Writer's Block: Forbidden Reading
Hello people!
Well, there's one book I didn't really want my parents to know too much about, and that's Wigfield. The front cover alone is bad enough (it shows a sign for a strip-club, lol), but one of the first interviews in the book is a stripper who reads her diary, where she describes sexual activities, including using dildos at a party, LOL.
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Well, there's one book I didn't really want my parents to know too much about, and that's Wigfield. The front cover alone is bad enough (it shows a sign for a strip-club, lol), but one of the first interviews in the book is a stripper who reads her diary, where she describes sexual activities, including using dildos at a party, LOL.
( Read more... )
My 'coming of age' book (the book that I think shaped me becoming a woman) was 'Memoirs of a Geisha' by Arthur Golden (AMAZING book, BTW) I was 11 when I read it. Mom saw me (she had read the book too) and said, 'Well, if you think you're mature enough to handle it, I hope you like it.'
I did like it very much. I've read tons of banned and challenged books (My birthday is during Banned Books Week! How cool is that?)
The only book my parents didn't approve of me reading (or seeing the movie) was 'The Golden Compass'. They're not uber-religious, but they disapproved of the subject matter in the story. I agreed not to see the movie, but now that I'm of the age where they can't really do anything to me, I'm probably going to check it out from the local library and read it in secret.
I mean, c'mon. It's just a book. The words have no power unless you give them power. And they know I've read 'Angels and Demons' and 'The DaVinci Code'. (Went to see the movie too, and the books are in open view on my shelf) So what's the big deal?
Banned books are my favorites, because they show the people who are banning them their own flaws. And I HATE HATE HATE people who ban them without bothering to read them first. These people need to be strapped down with their eyes pried open a la 'A Clockwork Orange' and forced to read the actual book.
My schools were always good about letting us read the banned books, even encouraging us to read them. In grade school, we read 'Animal Farm' and 'The Catcher in the Rye.'
In High School, we read '1984', 'To Kill a Mockingbird', 'The Cruicible', and 'A Handmaid's Tale'. (The last one is another amazing book, and I reccomend it to anyone who cares about women's rights.)
'Harry Potter' is another one of the banned books I've loved. And I always secretly love it when pepole come up to me when I'm reading one in public and say I'm going to Hell. I use my knowledge of the books and of religion to shoot them down flat. That's always fun.
And Judy Blume? I think she is one of the most amazing authors in history. When my sister started to go through puberty, I gave her 'Are you there God, It's me Margaret', and now it's her favorite book. It makes me sad that they're challenging and banning her books. The teenage years are hard enough. Don't you think it'll be easier to read about people who are going what they're going through?
V.C. Andrews...I haven't read 'Flowers in the Attic' yet, but it's on my reading list. I have a certain rule about myself, 'If it's taboo, I love it.'
On another note, I hate when religious zealots get all pissy when people try to get religious texts out of schools. The religious zealots are the people who are trying to ban the texts that SHOULD be taught in schools! You can't have it both ways! Do you want this to turn into Nazi Germany? Get with the program, people!
When people talk about banning books, I have a name for them: 'Communists.' Which is essentially what they are. Knowledge is the key to democracy. Just because George W. Bush doesn't even read a newspaper or his daily reports doesn't mean that America can't be intelligent. All our great founding fathers were amazing readers, and the Library of Congress is proof of that.
(Fun fact: My family name is in the Library of Congress because my Dad got his patent approved for a new DELL Computers shipping box. So if I look up my name, it'll be there. How cool is that?)
When, not if, I write a book (I will finish a book if it kills me), and when it's published, I want people to read it, and I want it to make people think. It's a book of short stories, and I'm going to make it adress major topics, including banned books. If I get banned for talking about banned books, that's irony to the extreme. Hopefully that will change someday.
So, I implore you all: Read something that makes you think. Your life will change for the better. If you want reccomendations, ask me, or go to the American Library Association website.
Thank you. *bows*
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I don't think I have a coming-of-age book. *shrugs* LOL, that is pretty cool. XD
Wow, really? That's kinda suckish. I think it's a cool idea (I've never read the books OR seen the movie, but I read what the books are about via an interview with the author in TIME mag). Though I can see why they wouldn't want you to read it, I guess.
LOL, that's pretty cool! I've got utterly strict assholes who ban books here, so if you try to read them, there's a freaking controversy that winds up on the mother-effing news.
OMF, Harry Potter is banned there?! That's ridiculous! God, I HATE stupid people that ban books. THEY'RE JUST FUCKING BOOKS. *headdesk*
Totally agree. Religious zealots=fucking fail. *shakes head* Totally completely agree. OMG that's so cool! :DDD
Yeah, that'd be awesome. I am for sure reading your book, lol.
HAHA, you sound like a commercial. ;] <333
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