I'm about fourteen days too late to do a post on this, but it's never too late to stand up for freedom of expression through the printed word, right?
I mean, that's the main reason why I decided to at least start out indie. Publishing may be a big business, but I at least want my writing to stay a labor of love, even if I don't make a ton of money from it. I can always hold a desk job, anyway, just in case I can't make living being a lowly scribe. That's why I'm going to college, right?
The ALA has a pretty good list of banned and challenged books, which I seriously should have found earlier due to the fact that it's on the freaking American Library Association's website. You can find pretty much all of them there from what I can tell, so it's a good place to start if you're just now diving into the world of banned books.
It's my personal belief that if a book mentions something that you just don't like, you shouldn't read it and leave it at that. Being in disagreement with something isn't some sort of sign that you're the 'chosen one' appointed to save the rest of the world from being competent enough to decide whether or not they can handle seeing it, too.
It's not like we're going to open up a book and say, "Gaw! This book mentions crack and bestiality so much, and I think it just might bother me, but I have no idea if I should continue reading until someone tells me I shouldn't. Oh well, better keep going."
Not to mention that most banned books are so mild that it's hard to put your finger on just how nervous a person would have to be to think that they would destroy society.
If you're going to try to read most or all of the banned books, which is my personal goal, I would suggest starting with Fahrenheit 451. A friend told me it wasn't really about censorship, but how Ray Bradbury was terrified that television would destroy society.
After reading it, I see his point, but still think it's mostly about censorship.
Ray Bradbury's techno-phobia does grace nearly every single page, though. Can't argue with that.
I mean, that's the main reason why I decided to at least start out indie. Publishing may be a big business, but I at least want my writing to stay a labor of love, even if I don't make a ton of money from it. I can always hold a desk job, anyway, just in case I can't make living being a lowly scribe. That's why I'm going to college, right?
The ALA has a pretty good list of banned and challenged books, which I seriously should have found earlier due to the fact that it's on the freaking American Library Association's website. You can find pretty much all of them there from what I can tell, so it's a good place to start if you're just now diving into the world of banned books.
It's my personal belief that if a book mentions something that you just don't like, you shouldn't read it and leave it at that. Being in disagreement with something isn't some sort of sign that you're the 'chosen one' appointed to save the rest of the world from being competent enough to decide whether or not they can handle seeing it, too.
It's not like we're going to open up a book and say, "Gaw! This book mentions crack and bestiality so much, and I think it just might bother me, but I have no idea if I should continue reading until someone tells me I shouldn't. Oh well, better keep going."
Not to mention that most banned books are so mild that it's hard to put your finger on just how nervous a person would have to be to think that they would destroy society.
If you're going to try to read most or all of the banned books, which is my personal goal, I would suggest starting with Fahrenheit 451. A friend told me it wasn't really about censorship, but how Ray Bradbury was terrified that television would destroy society.
After reading it, I see his point, but still think it's mostly about censorship.
Ray Bradbury's techno-phobia does grace nearly every single page, though. Can't argue with that.
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