Teaser Tuesday 385: The Witches

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week's teaser is from another Roald Dahl children's book, The Witches, which was banned by some libraries in England because of perceived misogyny (Dahl claims that only women are witches). Other reasons this book has been challenged include: does not teach moral values, children in it are rude and unmannerly, glorifies witchcraft and the occult, violence, derogatory to children and hurts their self-esteem, and crude language (one character is called a slut).

I myself had two separate encounters with witches before I was eight years old. From the first I escaped unharmed, but on the second occasion I was not so lucky.

(My Grandmother – Second Chapter)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

This is not a fairy tale. This is about real witches.

Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth. There’s nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of them. Her grandson listens closely to Grandmamma’s stories—but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face to face with the Grand High Witch herself!

Teaser Tuesday 380: A Wrinkle in Time

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week's teaser is from A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. I first read this book as a child, and did not recall it having such religious overtones, which did not appeal to me and kept pulling me out of the story. The things that go over our head as a child -- or that we forget about as an adult. Still a good read, but perhaps not as great as I remembered it. This book has been challenged/banned for a number of reasons:

* Challenged at the Polk City, Fla. Elementary School under allegations that the story promotes witchcraft, crystal balls, and demons. (1985)
* Challenged in the Anniston Ala. schools under objection to the book’s use of the name of Jesus Christ in relations to other artists, philosophers, scientists, and religious leaders (1990)
*Frequently challenged for “undermining religious beliefs.”
* Ranked no. 22 in the ALA’s 100 most banned books for 1990-2000.

"Don't hope it was a dream. I don't understand it any more than you do, but one thing I've learned is that you don’t have to understand things for them to be."

(Chapter 2)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Series: Time Quintet #1

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is a such thing as a tesseract."

A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book.

Banned Books Week 2017

This week is Banned Books Week, that time every year when the ALA draws attention to the most-challenged books from the past year. It may be hard to believe sometimes, but the attempt to stem what people read and access to certain books is more rampant than ever. I have read two banned books this month, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and The Witches by Roald Dahl -- one of which I will be featuring tomorrow for this week's Teaser Tuesday. Below are the Top Ten Challenged Books of 2016. I have read Eleanor & Park, which I enjoyed, and have Looking For Alaska in Mount TBR. 



Out of 323 challenges reported to the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2016 are:


1. This One Summer written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
This young adult graphic novel, winner of both a Printz and a Caldecott Honor Award, was restricted, relocated, and banned because it includes LGBT characters, drug use, and profanity, and it was considered sexually explicit with mature themes.

2. Drama written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
Parents, librarians, and administrators banned this Stonewall Honor Award-winning graphic novel for young adults because it includes LGBT characters, was deemed sexually explicit, and was considered to have an offensive political viewpoint.

3. George written by Alex Gino
Despite winning a Stonewall Award and a Lambda Literary Award, administrators removed this children’s novel because it includes a transgender child, and the “sexuality was not appropriate at elementary levels.”

4. I Am Jazz written by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, and illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
This children’s picture book memoir was challenged and removed because it portrays a transgender child and because of language, sex education, and offensive viewpoints.

5. Two Boys Kissing written by David Levithan
Included on the National Book Award longlist and designated a Stonewall Honor Book, this young adult novel was challenged because its cover has an image of two boys kissing, and it was considered to include sexually explicit LGBT content.

6. Looking for Alaska written by John Green
This 2006 Printz Award winner is a young adult novel that was challenged and restricted for a sexually explicit scene that may lead a student to “sexual experimentation.”

7. Big Hard Sex Criminals written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Chip Zdarsky
Considered to be sexually explicit by library staff and administrators, this compilation of adult comic books by two prolific award-winning artists was banned and challenged.

8. Make Something Up: Stories You Can’t Unread written by Chuck Palahniuk
This collection of adult short stories, which received positive reviews from Newsweek and the New York Times, was challenged for profanity, sexual explicitness, and being “disgusting and all around offensive.”

9. Little Bill (series) written by Bill Cosby and illustrated by Varnette P. Honeywood
This children’s book series was challenged because of criminal sexual allegations against the author.

10. Eleanor & Park written by Rainbow Rowell
One of seven New York Times Notable Children’s Books and a Printz Honor recipient, this young adult novel was challenged for offensive language.

Thursday Thirteen 432: Banned Books Week

It's Banned Books Week, the annual celebration of frequently challenged books. Be sure to defend your right to read what you want, when you want and pick up a "banned" book this week! Here are the top ten most challenged books of 2015:


01. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

02. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James
Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other (“poorly written,” “concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it”).

03. I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
Reasons: Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group.

04. Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin
Reasons: Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints”).

05. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
Reasons: Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“profanity and atheism”).

06. The Holy Bible
Reasons: Religious viewpoint.

07. Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel
Reasons: Violence and other (“graphic images”).

08. Habibi, by Craig Thompson
Reasons: Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

09. Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter
Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence.

10. Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan
Reasons: Homosexuality and other (“condones public displays of affection”).


And three banned books I have read this year:

11. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Reasons: Crude language, sexually explicit
Ironically, an invitation for the author to speak at a Minnesota high school during Banned Books Week 2015 was rescinded after parents in the district challenged the book. Happily, a review committee comprised of parents, educators and a student reviewer determined the book to be "powerful" and "age appropriate," and that it would therefore remain in the school library.

12. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Reasons: Offensive language, oppressive towards minorities

13. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Reasons: Violent, age inappropriate.
The book was also banned in Nazi Germany and other European countries as being "too radical."



Have you read any banned/challenged books this year?


LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen

Wordless Wednesday 235: Eat Slugs!

"Eat Slugs!" ~ Ron Weasley,
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
by JK Rowling
Celebrate Banned Books Week!

LINKING TO:

Wordless Wednesday

Teaser Tuesday 330: The Outsiders

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


Welcome to Banned Books Week! This week I have another frequently challenged book for you, The Outsiders by SE Hinton, which is the September group read for TNBBC at Goodreads. This is one I read a few times back in middle and high school, and my sister and I also watched the movie several times around that time as well. The book is frequently challenged due to its portrayal of gang violence, strong language, family dysfunction and underage smoking and drinking.

When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home. I was wishing I looked like Paul Newman — he looks tough and I don’t — but I guess my own looks aren’t so bad.

(Opening paragraph)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Originally published in 1967

According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.

Banned Books Week 2016

Celebrate the freedom to read whatever you want!

"If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all—except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty."


― John F. Kennedy
[Response to questionnaire in Saturday Review, October 29 1960]

Thursday Thirteen 431: Recently Read

Yes, it’s that time again — below are the most recent books I've delved into this year. This selection of books crosses multiple genres — mystery, romance, classics, young adult, and even a couple banned books. As always, click on any link or cover for more information. 
















ABOUT THE BOOKS:


ROW 1: I thought I had read the Irish Born trilogy by Nora Roberts years ago, when it was originally published, but apparently not. This series follows the lives of Irish sisters Maggie, a glass blower, and Brianna, owner of a B&B, and their previously unknown to them American half-sister, Shannon, an artist.

ROW 2: The Cozy Mysteries Featured Author Row . . . Juliet Blackwell was the CFA in July, and I managed to read two books by here, each from a different series. First up was Secondhand Spirits, first book in her Witchcraft series, about witches in San Francisco (no, not the Charmed ones). This book was okay, with two notable exceptions. First, there are no mountains in Wisconsin, as the author falsely stated within the first sixty pages. That sentence nearly had me throwing the book across the room. The second issue was her “just then-itus,” which I’m sure you all know by now annoys me to no end. I did enjoy Dead Bolt, the second book in her Haunted Home Renovation series. I immensely enjoyed Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower, the Aug FCA. This is the first in her Magical Bookshop series, and I look forward to book two out later this year. Absolutely love the crow, Faulkner!

ROW 3: I was hoping to like Criminal Confections equally as much, but no. You’d think one couldn’t go wrong with a book about chocolate, but you would be wrong. There were numerous aspects of this book that annoyed me. Musseled Out (third in series) and Supernatural Born Killers (ninth of series) were much more to my liking.

ROW 4: Third Girl was the August book for the Agatha Christie group at Goodreads. While I had seen a movie version a few years back, I had not read the book before. It was interesting to note some of the changes made for the movie script, and which occasionally led to some confusion while reading the book. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was the August group classics read. While I was familiar with some of the main points of the story — I remember a movie version when we were kids, and later in middle school, saw a scene of it enacted — I had never actually read the book, which is frequently challenged for language, violence, and age-inappropriateness. Neither had I previously read the September classic, The Call of the Wild. Good, but again one that is frequently challenged due to violence and age-inappropriateness.

ROW 5: Four years ago, I stumbled onto a YA series by Ally Carter about an all-girls school for spies, The Gallagher Girls. I managed to find all but the last one, United We Spy (which came out around the time I found book one of six) over the next few years, but this one eluded me. Then this past summer I stopped in at the library’s monthly used book sale and not only did I finally find a copy, it was in like-new condition. That, added to two recent releases found for a steal, totally made my day. The book was worth waiting for, though I had a bit of an “oops” totally Ally Carter's fault.

I always read on the bus to and from work, but am always aware of where we are . . . what major streets or familiar landmarks we are passing along the route. Except for one night. I was so into the action scene that I missed my stop, had even somehow completely blocked out the audio announcement of key stops. I suddenly looked up and felt a moment of panic when I didn’t instantly recognize where we were — and breathed a sigh of relief when I then heard the audio announce a certain street. Thankfully, I only had to walk back about six blocks — which would have been more of a relief had it not been after dark and the street better lighted.


Your turn: What have you been reading lately? Have you ever been so engrossed in a book that you forgot where you were, or missed a bus/train stop?



LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen

Teaser Tuesday 329: The Call of the Wild

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


I have another banned book for you this week, The Call of the Wild by Jack London. This book is frequently challenged for its dark tone and bloody violence and, as it is often read by younger teens, for age-inappropriateness. It was also banned in Italy, Yugoslavia, and burned in bonfires in Nazi Germany in the late 1920s and early 30s because it was considered "too radical."

Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego. Because men, groping in the Arctic darkness, had found a yellow metal, and because steamship and transportation companies were booming the find, thousands of men were rushing into the Northland.

(Opening paragraph)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Originally published: 1903


Buck, a sturdy crossbreed canine (half St. Bernard, half Shepard), is a dog born to luxury and raised in a sheltered Californian home. But then he is kidnapped and sold to be a sled dog in the harsh and frozen Yukon Territory. Passed from master to master, Buck embarks on an extraordinary journey, proving his unbreakable spirit...

First published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is regarded as Jack London's masterpiece. Based on London's experiences as a gold prospector in the Canadian wilderness and his ideas about nature and the struggle for existence, The Call of the Wild is a tale about unbreakable spirit and the fight for survival in the frozen Alaskan Klondike.

Teaser Tuesday 328: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


In honor of Banned Books Month, I bring you a snippet from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. This book is frequently challenged because it is "racially insensitive," "oppressive," and "perpetuates racism." Parents also often object to the behavior of the children in the book. This scene places Tom and Huck in a graveyard at midnight.

The boys bent their heads together and scarcely breathed. A muffled sound of voices floated up from the far end of the graveyard.

Some vague figures approached through the gloom, swinging an old-fashioned tin lantern that freckled the ground with innumerable little spangles of light. Presently Huckleberry whispered with a shudder:

"It's the devils sure enough."

(Chapter 9)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Originally published in 1876


The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is the first of Mark Twain's novels to feature one of the best-loved characters in American fiction, with a critical introduction by John Seelye in Penguin Classics. From the famous episodes of the whitewashed fence and the ordeal in the cave to the trial of Injun Joe, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is redolent of life in the Mississippi River towns in which Twain spent his own youth. A sombre undercurrent flows through the high humour and unabashed nostalgia of the novel, however, for beneath the innocence of childhood lie the inequities of adult reality—base emotions and superstitions, murder and revenge, starvation and slavery. In his illuminating introduction, noted Twain scholar John Seelye considers Twain's impact on American letters and discusses the balance between humorous escapades and serious concern that is found in much of Twain's writing.

Teaser Tuesday 279: Sons and Lovers

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week’s teaser comes from Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence, which I am reading in celebration of Banned Books Week (Sept 27-Oct 3) and for a classics group read. The book was originally rejected by Heinemann Publishers, and is often challenged for being "too overtly sexual."* Here's a little snippet that isn't at all about what you might think it's about.

She felt the accuracy with which he caught her, exactly at the right moment, and the exactly proportionate strength of his thrust, and she was afraid. Down to her bowels went the hot wave of fear. She was in his hands. Again, firm and inevitable came the thrust at the right moment.

(Chapter 7)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Sons and Lovers is a 1913 novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence. The Modern Library placed it ninth on their list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century. While the novel initially incited a lukewarm critical reception, along with allegations of obscenity, it is today regarded as a masterpiece by many critics and is often regarded as Lawrence's finest achievement.

Called the most widely-read English novel of the twentieth century, D. H. Lawrence’s largely autobiographical Sons and Lovers tells the story of Paul Morel, a young artist growing into manhood in a British working-class community near the Nottingham coalfields. His mother Gertrude, unhappily married to Paul’s hard-drinking father, devotes all her energies to her son. They develop a powerful and passionate relationship, but eventually tensions arise when Paul falls in love with a girl and seeks to escape his family ties. Torn between his desire for independence and his abiding attachment to his loving but overbearing mother, Paul struggles to define himself sexually and emotionally through his relationships with two women—the innocent, old-fashioned Miriam Leivers, and the experienced, provocatively modern Clara Dawes.Heralding Lawrence’s mature period, Sons and Lovers vividly evokes the all-consuming nature of possessive love and sexual attraction. Lushly descriptive and deeply emotional, it is rich in universal truths about human relationships.






* A quote from the intro of the Barnes & Noble Classics ebook edition

Banned Books Week 2015

Banned Books Week started yesterday, and as I do this time every year, I am "celebrating" by reading a banned book. This year's choice is Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence, which is also the September group read for a GR classics group. Many of Lawrence's books were banned, in both Europe and the US.

Each year, the ALA releases a report on the state of libraries, which includes the top ten frequently challenged books of the preceding year. You can also find a list of the most Banned and Challenged Classics. There are many reasons people try to ban books, including violence, sexually explicit content, use of drugs or alcohol, offensive language, and unsuitability for age group. Of course, this is all subjective, as what one person deems offensive may be perfectly suitable to another.

I have only read one book on this year's top ten challenged list, but have two or three others in Mount TBR. I believe everyone has the right to read what they want, regardless of what anyone else thinks about a particular book, genre, or the people who read them. If you don't want to read a certain book or author, fine -- but don't tell me what I can or cannot read. I know the subject of what is "appropriate" can be an especially difficult one for parents. My sisters and I were lucky in that our parents never tried to limit what we could read. They encouraged us to visit the library often and trusted us to make appropriate choices for ourselves. If there is a book you aren't sure about, I would suggest reading it yourself first, asking friends and other parents what they think of it, and then deciding whether you think it is right for your child's age and/or maturity (some kids handle certain topics better than others) and discuss the book with them.

Thursday Thirteen 348: Challenged Books I've Read

It's Banned Book Week! Here are some of the challenged books I've read that can be found on my shelves. Some of these were childhood favorites, while others have been read more recently.

01. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle (offensive language, occult themes, undermines religious values)

02. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (offensive language, sexual references, Burned in Nazi bonfires in 1933)

03. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (violence, offensive language, drug/alcohol use, unchristian values)

04. Peter Pan by J.M. Barie (racism, promotes homosexuality, drug use, miscreantism)

05. Forever by Judy Blume (offensive language, sexual content, disobedience to parents)

06. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume (offensive language, sexual situations, use of alcohol)

07. East of Eden by John Steinbeck (offensive language, sexual content, irreligious)

08. The Giver by Lois Lowry (violence, sexual references, occult themes, infanticide/euthanasia)

09. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (offensive language, drug/alcohol use, sexual references)

10. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (offensive language, promotes "secular humanism, New Age religion, occultism, and Satanism.")

11. The Chocolate War by Robert Cornmier (offensive language, violence, sexual references)

12. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marques (offensive language, violence, sexual content)

13. The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (excessive violence, negative portrayals of female characters, anti-Semitic references, witchcraft, alcohol)


Have you read any of these books?


LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen

Teaser Tuesday 235: Lolita

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!



This week I am reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov for a classics group read. I held off starting this one to coincide with Banned Books Week, which runs Sept 21-27. Here are the opening paragraphs:

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.

She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.

(Part One, Ch 1)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Lolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, written in English and published in 1955 in Paris, in 1958 in NY and in 1959 in London. It was later translated by its Russian-native author into Russian. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a 37–38-year-old literature professor, Humbert Humbert, is obsessed with the 12-year-old Dolores Haze, with whom he becomes sexually involved after he becomes her stepfather. "Lolita" is his private nickname for Dolores (both the name and nickname are of Spanish origin).

After its publication, Lolita attained a classic status, becoming one of the best-known and most controversial examples of 20th century literature. The name "Lolita" has entered pop culture to describe a sexually precocious girl. The novel was adapted to film by Stanley Kubrick in 1962, and again in 1997 by Adrian Lyne. It has also been adapted several times for stage and has been the subject of two operas, two ballets and an acclaimed but failed Broadway musical.

Lolita is included on Time's List of the 100 Best Novels in English-language from 1923 to 2005. It's 4th on the Modern Library's 1998 list of the 100 Best Novels of the 20th century. It was also included in the 100 Best Books of All Time, compiled in 2002 by the Norwegian Book Club.

Banned Books Week 2014

This week is Banned Books Week here in the USA, a week when the ALA, in conjunction with many other organizations, brings to light books that have been challenged and/or banned. Yes, despite our First Amendment rights, there are those who are still trying to dictate what people should or should not be allowed to read -- many times without having read a particular book themselves.


From the ALA's website:

The ALA promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them.

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.

Here is a list of the ten most frequently challenged books, according to the 2013 State of America's Library Report (I have read two on this list):

1.“Captain Underpants” (series), by Dav Pilkey. Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group, violence

2.“The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison. Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence

3.“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie. Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

4.“Fifty Shades of Grey,” by E. L. James. Reasons: Nudity, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

5.“The Hunger Games,” (series) by Suzanne Collins. Reasons: Religious viewpoint, violence, unsuited to age group

6.“A Bad Boy Can Be Good for A Girl,” by Tanya Lee Stone. Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit

7.“Looking for Alaska,” by John Green.Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

8.“The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky. Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

9.“Bless Me Ultima,” by Rudolfo Anaya. Reasons: Occult/Satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit

10.“Bone” (series), by Jeff Smith. Reasons: Political viewpoint, racism, violence



Click here for a comprehensive list of Challenged Books in 2013-14, and here for a list of Banned & Challenged Classics.

I also found an interesting article from The Independent in the UK, BANNED: Books you could have been jailed for reading -- which includes the book I am reading this week, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. Lolita was banned in many countries when it was initially published in 1955, though not in the USA. Now, of course, it frequently pops up on lists of challenged books for sexual content.

Celebrate the First Amendment and your right to read this week by picking up one of the many challenged or banned books on these lists!

Teaser Tuesday 232: The Chocolate War

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!



I have just finished reading The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, a young adult novel. Good writing, but can't say I enjoyed this one very much, particularly the ending. Here's the opening of chapter one, which I think appropriate considering football season is now in full swing.

They murdered him.

As he turned to take the ball, a dam burst against the side of his and a hand grenade shattered his stomach. Engulfed by nausea, he pitched toward the grass. His mouth encountered gravel, and he spat frantically, afraid that some of his teeth had been knocked out. Rising to his feet, he saw the field through drifting gauze but held on until everything settled into place, like a lens focusing, making the world sharp again, with edges.

(Chapter one)

ABOUT THE BOOK

Does Jerry Renault dare to disturb the universe? You wouldn't think that his refusal to sell chocolates during his school's fundraiser would create such a stir, but it does; it's as if the whole school comes apart at the seams. To some, Jerry is a hero, but to others, he becomes a scapegoat--a target for their pent-up hatred. And Jerry? He's just trying to stand up for what he believes, but perhaps there is no way for him to escape becoming a pawn in this game of control; students are pitted against other students, fighting for honor--or are they fighting for their lives? In 1974, author Robert Cormier dared to disturb our universe when this book was first published. And now, with a new introduction by the celebrated author, The Chocolate War stands ready to shock a new group of teen readers.

Teaser Tuesday 230: Bridge to Terabithia

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


I reread this classic childhood favorite over the weekend. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson was a 1978 Newbery Medal winner.

The closer he came to the dry creek bed and the crab apple tree rope the more he could feel the beating of his heart. He grabbed the end of the rope and swung out toward the other bank with a kind of wild exhilaration and landed gently on his feet, taller and stronger and wiser in that mysterious land.

(Chapter four: Rulers of Terabithia)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Jess Aarons' greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in fifth grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new kid, a new girl, boldly crosses over to the boys' side of the playground and outruns everyone.

That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. It doesn't matter to Jess that Leslie dresses funny, or that her family has a lot of money -- but no TV. Leslie has imagination. Together, she and Jess create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits. Then one morning a terrible tragedy occurs. Only when Jess is able to come to grips with this tragedy does he finally understand the strength and courage Leslie has given him.

Teaser Tuesday 228: The Bell Jar

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


I started The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath over the weekend for another classic group read. I wasn't planning on reading this one, then happened across a used copy in fairly good condition for less than a dollar. Here's a snippet from early in the book:

There is something demoralizing about watching two people get more and more crazy about each other, especially when you are the only extra person in the room.

It’s like watching Paris from an express caboose heading in the opposite direction—every second the city gets smaller and smaller, only you feel it’s really you getting smaller and smaller and lonelier and lonelier, rushing away from all those lights and that excitement at about a million miles an hour.

(Chapter two)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Plath was an excellent poet but is known to many for this largely autobiographical novel. The Bell Jar tells the story of a gifted young woman's mental breakdown beginning during a summer internship as a junior editor at a magazine in New York City in the early 1950s. The real Plath committed suicide in 1963 and left behind this scathingly sad, honest and perfectly-written book, which remains one of the best-told tales of a woman's descent into insanity.

Teaser Tuesday 224: The Sun Also Rises

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


Finished The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway early Sunday morning. Since I am just starting a new book, I thought it would be easier to take a teaser from Sun. This was for a classic group read, and will be the last classic for a while.

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The bull, striking into the wood from side to side with his horns, made a great noise. Then I saw a dark muzzle and the shadow of horns, and then, with a clattering on the wood in the hollow box, the bull charged and came out into the corral, skidding with his forefeet in the straw as he stopped, his head up, the great hump of muscle on his neck swollen tight, his body muscles quivering as he looked up at the crowd on the stone walls.

(Chapter 13)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The Sun Also Rises was Ernest Hemingway's first big novel, and immediately established Hemingway as one of the great prose stylists, and one of the preeminent writers of his time. It is also the book that encapsulates the angst of the post-World War I generation, known as the Lost Generation. This poignantly beautiful story of a group of American and English expatriates in Paris on an excursion to Pamplona represents a dramatic step forward for Hemingway's evolving style. Featuring Left Bank Paris in the 1920s and brutally realistic descriptions of bullfighting in Spain, the story is about the flamboyant Lady Brett Ashley and the hapless Jake Barnes. In an age of moral bankrupcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illustions, this is the Lost Generation.

Teaser Tuesday 220: East of Eden

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!



I am currently reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck for a classics group read. I made good progress last week, but did not get to spend much time reading over the weekend. Good book so far, and not a single "just then" in sight (see yesterday's rant).

Her voice was dead and metallic. "I don't give a damn what you believe. I'm going."

(Chapter 17)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. Here Steinbeck created some of his most memorable characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity; the inexplicability of love; and the murderous consequences of love’s absence.