The HS Library Celebrates the Freedom to Read in September with Banned Book Week

This is the news story I sent out to my faculty last week for Banned Book Week (25 September – 2 October 2010), and I thought I would share it here with my Uncommon Readers:

Question: What do these books have in common?

Answer: All of them are Banned Books!

Never fear, we are not banning these or any other books in our Library.  What we are doing is celebrating everyone’s right to read!

Every September, Banned Book Week gives us the opportunity to showcase challenged books, from the classic examples like The Catcher in the Rye (reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (reason: racism) to modern YA fiction like Twilight (reasons: religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group) and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (reasons: anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group).  It’s an annual moment to stop and reflect on the power of the written word and to raise awareness about censorship issues in libraries and schools across the United States and around the world (“Top Ten”).

What do we mean by a challenged book?  The American Library Association defines a book challenge as a, “formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness” (“Frequently Challenged Books”). Each year the ALA publishes the top ten challenged titles in order to “inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools” while openly condemning censorship and working tirelessly “to ensure free access to information” (“Frequently Challenged Books”).

For more information about the number and types of challenges from 2001 – 2009, check out the ALA’s site at:

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/index.cfm

The HS Library will have our Banned Books displays up until October Break, so please stop by and check them out!  Read this week and every week knowing that your right to read is encouraged, supported and defended by your ASH libraries.

Booktalk: The Possibilities of Sainthood

Here’s the new “Featured Fiction” booktalk I wrote for my HS Library site:

The Possibilities of Sainthood

by Donna Freitas

“But, death aside, I firmly believed that is word got out among people my age about the possibilities of sainthood, there would be a rush of girls clamoring to cut in line. In front of me. Fox would probably have to host a reality show to accommodate everybody. Hundreds of thousands would turn out to audition.

I preferred to be in a line of one for sainthood, however (38).”

Antonia Lucia Labella wants to be a saint. Born on February 14, St. Valentine’s Day, Antonia feels a direct connection to the gifts, miracles and demands of sainthood. She keeps Saint Diaries each year, seven so far, with all of her prayers for heavenly assistance tailored to each saint’s speciality. Whether it’s praying to St. Denis the Patron Saint Against Strife and Headaches when she argues with her mom before school or even writing to the Vatican asking them to create a new Patron Saint of Figs and Fig Trees to protect her Italian American family’s, well, fig trees, Antonia studies and invokes her celestial helpers at every turn.

Dreaming of being the first and only living saint keeps Antonia busy. She is adamant about the staying alive clause. She doesn’t plan to be another St. Antonia who died at sixteen protecting her virginity. She has plans for love, including a major crush on the cute-but-brooding Andy Rotellini. If only Andy would notice her, maybe she would have a shot at becoming the Patron Saint of the Kiss!

Genres: Chick Lit, Humorous Stories

There’s also a fun video book trailer by signingupagain that I’ve added to my worldlibrarian channel on YouTube: