surprising aspect of these stories is that they stay relevant. Try reading the president story “Sometime Before Dawn” first, and then look back and check its print date. My suggestion to you is browse through the book until you find one that tugs at you, sit down with it and enjoy. That’s why Bradbury wrote.
Absolutely mean to start! Glad for the reminder. k.
k,
Good luck with it.
I agree his abilities as a story teller are astounding.
I’m looking at your list and there are a couple of things I don’t recognise – I will get on to it straight away.
Graphite Bunny,
Thanks for stopping by. Bradbury is one of my favorites. I hope I made it clear in the post, but if not, the given list is of short stories collected in the book The Cat’s Pajamas. I hope you find it. If you do, please visit again and let me know what you thought.
Yes I think you make it clear he is a favourite! He is certainly one of mine. I was an unstoppable reader as a kid and his books gave me a view through a very exciting window.
Graphite Bunny,
A very appropriate description of every one of his stories, “a very exciting window.”
Thanks for listing this selection here … it makes my trip to the library catalogue just that little bit more focused
Geoffrey,
You’re welcome. I’ll discuss some of his other works as I finish them. Next up are Dinosaur Tales and Fahrenheit 451.
I haven’t read any Bradbury in forever!
Mama Zen,
You should! I find him so comfortable. Not really that his topics are gentle, just his style. If you do read, let me know what you chose. I went to the library to see what I could request and found several he’d written of which I’d never heard. I’ve got to get reading to make it through them all by the end of summer.
Interesting, do you keep all of your books? If not, perhaps we can do a book trade of some kind. Otherwise, I’ll just add this to my GoodReads list and pick it up somewhere along the way.
blancaster99,
Dandelion Wine you should have on your shelf though.
I wish I had it. Got it at the library, a cheaper and viable option these days. Put it on your GoodReads and visit your nearest library.