FAQ
I have gotten so many emails about my support of Banned Book Week, that I thought I would take the time to condense and answer them here.
Question: Shouldn't parents have the right to monitor their children's reading?
Answer: Absolutely. That is why I am against banning or challenging books. When one group bans a book, they are making a decision for all parents. They are removing the right of a parent to govern what is appropriate for his or her child.
Question: How do politics figure into challenging or banning books?
Answer: Politics are moot when it comes to challenging or banning books. No matter what your political affiliation, someone in your party has tried to ban or challenge a book at some point in history.
Question: Are you a communist/liberalist/socialist or something?
Answer: No more than Benjamin Franklin who said “Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech.”
Question: Do you plan to do this every year?
Answer: I hope to. Even if I can't participate in BBW, I will continue to review banned or challenged books for this website.
Question: I am interested in participating in BBW, how do I learn more?
Answer: The American Library Association's Banned Book Week website has all of the information you need to get started.
If you have any more questions out there, I encourage you ask. You can email me at chasitymoody@ifeelpithy.com, or you can ask it in my comments section.
Comments (3)
I love that you devote time and web space to the subject of banned books. I started my own little reading project starting with the overlapping books on the banned and challenged and best books lists. I've found books I've loved, liked, disliked, or despised. I may say I found it to be a waste of my time, but I would never tell someone else that they should be denied access to it.
I've been reading a lot of articles about book challenges and finding that often the challengers haven't read the book, but got the impression that it was pornographic (the word most frequently used) from someone they heard talking about it.
Posted by jmfausti | June 4, 2008 9:58 PM
Posted on June 4, 2008 21:58
The government may not restrict free speech, and as far as I know not one book mentioned on the site has been banned by the government. The private sector (individuals and private institutions) has the right to protest books, and the libraries and bookstores may choose whether to take those books from their shelves or leave them there. If they choose to remove them, it's likely because they know that leaving them there will lose them business.
Posted by Jeff | June 4, 2008 9:58 PM
Posted on June 4, 2008 21:58
Hi Jeff,
Please read this post : http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2005/05/read_a_banned_b.html .
It explains the actual Banned Books Challenge. Basically, the books don't have to have actually been banned in this country for me to review them here. The only requirement is that they were challenged or banned at some point in the book's history.
You may also want to read this post: http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2005/08/clarification.html .
As it further clarifies what I am doing with this self-imposed challenge.
For more information on the state of challenging and banning books, you may want to check out the ALA website. The link to it is : http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/challengedbanned/challengedbanned.htm#mfcb
Thanks for commenting.
Posted by chasitymoody | June 4, 2008 10:01 PM
Posted on June 4, 2008 22:01