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Banned Books Week!

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  • #1

    Banned Books Week!

    Did you know that this is Banned Books Week? I only just found out!!! I am amazed when I see the list of most frequently challenged books And yes, the irony of it all. For one thing, I love the fact that the Harry Potter books have been responsible for getting kids to read who probably wouldn't have done so much otherwise. I'm all for it.

    So pick up your favorite banned book... and let's dream of and work for the day when this is a thing of the past!!!

    (Are ya with me, Azariel?! )
    Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness.
    -Yousuf Karsh
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  • #2
    Why would Earth's Children by Jean Auel be on this list? I read them and they were quite enjoyable
    The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood = one of my favorites
    Beloved by Toni Morrison = was very weird, went right over my head
    Brave New World by Aldous Huxley = This just makes me mad
    Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut = another list topper
    The Color Purple by Alice Walker = another great one
    Looks like a trip to the book store and library are due

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    • #3
      Ah, now why are these books banned in Burma, in Libya, in Belorus or in Iran?

      Oops, no wait! This happens in the Land of the Free ... how am I to understand this?
      And wouldn't it be more economical to stop teaching kids to read?
      Google ergo sum

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      • #4
        That list looks very US-centric to me, and I'd guess that the main complainers are from the Christian Right and mostly concern exposing children to sex, drugs, bad language and the occult?

        In the UK, a list of banned books (over the years) would include:

        Ulysses by James Joyce
        Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
        The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie (not really 'banned' as such), and
        Spycatcher by Peter Wright.



        I was at university when the both the Satanic Verses and Spycatcher issues blew up and I still remember going into bookshops in Cambridge and buying my copies.
        _"For an eternity Allard was alone in an icy limbo where all the colours were bright and sharp and comfortless.
        _For another eternity Allard swam through seas without end, all green and cool and deep, where distorted creatures drifted, sometimes attacking him.
        _And then, at last, he had reached the real world – the world he had created, where he was God and could create or destroy whatever he wished.
        _He was supremely powerful. He told planets to destroy themselves, and they did. He created suns. Beautiful women flocked to be his. Of all men, he was the mightiest. Of all gods, he was the greatest."

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        • #5
          This list seems strange surprising .........

          I did not see Philip Pullman books ..... and others ....

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          • #6
            Where's Waldo?

            Somebody bothered to cap on Where's Waldo?

            Most of the books listed have adolescent sexuality, or are concerned with "witches". And, of course, Waldo.

            It takes effort to read a book. Much less, almost nil effort to watch TV or listen to radio. Going to all the effort to read, categorize, pillory and damn a book is rather extreme, and provides me with a constant source of amusement. All we need do is declare My Life by Bill Clinton a sexpose and on a banned list and it will be read vociferously by peurile pubescents.

            So, how do I get on that list?





            Miqque
            ... just another sailor on the seas of Fate, dogpaddling desperately ...

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            • #7
              I always read or re-read a book that someone has banned during Banned Books Week. Last year was Farenheit 451 (the irony of its banning should be obvious), the year before was Behold, the Man, and this year is The Communist Manifesto. Perhaps next year it will be Miqque's Manifest0 Work hard to get it banned, Miq!

              Sadly L'E, it seems that some people have chosen to simply not teach children reading. Why do you really need to read anyway? It isn't real if it isn't on television, after all...

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              • #8
                While the Manifest0 is is severe need of an edit, it is available, non-banned at http://miqque.50megs.com/motwmanifest0.html

                I really wanted to call it Manifest Zero, what with the 0 having a slash through it, bt that turned out to be a HTML nightmare.

                There's material I need to add fom Mike, more from Heinlein (specifically The Notebooks of Lazarus Long) and of course new observations culled over the years.

                Actually, one of these days I'm revamping the entire website, so it no longer is required to be "news-driven" (I'm out of the loop) and yet retains easily-found material referenced by IMDb and other sources. (I'm all over the place there, some fifty links or so, mostly superhero-to-film stuff). This was all great, but the bloggers and commercial sites have edged me out. So the hard work done by me and my erstwhile contributor, the Ubiqtorate Commander, are no longer timely, and are now historic.

                One of these days, though, a real, live publisher will notice my little pastiches and offer dolleros for full works. That is when I shall take over the world.

                Miqque
                ... just another sailor on the seas of Fate, dogpaddling desperately ...

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