“[O]ne man’s vulgarity is another’s lyric” . . . *
September 27th, 2006 by jules
Yay rah for intellectual freedom! We are smack dab (to be precise) in the middle of the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week. What has been the most challenged book of the 21st century thus far? What was the most frequently challenged book from last year? The answers can be found at ALA’s site if you click on the Banned Books image on the left. And celebrate your freedom to choose what you read and what you think by reading a banned book this week. Some are pictured below, or click here. I, personally, suggest The Stupids Die (1981) by Harry Allard and James Marshall — if not as your banned book choice of the week, then for the mirthful moment in which Grandfather Stupid crashes through the living room wall on his motorcycle and informs the family that they’re in Cleveland, not heaven.
(We could also start a trend and wear these. Thanks to Fuse #8 for the link).
— Joseph Henry Jackson
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Afternoon addendum: Visit Finding Wonderland, a great blog for fans and writers of YA lit, and read yesterday’s post that seamlessly ties in Banned Books Week with Sendak’s new title, Mommy? . . . I am still waiting with bated breath for my pre-ordered copy to arrive on my doorstep in my humble little home in the middle of Tennessee. Sigh. Do yourself a favor and listen to NPR’s interview with Sendak from yesterday morning. The. man. is. brilliant.
Here’s to reading freely, and Happy Banned Books Week . . .
YAY! Thanks for visiting us, and what a cool site you have! I, too, am DYING to get my copy of “Mommy?”
Did you finish Nick & Nora? I … wow. I’d have to say: finish it. I hated, hated, HATED the Maryrose Wood “Horn Dawgs & Sex Kittens” novel for the first several pages. The voice was grating, to me. The girl was just too… too… TOO something. But then, I adored and loved it. It was ALMOST too cutesy, but sucked it up at just the right time. I’ve heard the good, the bad and the ugly on Nora & Co., so I’m withholding judgment, having not read it myself.
Anyway! Nice meeting you!
thanks for visiting us! as for ‘nick & nora,’ that would be my blog-partner-in-crime, eisha. she can let you know if she finished it or not. i’m not sure.
i enjoy your musings over at your great blog. thanks! — jules
hey, tadmack. i did decide to give it another shot, at least to the 100-page mark, but… i’m reading Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson, Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski, Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy, and Brighton Rock by Graham Greene, all concurrently. and i have a paper due saturday. it may be a while before i pick it up again.
did that sound show-offy? i didn’t mean for it to – i’m just horribly disorganized and keep leaving books at home when i want them at work and vice versa, so i keep picking up new ones.
i like your blog, too, btw.