What shall we read next?

[Caroline]

I really would like to read Cider House Rules as well. Hopefully something will be posted to read for June...

[Kelly (Maybedog), Minister of Illicit Reading]

Anyone can add to the shelves any book that has been banned or challenged or that is about the banning of books. Just be sure to mark it as to-read. I will fix the shelves it's on later. For banned series I add each title individually if there aren't too many but I only put the first on on our list of books to read as a group.

I'll have the new poll up within the hour.

[Wes]

You guys are awesome with your responses.

[Joe]

July's People: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...

[Ellie]

Kelly wrote: "Use this discussion to suggest ideas for future Banned Books Book Club books of the month."

Hi i'm ellie and I know your book group read bridge to terabithia. i'm doing a banned book report at school and wondered if I could give you and online interview. I'm in 7th grade and if you could do it on facebook that would be really helpful. please email me back at elliegeorge1@gmail.com by the 29th of december if possible. Thanks so much for reading this message. -Ellie

[Kelleigh]

The Satanic Verses

[Megan]

Such a wonderful list of books! Is there a good way to determine what we are reading next month? Polls perhaps?

[Ruby]

Hi, everyone. My second book, a translation of Samad Behrangi's "24 Hours Between Dream & Reality" is now available on Kindle.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007XINRWU

An intriguing story for children, the book also has progressives in mind. It is about unemployment and the devastating impact it has on children. Many topics such as poverty, discrimination, child abuse, humiliation and homelessness are discussed and, as in all Behrangi's writings, there is a path to identify causes of those problems and find solutions for them.

[Nyckee]

Brave New World

[Ljubica]

Nyckee wrote: "Brave New World"

Seconded.

[L]

Greetings,

I'm new to the group and was wondering what book you are reading this month. Is it Brave new World by Aldous Huxley? as the last note had seconded that suggestion.

[Shannon]

Hi I'm new to the group, but if no one minds I'd like to make a suggestion. I'd like to suggest The Giver by Lois Lowry. I don't know if it's still on the banned list, but I seem to remember it being banned back in the day. It's a good book and I've been wanting to reread it. I'll also second a Brave New World, it's a wonderful futuristic novel and on I am fond of. A similar book which is controversial (but, i don't know if it's banned) is The wanting seed by Anthony Burgess. It's very similar to Brave New World, but is a lot darker.

[Jewett]

I really think it's time we picked a new one but I really don't have anything to suggest. I have read many of the ones on all the lists.

[Rachel]

I would read either Brave New World or The Giver. The Giver is awesome and a pretty quick read.

[Emily]

I would really enjoy reading Brave New World, it's been recommended to me many times.

[Kelly (Maybedog), Minister of Illicit Reading]

Hi folks,

I have been absent from here way too long. I have checked in to make sure no one is killing anyone else but I just haven't had time. I'm going to post an announcement in a moment.

In answer to your questions:

We choose the next book via poll. We have already read The Giver but you can still add to the discussion group. We never close them and people add on as they have something to say.

The Satanic Verses is already on the list. Shannon, I can't find anything about The Wanting Seed being banned. Do you have a link I can check?

[Kelly (Maybedog), Minister of Illicit Reading]

I forgot to add that the polls are randomly generated from our to-read list. The list has some books that some might consider trashy and some that wouldn't be considered reading books at all. I include them all. It's up to you to vote. For a full explanation of how I do the polls, check the General Business topic under group reads or message me.

[Katherine]

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, are the two I've been wanting to read since I was a child and now own them and really want to read them even though I know they are contravorial which makes it more intriging.

[Posi]

I think Brave New World would be great, because my class has a choice to read it and our teacher said she really liked it. I doubt it would have extremley mature themes.

[Kelly (Maybedog), Minister of Illicit Reading]

Great ideas! Katherine, I've added both those books to our shelves. Olamiposi, Brave New World is already on our shelves and it is a great idea for a group read. Also, you can add any book to our bookshelves as long as it has been banned or challenged significantly.

All the books on our shelves are put in the list from which I make the polls. I just use a random number generator so some books come up more than once and others don't come up at all. But hopefully one of these will be in the list soon. They're all great choices.

Thank you!

[Mel]

I saw Blankets by Craig Thompson on the list, I don't know if you read it already, but I would like to second that one. It's a graphic novel/comic, and it's a pretty beefy one at that.Blankets

[Kelly (Maybedog), Minister of Illicit Reading]

Hmm. Blankets has only been officially challenged once that I can find, but it did have to go through a school board and was moved to an adult section despite being a young adult book. So I will include it on our shelves. Usually books have to have been frequently challenged or banned. All books on our shelves are automatically put into the randomly generated polls.

[Shirley]

Some readers have banned this love/hate controversial read off their libraries due to some taboo subject matter on child violence/abuse. I found it to be brilliantly written and full of emotions----- My thoughts are our society has gotten too soft to hear the real, sad truth. Maddening! They would rather criticize and ignore it...have it wrapped in a neat little package that isn't so scary. Please. *rolled eyes* Check it out and share your thoughts.
Here is the book trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_FI2E...


First Night of Summer

[Lisa]

Not sure if anyone has ever suggested A dry white season or Rumors of Rain by Andre Brink- banned for challenging the Apartheid government in SA. Plus July's People by Nadine Gordimer- same reason.

[Kelly (Maybedog), Minister of Illicit Reading]

Shirley wrote: " Some readers have banned this love/hate controversial read off their libraries due to some taboo subject matter on child violence/abuse. I found it to be..."

Thanks Shirley. I see that some people don't like this book or author. However, an individual choosing not to read a book or an author is not the same as a book being banned or challenged. There are quiet a few authors I refuse to read because of their behavior toward others, because of criminal activity, because one is pedophile, etc. But I have not tried to ban these books.

So while I think it would support an excellent discussion on current social thought, it doesn't fit the requirements to be on our shelves. Please feel free to suggest something else though!

Lisa wrote: "Not sure if anyone has ever suggested A dry white season or Rumors of Rain by Andre Brink- banned for challenging the Apartheid government in SA. Plus July's People by Nadine Gordimer- same reason."

No, they weren't on the bookshelf. I've added all three. I wasn't sure about Rumors of Rain because I could only find that it had been held up in being released, but it was the authorities who did it so I'm letting it in. If you could give me a link to more information about it being banned I would love it.

Anyone can put a book on our shelves. I check each one to see if it fits our guidelines and remove it if not. This is not banning, either, it's just making sure our shelves reflect the group's theme of censorship.

[Tom]

Consider 'The Reign in Spain' by Galician author W. Kristjan Arnold. This entertaining historical novel examines the Royal family's struggle to bring democracy and human rights to 20th century Spain. Would surely have been banned by the former dictatorship!

[Kelly (Maybedog), Minister of Illicit Reading]

Thanks Tom, it sounds interesting! Unfortunately, we only read books that have actually been banned or challenged multiple times. But we haven't been reading anything lately so the point is kind of moot. But I really appreciate the suggestion!

[Tom]

Thanks Kelly...i sort of figured that was the case. But since this thread has been dormant since 2014, thought i'd give the group a fun read. 'The Reign in Spain' has many ingredients of a quality banned book!

[Biblio]

Banned books is such a fun and wide reaching topic! We should try to get some more reading going on-polls, group reads, marathons.

Would that mean putting some older reads into archives and letting newer members re-vote them in? Or get creative and venture into the lands of other countries?

[Sheralee]

Pandora wrote: "What about The Absoltely True Story of a Part Time Indian? "
This is one of the best books I have ever read!

[Kelly (Maybedog), Minister of Illicit Reading]

I'm thinking we should change up the books quarterly so we should come up with new ones by the end of the month. We want to include a range of books. I was thinking a young kids book, an older youth's book, an adult book, and then something different like poetry or nonfiction or something about book banning.

Does that work for everyone? Can you give suggestions?

[Serena]

Why has hardly anyone ever mentioned the lists compiled by PEN America? Hereafter, I shall call them sprocuments, a term I coined to remind myself that they are originally SPReadsheets, but that I can only open them by saving them as Word dOCUMENTS.

I present to you The World's Largest Sprocument, containing the latest data from the 3 latest PEN America sprocuments and other insider sources:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

I have a dream that one day I will make a friend in this group who wants to join me in reading everything on this list. Anyone wanna go crazy with me?

[GailW]

Serena wrote: "Why has hardly anyone ever mentioned the lists compiled by PEN America? Hereafter, I shall call them sprocuments, a term I coined to remind myself that they are originally SPReadsheets, but that I ..."

THAT is impressive! I know, because I tried doing the same thing and gave up and now just use their annual spreadsheet. Thanks for this!

[Serena]

This sprocument is not my creation, but it is my gift to you all. Whenever Dr. M. [the creator] adds new data, the link will always take you to the latest version.

Onward for freedom!

[QNPoohBear, Minister of the Unapproved Written Word]

Serena wrote: "Why has hardly anyone ever mentioned the lists compiled by PEN America? Hereafter, I shall call them sprocuments, a term I coined to remind myself that they are originally SPReadsheets, but that I ..."

The database is the work of Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson, an independent researcher focused on the networks, organizations, and individual actors who are leading book banning and book challenge efforts in our nation's school libraries and public libraries. It's hosted by EveryLibrary.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

However, it's not up to date and the challenges are not all listed either.

You can read some reviews of the banned picture books I've read in the Children's Books group thread here

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I've read a FEW middle grades books too and of course the classics I read in school.

[Jennifer W]

I browse PEN America's list regularly, whenever I need some ideas for something to read. I have a hard time navigating the spreadsheets, I don't like scrolling all over to see info. (it's definitely a me thing)

[QNPoohBear, Minister of the Unapproved Written Word]

I propose we read
And Tango Makes Three

or
The Family Book

Yes seriously. The Family Book is banned and challenged for ONE PAGE stating "Some families have two moms or two dads." Some parents also objected to the page where families have different skin colors. Two pages out of a 32 page book for toddlers.

[Ivonne]

QNPoohBear wrote: "I propose we read
And Tango Makes Three

or
The Family Book

Yes seriously. The Family Book is banned and challenged for ONE PAGE stating "Some families have two moms or..."

I don't get it. These people did not have mothers who asked them as children: "What's it to you?" I disapprove of extreme Pentecostals whose women can't cut their hair or wear pants or mascara. But you know what? "What's it to me?" Oh, that's right. It's none of my business what they do.

[Ivonne]

QNPoohBear wrote: "I propose we read
And Tango Makes Three

or
The Family Book

Yes seriously. The Family Book is banned and challenged for ONE PAGE stating "Some families have two moms or..."

Either one sounds great.

[Serena]

I propose we just take a sprocument [the 2021 annual, say] and, once a quarter, read the next item on said sprocument, whatever that may be. Many other groups I belong to have quarterly projects. Why not us?

2021 annual sprocument link
https://pen.org/book-bans/banned-book...

[QNPoohBear, Minister of the Unapproved Written Word]

There are THOUSANDS of titles on the "sprockument"! Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson has them all up for the school lists up to August 2024. I have more current lists I'm working on in the children's book club.

Another picture book I propose reading is
The Big Bath House 1)it's set in Japan 2)it's based on the author's own happy memories visiting her grandmother in Japan and 3)it's just women's bodies of all ages and sizes and types.
Most frequently banned and challenged for older readers include books by
Toni Morrison
Maya Angelou

New Adult books include
Sarah J. Maas's fantasy books

The usual Gender Queer, Handmaid's Tale, Alice Sebold's memoir Lucky, It Ends with Us, Nineteen Minutes and anything else having to do with gender, sexuality, anything more than a kiss on the cheek - excepting Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, violence, mental health and very importantly - what chills me the most- sexual violence!

Puberty and sex ed books
It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health is a perfectly normal book I bet the parents secretly wish they had when they were tweens.

Oh and manga- 400 books removed from Tennessee school libraries citing violence. Because ... kids will read these books and emulate the stuff they're reading. Um they have TikTok for that. Oh and kids will be confused and not learn how to read because manga is read right to left!

As my dad always says, "You can't make this stuff up!" The news is terrifying and you just have to laugh to keep from going crazy.

[Manybooks, Minister of Forbidden Literature]

QNPoohBear wrote: "There are THOUSANDS of titles on the "sprockument"! Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson has them all up for the school lists up to August 2024. I have more current lists I'm working on in the children's book clu..."

The Big Bath House for sure, as well as The Bare Naked Book (and maybe compare the first edition with the second edition).

Books written by indigenous authors (both American and Canadian) about Residential School, as these are also increasingly being banned (especially in the USA)

The Book of Negroes since the book is being not allowed to be taught in grade twelve English anymore by the London (Ontario) Catholic school board because of the N-word, even if it makes sense regarding history etc. and that the author is African Canadian, and that the teacher who was using the book (and had been for years) has been placed on leave after she complained and contacted Lawrence Hill (the author).

[Jennifer W]

I bought the following banned books for my daughter, nieces and nephews for Christmas. I've read the longer ones and will read the picture books when they arrive:

I Need a New Butt!
Neither
Those Shoes
Not Norman: A Goldfish Story
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
Bridge to Terabithia (one of my all-time faavorites!!)
Burned
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

I'd happily discuss any of them!

[QNPoohBear, Minister of the Unapproved Written Word]

I loved Judy Blume's books when I was a kid and my nephew enjoyed them too. I can't even imagine why the younger reader books would be objectionable, unless it's because they know her teen books are full of stuff teens think about and do and worry that her kids' books would be inappropriate?

Looking it up... Okaaayyy... weird but true with spoilers
(view spoiler)[Fudge eats a turtle. It's cruelty to animals! (hide spoiler)]
https://talesofa4thgradebanning.weebl...

And Sheila “issues not appropriate to intended audience.” whatever that means.

I did not like Bridge to Terebithia when I was a kid. It wasn't my cup of tea and the end was a real surprise.

I haven't read Norman yet or the YA books. I was going to ask my niece if she has read John Greene's books yet but I didn't get a chance to ask her.

[Jennifer W]

I actually don't remember much of the Judy Blume books, just that I liked them as a kid.

I loved Terabithia *because* of the ending. It was the first time (view spoiler)[ I read a book that didn't have a happily ever after. I didn't know books could DO that! lol and I loved it for it. (hide spoiler)]

Me and Earl is full of "boy" humor- bodily functions, boobs, crudeness. I totally get why people wouldn't like it, but tapping into my inner teenager, I found it hilarious. I bought it for my 15 year old nephew who isn't a reader, so I'm hoping he can relate.

[QNPoohBear, Minister of the Unapproved Written Word]

Oh do let me know how the 15 YO likes the John Green book. I have a 12 year old nephew who isn't a reader who probably would like crude humor in a book when he's a little older.

[Manybooks, Minister of Forbidden Literature]

QNPoohBear wrote: "I loved Judy Blume's books when I was a kid and my nephew enjoyed them too. I can't even imagine why the younger reader books would be objectionable, unless it's because they know her teen books ar..."

I actually did not enjoy Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great but there is nothing in that book that would in my opinion make it something to censor.

[Jennifer W]

QNPoohBear wrote: "Oh do let me know how the 15 YO likes the John Green book. I have a 12 year old nephew who isn't a reader who probably would like crude humor in a book when he's a little older."

Oh, Me and Earl isn't a John Green book, Jesse Andrews is the author. It was made into a movie with a PG 13 rating. I haven't seen the movie, but I'm thinking they may have toned it down a bit from the book, there's enough f-bombs in there to get it an R rating.

[Jennifer W]

Apparently, my nephew sat right down Christmas morning and started reading Me and Earl and was laughing so much that his family asked him what was going on! Made my day to hear that!! :D

[Ivonne]

Jennifer W wrote: "Oh, Me and Earl isn't a John Green book, Jesse Andrews is the author. It was made into a movie with a PG 13 rating. I haven't seen the movie, but I'm thinking they may have toned it down a bit from the book, there's enough f-bombs in there to get it an R rating."

Not just F-bombs. There is a lot of adult stuff going on, what with Earl's mom being a prostitute and his brothers are basically hoodlums.