It shouldn't work. It shouldn't be magic. You shouldn't weep happy and then sad and then happy again. But you do. And I do. And we all do.

Uhg. Miss Bradbury is just really good at describing things.

"The sound of a window breaking. It was like the cracking of moon-colored ice on a midnight pond." (16)

"And now, on this deep winter night, the one single and solitary sound. The shattering of a windowpane, like a wineglass thinly burst, like the breaking of a long warm winter dream." (18)

"A great voice of muted storms spoke..." (49)

"When you have lived in a big clean house on a big secluded street all of your life, with servants invisibly keeping the order, with a phone wherever you put out you hand, with a bathtub big as a swimming pool, and your only exercise is the energy it takes to lift an immensely heavy dry martini, then what is one to think when confronted by a rusty mountain, a haunted catacomb, a thing of gray work and utter chaos?" (78)

"And then she looked at the colored panes again and knew what he meant. You had a choice of panes to look through. The dark one or the light one." (84)

"The black train drifted like a dark cloud with the rain following and a ghostly steam clothing it. The engine continued to exhale ghosts of smoke while it pulled a melancholy procession of cars, all burnt coal midnight black, with gardens of crepe papered along the roofs where the pale steam whispered and the weeping persisted from within the carriages." (92)

"You be happy by being happy. I'll be happy by being cynical, and we'll see who's happiest in the long run." (135)

"We children woke and bent out our windows to let the wind flutter our dandelion hair, listening." (154)

Un libro molto semplice e leggero. Non un capolavoro, ma bisogna considerare anche che è una raccolta di svariati racconti. Alla fine però lo consiglio a chi cerca una lettura poco impegnativa.

This is a pleasant collection if stories. If there is a unifying theme, it's human behavior, relationships from love to revenge. I liked that this collection noted the year the story was written even though the stories are not arranged chronologically. Having the stories dated gave me a better sense of Bradbury's growth as a writer and an appreciation of his creativity over time.

"Il libro che avete fra le mani è anche pieno di testimonianze d'affetto per i miei scrittori preferiti. Non sono mai stato invidioso o geloso dei miei grandi amori, come F. Scott Fitzgerald, Melville, Poe, Wilde e tutti gli altri; ho solo desiderato raggiungerli sugli scaffali delle biblioteche".
You made it, Ray. You made it.

A new collection of Ray Bradbury short stories. About half of the stories are older stories from the 50's or whenever, but the other half of the stories are from the 2000's. They are new stories, and they are fresh. Bradbury's older works are still his best, but it was still very refreshing to see how the master can still write great work, even at his age. This is not a great collection of stories by Bradbury, but nevertheless they are still pretty strong. Bradbury not at his best, is still pretty good. And I felt that there were a few classics in this book. I enjoyed reading this book, and the newer Bradbury work was very welcome.

For the many fans of Ray Bradbury, you already know what to expect, and this book surely will not disappoint. Bradbury mixes fantasy with whimsy, softcore sci-fi with hard edged emotion. You never know exactly where he is headed, but you always count on a fantastic ride. What is most amazing about Ray Bradbury is his use of words. He creates scenes and worlds with his descriptive passages, at times so subtly you will miss it if you aren’t paying close attention.

All of the stories are short, and many of them have a moral contained within. Fortunately, the author doesn’t focus on the moral, as that’s not his point. He is more concerned with examining the people affected by the circumstances. Even in the most futuristic science fiction tale he is painting his characters with a heavy dose of everyday life. It’s normalcy even in the craziest of moments.

There is no continuing story here, nor a theme that is woven throughout as Mr. Bradbury has done in other books like The Martian Chronicles. What he does offer are the humanistic stories we know we will be gifted with whenever we read one of his books. Five stars.

Overall, this was an enjoyable collection of short stories. Short stories in general just do not seem to be my thing which is why I can't bring myself to rate this collection above 3 stars.

That being said, I did really enjoy "The Cat's Pajamas". I found that one cute and well-paced and fun.

This book had the Goldilocks effect for me-it was great or bad- it was just alright. Having never reviewed a collection of stories or read anything by Bradbury except Fahrenheit 451 I did not know how to rate this book. There are a good number of stories that Bradbury shines through. I found his work written around the release of this book (2003-04) was lively and energetic. His older work is a little rough, but uses the same themes like small towns and race. However, I also found a decent number of the stories being inconsequential and a little silly. I'll outline my favorite stories that I would recommend-
1. The Island is a home invasion story that is eerie and tense. It leaves questions unanswered and is reminiscent of the movie Your Next.
2. Sometime Before Dawn is a fascinating tale about time travels who are stuck in the past. They end up being stranded in a small town and act very strange toward the janitor of the hotel of where they're staying.
3. A Careful Man Dies is a great little story about a Hemophiliac who is writing a book to expose his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriends illegal drug activities. Everyone who wants the book to be stopped is trying to cut the man anyway possible so he bleeds out and never writes the book.
4. The titular story, The Cat's Pajamas, is a cute little love story about two cat loving people who come across a cat in the road one night. They both fight over the cat and end up realizing that they might actually like each other.
5. The Transformation is a grim and unblinking story about a white man in the south who rapes a black women and says that if she ever tells anyone no one will believe her because she is black. The woman has his kid and then drowns it. She is hanged and the white man is tattooed black to remind everyone of the heinousness of this vile man.
6. A Matter of Taste is the only strictly science fiction story in the collection and it's probably the best story. It's a unique tale about human space travelers who venture to a planet solely occupied by intelligent,seven feet tall spiders. The spiders are peaceful,loving, and generous creatures who are willing to give the humans anything. The humans can never get past the fact that these creatures are in fact spiders. It shows the stubbornness and hostility of humans toward foreigners.
7. I Get The Blues When It Rains (A Remembrance) is a cute little story told by Bradbury himself about a memorable night with his friends and the magical ability of music to transform a night.
8. All My Enemies Are Dead is a humorous and fun story about older people who are not motivated to live because their friends and enemies are dead. If they have no enemies they have no reason to live.
9. Finally the Epilogue is a lovely poem by Bradbury about his famous authors and his glee and desire to remain on library shelves next to them. Authors live on through their books, as does Bradbury with his work.
Overall, there are 21 stories and these nine are the most memorable and worth reading. These nine are great, but there are certain stories that are dull and silly. I would still recommend the collection for any Bradbury or short story fans. I'm not well read on Bradbury ,but I found myself liking this collection. It's short and often sweet.

An easy read and one that I really enjoyed! The Cats Pajamas was a sweet little story and might have been my favorite. Hail to the Chief had me laughing through most of the absurd story. The House was a beautiful metaphor and gives you a different perspective of life. A Matter of Taste was also one of my favorite stories (and ALMOST makes me want to like spiders!), although the ending left me a little confused (okay…a lot of Bradbury stories leave you to your own imagination). Overall, a nice assortment of stories, from comedy to light horror. I will probably end up reading it again.

An eclectic collection of stories from throughout Mr. Bradbury's career. Everything about his writing I like and dislike is on full display here. Lots of fun sci fi, a few social commentary stories and a some classical author praising as well. I wouldn't consider it essentially reading, but completionist will enjoy it.

Third rate stories

I normally enjoy Ray Bradbury’s short stories, but this collection really seemed like third rate work that hadn’t seen the light of day. The more recent stories, from the 2000s, are basically garbage. Disappointing.