There is no future for e-books, because they are not books. E-books smell like burned fuel.
Interpretation
Ray Bradbury expresses skepticism about the future of e-books, emphasizing the sensory experience of physical books.
In this quote, Ray Bradbury critiques e-books by highlighting the intangible qualities of traditional printed books that e-books lack. He argues that physical books provide a sensory experience, such as the smell of paper and ink, which contributes to their value and cultural significance. Bradbury's perspective suggests that the shift to digital formats may overlook the deeper connection between readers and the printed word.
In practice
In a discussion about the impact of technology on reading habits.
I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
I never went to college, so I went to the library.
There must be something in books, something we canβt imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You donβt stay for nothing.
I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health.
You can't try to do things; you simply must do them.
The only sensible ends of literature are, first, the pleasurable toil of writing; second, the gratification of one's family and friends; and lastly, the solid cash.
For most of human history, 'literature,' both fiction and poetry, has been narrated, not written β heard, not read. So fairy tales, folk tales, stories from the oral tradition, are all of them the most vital connection we have with the imaginations of the ordinary men and women whose labor created our world.
I have good reason to be content, for thank God I can read and perhaps understand Shakespeare to his depths.
It is a pity, in my opinion, that no prize exists for the writer who best refrains from adding to the world's bad books.
In literature the ambition of the novice is to acquire the literary language; the struggle of the adept is to get rid of it.
It really matters to writers to find and treasure readers, all the more when they're on the other side of the world.
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