Banned Books Week

This week is Banned Books Week.  The American Library Association, who founded the event in 1982, states that "The goal of this weeklong event is to keep the concept of literary freedom at the forefront of Americans' minds."  The topic has been discussed and debated on nearly every book blog I've read, and this article on The Bumbles Blog got me started thinking about what it means for a book to be "banned".

"Year after year, a select minority become offended by a book they find on their library shelves or on their child's assigned reading list at school. So they challenge the book's appropriateness or worth and ask that it be banned and removed. What this does is to allow a small handful of people to restrict what the rest of the community is able to access."  This quote from Mrs. Bumble struck two chords with me.  One, I agree completely - no one person or group should be able to restrict what others in the community can read, and since a public library serves all residents, banning books within our walls is especially egregious.  But - here's where my mind started shooting out thoughts like a roman candle - can a small handful of people dictate what materials a library offers against the desires of the majority?  Read on to see why I ask.

Our library is funded by county tax dollars and I am entrusted to spend that money according to the people's wishes.  Fair warning - I'm going to be pretty blunt here.  We live in the southwest corner of Kansas.  This is Conservative Republican, Christian Fundamentalist Central.  If I were to purchase children's books about homosexuality, they would not get checked out.  On the adult side, books containing gay characters are more accepted, but not widely, so buying those books is not the responsible use of our limited funds.  Am I, in essence, "banning" books? 

Mrs. Bumble went on to say "Generally, books that show up on the banned or challenged list each year are books that cover things that are uncomfortable. Books that speak about parts of the past that are not pretty. Books that speak about parts of the present that aren't widely accepted or understood."  Absolutely right again!  Racial issues, slavery and "the N word" usually top the list of objections to banned books.  However this is pretty much a non-issue here.  According to the most recent statistics I could find, our county is less than 1/2 of 1% black.  With a county population of about 2500, that's twelve people.  As you can imagine, with this demographic it would be unlikely that we would get removal requests on those grounds. 

But here's the flip side.  With that demographic, books featuring black characters or focusing on issues that pertain mostly to black or urban populations would largely just sit on the shelves unused.  By not purchasing these books, am I being racist or just practical?  Personally, I would take issue with being called racist, but I also take issue with wasting precious library dollars, not to mention shelf space, on materials that will not be touched until they are weeded ten years down the road.

How about banning for political or religious reasons?  We have a large Christian fiction section and frequently buy works by Christian non-fiction authors such as Max Lucado or Joyce Meyer.  We have only token books on Buddhism or Islam.  These resources are used occasionally, most often for a school paper, but not often enough to justify a large cash outlay for more books.  Political books are similar.  The county is 77% Republican (or so says the statistical website I consulted) so I only buy books written by prominent Democrats if and when they are requested by a patron and can not be borrowed from another area library.  In the interest of full disclosure, we buy very few political books of any slant and get very few requests for them. 

Speaking of requests, that brings me to the saving grace of the small library:  Interlibrary Loan.  We can borrow from thousands of libraries within Kansas and nationwide and we deny no request on any grounds other than it not being available.  I have always felt that offering this service made up for not having a wider cultural/political variety of books on the shelves.  But am I wrong?  Do librarians, even small-town librarians, have a responsibility to expose their readers to a broader world by placing more varied reading material in front of them?  Or is our higher obligation to fiscal accountability?

Many thanks to The Bumbles for getting my brain sparking on this topic.  And I'll leave you with this comical take on banning books from A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette:

As librarians celebrate intellectual freedom during Banned Books Week, it is important that they also celebrate their right to boldly and unapologetically ban terrible books from their library's shelves.  (Yes, I am talking about you, Harlequin Romance's Stories Set in the World of Nascar.) 

What books do you think should be banned from your library?

Movie Review: The Expendables

There is just no reaction to this movie that doesn't start with "What the...?"  First off, notice the movie poster on the right.  What the heck made me think this was my kind of movie?  Skulls, blood and a raven....normally not indicative of a romantic comedy.

Next, what the heck were the Hollywood-types thinking when they advertised this as starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwartzenegger, and Bruce Willis?  Arnold and Bruce were both on screen for about a minute and a half. (However, they did contribute the only genuinely humerous lines of the entire movie.)  Granted, movies starring any of these men are not usually light and fluffy, but somehow the clip I saw made me think that, since these men are getting older, they are now kinder, gentler action heroes.  I'm pretty sure the intention of the ad campaign was to lure women like me into ignoring the skulls, the blood and the raven.

Third, and the most serious of my questions, is "What the heck went wrong in our eighteen years of parenting our beautiful daughter to make her think this bloodbath qualified as "a good movie"?  "Oh yeah, Mom, I saw that a couple weeks ago.  It's really good.  You should go."  This is the same girl who frequently rewatches The Notebook, who owns the entire Love Comes Softly series, who's life is drenched in all things pink. What the.....?

Finally, what the heck made my darling husband feel that exploding, punctured and/or mangled bodies are funny?  Evidently I missed the rib-tickling moments while I was avoiding vomiting by staring at my shoes.  Dave would bust out in uproarious laughter, but when I looked up there was nothing on screen but explosions and flying body parts.  The comedy scenes must have been quick!  Even the reviewers saw the humor that I missed:  "The Expendables" is action–packed, laugh–out–loud funny and altogether watchable. (nwitimes.com) - There are multiple quotes that will have you chuckling as men bleed to death on the floor. (blhsnews.com)  I just didn't see it.

I suppose my attendance at this gore-fest was only fair since Dave has attended many "chick flicks" and animated films at my request, but I still find myself shaking my head and muttering "What the....?"

It's a Very Blustery Day, Pooh.

Hang on, Toto, we're back in Kansas!  This is the unusual cloud that loomed over the K-State/Central Florida game in Manhattan on Saturday.  As we awaited kickoff, marble-sized raindrops began to fall sporadically so I ran to the stadium store to get rain ponchos for all of us.  Darn that weatherman, anway!  Absolutely no mention of rain in the forecast I read so we were unprepared for a thunderstorm.  Two minutes into the game - while I was waiting in line with 27,000 other rain-gear-less fans - the powers-that-be called a 30-minute lightning delay.  "How sweet," I thought "They are protecting the players and staff by taking them into the locker rooms, and leaving 50,000 fans sitting on metal bleachers." 

But I grumbled in haste.  Shortly the announcer's voice requested that fans leave the stadium and seek shelter, and that the basketball collesium next door was available.  The stands emptied quickly as one herd headed for the basketball facility and another stampeded for their vehicles in the parking lot - and the leftover tailgating goodies/beer.  Since our car was parked in a friend's driveway about six blocks away that option wasn't practical for us. Besides, eyeing the rotation in the black sky, we chose to stay close to a building rather than sit in a hunk of potential debris.  Just "close" to a building, mind you, not actually in it unless it became frightfully necessary. (And, no, avoiding spending time crammed like sardines with nervous strangers doesn't mean I have claustrophobia issues.  Why do you ask?)  

 We donned our pretty purple ponchos (trash bags with hoods) and watched the storm approach.  That's Amanda in the center, Mitch hiding his embarrassing rainwear behind Amanda and friend, Madison, and Dave on the right. Soon the rotating cloud dissolved into a solid gray sky - alleving our tornado concerns - but the raindrops moved from sporadic to torrential downpour, so we took cover under the patio awning of the stadium store - wedging between racks of sale items with a couple dozen other holdouts and assorted idiots who failed to take shelter where chairs and bathrooms were available.

For nearly an hour we stood in a rapidly moving river of rainwater, chatting with our fellow idiots, strategically positioning ourselves to let the racks of clothes take the brunt of the rain rather than our legs.   (I suspect there will be some good bargains on water-spotted t-shirts.)  Thank heaven for sandals - my feet may have been cold while standing in the river, but at least they dried quickly, unlike the guys who spent the rest of the day in soggy shoes and socks.

Typical for a Kansas cloudburst, the rain stopped as abruptly as it began and when the all-clear was given the herds moseyed back to their now-drenched seats. One of our ponchos gave it's life to become a seat cover so we could avoid wet tushes.  Kudos to KSU for handling the situation so efficiently and getting everyone under cover - at least those with sense enough to come in out of the rain. By half-time the drizzle had stopped, the sun was shining, the rain gear was off and we cheered K-State on to a 17-13 victory.  Go Cats!

Follow Friday: 40 and Over

Java at Never Growing Old is sponsoring this simple way to find other bloggers in the "40 and Over" category.  Stop by her blog and check out the great list of blogs and add your name.

This list is new each week. The links do not carry over. Please link up  each week for new participants to find your blogs.

Multi-Reading

A week or two ago, I came across this article from the Chicago Tribune.  I can't remember who shared the link, but I appreciate them providing proof that I am not alone in my schizophrenic reading habits.  Julia Keller, the author of the article, contends that "Life...is enriched year-round when lived amid a multiplicity of books, all of which you're reading concurrently." 

Dave is a "serial reader...plowing through a single book without pausing to read anything else."  He is also a firm proponent of the "You started it, you have to finish it" school of reading theory - another area where we disagree.  If, after about a hundred pages, I don't feel any interest in knowing how a story comes out, I'm on to the next book.  Life is too short to waste time on bad books.  But today we're focusing on "multi-reading" (like multi-tasking only more fun).

I always have multiple books in progress. Number one is my "main book", the one on which I focus the majority of my pleasure-reading time. This is usually a book I own or have properly borrowed from the library.  However, you are all aware of my library job and my possibly-illegal addiction to sneaking out the new arrivals before their pub. date so, occasionally - I'm seriously trying to wean myself - I put aside my main book to race through a new book so it can be catalogued, processed and shelved by release date, then I return to my regularly scheduled book.

I'm not a fan of listening to the radio, so I keep an audio book in my car and listen in spurts.  Since we live four blocks from the library and one block from the grocery store, my daily drive time is minimal, so this story can take weeks to get through.  For that reason, I choose something light, without an intricate plot that requires lots of attention.

I keep a different audio book in progress on my MP3.  I have sleep issues so listening to a story gives me something to focus on rather than my 101 real and/or imaginary problems.  Since the idea is to soothe me to sleep, this is usually a re-read - something I'm familiar enough with that I can pick it up from approximately where I fell asleep and be none the worse for missing a page or two. 

I live by Mythbuster Adam Savage's adage, "I reject your reality and substitute my own", so non-fiction is rarely a part of my reading world, but occasionally it's necessary in order to complete a challenge, or for educational purposes or (heaven forbid!) just because a topic catches my interest.  Since I go into withdrawals without a regular fiction fix,I tend to take my reality in small doses interspersed into my main book.

As if that's not enough, I keep an emergency book in my car for waiting rooms, single lunches or unexpected road-side stops; and one in the bathroom - and we'll just leave that alone. 

This multi-reading scheme may seem scattered to the serial-readers among you, and it may well be a symptom of my disorderly mind, but I prefer to think of it as exercise for the brain.  I'm staving of dimentia by tracking multiple plots.  Are you a multi-reader?

Dewey's Read-a-Thon

Circle Saturday, October 9th on your calendar.  It's time for another read-a-thon.  If you've never participated, check out the website on the image to the right and see what it's all about.  Dave and I struggled through our first read-a-thon last October and learned a few lessons - mainly that we're way too old to pull all-nighters.  We'll leave that to the college kids.  This time around I have only two goals:

1.  Read for at least twelve hours.
2.  Better advance planning on snacks/meals.

Dewey's Read-a-Thon is a great way to meet new bloggers, spend a guilt-free day reading and win prizes.  Hope to see you there.

Georgia's Kitchen by Jenny Nelson

At thirty-three, talented chef Georgia Gray has everything a woman could want—the top job at one of Manhattan’s best restaurants; smart and savvy gal pals; and an engagement ring courtesy of Glenn, the handsome lawyer. The table is set for the ambitious bride-to-be until a scathing restaurant review destroys her reputation. To add salt to her wounds, Glenn suddenly calls off the wedding. 

Brokenhearted, Georgia escapes to the Italian countryside, where she sharpens her skills at a trattoria run by a world-class chef.  Georgia quells her longings with Italy’s delectable offerings: fine wine, luscious cheeses, cerulean blue skies, and irresistible Gianni—an expert in the vineyard and the bedroom. But an appetite for something more looms large in Georgia’s heart – the desire to run her own restaurant in the city she loves. Having left New York with her career in flames, she’ll need to stir up more than just courage if she’s to realize her dreams and find her way home. (from publisher's synopsis)

The Food Network has created a nation of would-be chefs and food geeks, and you can count me as one of the geekiest.  Couple that with my love of all things Italian, and I was destined to love this book - and I did.  The details of life in a professional kitchen and the intricacies of opening a new restaurant fascinated me as much as the actual story. 

Georgia's tale runs the gamut of emotions from pain to fear to excitement to trepidation to love and lust and joy.  The writing is simple - in the best sense of that word.  Ms. Nelson conveys all of those feelings without unnecessary, wordy descriptions.  The story flowed smoothly - you know how I hate long pauses in the action - while still involving me in the thought processes and emotions.

The scenes in Italy were my favorite, naturally.  Again Ms. Nelson used simple, well written phrases to draw out images and senses that the reader already has of Italy, it's culture and, of course, it's food. 

Unlike Ms. Nelson's considerable talent, my writing is failing me severly in this review.  I can't find the words to conjur up the images she paints, so you'll just have to trust me that this book is a must read.  It's a culinary lesson, an Italian vacation, and a beautifully written story of chasing a dream.