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!