And

Books challenged and banned 2008-2009

Because now I want to know which books, why, and WHY!!
BANNED BOOKS

HOORAY FOR ME IN SEPTEMBER

SSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOO.....



I set a goal to read 2 books a month, and I DID IT!!
For September I read Push which I already posted about and I just finished the second book of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Living Dead In Dallas by Chalaine Harris. Super natural beings, vampires, shapeshifters... nothing to scary but this book I found SSOOO much better than the first!! I was totally pulled in by the drama, I have already started the third book! Not sure yet If I will be counting it as my October read, I have other "scary" books lined up. I was recommended And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie....

We shall see where my October mood... and new reading goals lead me.


BANNED BOOKS...
I never really had to read anything in HS and I have picked up on my reading more as an adult so I guess I never knew that there were BANNED BOOKS. And seeing some of the titles that Lynness wrote, I AM CONFUSED!! Ive read some of those books... I found them to be some of the best. WHY!!?? I now feel a bit of rebellion and want to read as many BANNED BOOKS as possible lol.
Really...
BANNED BOOKS??????

Lynness: Banned books week Sept 26- Oct 3

I didn't know there was a banned books week until I went to the
library and saw a display with CAUTION tape all over it. So, of
course, I went and investigated. I picked up "The Bookseller of
Kabul." I was actually there to pick up my reserved copy of "The
Giver" which, turns out, has been banned before, too. As have the
books in the Harry Potter series, the Twilight series, Huckleberry
Finn, The Scarlet Letter, Anne Frank's diary, The Arabian Nights, Call
of the Wild, Fahrenheit 451 (hmmm... you know, the one about book
banning), A Light in the Attic, Little House on the Prairie, and A
Wrinkle in Time, to name a few. There's many more that you've heard
of or read, and even more that you've probably never heard of and that
you, like me, would probably not want to read, judging from the
descriptions of why they were banned.

So here's to opening a can of worms (I like to do that): what do you
do if (as has happened in many of these cases) your elementary school
child comes home with a book that you discover has violent or overtly
sexual themes and descriptions? Or, if your teenager is assigned to
read a book for an AP Lit class (like mine) that encourages adultery
or homosexuality?

I agree with what U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, in Texas
v. Johnson, said, "If there is a bedrock principle underlying the
First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the
expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself
offensive or disagreeable." And I agree that access to any materials
should be supervised by parents. But, in the case of books picked up
and read in school, or even aloud in classes, that I would not want my
child to see/her, what do you do? Many parents have asked for books
to be removed (or have simply checked them out and refused to return
them). In some cases, nothing has changed. In some cases, the
attention to the books in question have made them more of alluring to
those whom the parents were trying to protect. In many cases the
books have been moved to another location and access limited to those
with parental consent or over a certain age/grade level. I think, as
a parent and a book-lover, that this is the ideal solution: access is
still permitted to anyone else, but I have a say in what my children
read. As far as assigned reading, I was lucky: we had a choice of two
books- I chose one less offensive to me and my beliefs. I'm not even
sure if my mom knew what I was reading or the choices I had. I read
many books from the lists of banned books that, while I wouldn't have
chosen them for myself and didn't like, I did not find particularly
offensive. Perhaps part of this was that the sexual parts, to
sheltered little me, were simply over my head.

Back to the beginning- I read The Giver and The Bookseller of Kabul.
I liked the first, and didn't find the second offensive at all, just
hopeless feeling, which is, I think, exactly what the author was
trying to convey.

Go read a banned book!!

Lynness: The Graveyard Book

Well, I got my October read yesterday and read it. It was quick and
not really scary, which is what I wanted, but unsatisfying. I liked
Nob and the story had a lot of potential, but the Indigo Man- why was
he even there at all? There were so many things thrown in that didn't
get addressed. I don't like loose ends not tied up, more questions
raised than answered. Anyway. I kept thinking the author's name
(Neil Gaiman) sounded familiar, but didn't read the jacket until after
the book. Personally, I think Coraline was a creepier book.

I looked up The Hunger Games and may read it, but all the copies were
reserved. I decided to find out more about it: our library has this
new "Find Out More" link for most books and it gives the summary,
reviews, etc. One review connected it with "The Giver" by Lois Lowry.
I thought I had read it at one point, but couldn't remember much, so
I looked that one up. Turns out I've never read it, so I've got that
one on hold now. Annie- I think you said you wanted to read that- we
can compare notes. Has everyone else already read it? (Probably
most.)

Lynness: yay Rae

Very good, Rae!! I really like a lot of T. S. Eliot's images and
lines, and I keep trying to like his poetry, but altogether it doesn't
do much for me, either. I have reserved (argghh, how do you do
italics in gmail online? I hate not having Thunderbird!!) "The
Graveyard Book", since it's juvenile and I'm a wimp- I don't like to
be scared. And it will probably be very quick, which is good, since
we're moving into our new house in October. Conrgats on the calling
and Chela- is your dad sealing them?

Raehink: Garlic and sapphires

in the mud. T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets. Don't know if it was original with him, though.

His poems don't do much for me, by the way.

Raehink: Premature Panic

Wow. I know how to get everyone to post now. Threaten to quit!

I can keep making the assignments if you would like me too. I didn't realize how much everyone cared. At the time I posted about my "hiatus" I had only been the Relief Society president for two weeks and my calendar was completely full. So unusual and unsettling for me. The initial rush has now settled down and I am figuring out ways to sharpen my saw.

So we can forge ahead, if all are agreed. And it sounds like you are. I agree with Lynness that each of us has had major (and minor but continual) events occur in our lives that have kept us from posting...but hopefully not from reading. For those of you who don't know yet, Chela is getting married in the Salt Lake temple on Nov 21. That and my calling and life are what might keep me from my personal reading time.

I have really enjoyed your posts. I'm always intrigued with what people choose to read. I too LOVED The Hunger Games but I do agree with Abby that it's somewhat graphic. I have had the sequel in the house for over a week now, but am really trying hard to finish books that I have already started FIRST. It will have to wait. Dan Brown's new book comes today and Kennedy's memoir the next day. But those will have to wait also! There's just so much out there I want to read...

I never got around to reading the royalty novels. Just couldn't get interested in them. But I'm on a Kennedy kick and they are seen as royalty to many in this country so I guess that counts for the assignment :)

So how about we let September go and skip right to the October read. How about something scary? I know we did this not too long ago but it fits the month and it's an easy pick. We are reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for my other book group. It's pretty scary in its own right. I can heartily recommend The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. It's a Newbery winner and gave me goosebumps. I enjoyed it as much as anything I have read in quite a while. Gaiman just has a warped mind, I think.

So pick whatever makes the hair on the back of your neck rise and enjoy this time of year. Cooler temps, leaves turning, windows open at night, Conference time, etc.

And as always,

Happy reading!

Abby: Re Hunger Games, Garlic and Sapphire and reading assignments

Lynness, is Garlic and Sapphire a scriptural reference? The phrase seems familiar. (And I'm right here on the computer and obviously the internet so it'd be easy to look it up...but I'm not...)

Would anyone else be interested in giving out the reading assignment during Rae's hiatus? Also, if anyone else is bothered that I haven't updated our books read in the bar on the left or the books mentioned, if you have an interest in keeping up with that I can set you up as an administrator. We can have as many administrators as we'd like.

The Hunger Games is fiction and an alternate history (like The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde and The Alliance by Gerald Lund). I guess I should give a warning that if you don't like any kind of blood or war descriptions, you won't like the book. Other than that? I loved it and read it very quickly.

Here's the synopsis from Library Journal:
In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.

Lynness re: reading blog

Definitely keep the blog going. This summer hasn't had much activity,
but 2 of us had babies, 3 of us moved, etc... we're still at my mom's
house until we close on ours and my computer (with all email
addresses, etc.!) isn't connected to the web, so I'm not sure how
often I'll get to post until we get set up in our new house. Rae, are
you still planning to make assignments? If not, do we want
assignments or just to read whatever and report on it? I personally
like the assignments, as it makes me look in new genres or pick up
books I might not have otherwise. Abby- tell us more about Hunger
Games.

By the way, I just read "Garlic and Sapphires: The secret life of a
critic in disguise" by Ruth Reichl (NY Times food critic). I enjoyed
it a lot, and there's recipes to boot. Bonus points to anyone who
knows where the title comes from! This has been my first real read
since Tabitha was born (6 weeks ago!!), since I moved 3 1/2 weeks
after that, and then John and Janis visited, and then school
started....and we're still trying to get a regular schedule together
while living in my parents' house.

My Shelf

I also wanted to say that I have many books on my shelf that I would LIKE to read before I venture to the library or book store, some of them I KNOW I might find difficult to read or get through BUT... I REALLY WANT to knock these out;
The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms by Dr. Laura Schlessinger
The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Number The Stars by Lois Lowery
Shiloh by Phillis Reynolds Naylor
Proffesor Diggins Dragons by Felice Holman
To Kill A Mockingbird
Pride And Prejudice
A Prophets Voice by Ed J. Pingar

... There ARE more...

To Keep Reading...

I just read Push, a Novel by Sapphire. There is a movie coming out based on the book, I saw the trailer and I was intrigued. The story is of a young girl who is molested both by her mother and father, gives birth to two children by her father before she is 17, is failed by the school system, police, and welfare systems. Its just a sad story that makes you mad to think that THIS COULD BE happening…It is not really a GREAT read, or something that I would recommend.

I was introduced to The Secret by Rhonda Byrne YEARS ago, but it seemed to be against what I believed as to where our focus should be. I was introduced to it again this year with a religious focus and I read it. I really enjoyed the read. Reading it with the mind set of religion, following the commandments, prayer, “righteous living” it was nice to have a refresher of my mind set. I found myself thinking positive. “All things are possible through him that strengthens me” I know this book is not for everyone but I really enjoyed it and would actually love to revisit the book!!

I have set a new goal to read 1 book every 2 weeks… I guess I will keep my fingers crossed LOL!! Happy reading to everyone!!

Abby: Yes, definitely

Well even though Rae will be busy in her new calling, I'd love it if we all still stop in here when we can to share what we've been reading. :) I'm with Lulu.

I just started Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins) last night and am restraining myself from losing myself completely in the book! Hunger Games is the first book if you're interested in these.

Lulu, I would love to borrow The Graveyard Book when I come visit you soon (especially since I already read the first chapter while I was at your house...tee hee).

Oh! I am also reading Eat This, Not That: Supermarket Survival Guide (talks about the ingredients of several popular brands and goes on to explain what the ingredients do and why you should "eat this" (i.e. "Smart Balance") and "not that" (i.e. "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter") and You Are What You Eat. (This is from BBC America's Dr. Gillian McKeith who hosts the show of the same name.)

I've also started and am slowly working my way through:
Young Bucks by Troy Dunn (about teaching kids to earn money and manage it)
Running With Angels by Pamela Hansen (about losing weight, battling depression, and running a marathon)

And sitting on my shelf, waiting its turn:
In Defense of Food
Eat This, Not That: For Kids

What is everyone else reading? And have any of you read the books I'm reading? Hope you're all doing well in your own busy things. :) I know I am!

Lulu: Yes, please

Yes, Rae, I myself do want to continue this book blog.

Lately, I've read and loved The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

Huh. I thought I had more to list. Apparently the previous books I read were not too memorable.

Raehink: Hiatus

Until further notice, I will be on a hiatus due to a possibly demanding calling. Please continue to post about books you have enjoyed and would like to recommend. In time, I will be back. If we still want to continue this book club. Love to all and as always...

Happy reading!