Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street by Herman Melville

I mentioned a few weeks ago my fondness for Herman Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street, which first appeared in Putnam’s Magazine in two parts — the first in November 1853 and the conclusion in December 1853. Although first published anonymously, it was then reprinted in Melville’s The Piazza Tales in 1856 with a few minor changes.

Set in the mid-19th century on Wall Street, Bartleby tells the story of a young scrivener (a professional copyist/scribe) caught up in the rat race of commerce finally saying “I would prefer not to.”

It is said to be one of the first significant pieces of literature to give voice to the dehumanizing aspects of the modern industrial compartmentalized workplace.

Personally, I enjoy Bartleby for its humor and tragedy.

I read it again last night on bartleby.com and — as I have for weeks on end after each time I re-read this classic — I again find myself saying “I would prefer not to” all the time. :)

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

My favorite websites for free classic books is Bartleby.com. Named after the title character from Herman Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street — one of my all-time short stories — it was founded by by Steven H. van Leeuwen as a personal classic literature on the website of Columbia University. It’s funded by revenue from web advertising which allows Bartleby.com to provide access to the collection free to users. On Bartleby.com, you can find books, poetry, quotations, presidential speeches, and more.

Last night I decided to take advantage of this fabulous website and read part of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, available on bartleby.com here. Written in 167 A.C.E., it is truly an amazing work. It’s easy to see why it is still revered as a literary monument to a government of service and duty.

I think I may finally purchase a copy for my exceedingly large collection of books.

Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales by Ray Bradbury

The book I keep by my bedside, for those times when I can’t sleep, is Ray Bradbury’s Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales.

I first read Fahrenheit 451 for school and was fascinated by Bradbury’s tale of a dystopian future where to be a fireman meant to be a book burner.

That was when I first fell in love with Ray Bradbury’s writings.

I read the whole book in one sitting, even though we were supposed to be read the book over the course of the semester.

Bradbury Stories is a wonderful collection of stories chosen by Bradbury himself including “The Pedestrian,” the precursor to Fahrenheit 451.

In the introduction to this collection, Bradbury tells readers his inspiration for this story and many others:

I had dinner with a friend fifty-five years ago and after dining we decided to take a walk along WIlshire Boulevard. Within minutes we were stopped by a police car. The policeman asked us what we were doing. I replied, “Putting one foot in front of the other,” which was the wrong answer. The policeman looked at me suspiciously because, after all, the sidewalks were empty: nobody in the whole city of Los Angeles was using them as a walkway.

I went home, sorely irritated at being stopped for simply walking — a natural, human activity — and wrote a story about a pedestrian in the future who is arrested for doing just that.

A few months later I took that pedestrian for a walk in the night, had him turn a corner and meet a young girl named Clarisse McClellan. Nine days later, Fahrenheit 451 was born as a short novella called “The Firemen.”

Last night, I re-read In “The Garbage Collector,” the story of a garbage man generally satisfied with his life who learns that if a bomb hits the city (presumably an atomic bomb), he and his co-workers will have to collect the dead in his truck. He is torn between quitting his job to stand up for his morals and continuing to work to support his family (his wife prefers the second option); both lousy choices.

The Martian tales — “The Messiah,” “The Visitor,” and “February 1999: Ylla” among others — are truly original.

Click here to read the Table of Contents, courtesy of Wikipedia.

I know most folks pick bedtime reading to help them get to sleep. I read one or two of Ray Bradbury’s stories because Bradbury never fails to entertain while teaching me a bit about myself and humanity. For me, it’s the perfect way to end my day.