Banned Book Week

[w666]

This week is Banned Book Week. Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment.......check it out:

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm

Help make the world a better place by resisting those narrow minded pin-heads who seek to rid our libraries of "objectionable" material.
Here are some examples:

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/reasonsbanned/index.cfm

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/1990_1999/index.cfm

SK himself has the distinction of being one of the most frequently challenged authors in this incessant battle:

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedauthors/index.cfm

[Sundrop]

I was just talking to a friend of mine about banned books over the weekend. She was all for it until I explained why I feel it is wrong to ban books.....now, she's reconsidering her opinion. :)

[w666]

Well, I guess if she's your friend, then perhaps my "narrow minded pin-head" assignation might be too strong.....let's just stick with "narrow minded" in this case :)

[Kim L.]

Thanks for posting this, W666; I always forget what week it is. Do you work in a bookstore or library, perchance?

[Sundrop]

Well, I guess if she's your friend, then perhaps my "narrow minded pin-head" assignation might be too strong.....let's just stick with "narrow minded" in this case :)


Hahaha! Well, since she's re-thinking her opinion, I've gotta giver her credit for being a little open minded.....:)

[bopropadop]

Challenged books from 2008 honored during Banned Books Week. See this link (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33125040/ns/today-today_books/) and then feel free to share your thoughts.

I'll kick off the thread with a grateful nod toward events such as these as well as a reaffirmation, in my mind, that censorship begins and ends with a parent. Let me decide what my child can read.

Please discuss.

[tempest]

Banned Books Week (September 26 -- October 3), I took a quiz to see which classic novels of the 20th century have also been banned or challenged.

Take the quiz to find out for yourself.


https://secure.aclu.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=BannedBooksWeek_Quiz&JServSessionIdr002=o7rqn4a324.app217a

[michal]

Can you ban books in the States? I thought that was against the 1st amendment. But what do I know? My country has no constitution, but no book is banned unless it encourages hate and violence against a specific group or person. And now that I think of it, we even have plenty of those in our book stores...

How does the old saying goes?
Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book...
Dwight D. Eisenhower
34th president of US 1953-1961 (1890 - 1969)

I love that one.

[Moderator]

Banning here usually only happens in school settings. They are not typically banned in public libraries. Whether a retailer chooses to have a book in their inventory is up to them so that would be more a choice not to promote it than an outright ban although the result is the same, i.e. it's not available to the public at that location.

[poisonbat]

I have several banned books in my collection. They are at peace here and I have found many treasures between their covers. :grinning:

[Dana Jean]

I would just like to point out, this article starts off with -- The Grapes of Wrath. And while I did not care for this book, I would never ban it. Everyone has the right to hate the Joads just as much as I did.

That's right grandpa. I hope you felt good about yourself taking those coins off your eyes to pay the ferryman when your family was starving. If you would have just walked your creakity bones along the shore, you could have crossed over on that fallen log. Sure, you probably would have picked up a splinter or two in your draggy ol' Jurassic nut sack--or you could have dog paddled with all those dead souls. No time like the present grandpa to make new friends. Surfs up geezer--get your a** in the water!

But nooooo. Just worried about yourself --I don't want to get my hair wet. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I need sunscreen.

Whiner.










Challenged books from 2008 honored during Banned Books Week. See this link (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33125040/ns/today-today_books/) and then feel free to share your thoughts.

I'll kick off the thread with a grateful nod toward events such as these as well as a reaffirmation, in my mind, that censorship begins and ends with a parent. Let me decide what my child can read.

Please discuss.

[aptpupil]

Interestingly, the book with the most "ban" requests in recent years is "And Tango Makes Three", which centres around, wait for it, gay penguins in New York's Central Park Zoo, and is actually based on true events.

Reasons frequently given for banning it include "anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality and religious viewpoint."

Damn, I wish I'd known about this book when the "Gay Marriage" thread was open! :laugh:

[PatInTheHat]

:rofl::rofl::rofl:


I would just like to point out, this article starts off with -- The Grapes of Wrath. And while I did not care for this book, I would never ban it. Everyone has the right to hate the Joads just as much as I did.

That's right grandpa. I hope you felt good about yourself taking those coins off your eyes to pay the ferryman when your family was starving. If you would have just walked your creakity bones along the shore, you could have crossed over on that fallen log. Sure, you probably would have picked up a splinter or two in your draggy ol' Jurassic nut sack--or you could have dog paddled with all those dead souls. No time like the present grandpa to make new friends. Surfs up geezer--get your a** in the water!

But nooooo. Just worried about yourself --I don't want to get my hair wet. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I need sunscreen.

Whiner.

:oh:

Attention (~~kkrrrrrr-waawaa-krrackkkk~~ is this thing on?.testing testing) Attention!!!
Step Away From The Steinbeck...I Say Before Someone Gets Hurt, And We Know You Don't Want That Dana Jean..Please STEP AWAY From The Steinbeck!!!

:laugh:

[Dana Jean]

:laugh:

[bopropadop]

I found this link on Neil Gaiman's website. For those who do not follow Mr. Gaiman's journal online, please click the link below. It's a librarian's response to a challenge from a patron regarding a children's book with a controversial theme.

I think the librarian goes to great lengths to explain the need for open access to books of all types. In fact, I've printed it and plan to keep a copy among my personal collection of things. I'll also go on the record to say that I completely endorse what he's saying.

Comments welcome. Find the letter here (http://jaslarue.blogspot.com/2008/07/uncle-bobbys-wedding.html).

[Spideyman]

I found this link on Neil Gaiman's website. For those who do not follow Mr. Gaiman's journal online, please click the link below. It's a librarian's response to a challenge from a patron regarding a children's book with a controversial theme.

I think the librarian goes to great lengths to explain the need for open access to books of all types. In fact, I've printed it and plan to keep a copy among my personal collection of things. I'll also go on the record to say that I completely endorse what he's saying.

Comments welcome. Find the letter here (http://jaslarue.blogspot.com/2008/07/uncle-bobbys-wedding.html).




Thank you Bop for the link. That letter would be an excellent example for all librarians to follow when discussing why a book should not be banned. Bravo to the writer.

[bopropadop]

Thank you Bop for the link. That letter would be an excellent example for all librarians to follow when discussing why a book should not be banned. Bravo to the writer.

You're welcome! And allow me to give proper credit to the author...

Jamie LaRue, a Library Director in Colorado.

[Wayne C. Rogers]

Having once been a Junior High School teacher, it pushes my buttons when people try to ban books and force people (mainly children) to read something else. I found that it was easier to stimulate a child's interest in reading by buying and then offering him/her science fiction novels. westerns, romance novels, books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, books by Alistair MacLean, and a score of others. If Stephen King had been publishing when I was a teacher, I would've had his books on the shelf, too. I remember back in 1964 when the "James Bond" movie, Goldfinger, came out. That got me interested in reading the Bond novels by Ian Fleming. One day in Study Hall, the teacher caught me reading From Russia With Love and attempted to get me a three-day suspension for reading such garbage in school. My step-father, who was a fan of the Bond novels, came down to the school and punched the teacher out and then told the principal that President John F. Kennedy was a fan of From Russia With Love and that any book our President loved was good enough for me to read. That was the only time my step-father ever stood up for me, but boy did he do it big time. People who ban books are ignorant in my opinion!

[Spideyman]

Sept 25 thru Oct 2, 2010 is Banned Books week. Here is a link with information:

http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/info.html

[AngelZ]

I'm rereading "Catcher in the Rye" to celebrate.

[GLewman]

Step Away From The Steinbeck...I Say Before Someone Gets Hurt, And We Know You Don't Want That Dana Jean..Please STEP AWAY From The Steinbeck!!!

Lololol...Love me some Steinbeck...Dude was a red, communist, screaming, pinko....but what would the world be without Mack and the Boys? Or Adam getting screwed over by Charles? My dad grew up in Monterey so I know exactly where Lee Chong's grocery and the Bear Flag Saloon stood :)

P.S. I think parent's should have a say in what their kids read....Just like they should have a say in what they watch on TV and what music they listen to...I may think they are rediculous, but to each his own.

[Tery]

Use this wherever you can:

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd103/laserspray/internet%20stuff/bannedbookbadge.gif