Host An Unforgettable Book Club Party

Fahrenheit 451by Ray BradburyGuy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires… The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning … along with the houses in which they were hidden. Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames… never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid. Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think… and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do.  -Randomhouse.com

Book Club Party Ideas for Fahrenheit 451

The decorations for a book club party for Fahrenheit 451 should include books, books and more books.

In keeping with the book theme, I made a variety of dishes that pay homage to the written word.  Book-shaped food include these  Puff Pastry Sandwiches.  Regular bread can also be used to make a book shape by cutting a rectangular piece of bread to make the “binding”.

This easy Hummus Recipe can be whipped up in no time.  I added licorice laces to resemble the binding of a book.  Serve with red, yellow and orange bell peppers to resemble fire.

I also cut square pita bread into book shapes to serve with the hummus.

This Burning Book Cake is made by putting two rectangular cakes together (the natural rise of the cake takes the shape of the pages of an open book).   The flames are made with melted cinnamon disks and butterscotch candies.  For more detailed instructions, click this link.

Book Club Resources for Fahrenheit 451

Ratings at the time this post was published

Discussion Questions for Fahrenheit 451

1. What would it take for you to never read another book again…$20,000?  A million dollars?
2. How do you think the world would be different without books?
3. Is there a book you could recite by heart?  If you had to memorize a book to ensure its survival, which book would you choose?
4. Which book would it be the most painful to see burning?  Why?
5. The book in Fahrenheit 451 were burned in order to make society happier.  Do you think there is any truth in this?
6. Do you think the society of Fahrenheit 451 could really exist?  Are there any aspects of that society that you see in existence today?

Purchase Fahrenheit 451 at your favorite bookseller

The Author

Ray Bradbury has changed the way people think. His more than five hundred published works — short stories, novels, plays, screenplays, television scripts, and verse — exemplify the American imagination at its most creative. His timeless, constant appeal to audiences young and old has proven him to be one of the truly classic authors of the 20th Century — and the 21st.  In recognition of his stature in the world of literature and the impact he has had on so many for so many years, Bradbury was awarded the National Book Foundation’s 2000 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, an the National Medal of Arts in 2004.

Ray Bradbury has also been nominated for an Academy Award (for his animated film Icarus Montgolfier Wright), and has won an Emmy Award (for his teleplay of The Halloween Tree). He adapted sixty-five of his stories for television’s Ray Bradbury Theater. He was the creative consultant on the United States Pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. In 1982 he created the interior metaphors for the Spaceship Earth display at Epcot Center, Disney World, and later contributed to the conception of the Orbitron space ride at Euro-Disney, France.  -adapted from RayBradbury.com