08/04/2026
"In the living room the voice-clock sang, tick-tock, seven o'clock, time to get up, time to get up, seven o'clock! as if it were afraid that nobody would. The morning house lay empty. The clock ticked on, repeating and repeating its sounds into the emptiness. Seven-nine, breakfast time, seven-nine!
"In the kitchen the breakfast stove gave a hissing sigh and ejected from its warm interior eight pieces of perfectly browned toast, eight eggs sunnyside up, sixteen slices of bacon, two coffees, and two cool glasses of milk.
"'Today is August 4, 2026,' said a second voice...."
..and so begins the 1950 science-fiction short story, "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury. It just so happens that today is that day: August 4, 2026.
This Thursday, August 6, at 6:30 p.m., we will be discussing this short story and how Bradbury imagined the future...which is now our reality.
Join us! You can read the story ahead of time, or you can read it when you arrive.
Busy Person’s Book Club meets on the first Thursday of each month. It's a book club designed for people who don't have a lot of time to read, with a focus on shorter works!
