Friday, September 27, 2013
BANNED BOOKS WEEK: Celebrate fREADom with The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Celebrate the freedom to read THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie (2007)
Life is tough for Junior, a social outcast living on a
Spokane Indian reservation in Washington. Considered a weirdo, he is a not-so-proud
member of the “Blackeye-of-the-Month club.” Junior escapes his bleak
environment of poverty and alcoholism by reading comic books in his room. Junior also loves drawing and uses this talent
to make sense of the world. Frustrated
with the limitations of the rez, he enrolls in an all-white school. The backlash is
ugly but Junior is determined to forge his own path while balancing life in two
separate worlds.
Author Sherman Alexie approaches his first young adult novel
with the same candor and cynical humor I enjoy in his short stories. This novel was one of ten most challenged
books in 2012 due to “offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited
for age group.” The Absolutely True Diary also won the National Book Award for Young
People’s Literature in 2007, as well as other awards. Junior’s funny illustrations and sarcastic sense
of humor will appeal to teens facing the same issues of identity and
self-worth.
Darletha Matthews, South Branch Library
Labels: Banned Books Week
Thursday, September 26, 2013
[Library Events & Programs]*TODAY* America's Music: Tin Pan Alley and Broadway at Central
Memphis' own Joyce Cobb will perform at this evening's America's Music session. This event starts at 5:30 p.m. with discussions led by music scholar Dr. Jack Cooper. Tonight's session covers Tin Pan Alley and Broadway styles of music.
America's Music Series
Tin Pan Alley and Broadway
Thursday
September 26, 2013
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Labels: Library Events and Programs
[Library Events and Programs] Bookstock - October 5, 2013
Bookstock is back! Come meet and greet 40 local authors at our annual Memphis Area Author's Festival.
Bring the whole family to the Central Library on Saturday, October 5, 2013 for live music, book signings, cooking demonstrations and more! It all starts at 10:30 a.m.
View the Bookstock event page for more details.
Labels: Library Events and Programs
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
BANNED BOOKS WEEK: Celebrate fREADom with The Kite Runner
Yes, of course, critics will focus on young Hassan's rape at the
beginning of this wonderful story. I did not concentrate on this tragedy while
reading Hosseini's first book, set in the Middle East in the 1960's; instead, I
relished the story of the young Hassan and Amir's friendship lasting through
adulthood.
Andrea King, Poplar-White Station
Labels: Banned Books Week
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
BANNED BOOKS WEEK: Celebrate fREADom with In Cold Blood
Celebrate the freedom to read IN COLD BLOOD: A TRUE ACCOUNT OF A MULTIPLE MURDER AND ITS CONSEQUENCES by Truman Capote (1966)
Investigative journalism at its best is my description of
Truman Capote’s true-crime thriller, In
Cold Blood. Electrified describes how his reconstruction of four savage
killings made me feel. Pulse racing, I devoured the pages with an appetite that
did not sate until my eyes ceased to focus.
And yet, this literary award winner was banned for a time in
Savannah, Georgia, after a parent complained that it contained sex, violence,
and profanity.
It does contain these components, of course. But, it was
published in 1965 at a time when such graphic horror did not yet assault from
every direction. It was easier back then to assume that being blasted by a
shotgun from within inches of the face, as were members of the Clutter family
inside their Holcomb, Kansas, farmhouse, just didn’t happen to decent folk in
1959.
Capote’s account of their slaughter and the investigation
that led to the capture, trial, and execution of two ex-convicts on parole from
Kansas State Penitentiary was the jolt of reality that stole my innocence. While
hard to take, it’s important to remember that even gruesome information must
always be available to readers who want access to it. Pretending that human
violence -- as described in In Cold Blood
-- doesn’t exist, does not make it so.
Nancy Campbell, Cordova Library
Labels: Banned Books Week
[News and Notes] More Banned Books in the News
Why celebrate Banned Books Week? We've found more stories demonstrating the ongoing battle of what is acceptable reading for today's youth.
The National Coalition Against Censorship's blog (Blogging Censorship) details how public speaking engagements for two Young Adult fiction authors were cancelled.
Meg Medina and Rainbow Rowell were uninvited to scheduled talks because of profanity found in their novels. They are the authors of Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass and Eleanor & Park, respectively. Read more here
Banned Books Week.org listed the Top Ten Most Challenged Titles of 2012 (Source)
The National Coalition Against Censorship's blog (Blogging Censorship) details how public speaking engagements for two Young Adult fiction authors were cancelled.
Meg Medina and Rainbow Rowell were uninvited to scheduled talks because of profanity found in their novels. They are the authors of Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass and Eleanor & Park, respectively. Read more here
Banned Books Week.org listed the Top Ten Most Challenged Titles of 2012 (Source)
1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav
Pilkey
Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group
Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a
Part-Time Indian,
by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group
Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin
Richardson.
Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group
Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group
6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin
Schwartz
Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence
Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence
9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Reasons: Sexually explicit,
religious viewpoint, violence
Take a look at Banned Books Week Heroes, individuals who successfully fought for the freedom to read.
Take a look at Banned Books Week Heroes, individuals who successfully fought for the freedom to read.
Labels: Banned Books Week, News and Notes
Monday, September 23, 2013
BANNED BOOKS WEEK: Celebrate fREADom with Brave New World
 Celebrate the freedom to read BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley (1932)In the post-modern era, marked by massive government snooping into our personal lives as well as widening income inequality, Huxley's Brave New World could not be more poignant. Although a scientifically-derived caste system or massive pharmacological control have not been formally institutionalized, one could argue that the proliferation of prescription and non-prescription drug abuse has some parallels to the society in Huxley's novel from 1932. Many of the concepts from this novel may even be more appropriate for today's world than they were in 1932 when the novel was published. As our access to and amount of knowledge increase exponentially, we would be wise to remember that attempting to control nature is a dangerous endeavor indeed. Steve Shackelford, South Branch |
Labels: Banned Books Week
[News and Notes] Banned Books in the News
Banned Books Week is September 22 - 28, 2013 The controversy of banning books is an ongoing issue as seen in these recent news stories:
A school board in North Carolina voted to ban Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison because a parent alleged it was "too much for teenagers." --via RawStory
The president of the Ohio School Board petitioned the removal of Toni Morisson's novel The Bluest Eye from high school reading lists. --The Columbus Dispatch
There is an A.P. History study guide under scrutiny because of an interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. --via RawStory and Dallas Fort Worth CBS News
Lastly, the Washington Post reports that an Arizona school district has banned Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia because of sexually explicit passages. This novel was also included as an exemplar text from the 11th grade Common Core reading standards.
UPDATE 12 p.m.
Time Magazine's news feed presented A Brief History of Stupid Book Bans, from Twelfth Night to Where's Waldo?
Have you read any of these books? How many banned or challenged books have you read?
Browse the library catalog for these titles and other books.
Labels: Banned Books Week, News and Notes
Friday, September 20, 2013
[News and Notes] Banned Books Week: September 22-28, 2013
 |
| Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association. |
The American Library Association explains why this week is important:
The ALA promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them. -(Source)During Banned Books Week the Memphis Reads blog will highlight books that have been targeted for censorship in a feature called "Celebrate fREADom." Library staff members will share thoughts about banned or challenged books they have read.
Visit the library's website to find Banned Books Week events at the library.
Other sites of interest:
ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom Banned Books Week webpage
Banned Books Week bannedbooksweek.org
Labels: Banned Books Week, News and Notes
Thursday, September 12, 2013
[Library Events and Programs] America's Music: Blues and Gospel Today
Our six part America's Music series starts today, September 12, 2013 at 5:30 p.m.
Dr. Jack T. Cooper, Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies and Studio Music at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music of the University of Memphis will lead the discussion for each session.
Thursday evening, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
America's Music Series
Blues and Gospel Film Screening and Free Concert
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
3030 Poplar Ave.
Meeting Rooms A-C
For more details:
Memphis Public Library's What's New Events Page and Full Concert Schedule
Labels: Library Events and Programs
Monday, September 02, 2013
[Library Events & Programs] "America's Music" Documentary Series
The
Memphis Public Library is one of 50 libraries/organizations in the country, and
one of the two recipients in the state of Tennessee that will present a six-part documentary series, America's Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music From Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway. Library's America's Music Webpage
Each
of these six program sessions will feature a documentary screening, a scholar-led
discussion, and free live performances of 20th century American popular
music.
Dr.
Jack T. Cooper, Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies and Studio Music
at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music of the University of Memphis will lead each discussion.
First screening:
Blues and Gospel
Thursday, September 12, 2013
5:30p.m.
Central Library, Meeting Rooms A-C
Special thanks to our local sponsors: Memphis Library Foundation, Honey Scheidt, Friends of the Library, and our partners Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, The University of Memphis, Pink Palace Museum and Memphis Music Commission.
Labels: Library Events and Programs
