Sunday, September 21, 2014

              
            Have You Read This Book?

Stephen King: "A proposal to ban books should always be given the greatest consideration. It's a scary idea, especially in a society which has been built on the ideas of free choice and free thought."   The Bangor (ME) Daily News, 1992


Banned Books Week is sponsored in part by the American Library Association, American Society of Journalists and Writers, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and PEN American Center.


                  Banned Books Week *** September 21-27                        


Top 10 Challenged/Banned Books of  2013

Reasons for the challenges include offensive language, drugs/smoking, racism, violence, and being unsuitable for age group.

1. Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
2. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
4. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
6. A Bad Boy Can be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
7. Looking for Alaska by John Green
8. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
9. Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
10. Bone by Jeff Smith


Frequently Banned or Challenged Classics 

1. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
2. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
3. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
4. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
5. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
6. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
7. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
8. 1984 by George Orwell
9. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
10. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 


Authors Frequently Banned or Challenged

Mark Twain
J.D. Salinger
Judy Blume
Robert Cormier
Harper Lee
Maurice Sendak
Ernest Hemingway
John Irving
Margaret Atwood
Isabel Allende


Frequently Banned or Challenged Books, 2000-2009 

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Alice series by Phyllis Naylor
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes

The American Library Association provided the banned/challenged information.


In honor of Banned Books Week, I'll be reading Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." 

                                                      *****


This post is dedicated to two journalists, in memory of their sacrifice:
Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

                               Nanu Nanu

Robin Williams: "No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world."   from "Dead Poets Society"


It feels odd to mourn someone I never knew. But every once in a while, a writer, artist or actor will pass, and my world tilts a little bit.

On the evening of August 11, I was having dinner with my sisters, niece and cousins. There we were, nine of us, all talking at once in a living room. Nine conversations at full speed. Suddenly a phone buzzed with a news alert. After a few attempts to silence us, my cousin read aloud the news that Robin Williams had died earlier that day. The room became quiet, and disbelief took over. "Is it an Internet hoax?" "No way, he's too young." "What happened to him?" 

For the rest of the evening, between stories of family and work, between bites of pizza and dessert, one of us would mention his death again and we'd all fall silent.

In the car on the way home, I thought about Robin Williams' appearances on David Letterman's Late Show, when I'd laugh so hard I'd lose my breath and start wheezing. The strange sweetness of Mork. His work with Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal raising money for Comic Relief. 

We're fortunate to have Robin Williams' comedy and drama available to us any time we need to laugh (Mrs. Doubtfire) or watch his transition to downright creepy (One Hour Photo).

Good Morning, Vietnam. Aladdin. Insomnia.  Man of the Year. Night at the Museum. Jumanji. Birdcage. Law & Order: SVU. Dead Poets Society. Good Will Hunting.

I'll miss you, Robin Williams.

                                 ******************************* 

There are books written by the funniest people on the planet. Caution: some memoirs can be quite poignant. Prepare for an occasional lump in the throat.

And this is a SHORT list!

Tina Fey - Bossypants
Whoopi Goldberg - Is it Just Me or is it Nuts Out There?
Jim Gaffigan - Dad is Fat
Lizz Winstead - Lizz Free or Die
Jon Stewart - Earth
Richard Pryor - Pryor Convictions
Bruce McCall & David Letterman - This Land was Made for You and Me (But Mostly Me)
David Letterman - Book of Top 10 Lists
George Carlin - Brain Droppings
Jerry Seinfeld - Seinlanguage
Steve Martin - Born Standing Up
Don Rickles - Rickles' Book
Billy Crystal - Still Foolin' Em
Jimmy Fallon - Thank You Notes
Roz Chast - Can We Talk About Something More Pleasant?
Carl Reiner - My Anecdotal Life
Mindy Kaling - Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Darrell Hammond - God, if You're Not Up There...
Stephen Colbert - I am America and So Can You
Bob Newhart - I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This
Carol Burnett - This Time Together


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