K.C. MAN BURNS BOOKS

He says he did it in protest. Tom Wayne runs Prospero's Books, a used-book store in Kansas City. He says he has too much stock, and no one would accept his donations of free books.

On Sunday, Wayne showed his frustration with the decline of readers in the United States. He set fire to thousands of used books. The Associated Press reports:

"This is the funeral pyre for thought in America today," Wayne told spectators outside his bookstore as he lit the first batch of books.

The fire blazed for about 50 minutes before the Kansas City Fire Department put it out because Wayne didn't have a permit for burning.

Guy Montag did not show up, and no mechanical hounds were released.