The Dangerous Pages Review

Candide by Voltaire

2011-11-22T23:55:00.005-05:00

By the end of February 1759, the Grand Council of Geneva and the administrators of Paris had banned Candide.^[2] Candide nevertheless succeeded in selling twenty thousand to thirty thousand copies by the end of the year in over twenty editions, making it a best seller. The Duke de La Vallière speculated near the end of January 1759 that Candide might have been the fastest-selling book ever.^[82] In 1762, Candidewas listed in theIndex Librorum Prohibitorum, the Roman Catholic Church's list of prohibited books.^[2].
--Wikipedia

Sometimes, when i read a book, I start craving another book. Case in point: Barbara Ehrenreich comes off as a curmudgeon in her most recent book Brightsided, in which she takes on the recent trend of irrational optimism as preached by megachurch leaders and self-help books like The Secret. She's not saying to be angry and disagreeable all the time (although let's face it: she comes off that way), she's just making the case for reason- something her book has in common with a classic French work by the philosophe Voltaire.

In his book, a woman gets her butt cheek cut off. Also, there are a lot of references to sex. (Pourquois pas? Voltaire was French).

Maybe it's because he had a sense of humor. Maybe it's because it is fiction. But when Voltaire decided to take on irrational optimism (represented by philosopher Gottfried Leibniz's in his day) he did it way better .

Candide is short, fast-paced. It relates one event after another and along the way, deals with the problem of evil, the church and the government, which might explain why they were so pissed off about the book.

Essentially, the protagonist goes through a series of truly awful events and at every turn, his master,Pangloss, a parody of Leibnizian philosophers, maintains that it's okay, because this is the best of all possible words. The name of this character has become synonymous with irrational optimism. Panglossianism is still with us today and after 250 years, this book is still funny, still has a sharp witty edge.

It is similar to Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift in that it is satirical, was controversial and came out of the Enlightenment. So Brightsided made me crave Candide and Candide made me want to read Gulliber's Travels. This is how my binges get started...

The Interesting Internet...

2011-11-13T15:18:00.005-05:00

It turns out that, contrary to popular belief, the Internet is more than just porn and Facebook: there is some good reading out there.

Like this article on Freethought Today. It's old but I keep coming back to it. It is an excerpt from an acceptance speech by neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky, for the Emperor Has No Clothes Award. In the speech, Sapolsky makes some fascinating suggestions about the origin of religion:

To get a real insight into this, we have to come to that question, "Why is there this similarity between religious ritualism and OCD rituals?"

You could say, "It's just by chance."

Or you could say, "There's a biological convergence going on there." It's not random that we're most concerned with rituals about keeping our bodies healthy, our food clean, that sort of stuff.

But another answer in there has got to be, "People with OCD invented a lot of these religious rituals."

Let me give you one example of this.
A 16th-century Augustinian monk named Luder for some reason left a very detailed diary. This is a man who grew up with an extremely brutal father, had a very anxious relationship with him, was very psychosomatic-illness-oriented. One day he was out walking in the field. There was a thunderstorm, and he got a panic attack, and vowed, "If I'm allowed to survive this, I will become a monk and devote the rest of my life to God."
He survives, becomes a monk, and throws himself into this ritualism with a frenzy. This was an order of monks that was silent 20-some hours a day. Nonetheless, he had four hours worth of confessions to make every day: "I didn't say this prayer as devoutly as I should have. My mind wandered when I was doing this, doing that."
The first time he ran a mass, he had to do it over and over because he got the details wrong. He would drive his Father Superior crazy with his hours and hours of confession every day: "God is going to be angry at me for doing this, because I said this, and I didn't think this much, and I didn't do this the right way, and I . . ." until the Father Superior got exasperated with him and came up with a statement that is shockingly modern in its insight. He said, "The problem isn't that God is angry with you. The problem is that you're angry with God."
The most telling detail about this monk was, he washed and washed and washed. As he put it in his diary: "The more you wash, the dirtier you get." Classic OCD.

The reason why we know about this man Luder is because we know him by the Anglicized version of his name: Martin Luther. [laughter]

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

2011-11-13T10:55:00.007-05:00

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Rebecca Skloot: February 2 2010

Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cancer in the 1950s. She was a patient at Johns Hopkins hospital, which offered medical services to the poor. After returning to the hospital for a couple of outpatient procedures, Lacks lost her battle. She died at age 30 in 1951, leaving 5 children and a husband. She was black, uneducated and her death was slow and painful.

All of this happened at a time when researchers had been unsuccessfully trying to grow live human cells in laboratories. Because patients like Henrietta Lacks received services for free, it was understood that they would give any tissues and samples taken from their bodies to the hospital for research.

This was understood by the hospital, but not by the patients.

The doctor who examined Henrietta took a sample of her cancer cells marking the sample with the phrase "HeLa". These prolific cancer cells grew like crazy in the laboratory and before researchers could catch their breath, they had batches and batches of cells available for research. Today, you can buy HeLa cells for a few dollars. They have been used in AIDS research, cancer research, vaccination research. In short, these cells revolutionized modern medicine.

The first part of this book is delicious. It is informative and eye-opening. This is the kind of writing that can spark an obsession: the next thing I knew, I was hanging out in the Biology section at the library, grabbing books like I was picking berries. I googled until my fingers hurt.

Then came the second half. The author inserts herself into the story as she chronicles her relationship with the family of Henrietta Lacks, primarily Lacks' daughter, Deborah.

Rebecca Skloot tries to portray this family as poor, dignified black people that had been taken advantage of by indifferent (or outright malicious) doctors and scientists. This portrayal falls apart as she tells the family story. Lacks and her husband were first cousins and she got pregnant with her first child at the age of 14. Her developmentally disabled child was institutionalized before Lacks' death. After, no one visited the girl, not even her father. Her children at home were molested and physically abused, one of her sons spent his adult life in and out of jail. All of this is presented in the book as if the tragedies in this family have something to do with Johns Hopkins using the cells.

It was unintentionally funny at times, when Skloot and others tried to explain scientific concepts to Lacks' offspring and they would burst out with a bizarre (even disturbing) question that clearly showed they weren't understanding.

Comparisons to the Tuskegee Syphilis experiments are inaccurate and Henrietta Lacks, who did not choose to get a fast-growing, invasive cancer, is not another Rosa Parks just because she is black.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks raises questions about bioethics, and the future of medicine. Then it became another, somewhat bizarre story about her children whose story was definitely less remarkable. I turned the last page thinking that what came out of her death was perhaps the brightest part of her life.

It's like the Christmas story, where people who are at the bottom of society (a "virgin" girl and her tiny baby) suddenly become the most important people in the world.This is the biography of a face in a crowd who becomes extremely important to the well-being of the human race. If this story was fiction, the plot would seem contrived: "lame" even.

But that's how truth works sometimes.

Book Review: Made in America by Bill Bryson

2011-08-10T14:05:00.000-04:00

Title: Made in America:An Informal History of the English Language in the United States
Author:Bill Bryson
Publication Year:1994
Rating: 10/10
Similar Books: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Purchased from Waldenbooks

Language is fascinating and the language of the Pennsylvania Dutch attests to this fact. The Pennsylvania Dutch aren't even Dutch- they're German. The name is an "accident of history". They are one of the few American ethnic groups that formed their own language.

They're also, according to author Bill Bryson, one of the many ethnic groups that have left their mark on the American way of speaking. Yes, they speak German, but their German is different from Germany's German. They have a host of strangely specific words.

For example, fedderschei is the condition of being reluctant to write letters. And aarschgnoddle are "the globules of dung found on hair in the vicinity of the anus".

Bryson doesn't know why the Pennsylvania Germans/Dutch would need such a word and neither do I--but I have found a new (very mature) name to call people when they piss me off.

Made in America is divided into topics- food, sports, politics, sex, shopping, inventions- and each chapter relates the history of key words and their attached concepts.

Bryson examines language as a living thing that changes over time, reflecting the growth of the people who use it. Many discussions about English end up lamenting the death of Shakespeare's great language, as if a) Shakespeare himself didn't make up new words, altering 'his' language forever and b) languages are supposed to remain the same.

This book left me feeling educated, as if I had just completed a course in everything there is.
I would love to see it updated to include the language of the Internet age. WTF? G2G, TTYL.

Book Paraphernalia: Liquid Bookmarks from Designbloom

2011-07-11T01:09:00.000-04:00

OMFG!!! Somebody spilled blood and ink all over my books! Murder! Bibliocide! Help!
Oh no, wait. We're cool. It's just an awesome $24 bookmark.

If I had the red one, I would use it only for my Stephen King books. That would certainly impress the kind of people who are impressed by bookmarks.
People like me.

Poems From France by William J. Smith

2011-07-06T01:00:00.001-04:00

In the scenic town square of McDonough, GA, there is a used bookstore called Bell Book and Candle. I used to visit there once a week to spend a few dollars. It was the first time in my life that I was able to actually *buy* books I wanted and I couldn't believe my luck. Tucked in the basement of an antique furniture store, they also sold incense, handmade candles and comic books. It was a pretty big store, with lots of nooks and crannies to tuck yourself into.

In one of these nooks, I found a book of classic French poems for $3. I still have it and I thought I'd blog about it for Paris in July.

The book is an old faded hardcover with a battered dust jacket. The back cover is sprinkled with fleur-de-lis and roses. It was printed in 1967 and each poem is printed twice: once in English and once in French. It begins with a medieval poet named Eustache Deschamps and ends with Jacques Prevert. Along the way, it includes Guillaume Appollinaire, Charles Baudelaire and Paul Eluard.

One of Eluard's poems became my favorite because of it's passion and repetition.

Liberté

Sur mes cahiers d'écolier
Sur mon pupitre et les arbres
Sur le sable de neige
J'écris ton nom

Sur toutes les pages lues
Sur toutes les pages blanches
Pierre sang papier ou cendre
J'écris ton nom

Sur les images dorées
Sur les armes des guerriers
Sur la couronne des rois
J'écris ton nom

Sur la jungle et le désert
Sur les nids sur les genêts
Sur l'écho de mon enfance
J'écris ton nom

Sur les merveilles des nuits
Sur le pain blanc des journées
Sur les saisons fiancées
J'écris ton nom

Sur tous mes chiffons d'azur
Sur l'étang soleil moisi
Sur le lac lune vivante
J'écris ton nom

Sur les champs sur l'horizon
Sur les ailes des oiseaux
Et sur le moulin des ombres
J'écris ton nom

Sur chaque bouffées d'aurore
Sur la mer sur les bateaux
Sur la montagne démente
J'écris ton nom

Sur la mousse des nuages
Sur les sueurs de l'orage
Sur la pluie épaisse et fade
J'écris ton nom

Sur les formes scintillantes
Sur les cloches des couleurs
Sur la vérité physique
J'écris ton nom

Sur les sentiers éveillés
Sur les routes déployées
Sur les places qui débordent
J'écris ton nom

Sur la lampe qui s'allume
Sur la lampe qui s'éteint
Sur mes raisons réunies
J'écris ton nom

Sur le fruit coupé en deux
Du miroir et de ma chambre
Sur mon lit coquille vide
J'écris ton nom

Sur mon chien gourmand et tendre
Sur ses oreilles dressées
Sur sa patte maladroite
J'écris ton nom

Sur le tremplin de ma porte
Sur les objets familiers
Sur le flot du feu béni
J'écris ton nom

Sur toute chair accordée
Sur le front de mes amis
Sur chaque main qui se tend
J'écris ton nom

Sur la vitre des surprises
Sur les lèvres attendries
Bien au-dessus du silence
J'écris ton nom

Sur mes refuges détruits
Sur mes phares écroulés
Sur les murs de mon ennui
J'écris ton nom

Sur l'absence sans désir
Sur la solitude nue
Sur les marches de la mort
J'écris ton nom

Sur la santé revenue
Sur le risque disparu
Sur l'espoir sans souvenir
J'écris ton nom

Et par le pouvoir d'un mot
Je recommence ma vie
Je suis né pour te connaître
Pour te nommer

Liberté

Paul Eluard
in Poésies et vérités, 1942

Liberty

On my notebooks from school

On my desk and the trees

On the sand on the snow

I write your name

On every page read

On all the white sheets

Stone blood paper or ash

I write your name

On the golden images

On the soldier’s weapons

On the crowns of kings

I write your name

On the jungle the desert

The nests and the bushes

On the echo of childhood

I write your name

On the wonder of nights

On the white bread of days

On the seasons engaged

I write your name

On all my blue rags

On the pond mildewed sun

On the lake living moon

I write your name

On the fields the horizon

The wings of the birds

On the windmill of shadows

I write your name

On the foam of the clouds

On the sweat of the storm

On dark insipid rain

I write your name

On the glittering forms

On the bells of colour

On physical truth

I write your name

On the wakened paths

On the opened ways

On the scattered places

I write your name

On the lamp that gives light

On the lamp that is drowned

On my house reunited

I write your name

On the bisected fruit

Of my mirror and room

On my bed’s empty shell

I write your name

On my dog greedy tender

On his listening ears

On his awkward paws

I write your name

On the sill of my door

On familiar things

On the fire’s sacred stream

I write your name

On all flesh that’s in tune

On the brows of my friends

On each hand that extends

I write your name

On the glass of surprises

On lips that attend

High over the silence

I write your name

On my ravaged refuges

On my fallen lighthouses

On the walls of my boredom

I write your name

On passionless absence

On naked solitude

On the marches of death

I write your name

On health that’s regained

On danger that’s past

On hope without memories

I write your name

By the power of the word

I regain my life

I was born to know you

And to name you

LIBERTY

Book Porn: March of the Penguins

2011-07-05T01:00:00.000-04:00

Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large audiences existed for serious books. Penguin also had a significant impact on public debate in Britain, through its books on politics, the arts, and science.

-Wikipedia, "Penguin Books"

Penguin books, with their distinctive design and logo are familiar to readers. I have a few of them on my shelf:

But my humble stack is nothing compared to what you are about to see. Feast your eyes, bibliopervs:
This collection belongs to blogger Karyn of A Penguin a Week. She lives in Australia, collects vintage penguins and according to her comment on this post, her husband built these shelves for them.

If you think this photo is awesome, check out her photostream on Flickr. Each of her blog posts is a review of a Penguin she has read. Many of the vintage Penguins she reviews are classic works and many are obscure books that are out of print.

Book Paraphernalia: The iPhone Bookshelf Skin

2011-07-01T13:03:00.001-04:00

Someone, somewhere is determined to replace paper books with stupid little screens full of text. This person is my sworn enemy, but I have to admit, he/she comes up with some bad@ss ideas. Like this:It's a bookshelf iPhone skin. It's one of those things you spend money on because it says something about you. This says "I can afford an iPhone and I am literate."
Haven't you always wanted to say that?

http://www.murketing.com/journal/?tag=books-the-idea

Paris in July: Mais Oui

2011-06-30T01:00:00.001-04:00

Yay!
So, having decided to revitalize my poor neglected blog, I started looking for new blogs to stick in my roll. I found BookBath and by finding BookBath, I found this challenge, hosted by Karen of Bookbath and Tamara of Thyme for Tea.

There will be no rules or targets in terms of how much you need to do or complete in order to be a part of Paris in July - just blog about anything French and you can join in. Some ideas for the month might include:

- Reading a French book - fiction or non-fiction

- Watching a French movie

- Listening to French music

- Cooking French food

- Experiencing French art, architecture or travel (lucky Tamara!)

- Or anything else French inspired you can think of...

If you are interested in being a part of this experience leave a comment on this post and we will put together a side bar showing all of the participants. There will be weekly French themed prizes during the month for which we will randomly draw the winners from all the French themed posts of that week that link back to us. We will be writing weekly wrap up posts for you to link your posts to.

I have Edith Piaf on the radio. Amelie in my dvd player, Balzac on my nightstand and Monet on my wall. Je suis prêt.

Book Porn: A Panoramic View of Strahov Library

2011-06-29T20:44:00.004-04:00

I am grateful to live in the Internet Age. Because even if I cannot visit the Strahov library, I can still click on this link:

http://www.360cities.net/gigapixel/strahov-library.html

and have my breath taken away.

Book Paraphernalia: Hidden Doors

2011-06-27T15:00:00.000-04:00

If you actually get one of these in your house, it's probably a sign that you read too much Nancy Drew as a child. And that you have money to burn.

It's a hidden door (from reversica.com) that opens to reveal another room. The hidden door is fashioned like a bookcase, although you can also get it with a section for a tv.

You could spend hours thinking of what to put in a hidden room...people you've kidnapped, S&M equipment, a Faberge egg on a pedestal under glass.

I know what I'd put in mine...more books.

Book Review: Losing My Religion By William Lobdell

2011-06-27T14:00:00.000-04:00

Title:Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America and Found Unexpected Peace
Author: William Lobdell, newspaper reporter
Publication Year:2009
Rating:6/10
Borrowed From the Library
Similar: Letter to A Christian Nation by Sam Harris, god Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens

Losing My Religion : How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America and Found Unexpected Peace by William Lobdell is a testimony of how the author improved life through faith-- only to became disenchanted with religion.

As a born-again Christian, William Lobdell begins to pray for God to use him in his profession- journalism- to spread a more positive image of believers. His prayers are answered when he lands a chance to write a religion column.

Preferring the inspirational stories about believers overcoming obstacles and giving back, Lobdell instead found himself covering the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal. Later he engaged in a two year investigation of Trinity Broadcasting Network and faith healer Benny Hinn. He started re-thinking his faith.

Lobdell noticed that when it came to the Schwarzenegger sexual harassment accusations, newspapers printed actual quotes, cleaning them up only by substituting more 'clinical' terms for the slang words. During the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal, the phrase 'child molestation' was used.
The Church called it 'boundary violation' and 'inappropriate conduct'.

When Lobdell found were stories of a priest inserting a religious object into a girl's vagina and a little boy hiding his bloody underwear from his mother, he shunned the "bad touching" type euphemisms for accurate terminology.

He called it what it was: rape. Sodomy. And those words were edited out of his reports.

"The media's terms 'sexual abuse' and 'molestation' were far too neutral to describe what happened to most of these people," Lobdell writes "I tried in vain to get my editors to use more accurate and graphic descriptions[...]. They were considered too graphic for a family newspaper."

These euphemisms left the image of a passing touch, easily misconstrued, a view that let many molesters off the hook in the public imagination.

I doubt this book will make people re-think their views on religion unless they are a part of the institutions that Lobdell so clearly exposes (maybe not even then).

It's almost as if William Lobdell is a non-believer by default. He eliminated these other viewpoints and what's left is a kind of optimistic deism. Which is just fine, if it suits him, but leaves me feeling that the book is not entirely convincing to a believer.

There's room left to argue that Lobdell confuses the bad behavior of humans with God himself. He might counter by asking why people should accept what they're told about God, if the people telling them are manipulative and greedy?

Losing My Religion is not the best argument for religious skepticism--but it is a story that anyone interested in religion should read.

Book Review: A Mind of It's Own by David M. Friedman

2011-06-27T11:59:00.000-04:00

Title: A Mind of It's Own: A Cultural History of the Penis
Author: David M Friedman
Publication Year:2001
Rating: 8/10
Similar Books: Bonk: The Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach

You gotta love fascinating little bits of history. Take for example this passage, which gives you privileged access to the medieval mind:

Anna Pappenheimer was one of thousands of women killed during the witch hunts that reached their grisly peak between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries . Some of those killed were accused of causing crop failures, others of performing abortions.

But there was one crime that virtually all the women confessed to after torture, beginning with the first "documented" witch to be executed in public, the Frenchwoman Angela de la Barthe, in 1275.

That crime was knowledge of the Devil's penis.

Okay, maybe not such a privilege.

A Mind of It's Own by David M. Friedman follows the penis through Western history, from carnal knowledge of the Devil to the theories of Sigmund Freud to the militant feminism of the late 20th century.

It tells us that the Ancient Greeks idealized the bodies of adolescent boys. To them, a smaller penis meant a more civilized--and therefore more beautiful--man. They engaged in pederasty while the Ancient Romans hung giant phalli wherever they could.

The Ancient Egyptians believed that life on Earth was created through a sacred act of masturbation by the god Atum.

The Sumerians recorded in their poetry the words of the god Enki, who dug the first irrigation ditches, created the Euphrates and the first human baby ---all using his 'shrinky-dink' (as Ned Flanders called it.)"Let now my penis be praised!" cries the priapic god.

The penises of some groups, like blacks and Jews, became emblems for mainstream society's fears about those groups themselves.

Having read this book, I see that this subject could have been handled differently- it could have been preachy, it could have been silly, it could have been disturbing (but it could never have been boring, I'm sure).

Instead, Friedman is intelligent without being esoteric, funny without immaturity and (speaking as a girl) answers questions that you really can't ask a man dude out loud. At least, not if you expect a completely honest answer.

Book Review: The Faith Healers by James Randi

2011-06-27T01:58:00.000-04:00

Title: The Faith Healers
Author: James Randi
Publication Year: 1987
Rating: 7/10
Similar Books: Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer

The amazing James Randi is a former magician who has spent a good part of his life debunking psychics and faith healers. You can see in the above video that he is pretty good at it. The Faith Healers details his efforts at exposing big-name preachers of the 70s and 80s- Oral Roberts, W.V Grant and Leroy Jenkins among them.

The Faith Healers was an engaging, fascinating read, with an almost conversational tone. It met my expectations in many ways- a satisfying example of the debunking genre, a series of interesting stories with a tiny element of scandal and outrage. Despite literally being older than I am, it was still relevant, perhaps because it links faith healing to history. Besides, critical thinking is always relevant. It's always a trip for me to discover facts about nearby-history. Before I read this book, I had no idea that Pat Robertson had ever run for president (I was all: "WTF?").

Its negatives include a tendency to be anecdotal in places and- one thing I didn't expect- spending the first three chapters talking about three faith healers in general and then giving them each their own chapter, which made some parts seem redundant.

Some of the efforts discussed in the book seem a trifle ridiculous. For example, a member of Randi's debunking team attended a healing crusade dressed as a very ugly woman. Also, there was some garbage diving involved. Since all you have to do is turn on the tv and watch to see how blatantly ridiculous healing services are, the undercover business seemed unnecessary and weird: grown men playing at espionage. But I won't deny it made the book more exciting.

Book Porn: Bibliophilic Eye Candy

2011-03-14T16:21:00.008-04:00

Book porn: (n) Photographs and descriptions that exploit the nerd's natural lust for the physical beauty of reading material. Such material is deemed highly dangerous to one's sanity . People under the influence have been known to max out their library cards, spend their food money on paperbacks and exhaust their friends and loved ones with "wish lists"
If someone you love suffers from book porn addiction, understand that there is no cure. Just give them what they want.

If there is just one trait that we can point to as the cause of bibliophilia, one characteristic that turns an ordinary mortal into a Reader (or even an Avid Reader) it is curiosity.

I just want to know things. I want to know why birds eat worms, how cars run, where playing cards come from, who invented chess, how grass grows, who the Bushmen are, how to speak Arabic and even the old cliche: why the sky is blue.Curiosity drives me to both fiction and nonfiction. Nonfiction satisfies your curiosity about the real world. Whenever I come across a subject that fascinates me that I know little about, I get excited. The nerd in me is satisfied that here is something new to be obsessive about--to read about, to search the Internet for, to watch on tv, to talk about. It makes life seem so big and full. There is so much to know.

So these books by Sterling Publishing, which you can find at Barnes and Noble, stood out on the bargain bin shelf.Each one is relatively short and easy to understand. Each is a brief introduction to a topic. The ones in the above picture are mine and include Plato, Marx, Economics, Paul, Galileo, International Relations, Existentialism, Postemodernism, Mathematics, the Crusades... with new titles having been published in the beginning of this year.
Their regular price is $14.95, but I got them at Barnes and Noble for $6.98 each, except the ones that I bought online, after discovering the ones on the Internet are only $4.99. If you're a Barnes and Noble member of course, shipping is free.

Book Review: Star Island by Carl Hiaasen

2010-10-05T18:56:00.009-04:00

Title: Star Island
Author:Carl Hiaasen
Publication Year:2010
Rating:7/10

In every Carl Hiaasen novel, you need:

- a heroine. She is wise, resilient and world-weary, given to making wry (funny) statements about life and it's contents. In the beginning of the story, the heroine is always wronged in some way. But she's a got a plan to right this wrong. She is matched by

-a hero, who's in love with her, or will be before the story ends. His desire is to protect the heroine and help her on her quest. Why does this strong resilient woman need help and protection? because lurking elswhere in the story is

-a turd. A bobbing, bubbling loaf of excrescence with no soul and no apologies for lacking one. This is your villain and he is one of Hiaasen's specialties. He's always the type of person who doesn't frighten you, unless he gets power-- and he's always after power. Sometimes there's more than one turd in the story, which sweetens the deal.

-secondary characters. Like Charles Dickens, Carl Hiaasen populates his novels with people you would swear you know except that their features are so extreme. They are caricatures more than characters but they are funny as hell.

- Florida. Hiaasen sets all of his novels in his home state of Florida, where (if his depiction is accurate) the natural beauty is great, the politicians are crookedly slick and the people are interesting.

If you liked all of these features in Hiaasen's other novels, you will love his most recent novel, Star Island. The story revolves around a disaster diva named Cherry Pye, an amalgam of all the pop star train wrecks you've seen in the news recently. Whenever Pye is too stoned to make a good public appearance, her scheming stage mother and twin publicists bring in an actress named Ann DeLucia to 'play' her at parties and red-carpet events. The trick is to keep the world--and Cherry Pye herself from finding out.

The turd in this story is a papparazzo named Bang Abbott, a hygienically challenged photographer who decides to make it his life's work to get a picture of Cherry Pye on her deathbed--or close to it. He becomes obsessed with the wayward lip-syncher and tries to kidnap her. Like everyone else, he's fooled and kidnaps Ann instead.

The hero--and this, to me, is the best part- is one of Hiaasen's best characters from a previous novel called Sick Puppy: Clinton Tyree, AKA 'Skink', the former governor of Florida. (I love Skink!)

Among the secondary characters is Cherry Pye's bodyguard, who has a weed whacker for an arm and is almost as funny as Skink (but nobody's funnier than Skink. Seriously).

Again, like all of his novels, this one is also satirical. This time, instead of crooked politicians or litterbugs, Hiaasen takes on our celebrity obsessed culture. His criticism is sharp and part of what makes you laugh is recognizing what he's talking about.

The sad part is, since it's loaded with celebrity references (some of which I, being less than pop culture savvy, didn't recognize) it's going to seem really dated in just a few years.

It's Monday!

2010-05-10T01:00:00.002-04:00

Currently Reading:

The Closing of the American Mind by Alan Bloom

In Pursuit of the Gene by James Schwartz

The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy

Economics: A Very Short Introduction by Partha Dasgupta

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

Finished:
I haven't finished any books this past week. I'm not sick---I'm just working two jobs. (Yay, money!)

Book Paraphernalia: Cigarette Books

2010-05-08T01:00:00.000-04:00

Finally, I have found a way to smuggle reading material into dangerous places (bars, school playgrounds, church).Books disguised as cigarettes!It's genius!
And yes. They do have The Metamorphosis.

Book Review: Voodoo Histories by David Aaronovitch

2010-05-06T01:00:00.001-04:00

Title: Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History
Author: David Aaronovitch, journalist
Rating: 8/10
Publication Year:2010
Borrowed from the Library
Similar books: Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer

It all began with Kevin. Kevin was a cameraman with a conspiracy theory, the theory that the NASA lunar landing was a hoax- a motion picture masterpiece filmed by the government. A conversation with Kevin inspired British journalist David Aaronovitch to write a book.

“It wasn’t that I was forearmed with arguments to disprove his theory,” Aaronovitch writes “it was just that it offended my sense of plausibility . A hoax on such a grand scale would necessarily involve hundreds if not thousands of participants.”

Drawing from this experience, Aaronovitch set out to provide a resource for those who also find themselves on the wrong end of a conspiracy conversation. The result is Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History, an intelligent promotion of logic, clear-thinking and research over insinuation and 'woo'.

From tracing the origins of the 'holy bloodline' of Jesus myth (the basis for The Da Vinci Code) to re-hashing the details of Princess Diana's death, Aaronovitch points out flaws in the counter-arguments of conspiracy buffs and considers their role in popular culture.

More than just a good beach-read for Skeptical Inquirer subscribers, Voodoo Histories examines the story behind each theory-- it isn't just a matter of whether Oswald shot Kennedy but also when people begin to doubt that he did.

After reading Voodoo Histories, do I consider myself "forearmed"?

Yes...to an extent. Aaronovitch doesn't even address the lunar landing 'hoax', which was the inspiration for the book. It wouldn't be hard to do- Wikipedia has an excellent page on the subject and if Wikipedia can do it...

It should be a rule in the skepticism/debunking genre: never leave something unaddressed.

A book that tried to deal with all conspiracy theories would be huge- like the Encyclopedia Britannica. But if the idea was to examine their role in modern history, there were more important theories the author could have examined-- the idea that HIV does not cause AIDS (& those perpetuating the belief that it does are part of a grand "hoax") has caused thousands of deaths but it doesn't merit a mention.

Still, Voodoo Histories was a nice book to curl up with. It's informative, strengthens your powers of inquiry and debate and arms you with answers to the minor details that only obsessive conspiracy theorists usually have. It's a great addition to an anemic genre- if there were as many debunkers as there are peddlers of nonsense, the world would be a better place.

Book Review: It's Not News, It's Fark by Drew Curtis

2010-05-04T01:00:00.003-04:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Indecision 2009 - Reindecision 2008 and Beyond

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

Title: It's Not News, It's Fark
Author: Drew Curtis, Founder of Fark. Com
Rating: 5/10
Publication Year:2007
Borrowed from the Library
Similar Books: I Am America and So Can You by Stephen Colbert, America: The Book by Jon Stewart, Bias: A CBS INsider Exposes How the Media Distort the News by Bernie Goldberg

The above video is The Daily Show's spoof of CNN's best political news team. The sensationalist nature of the news and their hilarious overuse of graphics is always a target for television's number one fake news show (okay, number two. I love The Colbert Report!).

More criticism of the mainstream news comes from It's Not News, It's Fark: How Mass Media Tries To Pass Off Crap As News by Fark.com founder, Drew Curtis. If you like The Daily Show, you will probably enjoy this book.

Fark.com began as a site where people shared absurd or unusual news stories. It eventually grew to play a role in the mainstream media itself- stories submitted to Fark.com get a lot of hits, and radio and tv stations often refer to the site when looking for interesting news to share.

In the book, Curtis uncovers the not-so-subtle ways the 24 hour news networks search out meaningless stories. He criticizes them for fear-mongering, advertising and contradicting themselves when they should be reporting the news. Fark is divided into 8 sections where actual stories are given as examples, followed by comments from the site (so funny).

My favorite chapter is "Headline Contradicted By Actual Article"

Actual Headline: DNA Hints At Jill the Ripper
Actual Article: The results are inconclusive, and furthermore this article should have been about the testing procedure and not a different overhyped conclusion.

Apparently, the body of the article let it slip that the DNA sample was "so old, very small and poorly preserved" that they really couldn't come to a conclusion. It's speculation--but the headline doesn't say that. It doesn't take a careful reader to find something like that and it makes you wonder about the modern attention span.

I also like the "Media Fearmongering" chapter and "Equal Time for Nutjobs"- the last is a pet peeve of mine.

This book was published in 2007, the media still does the same crap, but it felt dated because of several pop culture references.

In the epilogue, Curtis points out that the media does what it does because people demand it.
We read this stuff, watch it, lend credence to things that, on second thought, are totally stupid and while you can say that a select group or organization like a news station needs reform, what can you do when an entire culture begs for it?

I liked this book,the way I like some of those extra-long, witty comments that intelligent trolls post on Youtube videos and online articles- it's funny and I agree with it but I won't re-read it.

It's Monday!

2010-05-03T01:00:00.003-04:00

Finished:

A Mind of It's Own: A Cultural History of the Penis by David M. Friedman
I may be enjoying this book too much. Just a little.

Fruits Basket (v.3) by Natsuki Takaya
This is my first foray into manga comics since i was small and I didn't read very many then. I can definitely see the appeal this would have for a small girl-like Twilight, it's a pre-teen girl's fantasy in disguise. I would recommend this for young girls, but I hope they'd feel a little scornful of the main character. She is so "nice" and self-sacrificing it borders on suicidal. Kindness is not equal to spineless in my book.
The boys are hot, though.

The Faith Healers by James Randi

Currently Reading:

The Forsyte Saga by John Gasworthy

In Pursuit of the Gene by James Schwartz

Books Recieved in the Mail:

1. The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene (Betterworld Books)
Finally, finally, finally! I have this book. It sits on my shelf, it's cover glistening, I keep shooting it these little happy, sideways glances. Sigh. I read a little of it this Sunday, just before Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking came on.

Books Bought At the Library:

1. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera
2. The Discoverers by Daniel J Boorstin
3. The Clouds by Aristophanes
4. Representative Spanish Authors by Pattinson and Bleznick
5. Anthropology: Culture, Society and Evolution by John J. Collins

Friday Night Book Porn: Pages from the Easton Press Catalog

2010-04-30T16:01:00.008-04:00

Book porn: (n) Photographs and descriptions that exploit the nerd's natural lust for the physical beauty of reading material. Such material is deemed highly dangerous to one's sanity . People under the influence have been known to max out their library cards, spend their food money on paperbacks and exhaust their friends and loved ones with "wish lists"
If someone you love suffers from book porn addiction, understand that there is no cure. Just give them what they want.
Books are luxurious. People in the past thought so, and people today know it without knowing they know it (I know, right?).

TV shows and movies show mansions with handsomely paneled, richly carpeted libraries filled with marvelous leather-bound books and even the most illiterate people associate such a scene with being disgustingly rich.

Houses in real estate magazines often tout built-in bookshelves as one of their best features but it pisses me off that most of those bookshelves will be crowded with knick-knacks and pictures because nobody in the house reads!

What happened to the good, old-fashioned display of wealth and learning? Where have all the book snobs gone? When did we forget that a crackling fireplace must be surrounded floor to ceiling with the golden lines of classic and important titles?

There is one company that understands me and I get their catalog every month: Easton Press.
Feast your eyes, people:
You can subscribe to certain series (The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written series, for example) and you get a book in the mail for $39.95 per month plus shipping and handling (prices for other series vary). So, you don't have to be that rich, but you do have to be richer than I currently am.

When I have behaved myself and met certain goals for the month, I like to buy one as a reward. So far, I own 3-yes, 3- Easton Press books: Moby Dick, The Three Musketeers and Great Expectations. Hopefully, I can get Gulliver's Travels this month. Or Madame Bovary. Or Dante's Inferno.

Once I have amassed a good collection- like this remarkable person here, I will take up pipe smoking and a faux British accent and spend my evenings swirling cognac in a crystal glass, my ridiculously hot trophy husband by my side.

It's so important to have goals in life.

The Book List Meme from Lost in Books

2010-04-27T13:30:00.009-04:00

This meme is hosted by Rebecca from Lost in Books.
This week's task is to name 3 books that intimidate you.
Oh boy. Only three?

1. Men of Mathematics by E.T Bell

I have never been good at math. I could be a case-study for students whose abilities are crippled by well-meaning parents & teachers- we moved a lot (military family) and I missed some lessons and ended up confused. All I can remember is grown-ups saying "well, girls aren't usually good at math, anyway."

Since I like reading to improve myself, I occasionally tackle math books thinking it will help me. This one was on sale at Waldenbooks, I had a coupon and it's a nice hardcover. Turns out, I may have skipped too far ahead. Just maybe.
This is from a random page, in the chapter about Isaac Newton:

The binomial theorem generalizes the simple results like
(a+b)^2=a^2+2ab+b^2, (a+b)^3=a^2+3a^2b+3ab^2+b^3

If you read from the beginning, this is relatively easy. But if you take a break-say, go to the bathroom or sleep or eat-you come back and have to look up words all over again. Am I going senile? Or is this a mental block? I don't know, but maybe the For Dummies series can help.

2. Anything by Heidegger &/or Neitzsche

There is an SNL skit from the 90s featuring Chris Farley and Adam Sandler. In this skit Adam Sandler says "Kill me now, God!"
This is how I feel when I try to read modern philosophers.

Greek philosophers are cool. I get Socrates. I get Plato. I even get Aristotle. They tend to be translated in ways I can understand and their ideas seem more pervasive- I've run into them before.
Modern philosophy is often based on whatever came before it. You have to read Kierkegaard before you read Heidegger and you have to understand Hegel to know what Kierkegaard is going on about.

It's like a really hard game of telephone.

3. War and Peace
Everyone who does this is probably going to have at least one Russian Novel on their list, I think. I do like Dostoevsky's books. But I've never even cracked War and Peace open.
When I see it sitting on a shelf, or being lowered by crane into a library or hauled by oxen into a Barnes and Noble, I see my own mortality stretching before me.

Every 19th century novel has bits that seem dry and uninteresting, that you have to slog through (Moby Dick, for example). That's okay. But if that happens during a book as long as War & Peace, I would find it nearly impossible to finish.Someday, if I am ever imprisoned or laid up with some long illness or confinement, I'll give it a try.
I promise.

I Heart Monster
Lost in Books
Reading Extravaganza
The Avid Reader's Musings

It Was Monday, Here's What I've Read in April

2010-04-27T13:14:00.005-04:00

Finished:

Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym
Satisfied my cravings for a good British novel
Naked by David Sedaris
The David Sedaris book I was saving because I read all the others. Found it at Goodwill for a $1.50.
About A Boy by Nick Hornby
Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
Finally came in at the library. Just as good as I expected. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Made in America by Bill Bryson
Best American history book ever- it took me forever because I kept stopping to read bits of it aloud--"hey, wait, listen to this!" Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
I laughed while reading this.
Voodoo History: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History by David Aaronovitch
Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym
Fruits Basket Volume 2 by Natsui Takaya
Losing My Religion by William Lobdell
It's Not News, It's Fark by Drew Curtis
Mort by Terry Pratchett
I love DEATH in the Discworld series and I finally found this at the library. I accidentally read it too fast.

Currently Reading:
The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
In Pursuit of the Gene by James Schwartz
A Mind of It's Own: A Cultural History of the Penis by David M. Friedman
You have no idea how much fun this book is. It's full of "hey, did you know..." type stuff. The sad thing is, you can't really repeat it at the dinner table without sounding like a pervert.
Fruits Basket V.3 by Natsuki Takaya

What Are You Reading?

2010-03-22T00:00:00.005-04:00

Meme hosted by Sheila of One Person's Journey Through a World of Books.

FINISHED:

Will the Boat Sink the Water: The Life of Chinese Peasants by Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao

This book was eye-opening and informative. It is about the struggles of poor Chinese farmers as they confront corrupt local officials who over-tax, embezzle and even murder.

It's a banned book in China, but millions of copies have sold 'underground'.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Bartlett
This is a book for people who really like books. I learned a lot about antiquarian and rare book collecting and got to know some interesting historical figures.

It's also about a man with a serious sense of entitlement. I definitely recommend this one.

A Treasury of Great American Scandals by Michael Farquhar
This book is not really the best for someone who reads history a lot, since it covers the basic details of episodes you're bound to already know about: the Hamilton-Burr duel, Nixon tapes, Benedict Arnold. But it is good light-reading for the history buff. It gives a human face to historical figures- was James Buchanan gay? What made Ulysses S. Grant burst into tears? Who tried to steal Lincoln's body? It's funny and it makes you want to know more.

READING

The Panda's Thumb by Stephen Jay Gould
The going is a little slow, but this is a fascinating book. It's all sciency and stuff. And I like that.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
I am loving this book.

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
Loving this one, too.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
Just started.

Book Fetishing: Book Quotes

2010-03-16T11:50:00.000-04:00

You ever heard somebody say something-- or read something- that fitted your feelings so perfectly you can't believe it? You nod- gasp out loud. You feel like you want to tell somebody.

The word for this feeling is a word I learned in church- my father's childhood church- an old A.M.E Zion church. This is the church where all of my ancestors, going back for 5 generations are buried. When the preacher would start rolling and the congregation would get happy, they shouted "Amen!"

Apparently, it's original meaning is something like "So be it", but it's also a term of loud, hardy agreement. It's what you say when you feel the truth of a statement down to your bones.

A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face. It is one of the few havens remaining where a man's mind can get both provocation and privacy. ~Edward P. Morgan

If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. ~Toni Morrison

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. ~Mark Twain, attributed

I know every book of mine by its smell, and I have but to put my nose between the pages to be reminded of all sorts of things. ~George Robert Gissing

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~Chinese Proverb

A book must be an ice-axe to break the seas frozen inside our soul. ~Franz Kafka

How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book. ~Henry David Thoreau, Walden

To choose a good book, look in an inquisitor’s prohibited list. ~John Aikin

“Censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it”- Attributed to Mark Twain, but actually comes from a Robert Heinlein book

"When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes" - Erasmus The humanist

and finally...

I cannot live without books.
-Thomas Jefferson

AMEN!

A Day No Pigs Would Die

2010-03-16T01:50:00.005-04:00

This 1972 novel by Robert Peck tells the story of a 13 year old boy learning to accept responsibility. It has been frequently challenged because of sexual explicitness (it describes a mating between a boar and a sow) and explicit language.

I found this paragraph on a page called The Censorship Connection written by Nancy McCracken that described objections to the animal scene.

The parents read this scene as a rape. It's hard not to read it that way since it is presented from an anthropomorphic point of view, as when Mr. Tanner tells Rob that Pinky's resistance is "All part of courting ... Samson just got his face slapped. That's all." Parents read about the mating through young Rob's eyes:
[Samson] was bigger and stronger and ten times meaner than Pinky. So he had his way with her. All the time he was breeding into her, she squealed like her throat had been cut. Every breath. She just squealed like crying, and wouldn't stop.

Not even after Samson had enough of her and got down off her, did she stop her whining. Not even then. Her rump was bruised and there was blood running down her hind leg. (p. 121, Dell, 1972) Mr. Tanner completes the personification when he tells Rob that Pinky "weren't nought but a maiden before this morning. Just a little girl, she was" (p. 121).

The teachers at the meeting, other parents, and one seventh grader who had come to speak for the book proclaimed that the students didn't see that scene as very important.
One teacher reported that when she had surveyed her students several months after they'd read the book, no one mentioned the mating scene.
The objecting parents then offered an argument that is hard to listen to, but important for anti-censors to hear. This was the argument: so long as the girls read the scene, even if they didn't remember it, the scene had entered their minds along with the rest of the book, and it might, like a single dose of L.S.D., come back to haunt them in future flashbacks. Two quick responses came to mind. The first was that even if alleged "L.S.D. effect" occurred, the result would be nothing so much as sympathy for creatures caged and hurt -- which would be healthy, wouldn't it? The second quick response was that literature isn't like L.S.D. -- a single dose of which can alter your brain and damage your ability to create healthy offspring; literature is mediated experience, read and discussed and put to good use by teachers and students in a classroom.

Eventually, the school adopted the policy of presenting a list of reading materials to parents at the beginning of the school year, allowing them to substitute another book, rather than restricting reading material for all students.

Any kid who grew up on a farm probably has seen scenes like this in real life - all through human history. Animals on a farm don't hold back because there is a 13 year old nearby. I did have a little cry when I read this book- it's a powerful, gritty, realistic story about growing up, based on the author's life.

I don't think he should have altered the harsh realities of life during the Depression to make it more comfortable.

March 17, 2010
This book poses a special problem though- the Shaker element. Shakers never lived in Vermont and do not have children or get married. But if something in a story is false, is it okay to say 'no kid can read this', or is it better to take the opportunity to educate?

Reading fiction is not supposed to be a passive experience & you don't just do it for entertainment. Critical reading helps develop critical thinking.

What Are You Reading?

2010-03-15T01:50:00.002-04:00

Meme hosted by Sheila of One Person's Journey Through a World of Books.

Finished:

Animal, Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
This book was delightful. It was funny, informative, moving and a dream-book for anyone who loves gardening, food, family and learning new stuff.

It's a locavore's manifesto. Some find it preachy- but it isn't a fire and brimstone sermon. It's a series of anecdotes about a family's one year experiment to eat locally grown, organic food. It made me hungry every time I picked it up (I gained some weight, I think) and I would love to have my own copy (I borrowed this one from the library).

When Religion Becomes Evil by Charles Kimball
It always sounds juvenile when you say a book is boring, but sometimes it is. The author took view of religion that annoys me, an apologetic defense of moderate religion that pretends that scriptural literalism and belief in impending Armageddon are peculiarities of small snake-handling sects somewhere in the boonies.

I live in the Great red-state of Georgia & I beg to differ. For example, his first sign of evil religion is dead on: Absolute Truth claims.

I have never known a religious person who didn't believe they knew the absolute truth...or that the end time is near.
*Not saying that none exist.

Just saying that Kimball's reasonable religion is outnumbered, probably because most people can find little solace in something if they don't believe it's entirely true.

It was fascinating to read the different cases of religious extremism - Jim Jones, Shoko Ahasara and David Koresh all merit a section.

I was annoyed, however, by some ditz who left their notes in the margin. Normally, I love marginalia (word stolen from poet Billy Collins), but this was the worst kind of obnoxious know-it-allism. "Typical Academic Dodge!" they scrawled in one paragraph. I read it eight times and still don't know what they were talking about, the passage seemed perfectly benign.

Maybe I'm just ignorant, I thought, maybe Kimball's dodging something I don't know about.

But the rest of the book was peppered with obscene, indignant little question marks in the margins. It was like a defiant kid continually say "Huh?" when his mother tells him to take out the garbage.

Was the reader confused or just trying to piss me off?
Maybe I'm just grouchy.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett. The letters "OMG" come to mind. I love Terry Pratchett. I love Neil Gaiman. Reading a book written by both nearly gave me seizures- it was as funny, clever and surprising as you'd expect it to be. It is about the ultimate battle between Heaven and Hell, a serious subject rendered absurd by unexpected characterizations. My favorite characters were the Four Horsemen, modernized and mounted on motorcycles ("Hell's Angels") and then there was Crowley and Aziraphale- a demon & an angel who've kept a friendship going for thousands of years and are a little too comfortable with life on Earth.

This week:

Will the Boat Sink the Water?: The Life of Chinese Peasants by Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao
How the poor of China are struggling, hidden from foreign eyes (banned in China)

The Panda's Thumb by Stephen Jay Gould
Evolutionary science by the Late Mr. Gould

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Alison Bartlett
A detective story about an evil, evil, horrible man who...dare I say it...stole people's books!
(I know, I didn't know it was "rampant". I'm getting ADT...and a rifle...)

What Are You Reading?

2010-03-08T01:00:00.003-05:00

Meme hosted by Sheila of One Person's Journey Through a World of Books

Finished:
The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell

Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

Theodore Roosevelt by Louis Auchincloss

Nietzsche for Beginners by Marc Sautet

and I also re-read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I am still working on:

Animal, Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

When Religion Becomes Evil by Charles Kimball

and The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine

I have added to this:

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell

and

Sartre for Beginners by Donald Palmer

My trouble is, I set out to read something, put it on my list and then get sidetracked at the library when I see another book. Planning my reading list is like trying to predict next Thursday's weather- you can make an educated guess but it's understood that anything can happen.

Is it like this for everyone else or can I get tips from a more organized reader?

Mein Kampf

2010-03-02T01:00:00.001-05:00

When reading about the Holocaust, I tend to wonder less about the experiences of the Jews & the many other victims of the racial "purge". (The Romani people, homosexuals, the mentally & physically handicapped) and more about the German citizens.

How could ordinary people have participated in this?

If any book is going to give us an answer, it's this one. Historians study it in the ongoing debates about how the Holocaust played out.

Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"), being the memoirs/political ideology of a megalomaniac, it embellishes, misrepresents and omits whatever might belie the desired impression.

It is important not for what is says about Adolf Hitler, but for what he wanted the world to believe about him- and what people wanted to believe about him. In this book, we see that Hitler presents himself as a patriotic, heroic, god-fearing defender of German values.

This book epitomizes evil for many people (see list of restrictions and bans here). But books in themselves are never evil- it's the ideas people have a problem with--in some cases, this is understandable. But how do you fight an evil you don't understand? How do we unravel the dark knot that is human evil if we can't even stop and examine our opponent?

What Are You Reading?

2010-03-01T01:50:00.000-05:00

This past week, I finished:

Sayonara by James Michener- a quick, heart-racing story about an interracial romance and the great lengths that small minds go to to tear it apart.

Lucky You by Carl Hiaasen- Hilarious, of course. Carl Hiaasen creates the most interesting women- they are always, strong,smart and a little quirky. In this story, the protagonist is JoLayne Lucks who has her winning lottery ticket stolen by two white supremacists (they need the money to form a militia). With the help of an investigative news reporter, she tracks the thieves down to get it back.

and

The Faiths of the Founding Fathers by David L Holmes- okay, this was kind of boring. Certainly not the best history book I've read. The information, though was fascinating- it spends a lot of time explaining deism & how you can tell the difference between a deist & a christian (pedantic &, it seemed to me, unnecessary). It did have something I look for in history books of this nature- lots & lots of direct quotes.
I don't like hearsay history.

I also finished Heidegger for Beginners by Eric Lemay and Jennifer A. Pitts
and Kierkegaard for Beginners by Donald C. Palmer

I didn't finish Don't Know Much About the Civil War by Kenneth C. Davis. His books are really more like reference books- the ones I have completed have all been copies that I own. This one I borrowed from the library and it was taking too long to get into.

I am currently reading:

The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine

When Religion Becomes Evil by Charles Kimball

Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

The Partly-Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell

and still reading Timbuktu: The Sahara's Fabled City of Gold by Marq de Villiers and Sheila Hirtle

Friday Night Book Porn: Rainbow Peep Show

2010-02-26T18:09:00.005-05:00

Book Fetishing: LOL Books

2010-02-24T01:00:00.006-05:00

I laugh a lot.
I laugh at corny, childish jokes, the kind found on popsicle sticks. I laugh at dirty jokes. I laugh at racial jokes. I laugh at sexual jokes. I especially laugh at things that are supposed to be sacred & serious- religion and politics.

I don't mean to but when I know that I'm not supposed to laugh, it makes it ten times funnier.

And laughing makes some hurtful things better.

All this laughing, I think, makes me a connoisseur. I have discovered, in my studies of humor, that, as with all art, the beauty of a good comedy comes from contrast. Great comedy juxtaposes what should be with the absurdity of what is.

The absurdity, for example of a fully functioning, grown-a$$ man, peeing in his pants for the sake of convenience:

David Sedaris' humor is often called "dark" but I can't imagine why. I also don't understand why reviewers and critics label his family "dysfunctional". In his essays about his mother, father, sisters (including the actress Amy Sedaris) and brother, you can tell he loves these people. His family is just eccentric. But then, all of our families are eccentric.

And Sedaris isn't all laughs either. His essays make a joke out of selfishness, conceit, self-importance, homophobia, xenophobia, every kind of phobia- and ultimately, he leaves you not laughing but thinking about human nature. And this is another facet of Sedaris that people miss.

He's not a stand-up comic. He's an essayist. There's more to it than yuks.

Note: if you are going to listen to Sedaris on audiobook, try to find a live version, because you have to hear him with an audience.

Another author who makes me laugh out loud is Carl Hiaasen. Just reading the blurb on the dust jacket gives me a little tickle.Every single one of his characters stands on their own, with their own humor. He weaves their stories together, one plot with another and everything wraps up in the end.

I just finished Lucky You, which involves a cast of characters living in Grange , Florida, known for it's miracles- a weeping statue of the virgin Mary, a man with stigmata and an oil splotch on the highway shaped like the face of Jesus Christ. From page 243 (hardcover, 1997):

Shiner's mother overslept. The road machines woke her Hurriedly she squeezed into the bridal gown, snatched her parasol and sailed out the door. By the time she reached the intersection of Sebring Street and the highway, it was too late. The Depratment of Transportation was ready to pave the Road-Stain Jesus.

Shiner's mother shrieked and hopped about like a costumed circus monkey. She spat in the face of the crew foreman and use her parasol to stab ineffectively at the driver of the steamroller. Ultimately she flung herself facedown upon the holy splotch and refused to budge for the machines.

"Pave me, too, you godless bastards!" she cried "Let me be one with my Savior!"
The crew foreman wiped off his cheek and signaled for his men to halt work. He telephoned the sheriff's office and said: "There's a crazy witch in a wedding dress out here humping the road. What do I do?"

Two deputies arrived, followed later by a television truck.
Shiner's mother was kissing the pavement, on the place she imagined to be Jesus' forehead. "Don't you worry, Son of God," she kept saying. "I'm right here. I'm not going nowheres!"

Her devotion to the stain was remarkable, considering its downwind proximity to a flattened opposum.

Of course, we can't talk about funny literature without including some British humor. And the master of the genre across the pond is P.G Wodehouse- author of the Jeeves series. Jeeves is a resourceful butler who serves the intellectually challenged Bertram Wooster. Wooster has a talent for finding trouble and Jeeves has the genius to get him out of it.

The situations are hilarious, the kind of silly gags that make you giggle out loud in public, among strangers , causing family members to worry about you. Wodehouse's works are classic, in fact, you can read Right Ho, Jeeves right here.

Flowers For Algernon

2010-02-23T01:50:00.001-05:00

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1966) is the story of a mentally handicapped man who submits to a scientific experiment. The experiment turns him into a genius. The story began its life as an award-winning short story. It was later made into the film Charly.

This book lets us see through our eyes and Charlie Gordon's simultaneously. We can see when people are laughing at him but Charlie, in his childlike way, doesn't get the joke. He doesn't understand that he is a punchline and the reader feels protective and also helpless. And also angry.

His innocence pulls your heartstrings, but not as much as Charlie's desire to improve himself.

This desire leads to the experiment. As he gets more intelligent, he re-visits unpleasant memories about his childhood. His disillusions and new-found sexual desires confuse him.

It is the sex part that causes problems. From Wikipedia:

In January 1970, the school board of Cranbrook, British Columbia, as well as Calgary, Alberta, banned the Flowers for Algernon novel from the local grade-nine curriculum and the school library, after a parent complained that it was "filthy and immoral". The president of the BC Teachers' Federation criticized the action. Flowers for Algernon was part of the BC Department of Education list of approved books for grade nine and was recommended by the BC Secondary Association of Teachers of English. A month later, the board reconsidered and returned the book to the library; they did not, however, lift its ban from the curriculum.

Challenges to the novel have also been successful in Texas and Pennsylvania.
This novel is about an innocent man losing his innocence, about the difference between intellectual intelligence and emotional intelligence. Between being a genius and being a grown-up. It's a fascinating, touching, unusual and provocative book.

And all they saw were the "dirty bits".

What Are You Reading?

2010-02-22T14:40:00.005-05:00

It has been a long time, since I posted- two months in fact. I have been busy and lazy...again...also I was kidnapped and then some other made-up stuff happened...

Anyway, I decided that tackling some memes would get me back "in the swing of things"- and help make regular posting easier. This one comes from Sheila of One Person's Journey Through a World of Books

Last week, I finished these books:
The Age of American Unreason by Susan JacobyThis book is about anti-intellectualism in modern America. It examines the history of American "middle-brow" culture and some of the causes of today's illiterate, folksy glorifying of know-nothings as geniuses. It was, at times, a little elitist and unfair to the Internet (there's some brainfood in the blogosphere, somewhere) but overall I liked it.

How To Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. FosterThis is my new favorite genre- books about books. This was funny, enlightening and I think it will improve my chances of getting through Ulysses and seeing the beauty that others see in it.

On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
This took some time because I read it slowly. I can usually be found at the corner of History and Philosophy, anyway.

Basket Case by Carl Hiaasen
Carl Hiaasen is my new favorite author (I get one every month or so). His stories are hilarious, he has a twisted, unique and wonderful mind and I can't get enough of his books. This one wasn't my favorite so far but it was good.

This Week, I plan to read:

Sayonara by James Michener
Lucky You by Carl Hiaasen
The Faiths of the Founding Fathers by David L. Holmes
Timbuktu: The Sahara's Fabled City of Gold by Marq de Villiers and Sheila Hirtle

and

Don't Know Much About the Civil War by Kenneth C Davis

Wish me Luck!

Also, received in the Mailbox Last Week: The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine (from Betterworld Books)

The Book Porn Archive

2010-01-01T20:26:00.001-05:00

Where Do You Hang Out?

2009-12-17T22:23:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it's been two years since I joined Shelfari.
I first read about it in Oprah magazine. It was included in a list of sites that bookworms should like. I thought it was the best website in history and two years have not changed my mind. To me, it is hands down the best social networking site on the web- finding people with similar book tastes is like a miracle, after a lifetime of having people label you as "weird" for liking books. I found Shelfari around the same time I found my favorite used book store. Suddenly I had the means of really acting on my passion for books.
So, Shelfari is my favorite reading related social networking site. What is yours?

P.S- On Shelfari, I am known as SpeaksofRivers. Look me up.

TBR Thursday: How Does Your TBR Grow?

2009-12-10T19:51:00.014-05:00

Question: How do you find new books to read?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

David Sedaris

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

What draws me to a new book is either story, subject or familiarity- I'm guessing I am not all that unusual in this.

For fiction, I rely on blogs and Shelfari. There isn't just one blog that makes me run out and look for a book- that happens when six or seven of the blogs that I regularly read keep mentioning the book . It's the same idea with all my Shelfari friends. I figure that people who like books know what they're talking about.

Almost any book with a history of controversy ends up in my TBR pile. Banning a book is a good way to get me to read it. Cuz I'm nosy.

I also like lists of important books- I can be a literary snob when I want to, so lists of important philosophocal works or a book review that uses the word bildungsroman appeals to me.

Nonfiction is about subject and voice. There's a misconception that a truthful telling of a story requires a dry, nasal tone (think Ben Stein in the "Clear Eyes" commercial).

But ideas themselves are exciting. When I first read or hear about a nonfiction book I get excited- because you can do so much with just a thought.

O Magazine is a good place to look for new books. I'm not always crazy about the Oprah book selection- either I fall madly in love with it (The Poisonwood Bible) or I hate it (Back Roads).

In the magazine, however, are two columns- Books That Made A Difference To and Reading Room. The first one usually features a prominent person- often a celebrity, but just as often some influential, yet fascinating person you've never heard of. The second is a series of brief reviews of new books.

I also love the authors featured on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. The most interesting part about these shows is seeing who can convey their ideas while engaging in the running gag (especially important on The Report.) You don't have to try to catch these shows, either- check out their websites at ComedyCentral.com and search for specific guests.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Andrew Ward

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

The Honest Scrap Award

2009-12-05T11:47:00.005-05:00

Michele Emrath of Southern City Mysteries has awarded the Dangerous Pages Review with the Honest Scrap award. Along with great honor comes great resposibility. Which means I have to state ten things you may not know about me.

1. I've been a vegetarian for 8 years.

2. I have a parakeet named Cosmo. He likes to eat chicken and he's always humping his perch (that's how I can tell he's a boy).

3. I used to live in Italy and Japan (military brat) and would go back to visit either place in a heartbeat, if only to eat the food.

4. I turned 21 in November. Now I can buy my booze instead of secretly brewing it in the bathtub...

5. Yo aprendo hablar Espanol.

6. I like skepticism. This is a late development as I tend to go through year long phases of being obsessed with interesting topics. So, I spend a little bit each day on The Skeptic's Dictionary and Skeptical Inquirer.

7. I recently got a new job. It's my first real job, actually. And it is at Waldenbooks. (Talk about good fortune)

8. I have a variety of places where I look for book recommendations, but for nonfiction, believe it or not, Jon Stewart (on The Daily Show) has some of the best books if you are into politics and history--and it doesn't matter if it's Al Gore or Ron Paul.

9. With 3 younger siblings and about 30 first cousins, I am a committed family person. I have been committed because of my family. (Jut kidding. You know I love yall.)

10. I wrote this post in my pajamas. The pants have green and blue stripes, the shirt is white with an ice cream stain on it. Least I think it's ice cream...

Postscript: Nominees

So, now, I have to pass this award on. I have chosen a handful of the blogs I keep returning to- not just to see what they've been reading, but also to check up on bloggers who have become as familiar as next-door neighbors...if people still talked to their next-door neighbors.

Miss Nobody of Miss Nobody's Scribbles

Ali of Worducopia

Book Pusher of The Genteel Arsenal

Lilly of Reading Extravaganza

Rebecca of Lost in Books

Friday Night Book Porn (Home Decorating Edition)

2009-12-04T16:34:00.005-05:00

Book porn: (n) Photographs and descriptions that exploit the nerd's natural lust for the physical beauty of reading material. Such material is deemed highly dangerous to one's sanity . People under the influence have been known to max out their library cards, spend their food money on paperbacks and exhaust their friends and loved ones with "wish lists" .

If someone you love suffers from book porn addiction, understand that there is no cure.

Just give them what they want.

Well, deck my halls. It's been two weeks since I posted. Forgive me. All sorts of things made me both busy and lazy (blazy) and I decided to give it a tiny rest, rather than try to crank out a series of half-a$ed posts. But rest assured- now the DP Review has my undivided attention...until something else pops up (this is why it's good to avoid reality as much as possible. It's bad for blogging.)

Anyway, tonight's book porn will be all about books as art, books as environment. This is usually called "decorating with books" and tends to annoy the more-dedicated book porn enthusiasts. Sure, I like looking at a nice set of spines as much as the next girl (hey, I'm not dead). But any use of books as decorating elements has to fulfill the need for functionality and beauty. It can't all just be physical, you know?

http://vi.sualize.us/view/1067687af35c4defc75ee5ecfb408213/

http://www.chictip.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/trilogy-staircase-bookshelf-by-smart-furniture.jpg

http://hollysview.blogspot.com/2008/12/shelves-and-stairs.html

http://curledupwithabook.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/1704875109_c2978e623d_o1.jpg

Friday Night Book Porn!

2009-11-20T22:11:00.011-05:00

Book porn: (n) Photographs and descriptions that exploit the nerd's natural lust for the physical beauty of reading material. Such material is deemed highly dangerous to one's sanity . People under the influence have been known to max out their library cards, spend their food money on paperbacks and exhaust their friends and loved ones with "wish lists" .

If someone you love suffers from book porn addiction, understand that there is no cure.

Just give them what they want.

Tonight, we will look at something a little unusual. I found these images via Stumbleupon on WomansDay.com. It's not usually known for this kind of triple-x material but this time, Woman's Day delivered some unusually shaped book shelves.

If you're not into the really kinky stuff, you might want to cover your eyes (I know you'll peek through your fingers).

Some of them I didn't like because they seemed to be designed for people who like interesting designs more than books. To the genuine lover of books, any shelf that bends spines or displays books in such a way that you can't actually identify titles (backwards, upside down, etc) is not only unpractical, it makes you wonder why you would want to own a collection of books in the first place.

However, they did have a few good money shots:

The Cave was designed by Sakura Adachi. The generic pink books don't look like much, but you can use your imagination. It would be especially great for children.

This is the Zellige. It is a shape commonly found in Moroccan architecture. It was designed by Younes Duret.
And finally, there is this. Designed by Dutch conceptual artist Job Koelewijn, this kinky shelf is contorted into the shape of a lemniscate- the symbol of infinity.

I Stumbled on and found more juicy pics:

This, for example:
...books stored in the rafters for those with limited space. Not sure I would go this far...maybe after a few drinks...

And this last one just made me giddy, because you can build your own. The designer has a channel on Youtube.
...and I have such a thing for yin yangs.

Friday Night Book Porn!!!

2009-11-13T19:21:00.003-05:00

Banned, Censored, Challenged: The Age of Reason

2009-11-09T05:00:00.001-05:00

Thomas Paine was one of the most influential men of his time. For many, he is the quintessential figure of the Enlightenment. He wrote the eloquent words "These are the times that try men's souls " and inspired America to fight for independence.

His book, The Age of Reason was banned in France. It was published in three parts which appeared in 1794, 1795 and 1807.

Paine was a deist, which means he believed in a Deity, but not religion. This book was an attack on Christian tradition and beliefs. He challenged the idea of Biblical inerrancy, the superiority of reason to revelation and what he perceived as corruption in the Church.

The book caused a minor deist revival in America and had British leaders shaking in their boots, fearing an outbreak of the same head-rolling upheaval experienced during the French Revolution.

Friday Night Book Porn! A Few Hours Late...

2009-11-07T09:02:00.004-05:00

Okay... I'm sorry the porn is late, but I started a new job yesterday and went to the DMV and dinner with my family and shopping and all I had time to do was take off my make-up and pass out from exhaustion.

Anyway, here's your book fix:
I found it on spotcoolstuff.com. This is the El Ateneo bookstore in Buenos Aires.It began life as a grand theater. The first movie with sound was shown to a public audience in these walls, which are now beautifully lined with books. Apparently, there is a cafe on what used to be the stage.

You can see more hot bookstores here.

TBR Thursdays: Sue Grafton's Latest Letter

2009-11-05T18:26:00.001-05:00

I have read all of Sue Grafton's alphabet series to date- A-T. I started reading them when I was thirteen, right after R is for Ricochet came out. I finished T is for Trespass more than a year ago and since then, the withdrawals have been unbearable.

So, I was happy when I found out that U is for Undertow will be released on December 1st, 2009.

This (along with all the other letters) has been on my TBR for 7 years. Here is a little teaser from Sue Grafton's website.

Excerpt

Wednesday afternoon, April 6, 1988

What fascinates me about life is that now and then the past rises up and declares itself. Afterward, the sequence of events seems inevitable, but only because cause and effect have been aligned in advance. It’s like a pattern of dominoes arranged upright on a tabletop. With the flick of your finger, the first tile topples into the second, which in turn tips into the third, setting in motion a tumbling that goes on and on, each tile knocking over its neighbor until all of them fall down. Sometimes the impetus is pure chance, though I discount the notion of accidents. Fate stitches together elements that seem unrelated on the surface. It’s only when the truth emerges you see how the bones are joined and everything connects.

Here’s the odd part. In my ten years as a private eye, this was the first case I ever managed to resolve without crossing paths with the bad guys. Except at the end, of course.

* * *

My name is Kinsey Millhone. I’m a private detective, female, age thirty-seven, with my thirty-eighth birthday coming up in a month. Having been married and divorced twice, I’m now happily single and expect to remain so for life. I have no children thus far and I don’t anticipate bearing any. Not only are my eggs getting old, but my biological clock wound down a long time ago. I suppose there’s always room for one of life’s little surprises, but that’s not the way to bet.

I work solo out of a rented bungalow in Santa Teresa, California, a town of roughly 85,000 souls who generate sufficient crime to occupy the Santa Teresa Police Department, the County Sheriff’s Department, the California Highway Patrol, and the twenty-five or so local private investigators like me. Movies and television shows would have you believe a PI’s job is dangerous, but nothing could be farther from the truth . . . except, of course, on the rare occasions when someone tries to kill me. Then I’m ever so happy my health insurance premiums are paid up. Threat of death aside, the job is largely research, requiring intuition, tenacity, and ingenuity. Most of my clients reach me by referral and their business ranges from background checks to process serving, with countless other matters in between. My office is off the beaten path and I seldom have a client appear unannounced, so when I heard a tapping at the door to my outer office, I got up and peered around the corner to see who it was.

Through the glass I saw a young man pointing at the knob. I’d apparently turned the dead bolt to the locked position when I’d come back from lunch. I let him in, saying, “Sorry about that. I must have locked up after myself without being aware of it.”

“You’re Ms. Millhone?”

“Yes.”

“Michael Sutton,” he said, extending his hand. “Do you have time to talk?”

We shook hands. “Sure. Can I offer you a cup of coffee?”

“No, thanks. I’m fine.”

I ushered him into my office while I registered his appearance in a series of quick takes. Slim. Lank brown hair with a sheen to it, worn long on top and cut short over his ears. Solemn brown eyes, complexion as clear as a baby’s. There was a prep school air about him: deck shoes without socks, sharply creased chinos, and a short-sleeve white dress shirt he wore with a tie. He had the body of a boy: narrow shoulders, narrow hips, and long, smooth arms. He looked young enough to be carded if he tried to buy booze. I couldn’t imagine what sort of problem he’d have that would require my services.

I returned to my swivel chair and he settled in the chair on the other side of the desk. I glanced at my calendar, wondering if I’d set up an appointment and promptly forgotten it.

He noticed the visual reference and said, “Detective Phillips at the police department gave me your name and address. I should have called first, but your office was close by. I hope this isn’t an inconvenience.”

“Not at all,” I said. “My first name’s Kinsey, which you’re welcome to use. You prefer Michael or Mike?”

“Most people call me Sutton. In my kindergarten class, there were two other Michaels so the teacher used our last names to distinguish us. Boorman, Sutton, and Trautwein—like a law firm. We’re still friends.”

“Where was this?”

“Climp.”

I said, “Ah.” I should have guessed as much. Climping Academy is the private school in Horton Ravine, K through 12. Tuition starts at twelve grand for the little tykes and rises incrementally through the upper grades. I don’t know where it tops out, but you could probably pick up a respectable college education for the same price. All the students enrolled there referred to it as “Climp,” as though the proper appellation was just, like, sooo beside the point. Watching him, I wondered if my blue-collar roots were as obvious to him as his upper-class status was to me.

We exchanged pleasantries while I waited for him to unload. The advantage of a prearranged appointment is that I begin the first meeting with at least some idea what a prospective client has in mind. People skittish about revealing their personal problems to a stranger often find it easier to do by phone. With this kid, I figured we’d have to dance around some before he got down to his business, whatever it was.

He asked how long I’d been a private investigator. This is a question I’m sometimes asked at cocktail parties (on the rare occasion when I’m invited to one). It’s the sort of blah-blah-blah conversational gambit I don’t much care for. I gave him a rundown of my employment history. I skipped over the two lackluster semesters at the local junior college and started with my graduation from the police academy. I then covered the two years I’d worked for the Santa Teresa PD before I realized how ill suited I was to a life in uniform. I proceeded with a brief account of my subsequent apprenticeship with a local agency, run by Ben Byrd and Morley Shine, two private investigators, who’d trained me in preparation for licensing. I’d had my ups and downs over the years, but I spared him the details since he’d only inquired as a stalling technique. “What about you? Are you a California native?”

“Yes, ma’am. I grew up in Horton Ravine. My family lived on Via Ynez until I went off to college. I lived a couple of other places, but now I’m back.”

“You still have family here?”

His hesitation was one of those nearly imperceptible blips that indicates internal editing. “My parents are gone. I have two older brothers, both married with two kids each, and an older sister who’s divorced. We’re not on good terms. We haven’t been for years.”

I let that pass without comment, being better acquainted with family estrangement than I cared to admit. “How do you know Cheney Phillips?”

“I don’t. I went into the police department, asking to speak to a detective, and he happened to be free. When I told him my situation, he said you might be able to help.”

“Well, let’s hope so,” I said. “Cheney’s a good guy. I’ve known him for years.” I shut my mouth then and let a silence descend, a stratagem with remarkable powers to make the other guy talk.

Sutton touched the knot in his tie. “I know you’re busy, so I’ll get to the point. I hope you’ll bear with me. The story might sound weird.”

“Weird stories are the best kind, so fire away,” I said.

He looked at the floor as he spoke, making eye contact now and then to see if I was following. “I don’t know if you saw this, but a couple of weeks ago, there was an article in the newspaper about famous kidnappings: Marion Parker, the twelve-year-old girl who was abducted in 1927; the Lindbergh baby in ’thirty-two; another kid, named Etan Patz. Ordinarily, I don’t read things like that, but what caught my attention was the case here in town . . .”

“You’re talking about Mary Claire Fitzhugh—1967.”

“You remember her?”

“Sure. I’d just graduated from high school. Little four-year-old girl taken from her parents’ home in Horton Ravine. The Fitzhughs agreed to pay the ransom, but the money was never picked up and the child was never seen again.”

“Exactly. The thing is, when I saw the name Mary Claire Fitzhugh, I had this flash—something I hadn’t thought about for years.” He clasped his hands together and squeezed them between his knees. “When I was a little kid, I was playing in the woods and I came across these two guys digging a hole. I remember seeing a bundle on the ground a few feet away. At the time, I didn’t understand what I was looking at, but now I believe it was Mary Claire’s body and they were burying her.”

Wishful Wednesdays Meme

2009-11-04T18:37:00.005-05:00

Meme hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

Here's my master wish list- the books I am dying to park on my bookshelf. I've already bought the crossed out ones.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K Rowling
~~Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K Rowling~~
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach
The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene
The Fabric of Cosmos by Brian Greene
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (Easton Press Edition)
A is for Alibi- Sue Grafton
~~C is for Corpse-~~ ~~Sue Grafton~~
D is for Deadbeat- Sue Grafton
F is for Fugitive- Sue Grafton
G is for Gumshoe- Sue Grafton
H is for Homicide-Sue Grafton
I is for Innocent- Sue Grafton
~~M is for Malice- Sue Grafton~~
Jazz- Toni Morrison
The Oxford Book of American Poetry

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Dialogo sopra i due Massimi Sistemi del Mondo

2009-11-02T05:25:00.002-05:00

This long ago and infamous ban from the 17th century still has relevance for us today, because the argument of religion versus science still continues. In 1633, Galileo Galilei, author of Dialogue concerning the Two Chief World Systems Ptolemaic and Copernican , was threatened with torture, dragged before the Inquisition and made to denounce his terrible heresy- the idea (which originated with Nicholas Copernicus) that the Earth moves around the sun.

The reason why this was heretical was because it defied the belief of the day. The heavens were immutable, unchanging and the Earth, which was the pinnacle of Creation, remained fixed in...whatever it was they thought they were suspended in (Jello?Vaseline?). Also, there was this:

12) Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.

13) And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

Of course,if you are wicked enough to claim that the Earth goes around the Sun- and not the other way around, this would be impossible. So, because Copernican theory contradicted the Scriptures, it had to be wrong. As many today assert- if it contradicts scripture, then it can't be true.

Simple logic. Wrong. But simple.

Friday Night Book Porn!

2009-10-30T20:26:00.000-04:00

about 200 000 old prints, mostly from the period between the 16 ^th and the 18 ^th century, around 3000 manuscripts and 1500 first prints. One of the most precious items is the Strahov Evangeliary from the 9 ^th century, with Romanesque and Gothic decoration. There are two splendidly decorated halls: the Theological Hall and the Philosophical Hall.

---http://www.prague.cz/strahov-library/
It is not a lending library, but you can visit it at any time between 9am and 5pm, as long as it isn't Easter or Christmas. You can see a 3-D Panoramic view here.

Wishful Wednesdays

2009-10-28T08:00:00.001-04:00

Okay- the master list- these are the books I have been salivating over. I have prepared a cozy place for them on my bookshelf, where they will join the rest of my little paper and cardboard family. Meme hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

I've already bought the crossed out ones.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K Rowling
~~Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows~~ ~~by J.K Rowling~~
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach
The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene
The Fabric of Cosmos by Brian Greene
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (Easton Press Edition)
A is for Alibi- Sue Grafton
~~C is for Corpse-~~ ~~Sue Grafton~~
D is for Deadbeat- Sue Grafton
F is for Fugitive- Sue Grafton
G is for Gumshoe- Sue Grafton
H is for Homicide-Sue Grafton
I is for Innocent- Sue Grafton
~~M is for Malice- Sue Grafton~~
Jazz- Toni Morrison
The Oxford Book of American Poetry

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Animal Farm

2009-10-27T08:00:00.005-04:00

Animal Farm is a fable by novelist George Orwell. It was challenged in 1982 in Dekalb County, Georgia. In 1963, in Wisconsin, the John Birch Society challenged it for the use of the phrase "the masses will revolt". It was banned in the Soviet Union. Also banned in Yugoslavia (1946), Kenya (1991) and the United Arab Emirates (2002).

On May 7 1987, over 60 books were banned from use in the classrooms in two Panama City, Florida classrooms. Animal Farm among them:

Bay High School:
A Farewell To Arms- Ernest Hemingway
The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Intruder in the Dust- William Faulkner
Lost Horizon- James Hilton
Oedipus Rex- Sophocles
The Red Badge of Courage
A Separate Peace- John Knowles
Shane- Jack Schaefer
Three Comedies of American Life- Joseph Mersand

Moseley High School:
Adventures in English Literature
After the First Death- Robert Cormier
Alas, Babylon- Pat Frank
Animal Farm- George Orwell
Arrangement in Literature
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Best Short Stories Brave New World- Aldous Huxley The Call of the Wild- jack London Canterbury Tales- Geoffrey Chaucer The Crucible- Arthur Miller Death be Not Proud- John Gunther
Deathwatch - Robb White
Desire Under the Elms- Eugene O'Neill
The Emperor Jones- Eugene O'Neill
Long Day's Journey Into Night- Eugene O'Neill
Exploring Life Through Literature Fahrenheit 451- Ra Bradbury
The Fixer - Bernard Malamud
Ghosts- August Strindberg Miss Julie- August Strindberg
The Glass Menagerie- Tennessee Williams Great Expectations- Charles Dickens The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hamlet, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night - William Shakespeare
Hipplolytus- Euripides
In Cold Blood- Truman Capote
The Inferno- Dante Alighieri (Ciardi translation)
The Little Foxes- Lillian Helman
Lord of the Flies- William Golding
The Mayor of Casterbridge- Thomas Hardy
McTeague- Frank Norris
Mister Roberts- Thomas Heggen
The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles
Of Mice and Men- John Steinbeck The Pearl- John Steinbeck The Old Man and the Sea- Ernest Hemingway
On Baile's Strand- W.B Yeats
The Outsiders- S.E Hinton
Player Piano- Kurt Vonnegut
The Prince and the Pauper- Mark Twain
Prometheus Unbound- Percy Bysshe Shelley
Tale Blazer Library A Raisin in the Sun- Lorraine Hainsberry
The Red Badge of Courage- Stephen Crane
A Separate Peace- John Knowles
To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee
Watership Down- Richard Adams
Winterset- Maxwell Anderson
Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte

--From Banned Books: Literature Suppressed On Political Grounds by Nicholas J. Karolides

The books would later be re-instated...

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Les Miserables

2009-10-26T11:20:00.003-04:00

Les Miserables(1862) is the 19th century work of French author Victor Hugo. Every one of Victor Hugo's books were banned in 1850 by Tsar Nicholas I, since Hugo's depiction of royalty were considered...less than flattering, shall we say? His works were also listed on the infamous Index Librorum Prohibitorum which was the Catholic Church's list of books forbidden to members of the faith.
Les Miserables made the Index in 1864 and according to Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Political Grounds, stayed there until 1959. Books were usually placed there for being critical of the clergy or the papacy. In 1904, it was banned from a Philadelphia school because it contained a French word associated with prostitution (grisette- a working class woman, "good-time girl").

Les Miserables is the story of Jean Valjean, a former criminal who finds redemption. It's about compassion and was a commentary on French society. Miserables refers to the wretchedly poor in France.

Friday Night Book Porn!

2009-10-23T17:24:00.000-04:00

Book porn: (n) Photographs and descriptions that exploit the nerd's natural lust for the physical beauty of reading material. Such material is deemed highly dangerous to one's sanity . People under the influence have been known to max out their library cards, spend their food money on paperbacks and exhaust their friends and loved ones with "wish lists" .

If someone you love suffers from book porn addiction, know that there is no cure for it. Just buy them what they want.

This is the library of American writer Edith Wharton, author of The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth and Ethan Frome. Edith Wharton was an upper class female writer in a time when women were discouraged from writing for publication.

Her home, "The Mount", in Massachusetts, is beautiful. Wharton wrote about the rich and wealthy of New England high society. You can see more pictures on The Mount's website. (See Also: Save the Mount)

It looks like a lavish place- a place for fine China and evening dresses. It's elegant and stately-- not really a library for genre fiction or paperbacks.

Eudora Welty was also an American writer who wrote short stories and novels like The Optimist's Daughter, which won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize. Her home is also a preserved national treasure.

The exterior of the house is every bit as beautiful as these shelves.

I could live here- I want to live here. It looks like the kind of house I always dreamed of as a kid- friendly, open and in a style that looks different most other houses.

...I'd hate having my books sitting on my couch though, because I want to daydream and nap there. Also, you can't see the spines (I have to see their spines. It's like obsessive compulsive disorder).
www.eudorawelty.org/
http://mdah.state.ms.us/welty/house1.html

Wishful Wednesdays

2009-10-14T11:13:00.000-04:00

This meme is hosted by mizb17 at Should Be Reading.

What great books have you been wishing for lately?

Yay! I got a nice hardcover copy of M is for Malice by Sue Grafton at the library used book bin (for $1!). I love library sales. Anyway, now, I only need A, C, D, F, G, H and I in the series. Usually, I get new books from the library. If I like them, I want them and I put them on my wishlist. In this way, I have amassed a wish list that never stops growing. It consumes every birthday and holiday (there's never room to ask for clothes, for example) and so I keep rushing off to the used book store, dressed in rags, whistling happily down the path to bankruptcy.

It's a good life.

Currently, I am reading Faithless by Joyce Carol Oates (I just realized that I have no Joyce Carol Oates books. How can that be? I love me some Oates...) and Out of the Flames by Laurence and Nancy Goldstone which is about a heretic and how they burned his book...and him, too, incidentally. I think I will want this book, even though I have only jut started it.

Here is the master list of my wishes:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach
The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene
The Fabric of Cosmos by Brian Greene
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (Easton Press Edition)

(...with the addition of Jazz by Toni Morrison and The Oxford Book of American Poetry, which I have been wishing for. I forgotted about them last time.)

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Looking For Alaska

2009-10-10T12:53:00.000-04:00

Looking for Alaska by John Green is a 2005 Young Adult novel about a 16 year old named Miles Halter who goes through a series of new experiences at a Culver Creek boarding school in Alabama (fictional). The author went to a similar boarding school in his teen years and the story is based on his experiences there, including the deaths of two students in a car crash.

The novel contains one oral sex scene and a scene where two of the teens come across a pornographic movie- they watch it and one character, Alaska criticizes it for objectifying women, not being romantic, etc and turns it off. The novel also depicts a lot of teen smoking and drinking.

In Depew High School, near Buffalo, New York, two teachers chose to use the book for instruction in an 11th grade class. They let parents know that it contained controversial content by sending home a letter, letting parents know that a substitute book was available if they wanted. A few students did choose the substitute. The book was challenged anyway by parents who said it was "pornographic" and "disgusting". It was retained.

I just finished Looking for Alaska, literally minutes ago. As far as how I liked it, it was okay- it certainly had powerful writing and fascinating characters. It was not "pornographic"- this was not intended to shock or titillate but simply to explore the topic of teen sexuality. It was a remarkably intelligent book and managed to rise above the condescension that teen novels usually have. I was off my literary diet with this one, yet I couldn't help but appreciate the depth of this novel. Particularly the way it explores life & death.

TBR Thursdays

2009-10-07T20:28:00.000-04:00

Hello all! It's another meme! This one is hosted by Drea at Book Blather.

What's in my TBR?
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (still haven't read this...least not the whole thing)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Einstein by Walter Isaacson
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
The Patriot Chiefs by Alvin M. Josephy
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
The Family by Jeff Sharlet
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Coraline by Neil Gaiman (my sister checked this out from the library for us both to read and when we got it home, the first 8 pages were missing! I was ever so peeved...)

I will keep adding books until I pass out from reading exhaustion. It's the TBR that never ends.

Also, I want to do something a little different and do some TBR blogs:

See this guest post by Ali of Worducopia on Lost in Books (hosted by Rebecca, who is off adventuring). The post is called Why Do We Read Books? and I really enjoyed reading it.

I also found this blog which hasn't been updated in a while. Still, it is all about something I love with a deep (some would say unhealthy?) passion: book porn (steamy pictures of hot libraries)

Your Shelves!

Wishful Wednesdays Meme

2009-10-07T18:43:00.000-04:00

Ugh, this post is dreadfully late...but, better late than never. I would like to try doing a weekly meme- shake things up. This one's hosted by mizb17 at Should Be Reading.

What great books have you been wishing for lately?

I have been sinfully coveting an Easton Press edition of Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. I tried to get a copy on eBay but I was outbid. I got a version of the 3 Musketeers instead, but I still want Gulliver.

Also, I want the last four Harry Potter books, When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris, Bonk, Stiff and Spook - all by Mary Roach (I love her books!) and The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner. Also, after years of checking them out from the library off and on, I still don't have Brian Green's The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos. Maybe if I own them, I will understand them better.

I also need the following letters in the Sue Grafton alphabet mystery series: A, C, D, F, G, H, I and M.

Alright. Got that, Santa?
Better have the reindeer lifting weights.

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Little House on the Prairie

2009-10-06T12:19:00.001-04:00

I loved The Little House Series when I was nine, ten and eleven. Little House on the Prairie was not my favorite, however. I liked Farmer Boy best, even though it wasn't even about Laura & her family, but her husband, Almanzo Wilder. I also loved The Long Winter- it seemed so cozy and perfect- a long winter snowed in with comfy soups to eat. (Of course, if my family had been snowed in for 7 months, we probably would have killed and eaten each other.)

Little House on the Prairie has been a beloved classic since 1935. It was not until the 1990s that the book became the target of book banners. In 1993, parents in Thibodaux, Louisiana demanded the removal of the book from school libraries because it was offensive to Indians.

The novel was also banned from classrooms in Sturgis, North Dakota for the same reasons. I clearly remember reading those parts about the Indians as a child and thinking "That's the way people were back then." I understood- just as my white, Asian & Hispanic classmates did. We were children, but we were reasonably smart children .

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Go Ask Alice

2009-10-05T11:41:00.002-04:00

This book was released in 1971. It was presented as nonfiction but is at least partially fictionalized. The author is actually a psychiatrist named Beatrice Sparks who worked with troubled teens in the 70s. She claimed to be only the editor of the book and said the book was the edited diary of one of her patients.

The book is still one of the most banned and challenged in America. It has been removed from school libraries in Kalamazoo, Michigan (1974); Saginaw, Michigan (1975); Eagle Pass, Texas (1977) and Trenton, New Jersey (1977). It was one of 11 books banned in Island Trees Free School District No.26 in New York in 1982. The novels were returned to the library after a US Supreme Court ruling that said the ban violated students' free speech. At the Central (Gwinnett) High School in Georgia (1986) a parent complained that the book "encourages students to steal and take drugs."

Go Ask Alice does not encourage students to steal and take drugs.The book shows teenagers what can happen if you use drugs. Alice ends up on drugs and becomes a dirty, homeless, ragged teenager. She ends up on the streets, dirty. She sleeps with strangers. While high, she puts herself in dangerous situations that lead to her being assaulted and taken advantage of. This is what drugs can do to you.

How else should drug use be depicted? How do you write a book about drug abuse without drug abuse in it? Should books about drugs be clean and polite, even though drug addiction leads to a dark, vulgar and profane place?

Banned, Censored, Challenged: The Decameron

2009-10-01T12:00:00.001-04:00

Giovanni Boccaccio wrote this in the 1350s. It is a series of 100 novellas, each presented as a story. A group of 10 young, beautiful people leave the city of Florence to escape the plague. They pass the time telling stories.

The work is said to have influenced Chaucer and was influenced by The Book of Good Love , the 1330 work by Juan Ruiz. The title of the Decameron comes from the Greek words "deca" (10) and day (hemera).

Some of the stories are pious, some are racy. The story takes you into a world that is at once familiar with its worries and dramas but also foreign in the way that historical settings often are.

For me, reading the book as an adolescent, the book was really eye-opening. I literally believed that no one talked about sex until 1990, when the world slid downhill because of Madonna...or something like that...

But it wasn't exactly an open society that Boccaccio released his masterpiece into. The book was burned and banned in Italy in 1497 & 1553. Later still, it would be seized by Detroit , Mich. police (1934), and thanks to the Comstock act, which is no longer enforced, banned from the US postal system.

You can read it online, here, but it's kind of long so you might want to pick up your copy

BTW:did you check out my guest post on Lost in Books. Rebecca is in India, attending her sister's wedding and having a fabulous time, I hope.

Banned, Censored, Challenged: The Handmaid's Tale

2009-09-30T12:00:00.001-04:00

Written by Margaret Atwood, this is a dystopian novel from a woman's point of view. It is set in a future taken over by religious zealots who control every aspect of women's lives. The main character, Offred narrates the story of her life as a "Hagar", a woman forced to have sex with a man, in order to basically be a surrogate mother.

Like most authors of dystopian fiction, Atwood meant this to be a cautionary tale. Writing during a time of strong politically conservative influence, Atwood envisioned a future where women would lose all of the rights they had gained during the 60s and 70s movements. She drew her concept from the book of Genesis in the Bible, where the handmaiden Hagar is forced to bare children for Abraham because his wife is barren. I wasn't alive in the 80s, so I don't know how plausible this story seemed at the time (someone who read it back then could tell me) but I know that when I first read it in 2003, it seemed a little hysterical. After all, another conservative was in office at the time and though there were many things the Left feared from Bush, it never seemed that a complete repeal of women's rights was possible.

So to me, the book seemed hysterical and unrealistic. Back to the 50s- a possibility. Back to the Bronze age, not likely.

Still, it was an exciting and provocative book.

I found out about the proposed removal of this book from a Texas high school on a website called SafeLibraries.org, whose main focus seems to be encouraging libraries to filter porn but they also talk about books.

In writing about the nature of some young adult books they write:

from Judson Board Set to Write Final Chapter on Sci-Fi Book, March 22, 2006:
Judith Krug, director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, said [regarding] 'The Handmaid's Tale' [that e]ven as the book is being challenged, it also is being used more frequently because teachers are trying to bring in contemporary, well-written material that interests students.... "They're dealing with real literature," she said. "These are kids who are about to step into the real world." She added: "These are people who are going to be voting soon."
What an excuse, "real literature," because children will be "voting soon." About what, aimless sex, drugs, alcohol, and death?

I read the article about the Judson High School disagreement over The Handmaid's Tale. The novel, by the way, is not a Young Adult novel.

According to the article cited by Safe Libraries, The Handmaid's Tale was a part of a college-level advanced placement course in the school and had been for 10 years before a parent complained in 2008, prompting the Superintendent to remove the book. A committee of parents, teacher and students later returned the book.

Parents at this school did have the option of substituting another book (great idea), which one school mom (according to the article) did- her child read Brave New World, which is #52 on the ALA's list of most challenged books, because of profanity, violence, drug use etc.

In fact...people do vote about drug use, alcohol, death and sex. We pass legislation involving those issues all the time.

Banned, Censored, Challenged: The Canterbury Tales

2009-09-29T11:01:00.001-04:00

Authored in the 14th or 15th century, The Canterbury Tales is one of the oldest works in the English language. The work contains some of the oldest known uses of “ar*e”, “sh*t”, “pi*s” and “c*nt” (spelled “queynte”by Chaucer).

Is it me, or does asterixing (fake word alert) letters make naughty words seem more obsc*ne?

But this book is not a study in foul language. It is a witness to the history and richness of the English language. It is written in Middle English. It just happens to have some of what we consider "naughtiness" in it.

Under the 1873 Comstock law in the United States, this book could not be sent through the mail. As recently as 1995, the book was banned from a Senior High School preparatory course in Illinois for obscenity.

You can click on the illustrations above to read Chaucer online and visit his website.

Banned, Censored, Challenged: On the Origin of Species

2009-09-28T10:20:00.000-04:00

On the Origin of Species was published by English naturalist Charles Darwin in 1859. Darwin had anticipated the storm that his work might create. He dropped an idea bomb on the world and the aftershocks continue to this day. The work was banned in Yugoslavia in 1935 and in Greece in 1937. From 1925 to 1967, the book was banned in the state of Tennessee. Adolf Hitler may also have had it in for Darwin. In Die Bücherei, the Nazi guideline for which books to remove from libraries, it includes:

6. Writings of a philosophical and social nature whose content deals with the false scientific enlightenment of primitive Darwinism and Monism (H�ckel)

On the Origin of Species explains how organisms change over time. It was an early idea of evolution and there was a lot that Darwin didn't know. He didn't have radiometric dating, fossils, didn't understand DNA. Evolution as it is understood today is different from "Darwinism". However, Charles Darwin deserves his place among the greatest scientists of our time. To those who resist new and challenging ideas,his masterpiece deserves its place in the flames.

I'm looking for a beautiful Easton Press edition for my shelf.

The ALA's Banned Classics: How Many Have You Read?

2009-09-19T11:51:00.000-04:00

This is the American Library Association's list of Banned and Challenged classics. The ALA took the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century and found that 42 of them have been banned or targeted for banning. The reasons can be found here. On the ALA's list the ones that have been banned are in bold letters.

Some of the other books not in bold actually have been targeted. For example, copies of Lord of the Rings were burned as "satanic" by Christ Community Church in Alamogordo, New Mexico, along with Harry Potter novels and some works of Shakespeare. Animal Farm by George Orwell has been banned in Kenya, the U.A.E and Yugoslavia. Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children was banned in Malaysia, etc.

The ones in bold are the ones I have read.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Ulysses by James Joyce
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
1984 by George Orwell
Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Their Eyes are Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Native Son by Richard Wright
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Rabbit, Run by John Updike

More Appreciation: Boy Book Bloggers

2009-09-16T11:30:00.001-04:00

You know, there is a gender gap in book blogging. Until this week, I had never seen any male book bloggers. Then, I read this interview on Rhapsody in Books. Darren, from Bart's Bookshelf named a few blogs off the top of his head that are maintained by men.

Stuff Dreams Are Made On...

Stainless Steel Droppings

Rob Around Books

ScifiGuy.Ca

I've got these in my Google reader . Let's not forget that there are plenty of author blogs such as Neil Gaiman's Journal.

Book Blogs That I Appreciate

2009-09-15T11:20:00.000-04:00

Let's do some appreciatin'...
Today, I am going to appreciate some good posts.

The Shelfari Blog did a post on Neil Gaiman's personal home library. Seriously, the man knows how to live. It's Here.

Then, there are the posts that were shortlisted for best post. They are all really good.

This Blogging Thing Reminds Me of High School (Hey Lady, Whatcha’ Readin’?)

On Fantasy and Why I Read It (Things Mean a Lot)

Write the Words of My Heart (My Friend Amy)

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker (Maw Books Blog)

Also, there are a lot of great BBAW interviews going on. Check them out:

Medieval Bookworm Interviews Leslie of Poisoned Rationality

Reality Bites...Fiction Does It Better! Interviews Natasha of Maw Books

BermudaOnion Interviews Meredith of Dolce Bellezza

things mean a lot interviews Sandy of You've Gotta Read This!

You've Gotta Read This! interviews Naymeth of things mean a lot

and of course,

Lost in Books Interviews Robin of My Two Blessings

So, in the interest of raising the prestigious calling of book blogging to a higher level, I asked myself what makes a blog post good? And what makes a book blog post good?

Any blog post is good when it shows you something or tells you something that you haven't seen before. I like the Neil Gaiman post because I love pictures of bookshelves-it's a...fetish...that I have.
I like the Hey Lady post because it is so honest and funny. The interviews are great because you get to see the stories behind the blog- even if you've never read it before.

I think I know which of my posts have been my best. If you want to post a link to your best post in the comments, go ahead.

I'll appreciate it.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week is Here!

2009-09-14T12:59:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to some of my favorite blogs for having made the Book Blogger's Appreciation Week Shortlist!
A Novel Menagerie
Bermuda Onion
J. Kaye’s Book Blog
Rhapsody in Books
Coloronline

and my favorite website made the list, too: Shelfari
here are a whole lot more. Check out the short list for BBAW here.

If you also have a Shelfari page do, "friend" me. I love having notes on my page.

And Rebecca from Lost in Books has made a special list for those who didn't make a list and generously awarded The Dangerous Pages Review with this award:
Thanks Rebecca.
It's apparent that I am going to be doing a lot of blog-hopping this week and I have decided to do a post every day this week on the best blogs and posts that I find.

HAPPY BOOK BLOGGER APPRECIATION WEEK!

(Also, don't forget, there's another exciting week coming up after this: banned book week, starting September 26.)

Banned, Censored, Challenged: The Merchant of Venice

2009-09-10T19:42:00.001-04:00

There's a book called The Essential Shakespeare Handbook that explains each play & the poetic works, their context, style and meaning with illustrations. It's a colorful and handy reference, if you want to understand the Bard better.

For all the violence, sexuality and profanity in Shakespeare's works, he still wrote some of the most beautiful passages of the English language.

That is not to say that everyone has found them beautiful. Some of the biggest censorship controversy of modern times surrounds his play The Merchant of Venice, which is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598.

The story revolves around the love of Bassanio and Portia and the greed of a Jewish moneylender named Shylock. It is the character Shylock who causes the most controversy. He fulfills all of the ugly stereotypes that people have created about Jews- he is greedy, unforgiving, vengeful, sly. He is a tormented villain and one of Shakespeare's most notable bad guys.

In 1931, The Merchant of Venice was removed from high school curricula in Buffalo and Manchester New York after complaints from Jewish organizations. In 1980, it was also removed in Midland, Michigan. Other schools have dropped the play since.

However, The Merchant of Venice is not banned in Israel- in fact, some say it's popular there.

This raises the issue of teaching kids how to view the attitudes of the past- if you don't tell them the truth, how will they ever learn to evaluate history? Keep in mind that this play is assigned on a high school level- and I think we are underestimating teens if we say that the frank discussion of anti-semitism or any kind of prejudice- is beyond them.

Just add it to a long list of things that people aren't allowed to discuss at school these days.

Summer Reading 2009- Muggles, Magic and Memoirs

2009-09-05T20:06:00.000-04:00

Oh, what a summer it has been...

When I was a kid, I really enjoyed fantasy literature. When the Harry Potter series came out, however, I never read them. When I moved into adult literature, I left my love of fantasy behind- it seemed like "grown-up" fantasies never made me believe the way the children's books did (Lord of the Rings was an exception). After a while, I began craving a good children's fantasy. This summer, I read the first Harry Potter satisfied that craving. My only regret is that I didn't read them when I was younger: then I could have grown up with the stories like so many other 20 somethings.

I read both of A.J Jacobs' books: The Year of Living Biblically and The Know-It-All. I can't pick which is my favorite. All I know is that they are funny, informative and unique. I love non-fiction that gives you a smorgasborg of related facts, that twist and turn through a labyrinth of information- it's not everyone's cup of tea but it is my nirvana.

My least favorite book of the summer was The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant- I love The Red Tent and figured this would be as good. Instead, it seemed to me like nothing much happened. The characters were interesting, but I felt as if she did nothing with them, except move them around the town. Maybe I will come back to it later...

I am winding up the summer with a pile of biographies several books deep. I am reading The Autobiography of Miles Davis which was ghostwritten by Quincy Troupe and Robert Kennedy by Evan Thomas, but since I own those, I am reading them very slowly. Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera was part of the pile and I finished it last week- I learned quite a bit about the history of Mexico.

Now, I add On Writing by Stephen King (I picked it from the library shelf on a whim- far different from any writing book I have ever read and so good) and Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama which is also engaging- I think a good biography makes the people in it as engaging as characters in fiction would be. President Obama's Grandparents are funny people and truly normal. His mother is sweet, interesting, intelligent- she seems like a real heroine.

The best biography so far is Ron Powers biography of Mark Twain- I love Mark Twain anyway, but this book was the best biography I have ever read. At the bottom of my biography pile is Walter Isaacson's biography of Albert Einstein- which I can't wait to start.

Can anybody recommend a good biography?

Banned, Censored, Challenged: The Kite Runner

2009-08-25T22:36:00.002-04:00

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini was on the NYT bestseller list for a while. It has also been made into a film, which is banned in Afghanistan. Ironically, the country that began the war against the Taliban has some citizens who want to follow their lead. The novel also managed to make the ALA's top ten list for banned books in 2008.

The Kite Runner involves a violent act of sodomy, an act which brings up issues of cowardice and loyalty, setting up the novel's themes of oppression and perversion.

The Okaloosa County School Board in Florida received a request from a parent to remove the book. (Story here). Parents apparently do have the right to request a substitute book (an excellent policy, I think) but the parent doesn't feel that's enough- they don't want any high schooler in the district reading it.

Have you ever read a series of books that marked a period in your life? This book was part of such a pile.
Thoreau said: "How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book!"
I must write the reader's favorite cliche: I just couldn't put it down.

When I think of this novel, I remember being bundled up in bed with a hot water bottle and a mug of tea. At the time, I didn't have any heat in my house and it was freezing. What I did have was a pile of library books.

The Kite Runner does exactly what a good novel should do: disturbs, enlightens, grabs the emotions. I cried, I got angry, I was disgusted.

A student from the school said it best:
“This is like the real word. This is what goes on in other countries and it really opens your eyes with the war.”

05/03/2010
In fact, the book is only read at the Senior level and in the 10th Grade AP classes- this parent's son was in the 9th grade.

The book was not "forced" on her child at all--in fact most public schools will allow parents (or students) to choose another book.

The parent found out that older kids are allowed to read the book because the school let parents know that two of the curriculum's books (the other was To Kill A Mockingbird) contained mature language and themes and that if parents objected they were allowed to substitute another book.

The school didn't force anything on this kid. They gave this parent the oppurtunity to exercise authority over her own child. Her position is that no high schooler should read it- but that's not her call to make.

Dangerous Searching: How Do People Find My Blog?

2009-08-16T21:36:00.000-04:00

I saw this meme on Lost in Books . Rebecca posted some of the search queries (grass soup? free post-it notes?) on her blog. The post had me cracking up, so I checked out the meme on some other fabulous book blogs: J.Kaye's Book Blog, True Crime Book Reviews, 2 Kids and Tired Book Reviews , and they were all so interesting that I decided to examine my own search hits.

The bulk of the normal queries look like this:

1984 banned
to kill a mockingbird banned
huckleberry finn banned
i know why the caged bird sings banned
in the night kitchen banned
harry potter banned why
twilight feminist banned
book banning of harry potter and the sorceror's stone
all quiet on the western front banned by nazis

The most frequently searched books are I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- incidentally, these two are also ranked on many lists as the most frequently banned books in America. Harry Potter, All Quiet on the Western Front, Twilight and Romeo and Juliet bring many visitors, too.

Ever since I did a post on Vladimir Nabokov's modern classic Lolita, I've been getting hits like this:

preteen lolitas in the buff
preteen dark lolitas

Disturbing...who knew child porn enthusiasts liked to read?
The first person stayed for two minutes, which gives me hope that he- or she- read my rant about how Lolita is a novel sympathetic to the victim and how it's all about oppression.

A post about "book porn"- just pictures of nice libraries or stacks of books- brought me hits like this:

danger hot porn
hot papes porn

Then, there's the book report cheats. Is it bad that they irritate me more than the porn hits?

book report on the autobiography of benjamin franklin using quotes from the book

the pages 1-20 of black like me is about-(seriously? you couldn't read 20 pages?)

These have picked up now that some schools are back in.
Then, there are the ones that I consider normal, but now realize just how odd they are:

eggs and hash
dr seuss green eggs and ham drugs
trippiest books
vicious wolves

So,
What do your hits look like?

The Reader's Beverage

2009-08-14T13:01:00.000-04:00

My reading beverage of choice is tea.

Tea is so...quiet. It's romantic- not the hot, red romance of wine but that comfortable, old age romance with a constant, steady warmth. "Great love affairs start with Champagne and end with tisane," said Balzac.

Tea is so adaptable. Treat a sore throat with ginger, a depressed spirit with lavender, fatigue with peppermint. Got PMS? Drink a cup of jasmine with honey and call me in the morning.

The smell of tea gives me the same feeling my dog gets when I scratch her tummy. I may not actually roll on my back and kick my leg in the air, but I sure do feel like it.

Making tea is always a ritual. You need this pot. This amount of heat, this long to steep. "Tea...is a religion of the art of life," says Okakura Kakuzo, author of The Book of Tea (1906).

The Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh said "Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future."

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me" ~C.S Lewis

Celestial Seasonings
Teavana
Read The Book of Tea Online

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Leaves of Grass

2009-08-01T13:08:00.001-04:00

I know. The above animation is awesome. There are a series of poetry videos like this posted on youtube by the user PoetryAnimations. Besides Walt Whitman, they have Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, Ezra Pound and Langston Hughes. It's genius- and ever-so-slightly creepy.

Walt Whitman's masterpiece is an 1855 book called Leaves of Grass, which he spent his whole life editing.The original publication of the book got Whitman fired from his job at the Department of the Interior. One critic named Griswold called it "a mass of stupid filth" and said that Whitman was guilty of "that horrible sin not to be mentioned among Christians" (meaning homosexuality. Historians debate whether Whitman was "guilty", but his poetry does explore the idea).

In 1882, a Boston District Attorney, goaded by the New England Society for the Suppression of Vice (I guess every city had one of these. Go figure.) demanded the removal of "Song of Myself", "From Pent-Up Aching Rivers", "I Sing the Body Electric", "Spontaneous Me", "Native Moments", "The Dalliance of the Eagles", "By Blue Ontario’s Shore", "Unfolded Out of the Folds", "The Sleepers", and "Faces" from the book.

Whitman refused to censor his work and had to shop around for a new publisher.

What I love most about Walt Whitman is the way he defined a nation. Whitman was the first real American poet- one who did not try to borrow from the traditions of Europe, who wrote about American concepts like Westward expansion, slavery and the push for equality.Whitman's poetry has been repeatedly censored. There are many editions of Leaves of Grass, and half of them leave out some of his best work.

Watch this episode of American Experience. It' s poetic, beautiful, fascinating and insightful. And you can watch it online.

Banned, Censored, Challenged: In the Night Kitchen

2009-07-29T12:34:00.001-04:00

In the Night Kitchen was written in 1970 by Maurice Sendak- the same Sendak who wrote the Little Bear Series, Where the Wild Things Are and Chicken Soup with Rice (a book that I still read aloud over and over with a childlike enjoyment that is somewhat disturbing, given my ripe old age of 20).

In the Night Kitchen is a weird, trippy tale about a little boy's dream in which he is baked into a loaf of bread. It caused a stir because the little boy is pictured naked.

Some say that the nudity in this picture book teaches kids that child molestation is okay. "Children are taught that their private parts are private." But Mikey isn't flashing anybody- he's just having a dream. We all occasionally dream about being naked. That isn't wrong.

To link dreaming about yourself in the buff with being molested is dangerous and confusing to a small child. What if they are unable to recognize bad touching if it happens? What if they falsely accuse an innocent person?

What happens if they catch a glimpse of Michelangelo's David without his leaf?

To me, sensitizing a child to nudity is the opposite of morality. You are teaching them that every depiction of the human body is sexual, "pornographic". That they are meant to be titillated by any honest depiction of the human body. It makes me think of the men in the Middle East who say that women must be covered head to toe so they won't get aroused.

One wonders what kind of horn-dog would be incapacitated by the sight of a wisp of hair. Probably the kind of horn-dog whose parents and teachers have sexualized everything in an effort to teach "morality".

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Gone With the Wind

2009-07-22T11:52:00.000-04:00

Margaret Mitchell's classic tale of the American South was an instant sensation. The main character is the spoiled, haughty Scarlett O'Hara whose life of leisure is torn apart by the Civil War.

The book caused some scandal in it's day (1936), because of the use of words like "damn" (gasp)and "whore"(heaven help us!). The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (seriously?) objected to Scarlett being married more than once. The Watch and Ward society in Boston wanted to get people upset over the prominence of Belle Ward (a madam) in the novel, but book sellers were making way too much money to care what censors were saying.

In recent years, it's the novel's depiction of Negro slaves and use of the word "nigger" that have drawn complaints. In 1984, the Waukegan,Illinois school district wanted the book removed from the reading list along with Joseph Conrad's The Nigger of Narcissus,Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird,Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin and Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Of course, a little bit of scandal never hurt anybody. Gone With the Wind is one of the bestselling novels of all time, one of the greatest films in history and has spawned a legend all its own. All of the "negative publicity" probably didn't hurt.

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Black Like Me

2009-07-13T09:17:00.000-04:00

In 1959, John Howard Griffin underwent a thought-provoking experiment. He darkened his skin and posed as a black man in the South.

In this 1961 book, Griffin recounts his experiences. The men he hitches rides with ask him bizarre, racist questions about his sexual experiences. One white man tells him about his conquests of black women and threatens him with death if he causes any trouble. Griffin had to plan carefully because there may not have been anywhere nearby to get water or use a bathroom.

For exposing the truth, John Howard Griffin recieved death threats.

Challenges to this book name "vulgarity" and "obscenity" as justification for banning. In 1967, an Arizona school removed the book because of "four-letter words". A 1977 challenge was denied in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In 1982, a Missouri school put the book on a closed shelf when a parent complained that the book was obscene, vulgar and "because of black people being in the book."

There is nothing like showing people their hypocrisy. Griffin held up a mirror to American society of the time and it is a shame that high schoolers would be kept from seeing this historical experiment because of the true-to-life conversation in the book. Hiding the truth because it might offend our delicate sensibilities is wrong.

But then again, I guess the complaints about profanity were just a cover.

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Lolita

2009-07-09T19:29:00.000-04:00

From its first publication, this 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov has been the target of censorship. In December of 1956, it was banned in France. Soon after, the ban was repealed, re-instated and finally permanently removed, after the publisher sued the French government.

In 1955, British Customs instituted a ban of its own, Argentina followed suit in 1959 and in 1960, New Zealand's government banned the novel under its Customs Act of 1913 calling the work "indecent". The book was again banned in 1974, in South Africa. That ban stayed in effect until 1982.

Lolita is told from the first person point of view of Humbert Humbert, a man who marries a woman in order to get to her pre-teen daughter, Dolores. After his wife's untimely death, Humbert completely takes over the girl's life. We see it all through his eyes: his voice is comic, witty, condescending and repulsive.

Anyone who has thoroughly read this novel cannot see it as an endorsement of pedophilia. It is about irony, dark impulses, tragedy and above all oppression. Humbert takes Lolita's childhood, her chances at friendship, her freedom and even her name (she is Dolores, not Lolita). "Nabokov himself described Humbert as "a vain and cruel wretch" and "a hateful person" (quoted in Levine, 1967)." He is not the "hero" of the story.

In the same way that Humbert takes Dolores and robs her of her identity, people take this novel and try to change what it is. Some take their literary interpretation too far, claiming that this is a romance novel, that somehow, what Humbert does is portrayed as legitimate.

But this novel is not a how-to manual for perverts. Simply, it is a mind-blowing, heart-wrenching work of mainstream, contemporary classic literature.

I highly recommend it.
Wikipedia "Lolita" www.wikipedia.com/wiki/Lolita
Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Sexual Grounds by Dawn Sova

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone

2009-06-25T10:16:00.000-04:00

Created by J.K Rowling, this series of books about a boy-wizard has gained international fame. Millions of kids have been drawn to books by reading Potter, much to the joy of literacy advocates the world over. So, why ban it?

Some people point to scriptures in the Bible that forbid the use of magic and claim that Rowling's books promote witchcraft. Although the Bible probably wasn't talking about flying cars and broomsticks, some have demanded the removal of Harry Potter from schools. Harry Potter books have even been literally burned. Often, people forbid these books without having read them, or skim through looking for "evil" bits to take out of context.

For one example, ChristianAnswers.Net says this about the "troubling" lightning bolt scar on Harry Potter's forehead

"his marking causes some concern, as the lightning bolt, in mythology, is known as Thor's calling card (the god of thunder, rain and fertility), later used by Hitler's Nazi party in the form of two crossing lightning bolts"

The Nazi swastika used by Hitler was not two crossed lightning bolts, but an ancient symbol that dates far back in human history and one of those ubiquitous shapes used in ancient cultures. Harry Potter's bolt has nothing to do with the swastika and the symbol itself was benign until Hitler hijacked it for his purposes.

Others fall back on the assertion that the books are too gory. Of course, the image of a man being beaten with a cat o'nine, nailed onto a wooden cross, and stabbed with a spear is shown to children who are too young to even speak but the hypocrisy is lost on the anti-Potters. Most children aren't at all bothered by the mild violence in the Harry Potter books and if a child does have trouble, that doesn't mean one should ban the book from all children.

Consider Glinda the Good Witch, who was first depicted by Frank Baum as a beautiful red head with blue eyes and a pure white dress. In the classic, unforgettable 1939 film starring Judy Garland, Glinda is even more appealing. If Glinda isn't advertisement for witchcraft, then what is?

What about Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings? Or Merlin from the King Arthur myths?These characters are not new, in fact Merlin's been around for ages- literally.Why haven't fans of these older wizards turned into devil worshiping, blood drinking, fornicating pagans?

An additional argument claims that Wicca is a religion and that Harry Potter books violate separation of church and state. However, Wicca is a nature based religion that involves the worship of a God and Goddess. They don't worship Satan & don't believe in Satan, as he is a Christian construct. "Magic" to a Wiccan is not yelling "Avada Kedavra!" or "Expelliarmus!" but really the "channeling of energy" and magical thinking.

Banned, Censored, Challenged: 1984

2009-06-22T11:41:00.000-04:00

This book shows what could happen in a totalitarian state. It centers around a man named Winston Smith, who lives in such a state called Oceania. It was written by George Orwell in 1948 and published in 1949. The title is the year in which the novel is set. Orwell chose "1984" to show how soon he thought this dystopian society could be brought about. In those days, the possibility of having "Oceania" seemed very real.

This book is and has been one of the most frequently challenged novels of modern times. Most of the challenges center around the discussion of communism, although the novel is anti-communist and very "pro-freedom".

The sexuality and profanity in the book are also an issue in high school libraries and classrooms.

Every student should be exposed to the idea of a totalitarian government, "Big Brother", "thoughtcrime"... also, Orwell's work captures the fears of his times, so it has historical value. The thing that I love most about 1984 is the concept of "newspeak" a language developed by the officials. They know that if they take away the words for ideas, that people will have no means of revolting. If you don't have the words, how do you grasp the concept?

When weighed against the novel's historical value, literary value and the richness of its ideas, banning the book because of the author's affiliations- or worse, its profanity-is trivial. Everyone who wishes to ban books is paying homage to Big Brother- keeping books out of people's (even teen people's) hands is all about controlling how they think and what they think about.

The Thought Police hate books. What could be a bigger threat to them?

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

2009-06-19T10:45:00.001-04:00

Written by Dee Brown in 1970, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee is the story of the American West's conquest by European settlers told from the perspective of the Native Americans.

In 1974 an administrator in Wild Rose, Wisconsin, who had never read the book (they heard a review on the radio) decided to ban it saying it was "slanted". An English teacher argued that it wasn't. The administrator replied "If there's a possibility that something might be controversial, then why not ban it?"

There have been further complaints about Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee being "biased", which I find troubling. We are taught to idolize the "Indian fighters" who slaughtered millions, we are taught to see treaty breakers and marauders as heroes, but when the story is told from the Native American perspective, we call it "slanted", "biased" and keep students from seeing it.

The trouble with complaints about "bias" is that people present them as if truth is relative. Yes, there are two sides to every story: but that doesn't mean that both sides are true.

Recognition for The Dangerous Pages Review

2009-06-18T22:35:00.000-04:00

This is the Kreativ Blogger Award from Yvette Kelly over at True Crime Book Reviews.

This award is also a meme, but the rules are simple. If you accept it, you are supposed to list seven of your favorite things and nominate seven blogs that deserve this award. And of course copy the award to your site and link back to this post or my blog.

Well, these are a few of my favorite things:

1. My library card
2. My beautiful Easton Press editions of Moby Dick and Great Expectations- they are the finest, most luxurious things I own.
3. My laptop.
4. My mp3 player- I can't live without music. I have episodes of This American Life, Democracy Now! and of course all my music. Al Green, John Legend, The Beatles, Earth Wind and Fire and of course my favorite song of all time: John Coltrane's version of "My Favorite Things".
5. Those hip rectangular glasses with thick, black frames. It's time I got a pair.
6. Blogging. I love blogging. Blogging's my favorite.
7. My bank account- it's my first one and having it still makes me feel grown-up, organized and rich.

And so now, I must pass this on. In my search for creativity, I chose people that show a way with words- whose blog posts are well-written and cleverly worded.I nominate the following bloggers:

1. Cleopatra of "Oh. No. They Didn't"
2. Miss Nobody of "Miss Nobody's Scribbles"
3. Jenna of "As the Plot Thickens"
4. Rebecca of "Lost in Books"-
5. Ross Horsley of "My First Dictionary"
6. FifeCat "A Book A Day or the Year of Reading Dangerously"
7. RJ Evans of "Webphemera"

Banned, Censored, Challenged: The American Heritage Dictionary

2009-06-16T13:58:00.000-04:00

In 1976, a group of parents demanded that copies of the American Heritage Dictionary be removed from all Anchorage, Alaska classrooms because of "obscenity". The most trouble centered around the word "bed", which has several definitions including "a place for lovemaking", " a marital relationship with it's rights and intimacies" and "to have sexual intercourse with". (All of these definitions are apt, for example, 'the marriage bed', "bed his bride" etc).

The school board voted to remove it from schools.Words like "shit", "fuck", "piss", "keister", "john", "cunnilingus", "hooker", "deflower", "dyke", "faggot"and many others were also a source of complaint.

In Texas in 1976, one person complained that the publisher of the American Heritage Dictionary was "debasing the English language" by including words that are used in the English language (?).

The book's defenders point out that the words and connotations in question are used in classic literary works, everyday use and even in the Bible. The purpose of the dictionary is to define words. And these are words.

The Assistant Superintendent of schools in Anchorage at the time said that the entries were important because they gave kids a chance to look up the words which would "help to diffuse curiosity and excitement about them."

And I so agree.

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Little Red Riding Hood

2009-06-15T12:33:00.000-04:00

Little Red Riding Hood was created by Charles Perrault. In the original version, both Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother die. The Grimm Brothers revised the ending and added the Woodsman at the end. (Deus ex Machina!)

However, a 1989 Houghton-Mifflin version (that won the Caldecott Honor Book Award) has been a source of controversy. It began in Empire, California in 1990 when the school board raised a stink over a bottle of wine in the book's illustrations. In Clay County, Florida in 1990, parents of fifth & sixth graders challenged the fairy tale because of the wine, instead of asking why their sixth graders were still reading picture books.

In '91 a Bradford County, Florida teacher complained that the wolf's actions were too violent. Because, children, wolves are really friendly and nice and if you ever see one, be sure to try to pet it!

Once upon a time, people drank nothing but wine and beer because water was often unsafe. Jesus took perfectly healthy water and turned it into wine. People drink wine in communion, and wine is openly for sale at the grocery store. People in movies & television have wine at dinner, there are wine lists sitting on the table at restaurants and doctors often publicly tout the benefits of red wine. Did I mention that the Bible says "drink wine, it's good for your stomachs?"

Yet, the depiction of a fairy tale Grandmother drinking wine is perceived as a plot to turn kids into alcoholics. Whoever heard of a Grandmother who was under 21?

Banned, Censored, Challenged: The Autobiography of Malcolm X

2009-06-14T23:26:00.001-04:00

This work, ghost written by Alex Haley, author of Roots: The Saga of An American Family was considered too radical for high school classrooms for years. It is about transformation & self-education. Malcolm X taught himself in prison, getting an education entirely on his own and became a follower of Elijah Muhammad. Later, his voyage to Mecca & his experiences with 'white' Muslims lead him to revise his racist views.

In 1993, parents of Duval County, Florida students challenged his book, calling it disruptive of racial harmony. In Jacksonville Florida in 1994, access to the book was restricted and only teens with parental permission slips could check the book out.

Aristotle said: "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

For example, in reading the writings of Thomas Jefferson, I saw some of Jefferson's views of blacks- people he enslaved. He even said that black people don't love each other the way whites do- I guess to say that separating slave families didn't matter- but Jefferson was trying to ease his conscience with pseudoscience. Personally, I don't believe that this hypocrisy cancels everything he ever did- or that it takes away from the intellectual value of his writings.

So, later, when I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X, I was ready for it. I had already learned to balance agreement with disagreement. You don't have to be Black Nationalist Muslim to love the words of a Muslim writer or to admire this man's journey. You don't have to be an extremist to note the gifts of an extremist. It's a fascinating book, particularly the part where he's in prison- & I re-read it quite often.

Such books are the best books to read- they force us to mentally defend our beliefs. Then, we know that we hold them for a reason. And we understand people who oppose us better.

If you only read the things that confirm your beliefs, then what's the point of reading?

Censored Book: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

2009-06-13T11:01:00.000-04:00

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was published in 1791 and was soon the target of censorship. It's been pointed out that at one point in US History, Franklin's works, if sent through the mail, could make the sender liable to prosecution under the Comstock Act, because of their sexual references.

This is ironic because Franklin is "the father of the Post Office".I don't know if anyone ever was charged- but it shows the disturbing power of such laws.

The Autobiography itself has had bits removed from it and was censored by Franklin's own grandson, when he changed some of the saltier language to fit the more prim ideals of the 19th century. One episode that was removed at the time was the story of Franklin's sexual advance towards James Ralph's girlfriend in London.

Besides this, Franklin's other works are even "dirtier". My favorite is "Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of His Mistress" a letter about why young men should prefer older women to young women. "Regarding what is below the Girdle, it is impossible of two Women to tell an old one from a young one,"Franklin writes. "And as in the dark all Cats are grey, the Pleasure of corporal Enjoyment with an old Woman is at least equal, and frequently superior, every Knack being by Practice capable of Improvement."

In his essay "To the Royal Academy at Brussels", he talks about farting.

Ben Franklin is one of my favorite historical figures. He was a Renaissance Man, a brilliant thinker, an eloquent speaker, a passionate advocate of learning & knowledge and a champion for democracy in reading.

And most importantly, he is credited with creating the first public lending library in the US. For this, he should be Sainted.

Most Challenged Book: And Tango Makes Three

2009-06-12T15:00:00.001-04:00

This picture book was the most challenged book of 2006, 2007 & 2008, according to the American Library Association.

Written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell And Tango Makes Three is the story of two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo who fall in love and raise a chick.

It has been banned for being "anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group"

The charge of being "anti-ethnic" is ridiculous as the book doesn't deal with ethnicity at all. It is the complete opposite of "anti-family", nor does it have a religious viewpoint. The language and handling of the subject are entirely within the comprehension level of a Kindergartner & it isn't about sex or sexual acts.

And Tango Makes Three is based on a true story. Two male penguins in the Central Park zoo did become a couple and raised a chick named Tango. They were together 6 years & then one went for a female.

Apparently, he was bisexual.

But the point is that Tango, the little penguin, was raised by two males. It's a sweet little family story- the illustrations are cute. Perfect for children who are adopted, particularly if they are adopted by a gay couple. The reason why I feel it is important to have it available on the shelves is because I know children pick on the children of same sex couples.
I think this book could go a long way toward fighting this kind of bullying.

Illegal Reading in Progress: The Pillars of the Earth

2009-06-12T00:16:00.000-04:00

Right now, I am reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It's a nice, long read, the kind of captivating story that takes you into another world. I am liking Philip- what a good man, I wish I knew someone like him.

The other character I like best is Jack. I can't wait to see how this little boy turns out.

William Hamleigh is every bit as evil as Philip is good- even more so. What a warped, twisted, disgusting human being. I hope this ends as well as it is going.

So, as I am enjoying this reading, I was delighted to find out that it is a banned book. It has been banned repeatedly since publication for "graphic sex and violence".

So, it's probably got a good message, theme or purpose in it somewhere- most banned books do, that's why they're dangerous. The "graphic sex and violence" is what makes William Hamleigh so revolting. He's such a meanie. He's so bad. And not "fascinating" bad like Richard III or Lady Macbeth- like Hitler bad.

Banned, Censored, Challenged: Lord of the Flies

2009-06-11T01:30:00.001-04:00

I hated this book when I first read it. It was my first foray into the adult section of the library and I picked up this, The Color Purple and A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton.

Now, it's one of my favorite books. I frequently slip my own little paperback copy into my purse and carry it with me to read every now and then. Sometimes, I think you have to come back to a book- it's often a totally different experience.

So, what's so evil/perverse/gay/destructive about this book? Well, besides the usual complaints about profanity, political correctness and perpetuating the idea that sex exists, there is this complaint, which I quote from the ALA:

challenged at the Owen, N.C. High School (1981) because the book is "demoralizing inasmuch as it implies that man is little more than an animal";

I've said before that the purpose of teaching literature in schools is to get kids to evaluate on their own, so this post can be short on indignant rants and long on love for William Golding's masterpiece.

In this novel, a group of British school boys are stranded on an island when their plane crashes and they have to survive on their own.It is an allegory about human nature, as the boys descend into brutality without the comfort of rules and regulations to restrain them.

What a terrific book. It's terrific the way lightening is terrific: bright flashes of frightening insight, when the natures of the characters are exposed and you realize what's being said with their actions.

Banned,Censored, Challenged: To Kill A Mockingbird

2009-06-04T22:04:00.000-04:00

Inspired by the infamous trial of the Scottsboro boys, To Kill A Mockingbird (1960) by Harper Lee is one of the most frequently challenged books in America.

From the ALA:

"Challenged in Eden Valley, Minn. (1977) and temporarily banned due to words "damn" and "whore lady" used in the novel. "

"Challenged in the Vernon Verona Sherill, N.Y School District (1980) as a "filthy, trashy novel:"

"Challenged at the Warren, Ind.Township schools (1981) because the book ... "represents institutionalized racism under the guise of good literature:"

"[Challenged, unsuccessfully] in the Casa Grande, Ariz. Elementary School District (1985), despite the protests by black parents and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who charged the book was unfit for junior high use."

Give me a break.
If you've read the novel you know the context of the "bad" words. As with the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the "n" word usage is taken out of context in this challenge. Banning the word "nigger" is futile anyway, the kind of freedom of speech infringement that comes with good, but deadly,intentions. How can you ban a word when you haven't treated the thoughts behind the word?

If one decides that writing about institutionalized racism "represents institutionalized racism under the guise of good literature" (?) then how will students learn about it?

Answer: they won't.
This explains the number of brutally ignorant people walking around. It explains some of my own ignorance. Probably some of yours, too. There is so much that we were never taught because of decorum, complaisance & the emphasis on 'good (i.e conformed, unoriginal) behavior'.

If something evil came for my books in the middle of the night, this is one of the ones it would have to pry from my cold dead fingers.

I first read To Kill A Mockingbird when I was 12. It was recommended to me by my Great Grandmother and became part of my mental awakening, sparking social consciousness and opening my mind to what literature could be. It teaches the fallacy of prejudice, the false premise & flawed conclusions of prejudice.

Prejudice is wrong because with it society can devalue men like Tom Robinson & Boo Radley for the sake of animals like Bob Ewell.

I understand why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. Maybe the NAACP can learn this, too.

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