Scary how fiction can sometimes apply to current events, isn't it? With all of the "alternative facts" stuff going through the media, social media included, right now, this quote stuck out to me as being unbelievably relevant. Those in control of the government in the book are seeking to control what is perceived as true through careful control of the past, the present, and the future.

Yes, for the record, I am reading this because many are reading this. I am also reading it because I haven't before and always meant to do so. I think it's an important book, and now is probably a pretty critical time to read and understand anything involving mass control over what we, the general public and perceived plebeians, understand to be true.

Reading is very, very important, whether you want to admit it or not. It allows for the challenging of one's thoughts and opinions, opens the mind up to different ideas, and feeds the brain to keep it from falling into complacency and disuse. Empathy grows with the reading of fiction, as does how we understand the world. Politics have always and will always play a significant role in fiction.

Read as much as you can.

Opening sentence. 

This is taken from "Blogging for Dummies" by Amy Lupold Blair and Susannah Gardner.

I thought it might supplement a lot of what people were saying when speaking out against Anne Rice's petition to Amazon about adopting an all "real name" policy.

Everyone has the right to privacy, and everyone has the right to choose whether they want to have a penname or not.  Regardless of their particular role or background.

It doesn't make sense to deny the rights of a person in one area over another.  Equal protections are key, and that's what makes this petition by Rice so troubling, among other notations.