Ray Bradbury....

In my month end Links & Things post for April 2009, I included the following entry on Ray Bradbury:

Ray Bradbury, during his regular appearance at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, remarked that this may be his final appearance unless the LA Times resurrects its "Book" section, which, like most of the paper, has seen staff and page counts cut over the years. Bradbury worked for the LA Times "Book" section more than forty years ago! He shares some anecdotes in this article, including how he typed the manuscript for Fahrenheit 451 using a "pay" typewriter in a basement room under the Powell Library on the UCLA campus. The typewriter required 10 cents for 30 minutes. Bradbury came each day with a bag of dimes. When the manuscript was complete, he had spent $9.80. (via @GalleyCat) [Good luck, Ray, on getting the "Book" section reinstated!]

The link above is to a brief article in the Los Angeles Times and well worth your time (no pun intended) -- and includes a photo of ole Ray signing books at the LA Festival of Books. His appearance there will be sorely missed.

Speaking of Ray's love of the printed word, and the joy he took in signing copies of his books and stories, I thought I would include one such book in my library that I personally had Ray Bradbury sign many years ago:

You'll have to pardon the inclusion of my thumb in the photo, but the book is too fragile (the binding glue is completely dried out) to lay flat. The signatures, from top to bottom: Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Robert Sheckley, Isaac Asimov, Alan E. Nourse, and Chad Oliver -- all past masters, all of them now gone.

There are far more knowledgeable and eloquent tributes to Mr. Bradbury across the web today -- particularly this one from the LA Times, which includes twenty-one photos of Bradbury from throughout his life, beginning at age 3. But I just wanted to acknowledge his passing with this very brief post.

Ray Bradbury
(August 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012)