It’s Wednesday, in case, like me, you keep forgetting and asked several people at various times today what day it was. It is also Banned Books Week. This means it is a good day for links!
- For something a little different, The Huffington Post has an article with movie trailers of 15 Iconic Movies Based on Banned Books. To Kill a Mockingbird is in there. Let me just say, great book and great movie. Gregory Peck is at his hunkiest as Atticus Finch.
- Think you know your banned books? Take the quiz at Mental Floss and find out. Answers are at the bottom of the page. We’re on the honor system here, no cheating!
- This has nothing to do with banned books, or who knows, maybe it does. The British Library has digitized 284 volumes of its Greek manuscripts. Technology used for a good purpose.
- But not all digital book technology is good for libraries. There is a good article at Inside Higher Ed, Why There’s No Kindle “Freedom” in Libraries. As readers and library users we should be outraged with Amazon and publishers for using digital as a way to essentially eliminate the fair use portion of copyright law.
Finally, if you are of a certain age you may remember the old Cracker Jack commercials on TV. The actor, Jack Gilford, has done lots of stuff, but have you seen his Read Books promo? Thanks to YouTube, you can:
So go read some books!
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As part of the de-stress plan, I’m leaving the computer out in the main part of the house (away from the bedroom). This is leading me to read more, which is making me happier, and thus is a success.
Yay, for reading! OK, Mockingbird is HAPPENING this winter. Promise. How can I not have read this yet?
That video was so cute! It made me smile when I was feeling sad. Thanks for posting it.
Great article on the problems with ebooks. I think we are stuck with these sorts of issues as long as media companies insist on overcharging for digital media. If it cost $5 to OWN an ebook, they’d sell zillions of them. Charge $15 for a mere license with strings attached, and piracy will explode. If authors want to survive with such knuckleheads for publishers maybe they should set up donation pages on their websites where readers can show their appreciation.
Banned books week? How quickly it comes around. Thank you for the links, Stefanie.I will check them all out!
Thanks for the links. I had forgotten that Clockwork Orange had been banned, there was such a kerfuffle at the time, I was very young. It was on tv last week – how times change!
When I worked in a library one mother wanted me to remove the Raymond Briggs Father Christmas books from the shelves. They were so popular, and nobody else had ever complained. She got short shrift.
Had to swipe the commercial for facebook. And thanks for that Greek manuscripts link!
Daphne, I am always happier when I read more too. Yes, you really must read To Kill a Mockingbird. It is a most wonderful book!
Colleen, I’m so glad the video made you smile. I watched it several times becasue it’s so much fun.
Sylvia, the whole pricing and licensing of digital books is crazy. You think they would have learned a lesson from the music industry. But it’s obvious they weren’t paying attention. Or maybe they think that somehow books are different? It is one reason I have yet to buy a book for my Kindle.
Litlove, time flies, eh? Actually, BBW is usually in October. I don’t know why it got moved to the end of September this year.
Katrina, it always fascinates me why parents want certain books removed from the library. Some of the reasons like ecourages children to be naughty make me laugh. As if kids need books to encourage them to be naughty!
Cameron, glad to know you shared to fun! Enjoy the Greek manuscripts. I can’t read a word but the illuminations are gorgeous.
Great links, all! Thanks for sharing – I learned something from each one of them!
Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch = SWOON.
I remember that odd case where the California school system didn’t like Red Riding Hood carrying the wine to Grandma’s house. Really? That’s your objection to the content of this story? Also hilarious: the librarian who felt Charlie and the Chocolate Factory “espoused a poor philosophy of life.” One wonders about the rest of his/her argument.
I skipped to the answers. Interesting! I had heard that about Where’s Waldo. Weird.
good video. . thanks for sharing!:) I definitely learned from it
Courtney, glad you enjoyed the links!
Emily, I’m glad someone else also finds Peck swoon worthy. Aren’t some of the arguments for banning books outrageous? If it wasn’t such a serious thing I’d be ROFL.
Carrie, I know, it’s crazy. The person must have had too much time on their hands and been purposely combing the pictures with a magnifying glass or something.
healy, glad you enjoyed the video.
I got “good work” on the quiz. Guess I gotta read more banned books
Can you believe I’ve never seen the movie To Kill a Mockingbird? I really should read it.
There’s way too much said about banned books–they might get a complaint now and then, but they aren’t banned. If banning takes place, it’s in the back room at the selection librarian’s budget. Librarians are 223:1 liberal to conservative, so guess what isn’t bought–isn’t even reviewed so they have a good excuse?
I must be the only person in the world who hates the movie of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. I found it just horrible because I compared it to the book and they changed the WRONG things. If I did not love the book so much maybe I could have given Gregory Peck a chance.
I’m definitely going to go read some books, especially since I only got six right on that banned books quiz. Shame on me! Must mean I’m not reading enough. And one more article that scores a point for print books while taking away a point from Amazon (but who’s keeping score?).
Oh Amazon – WHY? The idea of ebooks in libraries is so complicated and I suspect it might end in some sort of library wide project to fund a limited collection of ebooks created by libraries/voluntary organisations in partnership with libraries, cutting out other ebook suppliers – maybe Gutenberg could work something out with them. That means no recent books would be available unless individual authors worked with them, but they’d probably be reluctant to cut out their publishers like that, although some authors offer free ebooks online. I wonder how they work that out with their publishers.
Norma, I agree that the ALA does hype banned books, but I think books are challenged more often than we know. And as someone who is studying to be a librarian and who has participated in discussions about collection development, ways personal bias sneak in, and how to counter it in order to have a fair and balanced collection, I must disagree with your assertion that liberal librarians do most of the censoring.
Rebecca, really? They did change up a lot of stuff in the movie but I think Peck got Atticus exactly right. I am sure you are not alone in disliking the movie. How boring would life be if we all liked the same things?
Emily, I’m tired of the whole print v. ebook debate but I can’t help myself continuing to read the articles and posting about them. It is one of those horrors I can’t look away from. As to banned books, there have been so many challenged over the years you’re sure to have read more than you think you have.
Jodie, I have a love/hate realtionship with Amazon. I love my Kindle but hate the proprietary format. Libraries are struggling to figure out a way to provide patrons with ebooks. Some lend Kindles, others subscribe to OverDrive which allows patrons to “check out” an ebook for two weeks and then the book on thier device automatically expires and become unreadable. Unfortunately, Kindles can’t read ePub format. I am hoping this changes sometime.