Book BIN Tuesday - Buy A Banned Book!

It's hard to believe that it's that time of year again - time for the ALA's Banned Books Week. Sadly, this informational week is still needed, because books are still being banned and challenged every year. Last year, in the US, there were 460 book challenges reported. Books from The Catcher in the Rye to the Twilight series were targeted.

A recently challenge made the news last week, when a college professor wrote a scathing article in his local paper about books being taught in the public school system. One of the books he targeted was Speak, a YA novel about rape that he characterized as "soft-core porn".

This is one of my hot-button issues. Rape is not about sex, it's about power and control. And anyone who would look at a book about teens dealing with this horrible crime as sexually arousing has some issues of his own, in my opinion.

Before this hit Twitter and mainstream media outlets, I'd never heard of Speak before. But in honor of Banned Books week, I'm going to pick up a copy.

So that's my challenge to you. Here's the list of frequently challenged books. (The link takes you to the top ten challenged books of last year; there are multiple links on the left sidebar that go back several years.) Take a peek - really, there's something for everyone, from classics to new works, from picture books to novels. And in keeping with the theme of the week, why not choose one banned book and Buy It Now?

What's your choice?

It's Banned Books Week!

Again, you say? Didn't we talk about this just last year?

Sadly, yes. Books are still being banned, so the ALA Banned Books Week continues. This year, it's occurring from September 26 to October 3.

The American Library Association recorded 513 challenged is 2008, but that total is estimated to be only 20-25% of the actual number of banned or challenged books. These books include the Harry Potter series, Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Dreams (a personal favorite), Lois Lowry's award-winning The Giver, and classics such as Slaughterhouse Five, Of Mice and Men, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and To Kill A Mockingbird.

My goal this week is to identify and read a challenged book that I haven't read before. How about you? Will you join me in this challenge?

Post your selection in the comments section, and one commenter will win a prize at the end of the week!

Argh...Amazon!

By now you may have heard about the kerfuffle over Amazon's de-ranking of books it tagged as "adult" or inappropriate. If not, here's the shorthand version:

Last week, authors started noticing that books were losing their Amazon "rank", which in and of itself isn't the end of the world. But it had serious implications for these books. See, Amazon "filters" books based on their rankings, so that if you look for one book, they can recommend others that are similar. This also determines placement on bestseller lists, which can be extremely helpful for sales to casual shoppers. (If you've ever browsed the "contemporary romance" list, you know what I mean.)

But all those books that lost their rankings? Off the lists, off the recommends, off the radar. And what's worse, is the majority of those books are either erotic romance or GLBT.

So an autobiography by a porn star? Still ranked. Biography of Ellen DeGeneres? De-ranked. Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds? Ranked. Heather Has Two Mommies? De-ranked.

Anyway, I was skimming Amazon to see how widespread the problem was, and happened to take a peek at one of my titles, Tease Me, Please Me.

I've been de-ranked.

Are you kidding me? On what are they basing this decision? TMPM doesn't even rate as a Red-Hot, as far as Samhain is concerned. But because Amazon thinks my book is too "adult", it's been effectively moved behind the counter, where you can only get your hands on it if you know what to look for.

Sigh. And the week was looking pretty good, up until now.

Book BIN Tuesday -- Banned Books Week

"Every banned book enlightens the world." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I've always loved books. Big oversized hardcovers, thick paperbacks with the covers falling off, anything in between. From a very early age I was a voracious reader, glomming my way through an author's backlist once I'd discovered them. (Of course, at that time I didn't know what "glomming" or "backlist" meant -- I'd just run to the librarian, hand her a book and say, "What else have you got by this author?")

Which is why Banned Books Week is so important to me. So many of the books I see on those lists of challenged or banned books were ones I read and loved as a kid, and I'm appalled at the thought of other kids not having the opportunity to experience them as well.

I went searching, and found a couple of lists of challenged books: from 1990-2000, and 2000-2007. I wasn't school-age when these books were challenged, but I've read a LOT of them anyway. Some of my favorites?

Harry Potter series, JK Rowling (my kids glommed these this summer -- it was a kick discussing the stories with them!)

The Giver by Lois Lowry (damn fine YA novel.)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (Are you KIDDING me?)

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (Ditto!)

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher (OMG best YA author for reluctant readers, esp. teen boys)

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney (Made me cry)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

And Tango Makes Three by Richardson and Parnell

Books on the list that I taught back when I was a junior high English teacher:

Go Ask Alice (companion to Romeo and Juliet, along with Like Water for Chocolate and other challenged books); Bless Me, Ultima; Summer of my German Soldier (in WWII unit, along with The Diary of Anne Frank.).

Books my kids love that I can't believe are on these lists:

The Junie B. Jones books

Anything by Shel Silverstein or Roald Dahl

Captain Underpants? Seriously?

Goosebumps

Scary Stories

The Stupids

So my Book BIN suggestion this week? Take a look at a list of challenged books, and go out and buy one. Support an author who's been affected. Read something wonderful. And then pass it on.

Thursday Thirteen #29 -- Banned Books Week Edition

In keeping with the theme of the week -- banned and challenged books -- I'm listing thirteen frequently-challenged books that I loved.

And don't forget my contest! Comment in the post right below this one, and you could win a free download of my latest book, Lessons In Love.

1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

2. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

3. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

4. The Giver by Lois Lowry

5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

6. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle

7. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

9. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

10. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

11. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher

12. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney

13. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Wow! Let me tell you, it was hard to narrow that list down. How about you? Check out the ALA list of most challenged books of 1990-2000 and tell me what you think!

Banned Books Week -- and a contest!

Happy Banned Books Week!

Yes, it's that time of year again, when the American Library Association brings our attention to the issue of challenged and banned books.

As a writer and former English teacher, I have some very strong opinions about the practice of banning books. I'll let you guess what they are. :)

Anyway, I was noodling around on the ALA website and came upon the top 100 challenged books list, and was shocked once again to see so many author names I recognized. JK Rowling! Lois Lowry! Chris Crutcher! Caroline Cooney! Judy Blume!

Maya Angelou.

Toni Morrison.

Mark Twain.

Isabel Allende.

Kurt Vonnegut.

It pains me to think how bare the shelves would be without those voices. How slim my childhood reading list would have been without many of the books on that list.

So here's my contest. Just post in the comments what your favorite banned book is. One random poster will win a download of my newest book, Lessons In Love.

And for more Banned Books discussion, stop by the Samhain Cafe now through Friday. A bunch of Samhain authors will be talking banned books, sharing excerpts of their own work, and giving away prizes.