A lot of the books I’ve been talking about during Banned Books Week are the “big” ones; no one is surprised when I say that authors like Maya Angelou, Ayn Rand, and J.D. Salinger have been removed from classrooms and library shelves. But what about those authors whose works you’d never expect to be particularly…
My Favorite Banned Books
As I mentioned a few days ago, I actually read many challenged or banned books in high school. I can’t decide if this is because I happened to be in a more “liberal” district, or because I was in the AP English program and all we did was read the classics (“classics” often being a…
Celebrating Banned Books Week
Books have been being challenged and banned (and sometimes burned) since the concept of a book became known. The reasons for banning books are numerous and varied, but generally they boil down to the fact that someone, somewhere doesn’t like the ideas contained in the book. A simple search on any search engine will yield…
The Necessity of fREADom
Welcome to a special edition of Bookzilla! Generally this is a Sunday/Wednesday operation, but in honor of Banned Books Week (September 25 – October 2), I’ll be making updates every day this week. Get ready for banned book overload! Why ban books? From most of the researching I’ve been doing, all of the reasons books…
Soft Boiled Eggs, Seals, and Childhood
As I sat next to my boss during Team Lunch several weeks ago, I found myself staring as he meticulously shelled and consumed several soft boiled eggs. And the reason it was so ensnaring to me was because it reminded me of my childhood. No, I didn’t eat soft boiled eggs as a kid; in…