Happy Banned Books Week!

My librarian grad student friend recently informed me that Banned Books Week is September 26-October 3 (it's always the last week in September.) I suppose this doesn't have much to do with Brooklyn per se, other than the fact that I work in a bookstore, but here is my one public service announcement for the year. Spend the week reading a banned book, or just reading. And is anyone else shocked and dismayed that Slaughterhouse-Five is STILL banned in some schools?? Ditto The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. And Beloved, and Tango Makes Three (which is a NON-FICTION story about PENGUINS), and Native Son, and The Grapes of Wrath...I could go on. For a list of books banned in 2007-2008 alone, see here. For the American Library Association's page on book banning, see here. For more books, and info on the Kid's Right To Read Project, see here. Oh, and if you want to see why JK Rowling did not get the Presidential Medal of Freedom, see here.

Having been raised by people who let me read whatever I wanted, I am mystified by people who believe in the corrupting power of literature, so much so that they go all Bonfire of the Vanities on other people's rights. (granted, I was "corrupted" in that I read To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time when I was 12 and wanted to, god forbid, make the world a better place.) So curl up with some tea, some Vonnegut (or whomever) and enjoy!

Also: my librarian friend (HI KAREN!) has started a blog of her own, as a class assignment, which can be found here. She will be writing about library science and information technology, among other fun things. She also supplied me with most of the links mentioned here, too. Check it out!