Cat Russell's Blog, page 4
May 19, 2023
FOUND POETRY: “Our Art”
“Our Art” defines /circuitous pathways to find a place of one’s ownjourneys through time and placein images and words that give voice to /realities adapting to a new worldfrom where /stories begandraw upon /memories and /narrativesresearch /meaningbooks /will illuminate each /storythe space that images makeexplore /the distinctive /voiceapproach /the /poignantillustrate /life#
*The above found poem was created using material from the Spring/Summer 2023 catalog for the Canton Museum of Art.
*If you’d like to read about my progress and plans this year, as well as craft tips, you can subscribe to my Patreon and support my work for just $1 a month! Until next time, stay safe and well, and read often!
April 20, 2023
POEM: “Paris of the Mind”
March 17, 2023
POEM: “Mona Lisa Survives”
lovely lady, beneath your midnight veil,
no one suspects the trials you have endured
doused in acid, stoned by man, you withstood
the brandished blade without a single scratch
though those attacks prompted the glass that parts
you from us now. still, ugly souls assault
you as you sit with folded hands, silent:
they mock your shield bloodied by bright red paint,
they throw cups empty of tea you’ll not drink,
they try to break you, smear cake on your face
like a bride on her white wedding day. You’ve
survived five centuries of gilded fame.
You’ve earned your coquet smile. Your almond eyes
hide the artist’s sign, search the milling crowds.
#
*If you’d like to read about my progress and plans this year, as well as craft tips, you can subscribe to my Patreon and support my work for just $1 a month! Until next time, stay safe and well, and read often!
February 16, 2023
POEM: “i didn’t cry tonight”
January 19, 2023
CURRENT EVENTS: BOOKS READ IN 2022
Happy New Year!
I’ve been keeping track of the books I’ve read ever since my local library started giving raffle entries for each list of fifty read books per year. One of these years, I hope to enter twice. But it’s more important to me to enjoy and absorb the material than it is to read fast, so often I’ll pick up books off and on in order to absorb the contents. Other times I may start a book and decide not to finish it. I’ll never live long enough to read every book I want to read, so why waste time on books I don’t enjoy? I’d rather use my limited lifespan to read the books I get the most from, whether it’s knowledge, pleasure, or emotional release. That’s also why–though it seems counterintuitive–I reread my favorites.
I hope that by sharing the books I’ve enjoyed–and a few I didn’t–you might find your next great read! I consume books in multiple genres and formats, so I’ll indicate which ones as well as link to where you can find them: Amazon , Audible , local sources , or free / low cost downloads from other places. Since my appetite for books exceeds my ability to buy all the ones I’d like, many on my list are library holds , while others were purchased from local authors or indie presses ; I try to spend my dollars where they’ll have the most impact to support content creators. Enjoy!
*
2022 BOOKS READ
1 Dead Beat (Dresden Files #7) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
2 Proven Guilty (Dresden Files #8) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
3 White Knight (Dresden Files #9) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
4 Small Favor (Dresden Files #10) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
5 Turn Coat (Dresden Files #11) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
6 Changes (Dresden Files #12) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
7 Ghost Story (Dresden Files #13) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
8 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (audiobook via Audible )
9 Side Jobs (Dresden Files #12.5) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
10 Cold Days (Dresden Files #14) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
11 Skin Game (Dresden Files #15) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
12 Before the Next Ice Age (poetry collection) by Lisa J. Cihlar
13 Peace Talks (Dresden Files #16) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
14 Battle Ground (Dresden Files #17) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
15 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams ( Audible audiobook)
16 Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams (audiobook via Overdrive )
17 Dark Guitar (poetry collection) by R. Nikolas Macioci (Trade paperback)
18 Semidomesticated (poetry collection) by Jonie McIntire
19 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (ebook via manybooks.net ) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
20 Arroyo Chamisa: poems rescued from a blog by Alex Gildzen (paperback)
21 Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams ( Audible audiobook)
22 The Long Dark Tea – Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams (audiobook via Overdrive )
23 The Poets’ Corner: The One-and-Only Poetry Book for the Whole Family by John Lithgow (audiobook via Overdrive )
24 Last Chance to See: the original BBC Radio series –Douglas Adams and Mark Cawardine ( Audible audiobook)
25 Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life by James Victore (audiobook via Overdrive )
26 47 Poems by Victor Clevenger (paperback poetry collection)
27 5 Days to a Clutter-Free House: Quick Easy Ways to Clear Up Your Space by Sandra Felton & Marsha Sims (audiobook via Overdrive )
28 Double Star by Robert Heinlein (audiobook via Overdrive )
29 Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff by Dana K. White (ebook via Overdrive )
30 In the Dead of Night: James Bryant’s Dark Haiku Vol. 1 by James Bryant (ebook via Kindle app )
31 Organizing for the Rest of Us: 100 Realistic Strategies to Keep Any House Under Control be Dana K. White (ebook via Overdrive )
32 Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow (ebook)
33 The Third of Five by Dan Provost (poetry)
34 Moon Called: Mercy Thompson series book #1 by Patricia Briggs (ebook via Overdrive )
35 Blood Bound: Mercy Thompson series book #2 by Patricia Briggs (ebook via Overdrive )
36 Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (audiobook via Overdrive )
37 Iron Kissed: Mercy Thompson series book # 3 by Patricia Briggs (ebook via Overdrive )
38 Bone Crossed: Mercy Thompson series book # 4 by Patricia Briggs (ebook via Overdrive )
39 Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness by Gretchen Rubin (audiobook via Overdrive )
40 The Wisdom of Wonder Woman by Signe Bergstrom (ebook via Hoopla )
41 Gawayne and the Green Knight: A Fairy Tale by Charlton Miner Lewis (ebook via manybooks.net )
42 The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (audiobook via Overdrive )
43 How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing With Your House’s Dirty Little Secrets by Dana K. White (ebook via Overdrive )
44 Logan’s Run by William F. Nolan (ebook via Overdrive )
45 Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor vol. 1–Weapons of Past Destruction (pdf via Humble Bundle )
46 Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor vol. 2–Doctormania (pdf via Humble Bundle )
47 The Poetry Deal by Diane di Prima (paperback)
48 what they don’t tell you about going over a cliff by Ashley Varela ( Alien Buddha Press )
49 Fucking Apostrophes by Simon Griffin (small hardback)
50 Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor vol. 3–Official Secrets (pdf via Humble Bundle )
51 Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor vol. 4– Sin Eaters (pdf via Humble Bundle )
52 The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carringer (audiobook via Overdrive )
53 Life from the Perspective of Math by Halle Preneta (chapbook bought at Loganberry Books’ Author Alley )
54 Doctor Who: City of Death (from a story by David Fisher) by Douglas Adams and James Goss (ebook via Overdrive )
55 Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher (audiobook via Overdrive )
56 I am a Dalek (Doctor Who) by Gareth Roberts (ebook via Overdrive )
57 Fool Moon (Dresden Files #2) by Jim Butcher (audiobook via Overdrive )
58 Grave Peril (Dresden Files #3) by Jim Butcher (audiobook via Overdrive )
59 Kant in 90 Minutes by Paul Strathern (audiobook via Overdrive )
60 Summer Knight (Dresden Files #4) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
61 How to Die by Seneca (audiobook via Overdrive )
62 Death Masks (Dresden Files #5) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
63 Blood Rites (Dresden Files #6) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive )
64 The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff (audiobook via Overdrive )
65 Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation –adapted by Ari Folman, Illustrations by David Polonsky (Kindle ebook via Overdrive )
*Dead Beat (Dresden Files #7) by Jim Butcher (audiobook via Overdrive)—I read this twice this year, so even though it’s a different format (audiobook) I’m not counting the second reading.
*Proven Guilty (Dresden Files #8) by Jim Butcher (audiobook via Overdrive)–I read this twice this year, so I don’t count the second (audiobook) reading.
66 Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell (audiobook via Overdrive)
67 Dogging Catastrophe by John Burroughs (poetry chapbook)
*White Knight (Dresden Files #9) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive)–this was my second reading of this book (in the same format) this year, so I didn’t count it twice.
68 Apology by Xenophon (ebook via manybooks.net )
69 Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Ghoul Goblin (graphic novel via Hoopla )
70 Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Omnibus Volume One (graphic novel via Hoopla )
71 Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Omnibus Volume Two (graphic novel via Hoopla )
72 Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Down Town (graphic novel via Hoopla )
73 Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Dog Men (graphic novel via Hoopla )
74 Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Fool Moon Volume One (graphic novel via Hoopla )
75 Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Fool Moon Volume Two (graphic novel via Hoopla )
76 Time Out of Joint by Philip K Dick (ebook via Hoopla )
77 A Maze of Death by Philip K Dick (ebook via Hoopla)
78 Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (ebook via Hoopla)
79 Poetry of the Gods by H.P. Lovecraft (ebook via Hoopla)
#
CURRENTLY READING:
I’ve been consuming poetry books. Due to mental fog this past year, I’ve had some trouble focusing on poems, so I’m reading these treasures more slowly than normal in order to get their full value. I absolutely adore poetry. Now that the fog seems to be clearing, I’m catching up. It was worth the wait.
*
Next Friday, I’ll also post a companion piece on my Patreon, listing some reads from the past year I didn’t list here because they were not read from start to finish. If you’re interested, you can subscribe to my Patreon and support my work for just $1 a month! Until next time, stay safe and well, and read often!
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December 15, 2022
CURRENT EVENTS: New Year’s Resolutions Past and Present
Gather round, kids! That’s right. It’s time for the annual accountability post on my writing blog. Sounds fun, right? I know you’ve been on pins and needles, anticipating this ALL YEAR, so without further ado I give you…
MY 2022 RESOLUTIONS:
This year I attempted to pace myself by breaking large goals into smaller parts with specific deadlines. Ever since I did Nanowrimo in 2007, I’ve been in love with the magic of deadlines, so I thought this would be a more helpful strategy than general goals for the year. Witness the results.
CLEAN OUT MY CRAFT ROOM/WORKSPACE BY JANUARY 31stFAILED (by deadline/partial by year’s end).
–I thought that I could adjust deadlines as needed, but given my mental state as well as the Herculean task of cleaning this space, what actually happened is I just postponed it indefinitely. Addressing the craft room also flew in the face of my decluttering strategy, which deals with high visibility areas first. Since I can easily avoid this room–it’s adjacent to the garage downstairs, I just avoided working on it.
However, at the end of August, disaster struck when our septic backed up downstairs. This resulted in a hotel stay, a huge bill, an insurance claim, and the stripping down and rebuild of almost the entire downstairs. Though my craft room managed to escape damage, we threw large amounts of things in a dumpster, leaving my garage mostly empty. Since I spent so much time throwing things away, decluttering, etc. I was more motivated to work on the room. I’ve finally managed to begin this month, and though it’s just one section so far, I want to continue to work on this throughout 2023.
WORK ON MY MANUSCRIPT IN TWO MONTH INTERVALSFAILED.
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I SWEAR.
But every time I started to make headway, something would come up. I know others have things worse than me–I am comparatively very lucky, but after awhile I just lost the thread. I became depressed. Honestly, several times this year I went through periods of depression where I didn’t read or write at all for a month or more. I’ve always found reading to be my refuge, and I went through periods where I couldn’t stand to pick up a book; that’s never happened before in my entire life. Luckily I had some previously completed work that I used for my monthly online obligations.
So my self-imposed deadline went out the window.
CLEAN OUT MY GARAGE BY APRIL 1stFAILED (by deadline/partial by year’s end).
Believe it or not, this is a huge improvement.–Although I did not clean my garage by April, the septic backed up into the garage in August which resulted in throwing almost all of its contents into a dumpster. So, the thin silver lining of a poo-filled cloud is that my garage has much less stuff in it than before.
Though the garage floor has been disinfected and washed, there is still a lot that needs to be done: decluttering the shelves and some other areas, setting up an organizational system for storage, and general cleanup.
ORGANIZE BEDROOM JULY 1stFAILED (by deadline/SUCCESS by year’s end).
–Despite missing my deadline, I *DID* manage to accomplish this goal! I had a problem corner where things piled up, so I decluttered and replaced the pile with a set of drawers for clothes and blankets. My bookshelves were overflowing with projects, DVDs, and (unbelievably) books. I cleared these out and organized them: the bookshelf top displays knickknacks and notebooks, one shelf is for current projects and books being read, and the last two are for reference materials.
SUBMIT HERA UNCHAINED TO PUBLISHER BY DECEMBER 31st.FAILED (See Resolution #2).
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#
YEAR ROUND:
*PROMOTE PINHOLES: TRAVELING THROUGH THE CURTAIN OF THE NIGHT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
SUCCESS (Partial).
–There weren’t a lot of opportunities for promotion, though I did take advantage of the ones available to me.
The reason I say it’s only a partial success is that I had plans to do online promotion via videos and interviews. I wanted to learn how to create 3d and virtual media for consumption via Oculus . Some opportunities fell through, but I decided not to create videos on my own because I simply couldn’t bring myself to make them.
*KEEP UP MY MONTHLY POSTING SCHEDULES FOR MY WRITING BLOG AND MY PATREON
SUCCESS.
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2022 REFLECTIONS:
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In past years, I’ve done much better, with a steady decline since the pandemic started. Are we still considered to be in the pandemic? I’m not sure, though certainly people’s attitudes toward public appearances and health have shifted dramatically. This is the first year in awhile that I’ve failed at more resolutions than I’ve succeeded. If this was my report card for highschool, I would need to repeat the year.
Still, the resolutions themselves did what they were supposed to do: they kept my goals in mind, even when I kept getting derailed by life changes.
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2023 NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS:
[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://catrussellwriter.files.wordpr..." data-large-file="https://catrussellwriter.files.wordpr..." src="https://catrussellwriter.files.wordpr..." alt="" class="wp-image-2669" width="467" height="310" srcset="https://catrussellwriter.files.wordpr... 465w, https://catrussellwriter.files.wordpr... 930w, https://catrussellwriter.files.wordpr... 150w, https://catrussellwriter.files.wordpr... 300w, https://catrussellwriter.files.wordpr... 768w" sizes="(max-width: 467px) 100vw, 467px" />Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.comHonestly, I don’t feel mentally in a place to make new resolutions, as I’m still off balance from this year’s disasters. I’m not complaining. As I’ve already acknowledged, others have had things much worse than myself and my family, but it’s important to be truthful about my state of mind. I was not at my best this year, but the important thing is to keep trying. Since my 2022 deadlines weren’t helpful, I think this time I’ll keep my resolutions simple.
BE OPEN TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES (even if they are outside my comfort zone).–I admit that certain things scare me: public speaking (though I’ve made a lot of progress in this area), unscripted appearances, and (especially) anything that requires me to perform memorized material. I promise that, as long as it is within my ability, I will say yes to opportunities to promote my work or literary events in general.
KEEP MAKING PROGRESS WITH MY WRITING.–I will keep up with my two online monthly obligations–this blog and my Patreon , as well as personal projects like my Hera novel. Although changing circumstances forced me to take a break from Hera, I have not abandoned the project–merely postponed it. It may take longer, perhaps much longer, but I will eventually finish this novel. It’s been in my head for years, so I will continue to work on it. I anticipate writing smaller increments over a longer period of time, or I might even decide to write it in serial form. I’m not sure yet, other than I will continue to write the book until it’s completion (though it might take several years).
TAKE CARE OF MYSELF MENTALLY.–My usual go-to response when things get hairy is to try to look on the bright side, but as more things go wrong this gets harder. So I will try to look for the cloud’s silver lining, while also acknowledging that sometimes things just suck. And that’s okay. And it’s okay if I need to take a break for my mental health. Acknowledging that I feel bad allows me to deal with it so I can get past it. I will continue to work on this in 2023.
I will continue to work towards my goals while knowing my limitations. I tend to volunteer for things, as well as add on to projects, and in the past year I haven’t been able to keep up. As much as I enjoy helping out, I need to recognize I can’t do everything.
And if I need to see a counselor, I will do so again. I have done so in the past, and I’ve always found it helpful. If you are struggling emotionally, I highly recommend this.
These three things seem (*fingers crossed*) within my grasp. Although I’ve had trouble succeeding at my 2022 resolutions, I’ve been relatively successful at accomplishing these newly stated goals throughout the year., So I feel confident I can meet them in 2023.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to buy myself an adamantium umbrella for when the sky starts falling…
Thank you for visiting my blog, and I hope you’ll return in January! I’ll start 2023 with a post about the books I’ve read in 2022, so maybe you’ll find your next great read. I hope your holidays are happy. Have a great new year. Stay safe, stay well, and read often. See you next year!
*
November 23, 2022
POEM: “sunflowers and soup”
based hues have blossomed,
brightly drooped within
their mustard-colored vase
dark orbs studying what lies
below the sturdy wooden frame,unblinking green lashes fringe each full round iris.they embody both light and dark,caught sunlight subdued by brushan artist’s call: to make the worldmore appealing or tell the truthof existence despite its tragedy,to capture its pleasure and painall within a simple wood framewhat do those dark orbs seeof humanity’s darker corners?two young girls wasting soup in a world starved for understanding#
*inspired by “ Just Stop Oil activists throw soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers | Just Stop Oil | The Guardian ”
*If you’d like to read about my progress and plans for this year, as well as craft tips, you can subscribe to
my Patreon
and support my work for just $1 a month! Until next time, stay safe and well, and read often!
October 30, 2022
POEM: “Fight Club Redux”
September 24, 2022
BANNED & CHALLENGED BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS including a brief mention of “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation”
In honor of Banned Books Week , I’ve decided to post a banned book recommendation each day. I have only used only books I’ve read from the American Library Association ’s list of the top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books of the decade (2010-2019) , with the partial exception of the book I am currently reading.
BANNED & CHALLENGED BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
Since today is the last day of Banned Books Week, I thought I’d wrap up with brief comments on the other books I’ve read from the above list, as well as talk about my current read.
.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
–an engrossing young adult novel, partially autobiographical, of an American Indian boy growing up on a reservation. He’s transferred to another school where he is the only Indian student and must struggle to fit into two worlds. Although I read this several years ago, I remember deeply empathizing with the main character, and it gave me a completely different perspective on the struggles of American Indians.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
–a beautifully written and tragic story of an abused and neglected little girl. As an African American child, she is constantly referred to as ugly and longs for blue eyes (which she equates with whiteness) so she will be loved. As a blue-eyed blonde caucasion woman, this book made me feel terrible, which I think was part of the point. If you want to feel good, this isn’t a happy read, but if you want to see how racist views on appearance leave emotional scars, this book is amazing.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
–I read this book years ago for school, so honestly I don’t have much memory of the plot other than the part where they explain the title: “To kill a mockingbird is a sin” because all they do is make the world a little better. Honestly, as I write this I realize I should probably reread the book anyway, because it’s a really good novel.
A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
–I went through a phase where I read a lot of dystopias, and I found this one really interesting. The idea of good girls being promiscuous (the opposite of how I was raised), the idea of monogamous love being selfish, and this perfectly regimented society looked upon by outsiders is fascinating. Fair warning though, the ending is weird.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
–I love this book, and it made me cry.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
–see above.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
–Another classic that made the list. Often because it uses racist terms like “the n-word,” although in the beginning of the book Twain explains that he wrote the novel using the dialogue of the time and place. In other words, be mad at reality, not him. There are other problematic things with the book worth mentioning, namely that the runaway slave Jim comes off overly simple at times, but I took that as a reflection of his being uneducated because of his slave status; Huck is also uneducated as well as superstitious. The long and short of it is, if you haven’t read this, you need to. Not only is it an amazing read, it’s an ingrained part of American culture.
The Holy Bible
–It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Christian Bible makes the list: people argue over different editions, and it contains sex, incest, murder, basically every sin you could possibly imagine. Religion is often a source of controversy. And while I have read large portions of the Bible in pieces, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have not read it in its entirety.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
–I actually read this book fairly recently and was both fascinated and horrified by the exploits of its characters. I will say this though: the book has a much better ending than the film, and it did make me think.
And finally, I am currently reading the challenged book, “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation” by Anne Frank, by Ari Folman (Adapter), David Polonsky (Illustrator)
I’d like to mention this book was not banned in Texas (as has been widely misreported). It was challenged, temporarily removed from shelves, but ultimately returned and available for checkout. The original edition of Diary of a Young Girl, a classroom staple for years, was not disputed: However, the challenged edition of Anne Frank’s diary is not the one most school children read growing up, but rather a graphic adaptation based on her complete diary. Social media has claimed that this was banned, which is false.
The one most of us are familiar with had been edited to remove material considered too personal. In Texas, the graphic adaptation was challenged, most likely because of references to homosexuality and female genitalia, but ultimately not banned.
A challenge means that someone has an objection to a library book’s availability, usually either because of age appropriateness or some other reason. The challenge is the process by which books are determined to be kept on shelves or removed from circulation (which would be considered a ban). The challenge was issued the previous school year, the book (along with others) was removed temporarily from library shelves, read and voted upon, and ultimately returned to circulation. However, shortly before the next school year began, a new school board was elected; they instituted new criteria for books which resulted in many books being temporarily removed from shelves so that the process could be redone under the new guidelines. Basically, politics.
Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation is authorized by the Anne Frank Foundation in Basel, includes direct quotes from the definitive edition, and has won awards. I’m only about a third of the way through the book, which I digitally checked out via my local library, but it seems close to what I remember of the original book, with the illustrations taking some artistic license below direct quotes from the original text. So when Anne complains about her fights with her mother, the illustrations show her arguing and supposes what was said; I’m not sure how much artistic license was used since it’s been so long since I read the original diary. The illustrations are amazing though; seeing the layout of the hidden living quarters was especially helpful, and the artwork complements the text to produce a uniquely moving story.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my week of posts in honor of Banned Books Week. If you’d like to read more of my work, you can subscribe to my Patreon and support my writing for just $1 a month! Until next time, stay safe and well, and read often!
*sources: Anne Frank adaptation, 40 more books pulled from Texas school district – The Washington Post, Anne Frank graphic novel to be reinstated in Texas school district following controversy – The Jewish Chronicle (thejc.com),
September 23, 2022
BANNED BOOK RECOMMENDATION: “The Giver” by Lois Lowry
In honor of Banned Books Week , I’ve decided to post a banned book recommendation each day. I will use only books I’ve read from the American Library Association ’s list of the top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books of the decade (2010-2019) . .
BANNED BOOK RECOMMENDATION: “The Giver” by Lois Lowry
The Giver is Lois Lowry’s young adult masterpiece that focuses on the life of Jonas, a teen growing up in a perfect society without sadness, where childhood milestones (such as being given a bike) are strictly regimented and looked forward to, and where everyone is given a perfect job for their temperament when they come of age. The reason the society functions this way is because its inhabitants are spared unpleasant memories: rather the collective memories of mankind are passed on to a single person who carries the burden as well as the blessings and perspective of those experiences.
Beware: I will try to be as general as possible, but there are spoilers ahead.
Objections to the text include “unsuited to age group,” “violence,” “sexually explicit,” “religious viewpoint,” and “suicide,” as well as infanticide and euthanasia. The novel was temporarily banned in California; challenged in Montana (resulting in a parental permission requirement); challenged in Massachusetts, Ohio, and Florida; and in 2001, a Colorado father challenged the book because he believed “those types of books sow the seeds of school shootings by encouraging suicide and disregard for human life.”
Although most of these objections have some merit, I would argue they show a lack of ability to view the book’s overall value. For example, while The Giver would not be a good read for very young children, even the problematic themes of infanticide and euthanasia are not presented graphically. Rather they are revealed as inherent problems in the society itself. Rather than “encouraging suicide and disregard for human life,” the reader–through the eyes of Jonas–sees the inherent value of those lives that other citizens of his society can’t, deprived as they are of the perspective and emotional experience of memory.
Ultimately, the book has an ambiguous ending. We don’t really know what happens at the end, save that Jonas risks his life to save someone he cares about. Far from endorsing suicide, it highlights the lengths someone will go to protect the people they love.
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**sources: Lois Lowry, “The Giver” – The Banned Books Project (cmu.edu) , Why ‘the Giver’ Is One of the Most Banned Books (businessinsider.com) , The Giver banned: Why do so many parents try to remove Lois Lowry’s book from schools? (slate.com)
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