BANNED BOOKS WEEK GIVEAWAY - WIN AN AMAZON GIFT CARD

It's that time again, when the American Library Association and other national organizaitons focus on books that have been banned or challenged in the US. The challenges may occur at a store, a library or a school. Sometimes a book will be 'allowed' but only hidden behind a counter. Now, books can be revolutionary, it's true. Reading does broaden the mind and offer new perspectives. Books can teach you, inspire dreams, and give hope. But to hide them? To deny other people the chance to read it simply because you don't like it or you disagree with it? Why? Why should your tastes determine what I read, what I learn? Why should your beliefs take precedence over mine? Don't like it? Don't read it. Don't want your child to read it? Why? Have YOU taken the time to read it? Why not read it with your child? Be there to discuss the book and offer your thoughts on it. Maybe there's a book on a similar theme that you prefer; offer that to your child in conjunction with the other book.

Banned Books Giveaway Hop

Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; the Freedom to Read Foundation; National Coalition Against Censorship; National Council of Teachers of English; National Association of College Stores; People for the American Way; PEN American Center and and Project Censored.  It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

The Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop is sponsored by BookHounds and I Am A Reader. This is my 5th year participating.

Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop!

It's the start of this year's Banned Book Week, an annual event sponsored by American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; the Freedom to Read Foundation; National Coalition Against Censorship; National Council of Teachers of English; National Association of College Stores; PEN American Center and and Project Censored. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

The idea is to call attention to the censorship, banning, and attempted banning that occurs every year in the US and to showcase the value in unfettered access to information. Books across the spectrum of fiction and non-fiction are challenged each year, including children's picture books. The reasons vary - religious beliefs, morals, disrespect to authority, language, etc. 

Banned Book Week Giveaway Hop!

 

It's that time again. The American Library Association's annual focus on books that have been banned or challenged begins tomorrow and runs all week long. Throughout the US, people regularly challenge books in school, libraries, and bookstores, trying to deny other people the right to read and the right to choose what they read.

The ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom receives reports from schools, libraries and other organizations and compiles them into lists. You can see the various lists of frequently challenged books here. 

Why are books challenged? Here are some statistics from the ALA's Frequently Challenged Books page:

Over this recent past decade, 5,099* challenges were reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom.

• 1,577 challenges due to "sexually explicit" material;
• 1,291 challenges due to "offensive language";
• 989 challenges due to materials deemed "unsuited to age group";
• 619 challenged due to "violence"' and
• 361 challenges due to "homosexuality."

Further, 274 materials were challenged due to "occult" or "Satanic" themes, an additional 291 were challenged due to their "religious viewpoint," and 119 because they were "anti-family."
Please note that the number of challenges and the number of reasons for those challenges do not match, because works are often challenged on more than one ground.

I am capable of deciding for myself what books to read or not read. I often pass on books whose theme or topic don't interest me, and occasionally, offend me in some way. 

As a teacher, part of my job is choosing books for my classrooms. I teach one, two, and three year olds so they are not reading in the strict sense but they are looking at the books, talking about them, and listening to the teachers read them. I need to consider their cognitive development, their social/emotional development, their interests, the current curriculum, my school's policy on books, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children's statement on books for young children. We have never, to my knowledge, had a parent challenge a book but we would stand behind any book in our school library. Sometimes children bring in books from home that don't meet our guidelines. In that case, we try to encourage that the book remain in their cubby but if they really want to to read it or want us to read it, we do. In the older groups, the teachers, at their discretion, can discuss with the child why we'd rather not have the book out in the room but it's handled on a case by case basis and no book is ever banned.

Obviously curating books gets trickier as children get older but I don't believe that any book should be banned from a classroom or school. The more exposure you have to people, places and events in the world, the more you learn. We learn, in part, through dissonance so bumping into ideas and concepts that make us uncomfortable is actually necessary in order to learn. Outside of a school setting I can't see any reason why someone else should have the right to determine what I read or don't read.

So, as my small contribution to the celebration of banned books, I've put up this post and I'm offering the children's book, "And Tango Makes Three". It was the fifth most challenged book in 2012, on the grounds of homosexuality and being unsuited for its intended age group. It's a book about compassion, love, and becoming a family; seems perfectly suitable to me.

The book will ship from The Book Depository so please make sure they ship to your country before entering. Please read my Giveaway Policy.

Also, this is a blog hop so be sure to visit the other blogs, read more about banned books, and see the variety of books being offered.

Blurb from goodreads ~

In the zoo there are all kinds of animal families. But Tango's family is not like any of the others. This illustrated children's book fictionalizes the true story of two male penguins who became partners and raised a penguin chick in the Central Park Zoo.

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

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Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop

This is my third year participating in I Am A Reader, Not A Writer's blog hop for banned book week. That's hard to believe, my blog had it's second blogooversary early this month. I am amazed that it's lasted so long. It's a lot of work at times.

Banning of books has also been around a long time, just about since books were first printed. Someone, somewhere can find a reason to object to a book, and then go as far as banning or trying to ban it. Here are some links on the history of banned books:   A Look at the History of Book Banning in America - PBS        Banned Books Throughout History     History of Banned Books and of course, the American Library Association's info about banned books.


The ALA's observation of Banned Books Week runs from September 30th through October 6th this year. From their site:

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; the Freedom to Read Foundation; National Coalition Against Censorship; National Council of Teachers of English; National Association of College Stores; PEN American Center and and Project Censored. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

I had hoped to highlight a banned or challenged book every day of BBW, but wasn't organized enough. I will try to get some up as I'm able. To celebrate Banned Books Week, I am giving away a banned or challenged book from Amazon or The Book Depository, winners choice, worth up to $10US. Click here for a list of banned or challenged books. Enter using the rafflecopter widget below.

"Tuesday's Child" Winner!

The winner of "Tuesday's Child" by Dale Mayer is Kristi! Congratulations. I've sent your email info to the author, you'll be hearing from her.

New Winner!

One of the Banned Book Week Blog Hop winners didn't respond to my emails so I have drawn a new name. The winner of The Hunger Games, donated by Kelley Armstrong, is Amanda Welling. Amanda please email me beasbooknook@gmail.com with the name and address I should mail it to.

Banned Books Week Winners!!!!!!

Thank You to everyone who entered, to the authors and bloggers who wrote guest posts and reviews, and to the authors and publishers who donated prizes. I hope you learned a little more about banned books and that you will do your part to ensure the freedom to choose our own reading materials.

Giveaway #1 - The winner of their choice of one of ten books from The Book Depository, from the blog, is Martina Koleva.

Giveaway #2 - A) The winner of The Absolutely True Story of a Part-time Indian by is Stephanie McNemar
                        B) The winner of Twilight is Library Lady
                        C) The winner of The Hunger Games is Reader Riah
                        D) The winner of Lush is Stephanie (September 24 12:51PM)
                        E) The winner of Crank is crazytiger19

Giveaway #3

The winner of the $20 Amazon gift card from Keri Arthur is Falcata Times.

Giveaway #4

The winner of the $30 Amazon gift card from Morgan Ashbury is Linda: Book Ninja

Giveaway #5

The winner of the $25 Amazon gift card from authors Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman is sablelexi

Giveaway #6

The winner of  Speak, donated by Yasmine Galenorn, is tdean30

Giveaway #7

The winner of the $25 Barnes & Noble gift card from Laura Anne Gilman is Krysykat

Giveaway #8

The winner of the banned book of their choice, up to $15 from Amazon, from Nicole Peeler, is Ryan (September 25 10:25 PM)

Giveaway #9

 The winner of And Tango Makes Three, donated by Linda Poitevin,  is BrittanyGale

Giveaway #10

 The winner of the banned or challenged book of their choice from Amazon, donated by D.B. Reynolds, is Ifrah

Giveaway #11

The winner of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, donated by Simon & Schuster, is mirrormera92

Giveaway #12 

The winner of a $25 Amazon gift card from Kari Lee Townsend is boeklover


Thank you again everyone! Now go read a banned book or three. :P

Guest Post by Author D.B. Reynolds: You Can't Stop Ideas

Author D.B. Reynolds is a PNR author who writes about dark, sexy, often terrifying vampires. Her novel, "Jabril", won the RT Reviewers Choice award this past spring. She enjoys debating, is married, is very much a night owl, and has worked in academia and as a sound editor in Hollywood. She was another author who sprang to mind when I began planning posts for this week. I interviewed her in May and reviewed her book, "Sophia".

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When Bea asked me to write something for Banned Books Week, my brain kind of froze up for a minute. {Sorry Donna. :( - BBecause it’s been a long time since I had to write anything other than, well, stories. Ask me to write a short story about vampires or werewolves or witches or pretty much anything paranormal, or even normal for that matter, and I can do it. But my University days are long behind me, so coming up with something serious to say about a VERY serious subject … that’s another matter entirely.

Still, this IS an important subject, and one I feel very strongly about. I don’t believe in banning books or movies or anything else. Call me naïve, but I believe in the free expression of ideas or stories or whatever else you want to express---except for the proverbial “fire!” in a theater, which essentially means anything that results in or directly incites harm to others. Other than that, I say go for it. You want to tell me Satan is alive and well and living in Topeka? Knock yourself out. You want to tell me the end of the world is nigh and I’m going to hell because I write sex scenes? Hey, whatever makes you feel better about sitting in the dark and getting off on my sex scenes! ::snicker:: 

The irony is that some of the loudest voices against new ideas were once the object of censorship themselves. Almost every major theological or political ideology in the world today was once, or in some cases still is, the subject of censorship by others. Of course, the root of all censorship is a desire by the Powers That Be to control the narrative, and thus to control their members or citizens, whoever it is that they have or want power over. They’re afraid new ideas will upset the existing system which keeps them in power … and probably in a very fine lifestyle, too. So, they try to stop their people from hearing anything that might threaten their authority. It never works in the long run, but they keep trying.

Anyway, I took a look at the list of banned books and wasn’t at all surprised to discover that I’ve read a whole lot of them. The nuns always did say I was going to hell, and I guess they were right! But look at the list … pretty much everything Stephen King ever wrote is there somewhere. I’m not sure why. Too violent for you, maybe? Hey, then don’t read it. No one’s propping your eyelids open and forcing you to indulge. But don’t deny the rest of us the spine chilling, look-over-your-shoulder shiver that’s a good Stephen King thriller! Too much Satan? Yeah, but King never says it’s a good thing. You’d think those who worry about Satanism would use King’s books as a propaganda tool instead. Or maybe they didn’t understand that Carrie was driven batshit crazy by her mom, and that she wasn’t really elected queen of the prom. That was a cruel joke, okay? If anything, Carrie’s a lesson in being kind to your fellow human beings … especially in high school. Yikes!

Moving on down the list … Kurt Vonnegut? He just dared to say what the rest of us were thinking. That society was going to hell in a handbasket and no one was paying attention. Turns out he was right, and so were George Orwell and Aldous Huxley. And John Steinbeck is on that list because he dared to point out the injustice and inequality of human society. We all know it’s there. Not talking about it doesn’t make it go away. 

J. K. Rowling? Really? Harry Potter? Come on, he’s a great kid who fought on the side of right, who was loyal to his friends and defeated the evil bastard who wanted to hurt others. What’s wrong with that? And besides, you do know that Hogwart’s doesn’t actually exist, right? It’s a fantasy created by Rowling to make her story more interesting to her young readers---readers who will take away from those books the value of friendship and loyalty and courage. What the hell’s wrong with that?

I guess what I’m saying is that banning a book doesn’t stop anyone from thinking about what the book is trying to tell you. If anything, it just makes people more curious about what the book says. You can’t stop ideas, you shouldn’t want to. Ideas are what propel human society, what drives us forward. Human civilization, with all its flaws, is the product of millennia of human ideas. Some village elder probably thought the toilet was scandalous, but aren’t you glad someone else thought of it? The automobile was considered unnatural, but where we would be without the combustion engine today? And then there’s that most radical idea of all … democracy. There are people in control (lots of those) in the world right now who would ban the Internet if they could, limit the ability of people to communicate free ideas across the globe. Which means you wouldn’t be reading my very brilliant essay right now! Now THAT would be a tragedy.

So, do yourself a favor. Do your world a favor. Read a banned book this week. Hell, go crazy and read a couple of them!

Guest Post by Author Krista D Ball: Can Books Transform Your Mind?

Krista has visited the blog before and she was one of the first people I thought of when planning this week. Today, she's talking about effects that reading a book can have, especially when it's a book that someone doesn't want you to read.

Krista writes speculative fiction ranging from historical fantasy to science fiction, lives in Canada where she's slave to a pride of house cats, dreads selling shoes, and and has a history degree that she's finally putting to use with a forthcoming non-fiction reference book for authors.

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When I was a teenager, I read everything and anything I could get my hands on. My parents weren't readers and didn't know most of what I was reading. I'm grateful for that, as they would have been the types to ban books if they'd known what I was reading. In fact, I often think I wouldn't have become a writer if it wasn't for the incredible range of books I'd had exposure to as a kid.

I just did a look at the banned list. Many of the books I have fond memories about are in fact challenged or banned books in many American schools. I don't know if those bans and challenges came up here to Canada, too, but it still saddens me knowing that kids are missing out on some of my favourite memories from books.

In my Grade 11 literature class, we had a number of boys who hated reading, who hated literature, and who had no interest in learning. Then, we got to "Lord of the Flies". I will remember this one boy who stuttered and struggled to read aloud anytime he was called volunteering to read lines from the novel. Other boys volunteered to read different characters. A book that some people deemed "offensive" transformed a class of underachieving and disinterested minds into a class of learning and discussion.

We also read "Animal Farm" that year. For some reason, it appealed more to the girls of the class. I remember one particular girl (who'd failed English lit the previous year) crying in class over the horse. Crying over a book. What more could you ask for in a person who hated reading?

One of the boys smuggled in a copy of "Satanic Verses" because we wanted to know what all the fuss was about. I don't think I got to read more than a page because everyone wanted a piece of it.

I have seen books transform and brighten minds more than any other one single event, activity, or item. Every time I hear about a banned or challenged book, I think about those people in my class and wonder how, without those books, they might have gone their entire lives thinking there wasn't even one book that they liked. 

Guest Post by Author Chris Redding: Who Should Choose My Child's Books?

Chris was the first person sign up to participate this week. She my post on Google+ and sent me an email volunteering to write a post. Thank you Chris!


Chris’ desire to become a published writer began at an early age. When she received her first A on a story she wrote in fifth grade, Chris knew she wanted to be an author. However, writing romance fiction books didn’t enter the picture until later in her life. She didn’t read many romance books growing up, but after college, discovered the genre fictions of mystery and romance. Her favorite authors are Suzanne Brockmann and Lisa Gardner, both of whom she has had the pleasure of meeting.

After the birth of her second child, Chris was ready to take her writing to the next level and joined Romance Writers of America and her local RWA chapter. There she embarked on learning the real craft and business of writing.


Chris lives in New Jersey with her one husband, two kids, one dog, and three rabbits. When she isn't writing she's chauffering her two boys to activities and working per diem in her local hospital. She currently has two books out.

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It’s Banned Books Week. 

As a writer, I can’t imagine anyone banning books. I can see a parent make an argument that certain books aren’t appropriate for certain ages, but banning a book outright? Odd.

I remember in junior high, there was a book called Go Ask Alice. I never read it because it was removed from the library before I could read it.

Go here http://www.amazon.com/Go-Ask-Alice/dp/1416914633/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317032582&sr=1-1 to see the description of the book.

Would I have wanted to read it if it weren’t banned? No. Despite not having a smooth adolescence myself, I would not have identified with the girl who turned to drugs. I did not. But it wasn’t so far-fetched to my life in the early 1980’s. The kid who sat in front of me in homeroom was a drug dealer. He told me all about how much money he made.

In light of the some of the books banned, I think about how much times have changed. My older son’s reading his freshman year was "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson. That’s about a rape that a girl decided not to talk about.

And his sophomore year reading was "Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, a post-apocalyptic novel about a competition to win food for your town. Makes "Grapes of Wrath" look entertaining. Oh, and his younger brother read the Hunger Games trilogy before he was twelve. Instead of banning it, we talked about the content. He was not disturbed by it. I think I was.

So my point is, that whenever we ban books, later on we realize maybe they weren’t so bad. And maybe, as children and teens, we weren’t so aware either.

I read Catcher in the Rye in high school. It wasn’t until later on in college that I found out it supposedly had Communist undertones. Oh, really? I missed it.

Would I request a different book if I thought my child wasn’t ready for a topic? Yes, I would. But as a parent, I can make that decision FOR MY CHILD. I wouldn’t suppose to make that decision for your child. Nor do I want anyone else making that decision for my children. They are mine to raise as I choose.

Guest Post by Ceilidh of The Book Lantern: WIth Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Today we have Ceilidh from the YA blog, The Book Lantern. She caught my eye with a post she did on incendiary language, censorship and author responsibility. As soon as I read it, I knew I wanted her to write a post for Banned Books Week. I asked and she graciously agreed.

A little info about Ceilidh. She's 20 and in her third year of Celtic/English lit studies at university in Edinburgh. She's a native Scot, obnoxious accent and all. :D She's been obsessed with reading for pretty much all her life and the Harry Potter books spurned her on to start writing her own stories. She'll read almost anything and has a love of YA as well as Shakespeare, gothic lit and LGBT theater. She's been reviewing YA since July 2010 when she started the Sparkle Project (another blog) and she's 22000 words into her YA novel. She also loves movies, politics and debating. She really, REALLY loves debating!

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It seems like such a cliché to use the oft quoted line from Spider Man but I struggle to think of a time when it isn’t relevant. It’s a piece of advice that could, and should, be applied to almost any situation and the subject of books is certainly not left out. With Banned Book Week in full force, it’s important to remember just why the literature we consume so feverishly is considered dangerous by some. 

I would argue that the written word is the most powerful weapon we have. It can literally change the world. It’s built up and brought down governments, it makes the world’s population smarter and more aware, it opens up a realm of infinite possibilities, and that’s terrifying to some. Ignorance is a pretty powerful weapon too. Keep the information away from the masses and they’re easier to control. Whether a book is burned or taken off the shelves, the impact remains the same. Nowadays, it seems as though the book banners of the world (or more specifically, the United States. As a Brit, I have never witnessed book banning in my own neck of the woods before and it is a pretty rare occurrence) have decided ignorance is bliss for its youth. According to the American Library Association, of the top 10 most banned or challenged books of 2010, 8 are children or young adult novels. Many deal with the simplest of issues such as growing up, others tackle more hard hitting issues like drugs and abuse, and the issue of homosexuality is pretty much a no-go area. Essentially, anything that moves away from the default mode of straight white god-fearing people who don’t have sex until they’re married is cause for concern. Forgive my snide time but it’s hard for me to sympathise with groups of people who declare LGBTQ content to be dangerous. If your way of life is threatened because of a children’s picture book about two male penguins who adopt a child together then you have bigger things to worry about! 

Let me emphasise this point before I continue: censorship is wrong. It’s a lazy way to avoid tough topics and it serves to make us all a little stupider. The cutting off of information to those who want and need it the most does nothing but harm us all. The world should treat books and the written word with the respect it deserves. However, the power that authors have to change the world must also be used in a sufficiently responsible manner.

A while back, I wrote a piece {this is the one I read that caught my eye - Bea} regarding comments made by author P.C. Cast, in which she defended her use of the word ‘retard’ by declaring it free speech. I found her response to be misguided and missing the point of the complaint left on her blog. I do not for one moment advocate removing the book from the shelves as the original commenter did, but I also do not agree that incendiary language can be used freely without consequence, especially in fiction aimed at an impressionable audience. Children are exposed to the power of literature from a very young age (although not all kids are so lucky – 1 in 3 kids under 12 in UK do not own a single book) and the impressions it can make on one so early on are undeniable. I’m a Celtic and English literature student who was influenced by my obsessive readings of Horrible Histories and Harry Potter as a kid. Young adult literature in particular has come under much scrutiny for its problematic content (I, and my Book Lantern co-bloggers, have been particularly critical of many aspects) and I think it’s important to call out such elements. Books are, like all forms of entertainment, a reflection of our own world and its values. When an ableist word is used so casually without condemnation, it’s allowed to grow and grow until it’s no longer something we notice. It becomes so engrained in our psyches as something that’s not a big deal, which makes things worse. I cannot fault every single person or author who uses such language, or gives misogyny a free pass by portraying it as true love, because even though it disgusts and depresses me, such behaviour has become so normal to us. It’s not just our books; it’s our TV, our films, our music, our video games, our politics, our sports, our comedy, our lives. It’s hard to shift from the default mode. But things are improving, even if it sometimes feels like they aren’t. LGBTQ rights and gay marriage are slowly but surely coming into the public sphere, feminism is in a new wave and ready to take back the ‘f’ word with such movements as the Slut Walks, and our entertainment has more diversity than we’ve seen in a long time. Still, more needs to be done. How can this be done?

To me, the answer is and always will be education. Change the status quo. Complain loudly about misogyny and bigotry in your lives and cultures. Fight those who try to take away the rights from minority groups with your words and your ballots. Get out there and demand the best education for all, even if you have to march the streets for it. Support diversity with your hearts and your wallets (because as depressing as it is, profits matter above all to many, including the publishing industry.) Fight for your libraries and the contents within. Don’t ever let the world make you stupid and use the written word in its strongest, most truthful form. 

Guest Post by Author J.A. Campbell: Ban My Book. I Dare You.

Today I welcome back YA author J.A. Campbell. J.A. has become one of my favorite authors and we chat on Twitter so I asked her to help with Banned Book Week and she kindly wrote the following post. 

J.A. writes fantasy novels. Several are even published (and have been reviewed on here). When she’s not out riding her horse, she can usually be found sitting in front of her computer with a cat on her lap and her dog at her side.

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Ban my book. I dare you.

I have a confession to make. I hope that one day I have a book on the banned books list. Why? The company I would be keeping is excellent. Amazing books have been banned or challenged over the years. Books such as Of Mice and Men, Harry Potter, The Bible, The Golden Compass, The catcher in the Rye, The Lord of the Flies, and 1984 to name a few. Some of these books, The Lord of the Flies in this list, I even read for class.

Having said that, I really don’t like the idea of banned books. The thought that a bunch of people can take a book and say that this can’t go on bookshelves and people can’t have free access to it makes me angry. I do understand that elementary and middle schools and to some degree high schools shouldn’t have things like harlequin romances on their shelves, but stories like Harry Potter? Harry Potter is not only the boy who lived, he’s the boy who got thousands of reluctant readers to line up at book release parties waiting for their chance to get the next book in the series. What is so bad about kids reading? Could it make them think? That’s scary… And you don’t have to ban the romance to keep it off the school library shelves, just trust the librarian to buy age appropriate material.

To me it seems like a lot of the books that get challenged are challenged because they actually make people think and feel, and get people to want to read more. What’s so bad about people thinking and reading?  It might give them ideas? Oooh, that’s scary too.

On the other hand, the banned book list makes for some great reading. I guess if people want to continue challenging good literature and bringing it to the attention of people who might never read it otherwise, that’s okay. I do like how people the world over have taken a huge negative, banned books, and turned it into a positive – essentially making the idea of banned books as public as possible so that more people have access to them.

Please, go out and read a banned book, or three… all the ones I’ve read are really good.

Guest Post by Author Mike Mullin: The Censorship Game

Today we have a guest post from YA author Mike Mullin, whose debut, "Ashfall", will be released on October 11th (my review will be up on Oct. 10th). Mike’s first job was scraping the gum off the undersides of desks at his high school. From there, things went steadily downhill. He almost got fired by the owner of a bookstore due to his poor taste in earrings. He worked at a place that showed slides of poopy diapers during lunch (it did cut down on the cafeteria budget). The hazing process at the next company included eating live termites raised by the resident entomologist, so that didn’t last long either. For a while Mike juggled bottles at a wine shop, sometimes to disastrous effect. Oh, and then there was the job where swarms of wasps occasionally tried to chase him off ladders. So he’s really hoping this writing thing works out.

 

Mike holds a black belt in Songahm Taekwondo. He lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife and her three cats. ASHFALL is his first novel.

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The Censorship Game

On the 28^th of August, I spoke at the Children and Young People’s Division of the Indiana Library Federation (CYPD). My topic: How Censorship Hurts Kids.

Since I don’t particularly love the sound of my own voice (and always suspect my audience doesn’t either), I decided to design a game that I’m creatively calling The Censorship Game. Every librarian got a card assigning a role as they came in the door. The cards sorted them into three broad categories: librarians, kids who were struggling with various issues, and censors. All the librarians got a few books with their cards. The books were almost all titles that have been banned or challenged—titles that deal with homosexuality, suicide, rape, and abuse. Titles that an unfortunately large group of children desperately need. The idea was for all the participants to mingle, talk to each other, and exchange books. 

It worked out fairly well. Next time I run the game I’ll explain it a little better and plant a ringer in the audience to get the game off to a fast start. Once they got going, though, the librarians really got into it. There were dozens of book discussions going on at once as the players bartered over the books they had, needed, or wanted to take off the shelves.
 
To make it more interesting, I created two types of librarian roles. Type 1 had an established selection and reconsideration policy in place and therefore was allowed to refuse to remove a book from the shelves. Type 2 had no selection or reconsideration policy in place, and had to surrender their books immediately in response to any challenge.

Both types of librarians were about equally effective at distributing books. In the 15 minutes we played the game, the two groups distributed an average of 2.3 and 2.6 books respectively. As you might expect, the group with a selection policy did substantially better in resisting the efforts of censors. The librarians with a selection policy had an average of 0.8 books banned, while the ones without a policy lost 1.4 books on average.

The other interesting thing I noticed about the game is what kind of “kids” had trouble obtaining books. The librarians roleplaying gay teens had no problems at all, probably because Alex Sanchez was speaking at the conference, and I had a lot of his books on hand. In fact, none of those roleplaying teens had much trouble getting books—it was the few librarians I’d asked to roleplay younger kids who couldn’t find the books they needed. Perhaps the selection of books I supplied was at fault, but I think it reflects a deeper problem. Edgy books for teens have become generally accepted, but it’s much rarer to see difficult subjects tackled in works for younger children.

Do younger children need edgy literature, you might ask. I wish they didn’t. But the sad fact is that many of the difficult topics tackled by courageous YA authors are equally a problem for younger children. Child abuse is not confined to teens. Sexual abuse in particular is more common among 8-12 year-olds than among teens. But brilliant works like Lyga’s Boy Toy or Rainfield’s Scars have no analogue I’m aware of for the middle grade set.

Overall, I’d say my censorship game was an interesting experience, both for me and the participants. I’ll post the materials I created for the game on my website—feel free to download it and try playing it at your library or school. And thank you Bea for inviting me to guest post at your banned book week celebration!

Guest Post by Blogger Drosdelnoch: Should We Change Books to Fit Modern Attitudes?

Today's guest, Drosdelnoch, has been here before. When I started planning my events for this week, I couldn't resist asking him for his thoughts on banning books. Dros reviews books and games at his site, Falcata Times, and reviews childrens books at his other site, Tatty's Treasure Chest. Today he is talking about whether we should older or historical books to suit modern attitudes.

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People that know me are aware that I’m what you could term as a voracious reader, so when I was asked to write a piece for Bea about Banned Books I was pretty much lost for what I could say.  Yes you can talk about the unfairness of what is seen by some to be prejudices against classics (such as the recent cases against Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes Study in Scarlet as it was unfair to Mormons) or test cases in legal history (such as the DH Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover 1959 Obscene Publication Act legal battle)  or even about the reworking of some due to unfavourable use words that are seen as against modern sensibilities such as Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn where people have wanted parts changed to remove racist slurs (although Twain was a friend of Booker T Washington.)

Yet for all this and the arguments should we change books to fit modern attitudes when the title has already been in print for a large number of years?  Surely by doing so we’re acknowledging that there is something wrong with it and in Twain’s case it was an accurate depiction of the area and time to which it was written.  Yes it can scandalise or offend a minority of people but the point is if we start doing this to books are we going to end up having to nit-pick everything out there.  Would people have felt that Mississippi Burning would be stronger for heavy editing of the script or should we rewrite history so that it’s politically correct?  And if we do that are we opening the doors for fringe minorities to take a firmer grip on society in order to further their own goals?

Personally I think the literature that we have defines the culture to which it pertains, it allows readers to make up their own minds, to follow their own beliefs and thoughts and to change a piece because it doesn’t fit in with modern interpretation destroys a part of ourselves as well as dishonouring what people have fought and died for, our freedoms, and to not learn from it or to accept the historical documents would mean that as George Santayana said “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to fulfil it.”

Guest Review of a Banned Book: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Genre: YA

Publisher (this edition): Pocket Books
Release date (this edition): February 2, 2009
Reasons given for banning: anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group
Buy Links:  Amazon     The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

What is most notable about this funny, touching, memorable first novel from Stephen Chbosky is the resounding accuracy with which the author captures the voice of a boy teetering on the brink of adulthood. Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. He's a wallflower--shy and introspective, and intelligent beyond his years, if not very savvy in the social arts. We learn about Charlie through the letters he writes to someone of undisclosed name, age and gender; a stylistic technique that adds to the heart-wrenching earnestness saturating this teen's story. Charlie encounters the same struggles many face in high school--how to make friends, the intensity of a crush, family tensions, a first relationship, exploring sexuality, experimenting with drugs--but he must also deal with the devastating fact of his best friend's recent suicide. Charlie's letters take on the intimate feel of a journal as he shares his day-to-day thoughts and feelings: 

"I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. If they like their jobs. Or us. And I wonder how smart they were when they were fifteen. Not in a mean way. In a curious way. It's like looking at all the students and wondering who's had their heart broken that day, and how they are able to cope with having three quizzes and a book report due on top of that. Or wondering who did the heart breaking. And wondering why."

With the help of a teacher who recognises his wisdom and intuition, and his two friends, seniors Samantha and Patrick, Charlie mostly manages to avoid the depression he feels creeping up like ivy. When it all becomes too much, after a shocking realisation about his beloved late Aunt Helen, Charlie checks out for awhile. But he makes it back to reality in due time, ready to face his sophomore year and all that it may bring. Charlie, sincerely searching for that feeling of "being infinite" is a kindred spirit to the generation that's been slapped with the label X. 

Our Guest Reviewer:

Every day is Halloween for paranormal romance author Angela Addams. Enthralled by the paranormal at an early age, Angela spends most of her time thinking up new story ideas that involve supernatural creatures in everyday situations. She believes that the written word is an amazing tool for crafting the most erotic of scenarios.  

 
She lives in Ontario, Canada with her loving husband and children.

When I approached Angela about participating this week, she immediately jumped on the idea of reviewing a banned book and chose this one. I have not read this one but I've read others that dealt with the same content and like Angie, I believe that books like these allow teens a safe avenue for dealing with these matters and can be a lead in to many conversations between the reader and others in their life. 



Angie's Thoughts: 

The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, is one of those books that appeals to readers of all ages. It’s the kind of book that speaks to the very real trials and tribulations that teenagers are faced with in today’s society.  

The main character, Charlie, tells his story through a series of cathartic letters to an anonymous person. Although it seems like Charlie runs into an unbelievable heap of trouble: drugs, sex, a friend’s suicide and a horrible family secret, it is not an unrealistic coming of age tale. In fact, the reason why I think this novel is so wonderful is that it confronts these issues with full disclosure and doesn’t sugar coat the influences, pressures and realities that a teen in today’s world can face.

I’ve been asked to write this review because The Perks of Being a Wallflower has been flagged as inappropriate. It has been banned for containing content that is considered anti-family, is said to exploit the use of drugs and touch on issues of homosexuality and suicide. It is also criticized for the use of offensive language, expressing a religious viewpoint and containing sexually explicit content. It has been deemed to be unsuited to the age group for which it was written.  

All of the above mentioned “issues” related to this novel are in fact accurate; The Perks of Being A Wallflower does indeed contain a lot of sensitive content. In fact, the entire book is brimming with the musings of a conflicted, troubled teen. But does that mean it is unsuitable for its intended audience and should be censored or worse, banned? I say, emphatically, no and here’s why: 

Banning books like this one eliminates the possibility of opening up discussion with our youth on the very real issues that they are plagued with. The reason why this novel speaks to teenagers and is so widely read is because there is always an element of connection to the content. If the reader hasn’t experienced these things themselves then they have known someone who has. What better way to prepare our youth through open discussion and exploration of sensitive topics? And it’s not like these very real, issues are going to go away.

All censorship does is clean up a perceived mess by brushing it under the proverbial carpet. Unfortunately, just because you can’t see the dust and dirt, doesn’t mean the problems go away.  

Buy the book, give it a read, and then pass it along to your teen – it’s time we opened the communication valve with our youth instead of assuming that everything will always be sunshine and roses. 

5/5 Stars

The reviewer owns this book.

Guest Review of a Banned Book: SlaughterHouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Genre: Fiction
Publisher (this edition):  Dial Press Trade Paperback; Reissue edition 
Publication Date (this edition):  January 12, 1999
Reasons given for banning: depictions of sex, profanity
Buy Links: Amazon     The Book Depository
 
Book Blurb (from Amazon): 

Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden. 

Don't let the ease of reading fool you--Vonnegut's isn't a conventional, or simple, novel. He writes, "There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick, and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters..." Slaughterhouse-Five (taken from the name of the building where the POWs were held) is not only Vonnegut's most powerful book, it is as important as any written since 1945. Like Catch- 22, it fashions the author's experiences in the Second World War into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. Slaughterhouse-Five boasts the same imagination, humanity, and gleeful appreciation of the absurd found in Vonnegut's other works, but the book's basis in rock-hard, tragic fact gives it a unique poignancy--and humor. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

 Our Guest Reviewer:

Author and performer Jillian Lauren grew up in suburban New Jersey and fled across the water to New York City. She attended New York University for three minutes before dropping out to work in downtown theater, where she performed with Richard Foreman’s Ontological Hysteric Theater, among others.

She is the author of the novel, PRETTY, and of the New York Times bestselling memoir, SOME GIRLS: My Life in a Harem, both published by Plume/Penguin. SOME GIRLS has since been translated into fourteen different languages.

Jillian has an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Flaunt Magazine, Opium Magazine, Society, Pale House: A Collective and in the anthologies My First Time: A Collection of First Punk Show Stories and Tarnished: True Tales of Innocence Lost.

She has performed at spoken word and storytelling events across the country and has been interviewed on such television programs as The View, Good Morning America and Howard Stern. She was a featured dancer with the infamous Velvet Hammer Burlesque. As a performer, she has recently worked with directors as diverse as Robert Cucuzza, Steve Balderson, Lynne Breedlove, Austin Young, Michelle Carr and Margaret Cho. 

Jillian recently premiered her solo performance piece, Mother Tongue, at the Steve Allen Theater in Los Angeles.

She regularly blogs at TODAY Moms and at her site. Jillian is married to musician Scott Shriner. They live in Los Angeles with their son.

Jillian's Thoughts: 

I have rarely been quite so tickled as when I learned that my memoir, Some Girls: My Life in a Harem, had been banned. It seemed glamorous to me, placing me in the illustrious company of the likes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. Some Girls has been banned in at lease two countries- Brunei and Dubai. I only know this because of the emails I’ve received from readers who live there and managed to get their hands on a copy anyway. 

Reading those emails filled me with a sense of gratitude. I wrote my sometimes-scandalous book without a second thought because we live in a country that has freedom of the press. But perhaps that sense of gratitude is misplaced. I escape censorship because my book flies under the radar by dealing with such obviously taboo subjects as teenage prostitution. No one is suggesting that my memoir go on the shelf of a school library. But if the recent publication of the altered version of Huckleberry Finn is any indicator, censorship is still very much a relevant issue in this country, First Amendment or no. 

This week is Banned Books Week. Here’s an excerpt of what the American Library Association website has to say about it.
Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.

In celebration, I decided to revisit an old fave of mine from this list of the Banned and/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century.

Because so many of the challenges happen through the public school system, I chose an author who was deeply influential to me in high school. I was rather surprised to learn that Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five has been challenged as recently as 2007, because from my recollection, Slaughterhouse Five wasn’t exactly Naked Lunch or Story of the Eye. 

I reread the book and STILL couldn’t figure out what was so controversial about it. So I looked it up. Slaughterhouse Five has been repeatedly challenged, banned and even burned for such crimes as irreverence (which is apparently inherently offensive), profanity and the depiction of sex.


Slaughterhouse Five is about the life of a man named Billy Pilgrim, whose defining experience is surviving the WW2 bombing of Dresden. The structure of the book is organized around the idea of time travel. The non-linear juxtaposition of moments creates a sense of absurdity and fatalism that form the book’s central themes.

As I watch my three-year-old son begin to sort through the complexities of what makes up a joke, I’m reminded of the essential place of humor in organizing the human experience. Vonnegut was perhaps my first real exposure to the use of satire in addressing complex existential quandries. Satire was an important tool for me in learning to think about otherwise unthinkable atrocities. 

After 20-odd years, it was a pleasure to revisit Vonnegut. His unique voice was transformative for me as a young reader and has remained influential to me as a writer.