Banning Books Only Makes Them More Lovable

29 thoughts on Banning Books Only Makes Them More Lovable

1. I work in a bookstore and we LOVE banned books week! Most of us pick one to add to a display, and we see lots of people picking them up and flipping through pages. Makes my heart sing!

   So does your mixmania mix, by the way. I received it today and though I am not familiar with many of the artists, I am loving what I hear. (I’m already a Belle and Sebastian and Smiths fan!) Thank you so much!

2. Captain Underpants? I was reading stuff a lot weirder than that when I was six (or maybe it just seemed really weird when I was six).

   Maya Angelou? Oh yuck, just shoot the kids now.

3. Amen, brother! For if students read black female authors who speak out against real injustice instead of hiding it under the carpet like women should do, then those students may begin to believe in justice, which is inconvienent for the powers that be.

   That said, what a great teaching technique. I would have loved that in high school. When I was a sophomore, I put together a library presentation on banned books with the help of the librarian. Much to my dismay, I found out a lot of the books on the list were locked up in her office by command of the school board at behest of the Southern Baptist contigent. However, we were allowed to drag them out for the display. Oh, irony.

4. Amen, brother! For if students read black female authors who speak out against real injustice instead of hiding it under the carpet like women should do, then those students may begin to believe in justice, which is inconvienent for the powers that be.

   And the Lord looked down, and proclaimed, “Jesus Christ! Who the hell left the gate open?”

   I had to read Jane Eyre in college and I absofuckinglutely hated that book. I would rather watch the Care Bears, Rainbow Brite, and My Litte Pony movies every day for three months, even being banned from making any remarks (I care? I CARE! Fuck fuck fuck!), than read that damn thing again. With that, (insert correct Bronte sister here) is ten times the sappy barf-o-rama novel writer that Maya Angelou could ever hope to be.

5. Do you have more female writers whose hands you’d have rather cut off than debase your super maniless by having to read? Possibly Austen, who pretty much invented the novel?

6. “Maniless”, eh?

   I’ve been blessed not to read anything Jane Austen wrote, but I have the impression that it’s all silly, frippery shit that finds its proper home in the dumpster. (Look, I’m prejudging her! You should be she-creaming your shorts with righteous fury about now.) I’ve been raised to disdain crap without regard to gender, which is why I spare you not the rod of castigation.

7. I’ve been raised to disdain crap

   First time I’ve seen the word “disdain” used to mean “incessantly post as blog comments.”

8. Keep your eyes open, boy. There’s a lot more first time for you.

9. Well, at least Mr. Thompson has a sense of humor–twisted though it may be. That’s more than I can say for some of his ilk. (I’ve always liked that word–ilk. I really should use it more often!)

   And Happy Banned Books week to all! Down with small-minded would-be censors of every political stripe! But especially the ones on the Right! 😉

10. Well, at least Mr. Thompson has a sense of humor–twisted though it may be.

    That’s true. I’m not sure it compensates for the complete fucking cultural illiteracy.

    I’m fascinated that he says he’s been to college, though. I had him pinned at about 15.

11. David? There’s a difference between a book that one likes, and a book that is well-written and/or brilliant. One can love a Star Trek novel or Harlequin Romance even if they’re not particularly good if they suit your interests. Contrariwise, it’s perfectly possible to hate a piece of great literature, and that does not necessarily mean that it’s bad, just that it somehow doesn’t suit your tastes.

    Case in point – I loathe “Madame Bovary” with a burning passion. I would rather be locked in a closet with Rush than be forced to read it again. I love “Crystal Singer” by Anne McCaffrey – I’ve read it at least a couple of dozen times in the last 20 years. Nonetheless when it comes down to which book is better written, and which is the greater contribution to literature, “Madame Bovary” wins hands down. I can appreciate how well it is written, even as I hate it.

    So – the Brontes, Jane Austen, and Maya Angelou have all contributed mightily to Western Literature. Don’t feel you have to love them for that to be true, and for them to be worthy of it.

12. In the Night Kitchen? Puh-leeze.

13. That’s true. I’m not sure it compensates for the complete fucking cultural illiteracy.

    No, it doesn’t compensate, but the reparations check for the culturally underprivileged makes for a nice consolation prize.

    I’m fascinated that he says he’s been to college, though. I had him pinned at about 15.

    I could have gone to college when I was 15, but about then I started enjoying school for the first time in a long time, so I stuck around.

    So – the Brontes, Jane Austen, and Maya Angelou have all contributed mightily to Western Literature. Don’t feel you have to love them for that to be true, and for them to be worthy of it.

    I don’t deny them their pedastals in the Hall of Dead Literary Honkies, even though I do think they sucked more than the suckiest suck that ever sucked.

14. …has anyone pointed out the fact that someone used the phrase “she-creaming your shorts with righteous fury” in this thread? Because that’s funny.

15. Usually some of the best books and authors turn out to be those found on these banned and censored lists, Mark Twain for example, but in this case I was disappointed to see Robert Cormier’s “The Chocolate War” leading this list. In my personal opinion this is not a very good book, poorly conceived and trite, with a healthy dose of bitterness thrown in, just a poor piece of literature overall to my mind.

    For some reason that I can’t quite fathom, it’s often found on a number of reading lists for adolescent lit or young adult lit classes at universities and colleges, presented as being somehow representative of the adolescent experience. But I think it’s the last thing that young people would want to read or be able to relate to, unless they were seriously disturbed.

    Wait a minute, perhaps that is a good description of the adolescent mind “seriously disturbed”, or at least that’s how they are perceived by the battered and broken minds of many adults. Perhaps that’s a good criticism of The Chocolate War, how the broken disillusioned adult mind perceives the adolescent mind in retrospect. And perhaps that’s why I find it Cormier’s book so flawed.

    A book I would recommend for young adults and mature teens is Toni Morrison’s, “Sula.” Actually everyone should read that book.

    An excellent book for younger adolescents that I would recommend is Jerry Spinelli’s, “Star Girl.”

    Why aren’t these on any banned book lists? It’s some kind of conspiracy I think. You see the book banners are now engaging in reverse psychology, next he’ll be banning the Bible, because you know if it’s banned, some rebellious teenagers will read it.

16. Of Mice and Men? What the hell’s in that book that’s objectionable that isn’t in about 600 (ok, I exaggerate) other required readings in high school?

17. I’m fascinated that he says he’s been to college, though. I had him pinned at about 15.

    There are certain kinds of ignorance that resist the passage of years and access to education.

    Our boy Thompson is but one of a depressingly abundant swarm.

18. I’m afraid I have to agree that Austin is a bit tedious to get through. Archaic language paired with convoluted plotlines that mainly deal with romatic/marriage prospects of upper class-ish girls in the early 19th century. Yeah, not a lot of actual action there, and the language alone makes it a tough read.

    BUT…!!!!! The literary value (especially today) comes from reading the books as a cultural history as well as a novel. Women had rather limited choices in those days, especially women of a certain class. (Heck, who am I fooling?! ANY woman, but especially those in the monied classes, who would probably have died of genteel embarrassment and starvation before signing on to be someone’s “lady companion” or governess. Unlike their more practical, more lower class sisters.) Anyway, the novels show us very clearly what mid-upper class society was like in the early 19th century, in as much as any novel is accurate about those things. They show us what women’s choices were at the time, how limited their allowed purviews were, and Austin does a *lovely* job of skewering some personality types quite thoroughly. That said, if you do not LIKE that sort of historical (as in time capsule) novel, you will not *enjoy* reading her works. It took me several months to work my way through “Sense and Sensibility”, and I actually enjoyed her writing. It was just a tough read.

    ‘Course, what do I know? I read “Jayne Eyre” early in high school on my own and enjoyed it. I’ve laughed out loud at Twain. I occasionally pull some Shakespeare off the shelf and read it for pleasure, when I have some time. Of course, mundanely, every day, I turn to science fiction and fantasy writers, with the occasional historical novel tossed in. Taste is a personal thing — denouncing a written work as “crap” when you simply don’t like the style is a bit juvenile. I’d expect it out of a high school english class; it’s rather disappointing to see it in an adult. (Case in point: I *hated* reading “The Old Man and the Sea” in high school, but I’m tempted to find a copy now to see if I was just too young to appreciate it. Or if I just really don’t like Hemingway. See, there’s a difference between “don’t like” and objective “crap”. If youw ant to read “crap”, check out half the fiction works on the stands these days. Bleah!)

    Can’t comment on “Of Mice and Men”, never having read it. We did the stage play in college, but I can’t really see where people would be so disturbed by it that they went to the trouble of getting it banned either. Ditto with “Huck Finn” — I rather enjoyed that one, but it apparently really, really bothers some people.

19. I hated Jane Eyre and don’t get me started on Wuthering Heights (great love story? nah, just some seriously twisted and dysfunctional people). But I love Jane Austen. The language adds to the enjoyment of the books, at least for me, and I enjoyed most of her books, though some of them definitely are lesser. But the books that people remember her for are excellent.

    I do agree that a book can be great literature even if I don’t personally care for it, but I’m not gonna read it, banned or not.

    And if we’re slamming authors, I can think of plenty of male authors whose books are tedious exercises in pointlessness. Hemingway, anyone? 😉

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21. I like your style, Thompson. I don’t particularly care you you, but I like your style.

    Formalities aside, it never ceases to amaze me how positively banal msot challenges for book banning are. Just like we saw from conservatives that Communists are worse than Nazis, silly things like the inclusion of homosexual characters into books is enough to merit a hissy fit from some cockup of a parent. Where the hell do these people get their priorities?

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23. . . . …has anyone pointed out the fact that someone used the phrase “she-creaming your shorts with righteous fury” in this thread? Because that’s funny.. . . . .

    Oh, no, I just guy gooed my shorts with righteous fury, by my formerly furry fella. Congrats to everbody who reads books. A salute to all who would put out the flames of discussion by peeing bravely on everyone else. Oy.

24. I like the fact that Maurice Sendak has such a hefty presence on that list. My favorite childhood book is “Where The Wild Things Are”. While it isn’t on the list..its got Sendak’s general themes: carve your own path and piss on anyone who gets in your way. He and Judy Blume have prominent places on the bookshelves of my kids’ library.

    The best thing about banning books is the fact that prompts people to go read the books. Someone who may never touch Morrison or Vonnegut might just start reading it because someone told them not to.

    That’s what I’d do. LOL

25. The best thing about banning books is the fact that prompts people to go read the books. Someone who may never touch Morrison or Vonnegut might just start reading it because someone told them not to.

    Speaking as someone who read the entire LAMBDA book list at age thirteen based on the rationale that books about gay people might possibly involve descriptions of gay people having sex, I second this. The worst way to keep children away from anything is to imply that there’s some freaky prurient interest in consuming it.

26. I went to a private middle school and wanted to read _I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings_ (it was in the card catalog), but it was kept “behind the counter,” so to speak–I had to request it from the ancient librarian, and she lent it out once she was convinced that I was mature enough to deal with the heavier themes (like rape). It was more a warning-system on the school’s part: i.e., yes, you can read this book in the 7th grade, but be forewarned that it contains themes X, Y, and Z. If parents are so concerned about questionable material that might be “too much” for kids of a certain age, then maybe that’s a good compromise.

    But some of the books on that list are downright funny–Where’s Waldo? I mean come on!

27. But some of the books on that list are downright funny–Where’s Waldo? I mean come on!

    Every “Where’s Waldo” panel includes at least three of the following:

    nudity
    masturbation
    heterosexual intercourse
    homosexual sodomy
    oral sex (both varieties)
    menstruation
    age-inappropriate breastfeeding
    “watersports”
    bestiality
    female ejaculation

28. Sounds like you have looked at a lot of Waldo there, David. Beware. Those who look too deeply into the Waldo will find the Waldo looking back

29. Awwww, man! Now I gotta locate a “Where’s Waldo?” book to check those facts! As if I didn’t have enough to do this weekend….

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