On The Nightstand

LISTEN TO THE ECHOES: THE RAY BRADBURY INTERVIEWS

by Sam Weller

Thanks to so many secret projects, it's been a while since I've talked about what I'm reading.  But if I was going to do another one of these posts, it seems appropriate that it would be a collection of interviews with Ray Bradbury.

It's no secret that I'm a card-carrying member of the Ray Bradbury fan club, and in my personal pantheon of creative gods, he sits on the highest throne, flanked by Douglas Adams and Kim Newman.

(F. Paul Wilson, Aaron Sorkin, and Steven Moffatt are all there, as well.  In funny hats.  And when I really let my imagination run wild, I like to think Paul's hat has wings on it.  Just 'cause it amuses me.)

I expected to be deeply saddened by Bradbury's recent passing, but I have to admit my initial reaction wasn't so much a feeling of loss, but an enormous gratitude that he had walked among us for any period of time, and for the incredible amount of stunning work he left behind.

We say things like, "I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for (random name of an author or artist or filmmaker or whatever)" way too much, and the well-meaning intention of that phrase has gotten a bit muddied.  But I can honestly say that I certainly wouldn't have written a single word of prose or comics if not for Ray Bradbury.

I rediscovered him in college and tore through every book he'd written that I could get my hands on.  In those thousands of pages I found a way to look at the world that resonated with me, encouraging us all to be better, more wide-eyed, more joyful people.

The collection of interviews here (conducted by his biographer, Sam Weller, over the course of nearly a decade) show a vibrant, ridiculously creative, and touchingly all too human man.

If you're a fan of Bradbury or writing in general, I can't recommend it enough.