1:50pm | Raise your glass, or blow out a candle, or save a pile of books from the wrath of a raging flamethrower because today is the 90th birthday of larger-than-life science fiction author Ray Bradbury.
The author’s actual birthday is on August 22, but UCLA is hosting a weeklong celebration with messages from Bradbury himself, exhibits of his work and the chance for you to leave a message for the birthday boy.
A literary hero to many who gained international claim with classics like The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury grew up in Los Angeles and spent countless hours digging through the shelves at Acres of Books, the iconic Long Beach bookstore that closed down two years ago. Bradbury made the trip to Long Beach and held a press conference (video below) when he heard the store was in danger of closing, and his legend only grew with a passionate plea for the store to remain open.
He claimed to have purchased some 500 books at Acres and recalled buying his first John Steibeck novel there more than 60 years earlier.
Now, Acres is closed for good – except for this time and this time – but Long Beach is still clinging to a rich literary history, thanks in part to authors like Bradbury and the legions they’ve inspired. Check out this article from a few weeks ago for our readers’ list of the best bookstores in Long Beach and feel free to add any we may have missed.
A few weeks ago I was roaming around in need of a book fix and strolled into {open} on 4th Street. Tucked away in the back of a rotating shelf of $1.00 books I found an old copy of Mark Twain’s Letters From The Earth, which reeked profusely of that intoxicating “Egyptian incense” that old books tend to do, just like Mr. Bradbury said it would.
“If you do what you love, you’ll have a good life,” he said that day in Long Beach.