drunk on writing
June 6, 2012 § 179 Comments
“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.”
“Why is it,” he said, one time, at the subway entrance, “I feel I’ve known you so many years?”
“Because I like you,” she said, “and I don’t want anything from you.”
“You must write every single day of your life… You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads… may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”
—Ray Bradbury Rest in peace friend, you taught us much.
Coco J. Ginger Says 
Has he died? I didn’t realise. I watched one of his short stories adapted for TV a couple of weeks ago. It was terribly 70’s, but had a great hook to it. Aw. :O( Love that quote, beautiful. I love nothing more than the smell of old books, and new books after they’ve just been opened, fresh off the press. They hint at hidden worlds or something sentimental like that. :O)
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yes he just died, age 91. wow, what a great great man.
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Coco,
I like this tribute. Very nice.
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I believe that his conclusion to Fahrenheit 451 would be an apt epitaph to mark his life:
“And on either side of the river was there a tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nation.
Yes, thought Montag, that’s the one I’ll save for noon. For noon…
When we reach the city.”
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I wasn’t familiar with this quote. It’s fantastic.
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so so so good…..it’s actually 3 quotes….3 of my favs
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Those are such great RB quotes. Here’s another one of my favorites:
“If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed to trap them before they escape.”
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LOVE IT, thanks
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That is so me! I wake up thinking … “I should write this …” Love those moments. They make me feel alive.
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Absolutely! Love this comment very much.
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Both amazing quotations! ❤ ❤
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love that
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We all need a bit of Bradbury. Thanks.
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Yes! If you have chosen this path then you should enjoy every moment of it. I am finding a writer within me and every germinating writer does the same thing. But its the practice that adds fragrance to the hard work.
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Fragrance. I like that.
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Lovely tribute. And thanks for following my blog! I’m looking forward to doing the same 🙂
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Hi,
This is a beautiful tribute. May he rest in peace.
Ciao,
Pat Garcia
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Reblogged this on .
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Beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing!
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Brilliant, inspiring quotes, thank you Coco!
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Reblogged this on Rendezvous With Renee and commented:
This just brought me to tears.
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awwwwe 🙂
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🙂 back at ya. Honey Fahrenheit 451 is one of my all time favorite books. It made me realize the importance of the written word. The importance of a book. A Kindle, now that’s nice. It’s convenient. But a book. Especially an old one, found in a used bookstore. Now that’s the best book there is. There’s history in the pages. There’s history in the readers. There’s history in the finger prints on the cover. There’s just history.
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Love this Coco, Indeed writing does seem to get into the blood!
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Wonderful quote. Mind if I keep it? 🙂
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This is an absolutely awesome post!
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RIP Ray Bradbury, I will love his writing forever! The world will not be the same without him!
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agreed
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Reblogged this on erickeys and commented:
More on Bradbury
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sat in library today, saw a display of some of his work, then turned on my computer and saw he died. went to library clerk and asked, “oh, i guess you have that collection up because ray bradbury died today?” she said, “he died? didn’t know.”
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you’re kidding? wow that is crazy. what a legend
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i’m obsessed with libraries
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and book stores. i have a library about a mile from me. i’m very happy to sit right in the middle of the place with my laptop and type for an hour or two.
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when I was in high school, every day after school I would go to the library for hours. But nothing is better then a used book store….just saying those words I get all bothered and hot…not really..well maybe… 🙂
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uh oh. now you gone and dun it.
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i am so sad he died.
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The only way to do it! R.I.P. Mr Bradbury, you are missed.
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awe yes very much
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Reblogged this on isfahan and commented:
to Ray Bradbury ❤
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thanks for following me… I just wanted to say that I loved these quotes, especially the last. Reading and writing and creating are all wonderful things and are some of my hobbies – as well as yours I see!
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oh yes yes yes yes yes ;D
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Reblogged this on Caeruleus Aether and commented:
Breaking my normal once a week post in honour of Ray Bradbury.
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I second that 😉
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Dandelion Wine was my favorite Ray Bradbury novel
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i haven’t read it, but i want to. I love the title, you can also make coffee out of dandelion #funfact
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Or you can batter and deep fry the flowers… Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine is the classic book of summers as a child.
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Lovely tribute, Coco. Bradbury would be pleased.
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oh i hope so. i wish i could have met him.
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Those are some choice quotes! I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Bradbury as the only book I read was The Illustrated Man back when I was 14 or something, and I didn’t really get into it then. But these quotes are gold!
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aren’t they great? The middle one really makes my heart go thump thump 😉
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As an author, the best teachers you can have are all those men and women who came before you. It’s by reading their works that you grow, learning from their best qualities and, why not? Maybe their mistakes.
It’s why art can be such a beautiful thing. All the knowledge of the craft is there to be shared.
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you said that beautifully, i couldn’t agree more
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Agree one hundred percent!
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nicely played with words
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he’s great
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[…] Ray Bradbury died at the ripe old age of 91. I felt overwhelmed with guilt, for when I read this beautiful tribute to him, I had my Kindle in front of me. There is no future for e-books, because they are not books. […]
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there is currently a huge future for e-books, but not for the real writers and lovers of books…. we love to hold the book in our hand, mark it up, color it in, and sleep with it under our pillows
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No matter how successful e-books become, paper will never die. Written word cannot be destroyed as easy as letters made up of pixels and light. It is no wonder that books like Fahrenheit 451 tell us about the future fighting over books. Or how their power is understood and sought in the movie The Book of Eli. Those who know the power of books seek to destroy them, change them or obtain them.
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amen amen
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What a great quote! (and I agree – ebaooks aren’t going anywhere, but there is nothing like a real solid book in your hand).
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e-books have made a lot of money, and will continue to make a lot of money….but nothing will ever compare to that solid piece of hard expressive paper in your hand.
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What’s your favorite film adapted from a Ray Bradbury story?
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I’ve not seen one, what do you recommend??
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I like Fahrenheit 451 (1966), directed by Francois Truffaut, but I haven’t seen every movie based off Bradbury’s work. I really want to know if you (or anyone else) know of any good adaptations of “A Sound of Thunder” because I saw a terrible version a few years ago starring Edward Burns and I’d like to think the story was done justice in cinema somewhere.
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anyone on here know???? I do not…
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What a very nice tribute, Coco. I am an old man that grew up reading Bradbury. If you’ve never read his story THE LAKE, check it out: it’s about the most haunting and sweet short story I ever read. And SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES is as good as THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES and FAHRENHEIT 451. Thanks for posting.
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okay, definitely adding to my goodreads.com list 😀 I am beyond obsessed with reading
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that’s good advise
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Fahrenheit 451, one of my all-time favorites, and perhaps the book that first lit my own literary fire. If you’ve never, check out his book, “zen and the art of writing”.
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oooooh yes that is the one I am dying to read, which is better?
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[…] Ray Bradbury died at the ripe old age of 91. I felt overwhelmed with guilt, for when I read this beautiful tribute to him, I had my Kindle in front of me. There is no future for e-books, because they are not books. […]
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Reblogged this on writingisl0ve and commented:
🙂
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😀
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Well that was far more elegant than what I tried to write about it. Next time I’ll just put up a link to your page. 😛
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thank you for this. wonderful.
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thanks to him 😉
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Hi Coco. Thanks for dropping by on my blog. Considering that it was supposed to a simple entry mentioning that probably I will not visit it for a while, I did not expect it to get any hits…. but there are strange rivers.
Love the freshness in your writing …. enjoy the summer!
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well thank you 🙂
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The words brought tears to her eyes when she read them. She thought, “How is that little alphabets, strung together can have meaning, can evoke emotion as they do?”
Books are rare jewels, a treasure we can keep, or give, buy, or borrow, and never have enough. They are old and faithful friends that tell us tales, take us places we might never know otherwise, and when we return to them they never bore of telling us again. They never forget a part or passage. They keep time and memory safely tucked away between the velum, leather, and paper. ~ Lynda
Thank you for visiting me today. Are your words in books yet? If not, then perhaps they should be.
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wow oh wow, did you write those quote-ish words above? so beautiful. And almost…:) thanks friend
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Yes. And I am glad for you. 🙂
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Reblogged this on The Anti-Heroic Epic and commented:
Not really sure how reblogging works on WordPress, but this is an awesome mini-tribute to Ray Bradbury. The guy who wrote Fahrenheit 451 and called Michael Moore a “horrible human being.”
Frankly, he deserves a bronze statue with his head on the body of Greek god for those two bits alone. This is nice, too, though.
{V}
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yes yes yes 🙂
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I love this piece. You have presented one of the greats, and very inspiring. Thank you for this one.
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THanks Suzie, yes he is so worthy
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Hic! Hic! Hic! I’ll have a double.
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oooooo lala
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Writing is impractical and useless. What good are these words? Who has time to read? What is the point of this so-called art?! Why do I bother?!?!?! Meh, because, I guess. Write up a storm and cast down great words of lightning!!! But don’t set any books on fire.
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oh wow,, are these your words?
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I hope so, or else I have ghosts in my head speaking through me, which would be creepy.
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i like how you write. yes that would be creepy 🙂
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Writing is impractical and useless? Tell that to Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, or to Mark Twain. The transmission of knowledge is vital to civilization. Fiction or biography gives future generations insight into our society and how we live.
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🙂 My commentary was more a play on Fahrenheit 451 than my actual opinion, however, I admittedly like to play devil’s advocate sometimes as well to get people thinking. Sooo, thank you, or something, I guess. You pass the test. Keep writing!
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Surprised no one’s mentioned this quote:
“If they give you ruled paper write the other way”
I highly recommend Bradbury’s other non-science fiction work, “Death Is a Lonely Business” and “A Graveyard for Lunatics.” Those two are mystery novels.
Cheers.
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Drunk on writing. I recently spent two weeks with two of my favorite first cousins who are drunk on vodka every day. So drunk they can’t live without it. The addiction rules their lives. They are 58 and 52 years old, respectively and they have been drunk for a very long time. If I could master that level of intoxication with my writing, I’d probably make a better writer. I’ll remember to imbibe more frequently. Thanks.
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because i like you – and i don’t want anything from you – sniff the books like perfumes – you have such a creativity with words – thank you if i were 30 years younger i would lurk in subway entrances hoping to meet the one who bestowed these words upon eyes that should gobble them up as a starving man would grasp at food in a desperate clutch for wisdom if they give you ruled paper make a paper airplane
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i never have been on a subway—Hah i do like your writing – my son The Fibitz – who lives in New York City is also a writer – i will visit more
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i only like to sniff the new books
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yes lady…you just “get it”
thanks for this
xo
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You made me want to go get drunk on writing right now! Thanks! Frank
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haha do it
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What an amazing quote! I am not familiar with any of his short stories..Can you recommend me some?
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I’m so happy someone asked. I have been a Bradbury fan for fifty years and one of his first stories (THE LAKE) has been reprinted in many anthologies and it is one of the best short stories ever written. I love it and it still gives me goose-pimples. Bradbury would have been good in any genre.
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Thanks a lot for the reply, rosewater12:)
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Right on with the honoring of this great mind, peaceful journey….
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..great mind, peaceful journey….kind thoughts.
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Awesome quote.
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I loved Ray Bradbury, his Fahrenheit 451 is a work of genius that will last for ever (unless someone burns it).
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Well said! A writer’s tribute to a timeless writer….
Thanks for the follow, too. I appreciate it.
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great author – RIP
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Reblogged that ! 🙂
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Reblogged this on ALIA ♌.
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What I thought was kind of weird is that my friend told us that she burnt her copy of Fahrenheit 451 (we had to read it for school) the day before he died. Sort of an odd coincidence there.
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great blog congratulations… i’m a photographer but maybe i will attempt to write something, sometime, someplace.. who knows!!!!
ray bradbury…what an inspiration… r.i.p.
g*
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What isn’t there to like about Ray? Maybe the way he tied his shoes or held his fork when he was eating a custard? … Or do you even eat custard with a fork? … Anyway, one of the great romours that I heard about him was that when he wrote a story, he would set aside for exactly 1 year. Then he would come back to it with fresh eye and a clear mind to proof and edit! We keep reading, and telling his story and he’ll live on forever!
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i love that technique
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I love this quote as well, Coco. Thanks for visiting my blog (on Grace Paley’s advice for internal & external conflict in story)! I’m enjoying checking out yours.
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Reblogged this on Hopeful of Words and commented:
Amen.
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I really love this man, and I love the quote…it’s not even about the poetic nature or the depth of it that strikes me. It’s the simplicity behind the statement. We should all do/be what we love, the most basic yet essential piece of advice anyone could ask for 🙂 Thanks for the quote xo
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If you’ve never read it before… ‘The Book of Flying’ by Keith Miller will astound! It’s all about books and libraries and will fill you with wonder.
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literally adding to my goodreads account this moment. thanks! love book recommendations CHEERS to you!! have a lovely day 😉
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Thanks for the great Bradbury quotes. I will never forget reading Fahrenheit 451–it blew me away!
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Man, just what I needed to hear.
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What a powerful quote! I still haven’t read Fahrenheit 451, on the list though.
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me too
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you prolly got this already 😉 , but… i included you in my nomination for the reader appreciation award passed on to me at this short-llnk, http://wp.me/p1Tl9F-c9… please join…
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Wowser, I like this. Thanks for visiting my blog!
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great quote!
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He was by far one of my favorite modern-day writers.
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genius
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Staying drunk to get courage to face the reality, mayhaps…
I’ve never read anything about him… Maybe he’s an interesting mind 🙂
Should I?
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Johndscripts,
I just read Fahrenheit 451 in honor of his passing. I put the review on my blog.
Check it out. He is definitely worth reading.
Marion
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Thanks Marion,
I’ll read it as soon as I can: I’m back from a little Vacation in Padua, with my sweethearth 😉
See you soon
Johnatan
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Bradbury was always such a treasure…loved his writing and his interviews. He spoke like he was writing a novel.
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Favorite quote from an amazing man! So sad he has passed away. Great blog!
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THANKS 😀
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Yes, a great writer. Emotions from the heart, living with his soul.
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Thanks! He will be missed.
I cannot wait to find a new writer half as good as he was.
Ghost.
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😦 i know
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Sniff books, I will. I love the smell of old books! Good quotes 🙂
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That was a great quote, Coco. On my blog, I just did a book review of Fahrenheit 451, in honor of his passing. Check it out when you get a chance.
Marion
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Reblogged this on write drunk and edit sober and commented:
Ray Bradbury, another wonderful author who got drunk on writing.
He’s always been one of my favorite authors, ever since I was a kid, and I’m sad that he died this week.
No great author is ever dead, though. We can take cover in that.
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Fantastic post coco, it reflects my passion, blessings and thanks for your kind visit.
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[…] “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” – Ray Bradbury […]
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Yes, Bradbury was a dreamer and reminded us to take risks. He will be missed!
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Love this…. must use this quote in a blog! Thanks for stopping by and checking out my site. Peace!
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[…] on yesterday’s blog and followed a link to a beautious blog post that celebrated Ray Bradbury, may he rest in […]
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Nice tribute, thanks for stopping by as well.
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This is one of my favorite quotes! Thank you for following my blog.
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Lovely tribute for one of the seminal writers in my life. Nicely, nicely said.
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He was a great man……and these are such great quotes. And you are right, he has taught us much
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How true!
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And may we all never have to suffer the slings and arrows of an outrageous writing hangover! *raises glass filled with words with such ferocity, a few manage to spill and find their way into this comment box*
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Hey Coco,
Thanks for stopping on my blog and liking it. Great quote!
Z.
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I wish I could “love” this. Great quotes. Really makes me want to read Fahrenheit 451 again.
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I can picture myself with the quotes you have written. Because I love to go to libraries and even buying books.
And I would like to thank you on behalf of Daylight Tune Ministry for liking the post “不要吞”.
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I miss him as well. I wrote about my relationship with him here: http://blogginanam.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/when-heroes-die/
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Great quotes from a fantastic mind. Each one, although short, speaks volumes to the soul of a writer.
-A.M.
http://amschultz.com
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Talk about courting the madness of poetry.
Good choices of favourite quotes, Coco! Esp the part about smelling books!
Oh, and thanks for visiting my blog!
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Reblogged this on The Whimsical Life of an Aquarius and commented:
I am forever drunk…on writing!
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Reblogged this on Geekerd's blog!.
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“write when your drunk, edit when your sober”
Ernest Hemingway
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[…] https://courtingmadness.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/drunk-on-writing/ […]
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OK – let’s get drunk, as the master suggested 🙂
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Pretty great blog. Loving the quotes. Make me think.
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“It is time to get drunk! So as not to be the martyred slaves of Time, get drunk; get drunk without stopping! On wine, on poetry, or on virtue, as you wish.” – Charles Baudelaire
Thanks for visiting one of my blogs and I am glad you like yesterday’s post.
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Reblogged this on Olympic Gypsy.
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Reblogged this on If She Falls In Love and commented:
Wonderful…
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So true about writing every single day. And I hope you do. Wonderful posts here. Very provoking and provocative. Thanks for reading my blog!
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Reblogged this on SARAH SIDERS and commented:
For my writer friends, an old but lovely tribute to Ray Bradbury. My favorite part has to be this: “…may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”
Indeed. Let our love remake the world!
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I swear to you that just last night I said “i am drunk on writing”… ❤ from a new follower
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Wow!!
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drunk on writing and high on reading!
lovely!
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I love this post… What would I do without books and words?
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I love Ray Bradbury. Thanks!!!
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Gosh. Just when I thought I couldn’t like you and your wonderful blog any more! He is my FAVORITE author. That first quote you wrote is my FAVORITE writing quote. I’m so happy. Just. Just. Never stop writing. He was an absolute genius and inspires me to write every day.
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He was my Mom’s favorite author growing up. Awe thank you I’m so glad. He is such am inspiration.
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such a long list of comments wow…anyways i liked the will of the writer and loved the image 🙂
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What a great tribute, Coco!
Love, Dina
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