What if you had no right to read?

According to Alberto Manguel, "stories are our memory, libraries are the storerooms of that memory, and reading is the craft by means of which we can recreate that memory...by translating it back into our own experience." ('City of Words') Here I'm reminded of a novel I read some years ago by the American writer Ray Bradbury and one that has often resonated with me. He describes a society in which all books are burnt as they are considered to encourage independent thought and are therefore dangerous to the central power of the State. Information is controlled by the State and people receive their daily dosage of news/information via a wall screen which every household is encouraged to have. Yet outside of the city an underground movement grows and libraries are maintained through memory as each person has memorised a complete book or work of literature. Considering that the book was written in the 1950s, Ray Bradbury shows real and chilling foresight when you reflect upon the growing popularity of huge plasma screen televisions today.