Book a Week in 2014 - BW39

[shukriyya]

Buckwheat is actually one of the kinds I have sitting on the sideboard awaiting Wednesday night -- I got it at a farmers' market from this local beekeeper, who evidently sells on line as well (scroll down to near the bottom).  It is SO dark and thick-looking -- it really is amazing how different they all look.  We also have two types of clover, three types of wildflower, one apple blossom, one mesquite, several varieties of "raw," and jars from Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Israel and Scotland. I can't wait to see how different they taste!

 

Going out on a limb here and averring that Buckwheat is the best honey to be had in the known world. Have you tried it before? If not prepare for your mel mellisan world to be rocked.

 

ETA, if you can't get it locally, BaWers, this company makes a great Buckwheat honey (with proper treatment of the bees) which can be purchased here through Vitacost.

[mommymilkies]

I read a lovely detective mystery this week, one of the Chief Inspector Gamache novels by Louise Penny, titled A Brutal Telling.  It is book number 52 for the year!!  Shukriyya, I'm not sure if you are a fan of the detective novel, but this one made me think of you for all the verse sprinkled through the book.  The town in which these novels are set has a resident poet, a cantankerous old woman who was slipping little slips of paper with verse to one of the uptight police investigators.  One little snippet was 

 

"and pick your soul up gently by the nape of the neck

and caress you into darkness and paradise."

 

The young investigator was annoyed by these little slips of paper, convinced that the woman hates him and was just trying to annoy him with meaningless couplets, but at the end of the novel, with the case wrapped up, he sits in his study at home and arranges the snippets into a complete poem.

 

The author didn't write the verse, but in the acknowledgement section gives credit to Margaret Atwood and others who gave permission for the poetry to be woven into this and other novels.  Louise Penny says that she tells aspiring writers "to read poetry, which I think for them is often the literary equivalent of being told to eat Brussles sprouts.  ... But what a shame if a writer doesn't at least try to find poems that speak to him or her.  Poets manage to get into a couplet what I struggle to achieve in an entire book."

 

 

This is definitely going on my list.  Thanks for the review!  It sounds great!

 

No progress here.  I was so tired that my book kept falling on my face as I'd fall asleep reading last night.  :lol:

 

Looks like I need local honey! My allergies have been just awful here for years.

[Pam in CT]

re The Best Honey in the Known World:

Going out on a limb here and averring that Buckwheat is the best honey to be had in the known world. Have you tried it before? If not prepare for your mel mellisan world to be rocked.
 

ETA, if you can't get it locally, BaWers, this company makes a great Buckwheat honey (with proper treatment of the bees) which can be purchased here through Vitacost.

 

Never had buckwheat yet!  Full report forthcoming, as always...  :laugh:

[mommymilkies]

Buckwheat honey was used in studies on cough suppression, too, I believe. They found it just as effective as cough medicines.  I think.  Can you tell I'm still drinking my coffee?  :lol:   Anywho, it is an acquired taste here.  My kind of raw buckwheat honey is much darker and richer like molasses. My kids won't eat it.  I do have some raw chestnut honey from France.  So yummy. But I can't find any actually local honey.  

[Guest]

And I thought I was doing good because I bought raw, local honey. And now I find out there's different kinds?!? :svengo:

 

I made the kids peanut butter and honey sandwiches the other day and I put too much honey on them. My kids asked me if I "homemade" that honey on their sandwiches because they didn't think it tasted very good. :o

[shukriyya]

re The Best Honey in the Known World:

 

Never had buckwheat yet!  Full report forthcoming, as always...  :laugh:

 

I shall anticipate your Buckwheat initiation with much excitement...serious!

 

As for moi, it's a day of :driving: and and

 

[-M-]

Violet Crown, I have been sending you and your husband good thoughts since I first saw your post.

 

Since I last participated in a BaW thread, I've completed:

 

â–  Adult Literacy Handbook for Students and Tutors (Anita H. Pomerance; 1999. 141 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens (Benedict Carey; 2014. 272 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  Fangirl (Rainbow Rowell; 2013. 448 pages. Fiction.)
■ Don’t Try to Find Me (Holly Brown; 2014. 368 pages. Fiction.)

 

This puts me at 74 for the year to date, which is about four off my ideal "Year of Reading Slowly" (i.e., two a week). My Lear reread was delayed, although we did see Larry Yando's wonderful performance last weekend. (Reviews of the CST's Lear here and here.)

[Ali in OR]

We have many local honey makers, and several are usually at our farmer's market. My favorite guy always initials on the lid where the honey comes from--what the bees were feasting on to make it. He takes his hives down to CA in Feb or Mar to pollinate the almond orchards there. I like the lighter honeys--buckwheat is probably not for me. My favorite is Meadow Flower. Wildflower or clover are good too.

[TeacherZee]

 

I read the first Jim Butcher several months ago and liked it. I think you just motivated me to go back and read the rest. Love the idea of each book dealing with a different type of paranormal.

I dvr'd Downton Abbey. I still need to watch season three which is also on the dvr. The new season sounds much better so maybe I will manage to watch again. Let me know what you think when you get to the current.

 

So far the first episode was fair. I think it was setting up things that will be happening later.

[shukriyya]

The honey tasting venture has put me in mind of a similar exploration I organized several years ago involving butter and water, two items I figured we didn't spend much time focused on with regards details despite their ubiqiquitous presence in our day to day experience.

 

Butter involved raw, cultured, pastured, salted and unsalted, local and central. Water involved a couple of centralized companies, a couple of local sources, tap water, and two French brands. It was lots of fun and yours truly was able to identify each water source with 100% accuracy, a feat that astonished dh who thought my pickiness over water was rather an endearing yet misguided indulgence. Little did he realize the refined palate he was dealing with :lol:

[Pam in CT]

The honey tasting venture has put me in mind of a similar exploration I organized several years ago involving butter and water, two items I figured we didn't spend much time focused on with regards details despite their ubiqiquitous presence in our day to day experience.

 

Butter involved raw, cultured, pastured, salted and unsalted, local and central. Water involved a couple of centralized companies, a couple of local sources, tap water, and two French brands. It was lots of fun and yours truly was able to identify each water source with 100% accuracy, a feat that astonished dh who thought my pickiness over water was rather an endearing yet misguided indulgence. Little did he realize the refined palate he was dealing with :lol:

 

We've done family taste tests on milk, greek yogurt, olives, root beer, and parmesan cheese.  There's always ONE crazy-picky -- oh, I mean, unusually refined -- palate in every crowd.  At least for us, the picky one varies...

[shukriyya]

We've done family taste tests on milk, greek yogurt, olives, root beer, and parmesan cheese. There's always ONE crazy-picky -- oh, I mean, unusually refined -- palate in every crowd. At least for us, the picky one varies...

;)

[shukriyya]

Shukriyya, I'm not sure there's specifically a story around my rally cry in support of freedom of speech/freedom to read. Maybe it's because one of the things my mom always stressed was the importance of reading & often said that if you can read, you can do anything. Maybe it's my journalism & writing background. Maybe it has been hearing my in-laws (who lived in Europe during WWII) talk about some of Hitler's early moves in restricting, controlling, & manipulating the press. I'm staunchly for an open press & anti-censorship. Banned books week is just a tiny part of the larger world issue, but perhaps it is one that feels relevant to the everyday American & is an accessible platform to remind us to be vigilant about attempts to restrict our freedom of speech (including our access to materials), freedoms that (sadly) can be rather easily eroded by an apathetic or uninformed populace.

Thanks, Stacia, for taking the time to share your thoughts so eloquently and with such great heart.

[shukriyya]

I read a lovely detective mystery this week, one of the Chief Inspector Gamache novels by Louise Penny, titled A Brutal Telling. It is book number 52 for the year!! Shukriyya, I'm not sure if you are a fan of the detective novel, but this one made me think of you for all the verse sprinkled through the book. The town in which these novels are set has a resident poet, a cantankerous old woman who was slipping little slips of paper with verse to one of the uptight police investigators. One little snippet was

 

"and pick your soul up gently by the nape of the neck

and caress you into darkness and paradise."

 

The young investigator was annoyed by these little slips of paper, convinced that the woman hates him and was just trying to annoy him with meaningless couplets, but at the end of the novel, with the case wrapped up, he sits in his study at home and arranges the snippets into a complete poem.

 

The author didn't write the verse, but in the acknowledgement section gives credit to Margaret Atwood and others who gave permission for the poetry to be woven into this and other novels. Louise Penny says that she tells aspiring writers "to read poetry, which I think for them is often the literary equivalent of being told to eat Brussles sprouts. ... But what a shame if a writer doesn't at least try to find poems that speak to him or her. Poets manage to get into a couplet what I struggle to achieve in an entire book."

 

 

Forgive my multi-posts. I'm on my phone far from home and can't multi-quote. Jenn, funny I was just perusing the Inspector Gamache series last week having ended up there through the usual circuitous computer surfing equivalent of monkey mind. I'm intrigued by the one you mention though my mysteries need to be of the cozy variety at this point in the life of my porous heart. I can't recall if these fit the bill though I do recall being interested in them.

[JennW in SoCal]

Forgive my multi-posts. I'm on my phone far from home and can't multi-quote. Jenn, funny I was just perusing the Inspector Gamache series last week having ended up there through the usual circuitous computer surfing equivalent of monkey mind. I'm intrigued by the one you mention though my mysteries need to be of the cozy variety at this point in the life of my porous heart. I can't recall if these fit the bill though I do recall being interested in them.

 

I don't know if these fall under the definition of cozy mystery. It does take place in a cozy, small town, and you'll be craving croissants and brie while you read, but it is a male, professional detective.  The 3 that I've read are NOT gruesome, icky, can't-wash-the image-out-of -my-brain kinds of murder mystery.  Check out Louise Penny's website -- at the bottom of the page she says that her books are ultimately about goodness, that she firmly believes goodness exists.

 

I love the character of the Chief Inspector and the way art infuses the books.  The small town is populated by painters and the poet and other artsy types.  And I would say the author succeeds in writing an uplifting story, in spite of the crime.

 

And there is a reference to a monkey, if not a monkey-mind, in The Brutal Telling :laugh:.  Didn't you live in Canada for a spell??  All the Canada references wouldn't sail over your head the way they probably do mine.

[mumto2]

I don't know if these fall under the definition of cozy mystery. It does take place in a cozy, small town, and you'll be craving croissants and brie while you read, but it is a male, professional detective. The 3 that I've read are NOT gruesome, icky, can't-wash-the image-out-of -my-brain kinds of murder mystery. Check out Louise Penny's website -- at the bottom of the page she says that her books are ultimately about goodness, that she firmly believes goodness exists.

 

I love the character of the Chief Inspector and the way art infuses the books. The small town is populated by painters and the poet and other artsy types. And I would say the author succeeds in writing an uplifting story, in spite of the crime.

 

And there is a reference to a monkey, if not a monkey-mind, in The Brutal Telling :laugh:. Didn't you live in Canada for a spell?? All the Canada references wouldn't sail over your head the way they probably do mine.

Shukriyya, I read a few Louise Penny mysteries at the beginning of the year and agree with Jenn in terms of not standard cozy but not violent crime thriller either. Someplace in between with most elements leaning towards cozy just a bit more layers to make it interesting. The Canadian setting seems to be really well done. I think you might like them.

 

Every since I read Jenn's review I feel like I need to finish that series too.

[shukriyya]

I don't know if these fall under the definition of cozy mystery. It does take place in a cozy, small town, and you'll be craving croissants and brie while you read, but it is a male, professional detective.  The 3 that I've read are NOT gruesome, icky, can't-wash-the image-out-of -my-brain kinds of murder mystery.  Check out Louise Penny's website -- at the bottom of the page she says that her books are ultimately about goodness, that she firmly believes goodness exists.

 

I love the character of the Chief Inspector and the way art infuses the books.  The small town is populated by painters and the poet and other artsy types.  And I would say the author succeeds in writing an uplifting story, in spite of the crime.

 

And there is a reference to a monkey, if not a monkey-mind, in The Brutal Telling :laugh:.  Didn't you live in Canada for a spell??  All the Canada references wouldn't sail over your head the way they probably do mine.

 

 

Shukriyya, I read a few Louise Penny mysteries at the beginning of the year and agree with Jenn in terms of not standard cozy but not violent crime thriller either. Someplace in between with most elements leaning towards cozy just a bit more layers to make it interesting. The Canadian setting seems to be really well done. I think you might like them.

 

Every since I read Jenn's review I feel like I need to finish that series too.

 

Okay, ladies, the first book in the series, Still Life, was on hold at the library but the kindle version is only $2.99. I liked the sample well enough that I went ahead and bought it. Though I'm not generally a mystery reader, apart from Mary Stewart's work, I liked the writing and the descriptions of Quebec, right across the river from where I grew up, were fun. Jane, was it not you who mentioned Inspector Gamache months ago?

[mommymilkies]

We've done family taste tests on milk, greek yogurt, olives, root beer, and parmesan cheese.  There's always ONE crazy-picky -- oh, I mean, unusually refined -- palate in every crowd.  At least for us, the picky one varies...

That would be me with salt, butter, and chocolate.  My poor kids can also tell.  We have 4 or so varieties of salt at any given time and my kids all have their favorites they can pick out. 

[LostSurprise]

I read one of those at the beginning of the year but someone else was reading them too. Mumto2 probably.

 

Finished:

 

The Castle of Otranto~early gothic but otherwise cliche romance/ghost story.

Compact Houses~like Nanohouses but not as unusual. Lots of Japanese and Austrian.

July's People~ South African speculative fiction using an uprising to explore employer/employee relationships.

The Other Side of the Dale~school inspector in Yorkshire. Kids say the grandest things-ish.

[mumto2]

I just finished a really fluffy romance by Megan Mulry titled A Royal Pain. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14296788-a-royal-pain Definately chick lit and could probably picked apart on several levels -- some on goodreads really did not like it. ;) I needed a bit distraction and this book came through perfectly. An American woman meets an incognito British Duke and they fall in love..... the American woman, Bronte, needed to stop saying the f word in every other sentence but otherwise enjoyable. I am on the wait list for the other two in the series.

 

VC :grouphug: and continued prayers

[Pam in CT]

OK, I know how happy it makes Robin when we bring these rabbit trails back around to books, so...

 

 

That would be me with salt, butter, and chocolate.  My poor kids can also tell.  We have 4 or so varieties of salt at any given time and my kids all have their favorites they can pick out. 

 

Have you read: Mark Kurlansky's Salt: A World History?  Awesome.

[Guest]

Finished God Is Just Not Fair: Finding Hope When Life Doesn't Make Sense by Jennifer Rothschild. Unabashedly Christian book, very uplifting when questioning your faith and other elements of God.

 

Moving on - I decided against reading The Rathbones. From the reviews, it seems that incest is a heavy plot element, and I'm just not up to going there right now. Otherwise, it seemed like an extremely bizarre, intriguing book.

 

I have a busy day today with dentist appointments and haircuts. (For me, too, yay!!!!) Hope you all have a great day!

[mommymilkies]

OK, I know how happy it makes Robin when we bring these rabbit trails back around to books, so...

 

 

 

Have you read: Mark Kurlansky's Salt: A World History?  Awesome.

Well, I will now!!

[Onceuponatime]

I was beginning to get bogged down in the density of Breaking the Spell, so I've started The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I'll get back to the other later.

[shukriyya]

Finished knitting dh's hat. Picked up a jar of the buckwheat honey I linked yesterday and continued plodding through 'Claire of the Sea Light'. At this point I'd like to abandon it but at 70% in that seems a bit silly. I'm just not feeling any of the characters, can't find my way in to an intimate connection with any of them. What to do? There are so many other books I want to read.

[Onceuponatime]

Finished knitting dh's hat. Picked up a jar of the buckwheat honey I linked yesterday and continued plodding through 'Claire of the Sea Light'. At this point I'd like to abandon it but at 70% in that seems a bit silly. I'm just not feeling any of the characters, can't find my way in to an intimate connection with any of them. What to do? There are so many other books I want to read.

In a case like this I might quickly jump my way through the rest of the text just to get the gist of the of the story, then call it done.

[Stacia]

Finished knitting dh's hat. Picked up a jar of the buckwheat honey I linked yesterday and continued plodding through 'Claire of the Sea Light'. At this point I'd like to abandon it but at 70% in that seems a bit silly. I'm just not feeling any of the characters, can't find my way in to an intimate connection with any of them. What to do? There are so many other books I want to read.

 

Even stopping at 70% will give you the 30% to expend on a book you do want to read. Just sayin'.... ;)

[JennW in SoCal]

Here's a mystery series that sounds intriguing and right up Jane's alley as they are set in Paris in the 1930s.  Penguin Classics has commissioned new translations of the Detective Inspector Jules Maigret novels, by Georges Simenon which will be published this year.  Here is a salute to the author from The Spectator

[shukriyya]

Here's a mystery series that sounds intriguing and right up Jane's alley as they are set in Paris in the 1930s. Penguin Classics has commissioned new translations of the Detective Inspector Jules Maigret novels, by Georges Simenon which will be published this year. Here is a salute to the author from The Spectator

Grew up with this author. IIRC we read him in French in high school.

[Jane in NC]

Here's a mystery series that sounds intriguing and right up Jane's alley as they are set in Paris in the 1930s. Penguin Classics has commissioned new translations of the Detective Inspector Jules Maigret novels, by Georges Simenon which will be published this year. Here is a salute to the author from The Spectator

New translations of Maigret? Now that does get my attention! Let me first put some Edith Piaf on for atmosphere...

[Angel]

 I made the Serious Rookie Error of mentioning Mists of Avalon, which she now insists we read together, despite my very rapid backpedalling that it's about a million pages long and (I can't actually remember if this is true, I read it so long ago and it's been eclipsed by the Mists of Time, but...) doubtless inappropriate for an 11 year old.  So we're still negotiating...

 

 

Pam, no one else has piped up on this, but I just wanted to say that I remember The Mists of Avalon to be highly inappropriate for an 11yo.  The scene(s) between Arthur and Morgan le Fay (brother/sister) sticks in my mind quite clearly.  I haven't revisited this book in years because of the explicitness which is really such a shame because it was a wonderfully interesting book from a different perspective. 

 

 

:lol: Well, I don't know what the "official" definition of "banned" is (the idea of any such officiousness is perhaps contrary to the spirit of the thing?) but, as far as I am concerned in my little non-representative corner of the world, being selective about one's own children's reading material is not the same thing...

 

and of course, there are many books of real literary merit that merit being on reading lists for older kids which are *not* suitable for younger kids, and the line varies from family to family and even kid to kid within a family, so any list necessarily oversimplifies... Slaughterhouse-Five and Kite Runner are worth reading imo, but my eyes widen a bit when I see those two on the same banned list as Captain Underpants.. Context matters.  

 

For me, the value of the lists is that they generate questions and debate amongst readers.  And in many cases give us suggestions!

 

 

I have never read Captain Underpants nor have my children.  I'm going to have to look up what makes it worthy of banning  :laugh:

 

I do think that the list does generate questions (I, personally, had debate of any kind, I get too emotionally involved in my topic and can't think clearly or speak articulately).  In fact, that first year during the 8/8/8 challenge is when I questioned what I had been told about Harry Potter.  And I am ever so glad I did!  

 

 

Angel, I was having some similar thoughts to yours as I was reading through the links about banned books.  Sometimes the books were not banned but just challenged, just questioned.  I absolutely don't want books taken off library shelves, even school library shelves.  But can't a parent question a book assigned in the classroom?  I'm so thankful that as a homeschooling mom I was able to carefully choose titles appropriate for my kids.  There were titles I didn't want my kids reading when they were teens,  some of which I would never assign knowing the particular sensitivities of my kids and others that I couldn't in good conscience hand to my teen but didn't mind if they stumbled across the titles on their own.  Parents of kids in classrooms don't have that luxury.

 

It is so tough being a conscientious parent these days.  On the one hand parents are admonished to monitor and be knowledgable of all the media our kids consume, but if a family publicly balks at a title assigned in a classroom, well they are immediately found guilty of intolerance and accused of book burning.  To me book banning is the government deciding that a book cannot be published, sold or made available to the public, but, it seems to me the cry of "censorship" comes a bit too quickly.   

 

Handmaid's Tale, by the way, was a life-changing book for me, especially as I read it while pregnant and making the decision to quit work and be a full time mom. It was a manifesto for me. Don't know what I'd think of it now that I'm older and have read more than my fair share of dystopian novels! 

 

I'm glad that I wasn't alone in wondering.  Your bolded statement is what I would have thought.  Hitler coming to mind.  

 

And it is funny about the love for The Handmaid's Tale.  Every time that book is brought up I'm left  :confused1:   and then I think that I must be missing something somewhere about this book.  But then I think that I'm ok missing the point  :lol:

 

Angel, page 3 and page 9 of this document define book banning (or attempts to get books banned) & why that is not a good idea in a society that values free speech.... Excerpts from it (2013-2014 Books Challenged or Banned by Robert P. Doyle):

and

Also (sourced from wikipedia's article on Freedom of Speech):

Shukriyya, I'm not sure there's specifically a story around my rally cry in support of freedom of speech/freedom to read. Maybe it's because one of the things my mom always stressed was the importance of reading & often said that if you can read, you can do anything. Maybe it's my journalism & writing background. Maybe it has been hearing my in-laws (who lived in Europe during WWII) talk about some of Hitler's early moves in restricting, controlling, & manipulating the press. I'm staunchly for an open press & anti-censorship. Banned books week is just a tiny part of the larger world issue, but perhaps it is one that feels relevant to the everyday American & is an accessible platform to remind us to be vigilant about attempts to restrict our freedom of speech (including our access to materials), freedoms that (sadly) can be rather easily eroded by an apathetic or uninformed populace.

 

Thank you for the quotes you posted, Stacia.  I'm going to need to ponder over these for a little while and maybe even discuss over them with my dh.  I am a huge supporter of our rights!  Especially our 1st AND 2nd Amendment Rights.  To be honest, I'm getting a little tripped up over the "school library" part. So I'm going to ponder this a bit and think about it and see where I really am and where I really stand.  Ugh, I hate figuring this stuff out.  I like being an ostrich!  I'm blaming you, Stacia, for stretching my mind today!  :laugh:  

 

I've also started re-reading The Harry Potter series (banned book) as it feels comfortable and cozy as the start of fall was heralded by a real fall storm with heavy rain and wind causing windows to rattle.

 

 

 

:lol:  My dd who is a nanny got permission to read the first Harry Potter book to her little girls (8 and 7).  She thought it was the perfect Fall/Halloween book and thought that they would start it in September and finish it near Halloween (they only have a small amount of time to read together before they go to school in the mornings so reading aloud usually takes awhile).  The girls are loving it and are getting ready early each morning just to be able to read more.  Skye was lamenting the fact that they would be done WAY before Halloween at this rate.   :laugh:   

[Angel]

I finished Book #41 Sunday night, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.  Aly picked this for our co-op book club (three girls ages 9, 13, & 14 and the moms).  It has been one of her favorite books for over a year now, and she has been wanting me to read it.  I was skeptical at first.  I don't mind reading her "fluff."  I'm not opposed to "fluff" myself  ;)   However, to my surprise and the surprise of the other moms, it was a well written book, heavy with vocabulary and full of riddles and puzzles.  Everyone enjoyed it, including me.  The author offered us no real foreshadowing so as the characters in the story found out/solved/discovered things, we as the reader did as well.  The characters all had growth in the story, which I like to see as a good example!  It made for an exciting read and left you trying to puzzle out the answers for yourselves.  I would call it engaging!  While I, as an adult, would probably give it a 4 star rating.  If I was 14, like Aly, it would definitely be a 5 star  :D   I highly recommend it for the kids!  As a side note, Aly's favorite character was Kate, who carries a red bucket with various "tool" inside.  She had her own red bucket full of various things to take to co-op yesterday.  Wore it all day  :lol:   Even funnier, her friend also brought a bucket full of various things!  I love it when they get passionate about what they read.  The buckets were very handy when we took our group nature walk later in the day.  The 2 and 4 year old boys kept throwing their treasures into the girls' buckets to take home to keep. 

[TeacherZee]

I think I've come up with a fun activity for banned book week that will work for both my seniors and my firsties (teacher bonus points for reusable activities). They are going to "become" a banned book each. They will get to draw the books from a list I've made. Then find out what the book is about (reading several reviews/synopsis thus hitting the research and incorporating material in your own work goals) and why it was banned/challenged (hitting the cultural aspects of English speaking countries goal). The seniors will then tell the whole group about their book, I'll divide the firsties into smaller groups as they are still uncomfortable speaking to larger groups. I might have the firsties tac their summaries to the wall in their classroom.

 

What say you ladies sound like a good banned book idea?

[LostSurprise]

The Mysterious Benedict Society is one of the few books the boys have asked me to read out loud again. (Much to my bewilderment.) I do love Kate though. It must be pretty obvious because my boys are all...'would you want to be Kate, Mom? do you like her the best??' Of course! She's awesome! Who wouldn't want to be Kate? And what a great ending for her. Perfect. 

 

I don't know what it is about that book. It didn't read silently as well as it did to the boys. Maybe it's the kind of book that needs discussion, accents, sound effects, and what-if plans. 

[Stacia]

Ah, I had spotted the new (reissue of the) Georges Simenon novel, Pietr the Latvian in my sister's library. I actually picked it up & started reading it, but wasn't in the mood. Need to see if my local libraries have it & try again, I think.

 

Also, I was popping in here to say that the non-fiction book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford is on sale for $1.99 today for both Kindle & Nook. (I think it is also available for that price through Apple.) I read it a few years ago & really loved it -- one of the better, more-interesting, & well-written non-fiction books I have read. Highly recommended if you are interested in history.

 

Angel, :lol:  about the mind stretching. My next goal will be brain yoga & getting you to read Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five. ;)

 

My ds loved The Mysterious Benedict Society (as did my niece). I read the first one years ago when they were reading it & enjoyed it too. I know both ds & my niece enjoyed the whole series.

[LostSurprise]

I have never read Captain Underpants nor have my children.  I'm going to have to look up what makes it worthy of banning  :laugh:

 

 

Whoever tried to ban Captain Underpants does not have a family with all boys. Captain Underpants is the natural extension of a fart joke between 8 year old boys. Of course we own the set.  :rolleyes: Hundreds of hours have been spent over those things by the 4 of them...but just when they're the right age for them. 

[Stacia]

What say you ladies sound like a good banned book idea?

 

Definitely!

[Angel]

Whoever tried to ban Captain Underpants does not have a family with all boys. Captain Underpants is the natural extension of a fart joke between 8 year old boys. Of course we own the set.  :rolleyes: Hundreds of hours have been spent over those things by the 4 of them...but just when they're the right age for them. 

 

:lol:  :lol: Don't have boys but have a dh and two "nephews."   

 

Of course we say fart, butt, crap, etc.... Maybe we should be banned  :lol:  :lol:

[Angel]

 

Angel, :lol:  about the mind stretching. My next goal will be brain yoga & getting you to read Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five. ;)

 

My ds loved The Mysterious Benedict Society (as did my niece). I read the first one years ago when they were reading it & enjoyed it too. I know both ds & my niece enjoyed the whole series.

 

Just read an excerpt.  Why is it on the list?  I really, really dislike WWII historical novels.  It's obviously not Flufferton Abbey  :laugh:  Is their a lot about WWII?  How about the aliens?  Aliens are good!  I sound like Fred Savage at the beginning of The Princess Bride movie  :lol:

[Stacia]

Angel, re: the banned books/free speech issues, we've been having a parallel discussion in a separate thread I posted about Banned Books Week: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/529069-it-is-officially-http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/529069-it-is-officially-banned-books-week/

 

And because I'm a totally pretentious twat :tongue_smilie: , I will quote myself here from something I said on that thread:

Fwiw, many fairy tales, fables, myths, & religious texts include violence & sex, yet have been considered staples of children's (as well as teens' & adults') literature through the ages. When & where one then chooses to draw the line/challenge/ban can indeed become a very slippery slope. What is right for you might not be right for others & vice versa. The beauty of our freedom is our choice; once we start limiting access to these materials, we prevent others from having a choice, as well as eroding our own freedom to choose.

 

Just a little more food for thought, my ostrich friend. :grouphug:

[Stacia]

Just read an excerpt.  Why is it on the list?  I really, really dislike WWII historical novels.  It's obviously not Flufferton Abbey  :laugh:  Is their a lot about WWII?  How about the aliens?  Aliens are good!  I sound like Fred Savage at the beginning of The Princess Bride movie  :lol:

 

Well, officially, according to this document, here are some of the bans/challenges against Slaughterhouse-Five...

 

Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

• Challenged in many communities, but burned in Drake, ND (1973).
• Banned in Rochester, MI because the novel "contains and makes references to religious matters" and thus fell within the ban of the establishment clause. An appellate court upheld its usage in the school in Todd v Rochester Community Schools, 41 Mich. App. 320, 200 N. W 2d 90 (1972).
• Banned in Levittown, NY (1975), North Jackson, OH (1979), and Lakeland, FL (1982) because of the "book's explicit sexual scenes, violence, and obscene language."
• Barred from purchase at the Washington Park High School in Racine, WI (1984) by the district administrative assistant for instructional services.
• Challenged at the Owensboro, KY High School library (1985) because of "foul language, a section depicting a picture of an act of bestiality, a reference to 'Magic Fingers' attached to the protagonist's bed to help him sleep, and the sentence: 'The gun made a ripping sound like the opening of the fly of God Almighty."' 
• Restricted to students who have parental permission at the four Racine, WI Unified District high school libraries (1986) because of "language used in the book, depictions of torture, ethnic slurs, and negative portrayals of women."
• Challenged at the LaRue County, KY High School library (1987) because "the book contains foul language and promotes deviant sexual behavior.â€
• Banned from the Fitzgerald, GA schools (1987) because it was filled with profanity and full of explicit sexual references:' Challenged in the Baton Rouge, LA public high school libraries (1988) because the book is "vulgar and offensive:'
• Challenged in the Monroe, MI public schools (1989) as required reading in a modem novel course for high school juniors and seniors because of the book's language and the way women are portrayed. 
• Retained on the Round Rock, TX Independent High School reading list (1996) after a challenge that the book was too violent.
• Challenged as an eleventh grade summer reading option in Prince William County, VA (1998) because the book "was rife with profanity and explicit sex:"
•  Removed as required reading for sophomores at the Coventry, RI High School (2000) after a parent complained that it contains vulgar language, violent imagery, and sexual content.
•  Retained on the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 reading list in Arlington Heights, IL (2006), along with eight other challenged titles.  A board member, elected amid promises to bring her Christian beliefs into all board decision-making, raised the controversy based on excerpts from  the books she'd found on the internet.  
• Challenged in the Howell, MI High School (2007) because of the book's strong sexual content.  In response to a request from the president of the Livingston Organization for Values in Education, or LOVE, the county's top law enforcement official reviewed the books to see whether laws against distribution of sexually explicit materials to minors had been broken. "After reading the books in question, it is clear that the explicit passages illustrated a larger literary, artistic or political message and were not included solely to appeal to the prurient interests of minors," the county prosecutor wrote.  "Whether these materials are appropriate for minors is a decision to be made by the school board, but I find that they are not in violation of criminal laws."

 

Um, definitely not Flufferton Abbey material. There is some about WWII. There are some aliens. It may well be the most unique (anti-)war book written, imo. I've always said that Vonnegut's writing is deceptively simple, so easy to read, stories broken into short sections. But, his simplicity has such a punch, just goes right to the core of issues. It's hard to describe this book, esp. if you're not familiar with Vonnegut's writing style. Let me ponder a bit on how to answer....

[Angel]

Angel, re: the banned books/free speech issues, we've been having a parallel discussion in a separate thread I posted about Banned Books Week: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/529069-it-is-officially-http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/529069-it-is-officially-banned-books-week/

 

And because I'm a totally pretentious twat :tongue_smilie: , I will quote myself here from something I said on that thread:

Fwiw, many fairy tales, fables, myths, & religious texts include violence & sex, yet have been considered staples of children's (as well as teens' & adults') literature through the ages. When & where one then chooses to draw the line/challenge/ban can indeed become a very slippery slope. What is right for you might not be right for others & vice versa. The beauty of our freedom is our choice; once we start limiting access to these materials, we prevent others from having a choice, as well as eroding our own freedom to choose.

 

Just a little more food for thought, my ostrich friend. :grouphug:

 

I guess I haven't read many of the fairy tales, fables, myths, etc. that include explicit s*x.  

 

The beauty of freedom is choice.  I agree.  And the public library can be and is full of all of these books and more.  It is a choice to enter a public library, or bookstore for that matter, and choose any old book you want.  Even if I happen to think it is the trashiest in the place  ;)  Anyone has full time access to all of these materials.  

 

I'm still pondering the school library.  And here I'm thinking out loud as I am working through this in my mind.   I think it falls into its own category, separate and apart from the public library.  I don't think the same rules apply.  We don't allow our children the freedom of choice for all of their physical diet, meaning we don't allow a 10 yo to choose to eat chocolate cake for breakfast, Snickers bars for lunch, and Jellybeans and Candy Corn for dinner.  We give them boundries and guidelines because they are not capable yet of making the decision of what is good diet for their bodies.  In their minds, that is a good diet :D  The same goes for their intellectual or spiritual diets as well.  Children and even teenagers are not capable of fully grasping what is good for their intellectual diet.  In the case of books,  they may not realize that they should not be feasting on s*x for breakfast, the four letter word for lunch, and violence for dinner.  They often believe that they are "mature enough" or "can handle it" when in truth they are not ready for such things.  Putting that diet in an easily accessible, trusted place, such as a school library, well, I think it can give mixed signals to kids. A signal that says if the school thinks this is fine, then it surely must be fine (dd nanny's just such a little girl).  Parents should always retain the rights over what their children are exposed to.  And, honestly, why would a school official/librarian want to have the "junk food" when all of us on this thread know that there are more than enough awesome books to fill a school library, elementary or high school, books that do not include s*x and a large helping of swear words.  And I'm not saying all of them have to be Dickens and Austen.  There are plenty of books out there that are fluff, not classics, that can still fill a library without the extra.  

 

All that said, it is a slippery slope.  I mean A Wrinkle in Time, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harry Potter, etc.  what's to ban there?  But I will admit, even if it makes me pro-banned books, :o that if some of those books were going to be in my dd's school library shelves, I would be protesting.  That, too, is my right, as a parent of a minor child.  The government and the school does not supersede my rights as a parent.   ;)

 

And to even more contradict myself, certain types of violence are not as bothersome to me.  Which makes it even more what you said about what is right for me not being right for someone else.  But again, I guess, I as a parent own that right for my child.  And certainly for all intents and purposes, if you want your child to feast on a diet of s*x, drugs, and rock and roll  :D then you have the right to take them to the public library and allow them to feast on that with their jellybeans for dinner!  You don't need the school library for that  ;)

 

Ok, Stacia, that's enough!!   :001_tt2:  Stop making me think hard!  Ostrich here remember!!

 

And I stay away from the rest of the general board now.  I'm not mature enough to handle people's widely differing opinions. :blushing:  

[Angel]

Well, officially, according to this document, here are some of the bans/challenges against Slaughterhouse-Five...

 

 

Um, definitely not Flufferton Abbey material. There is some about WWII. There are some aliens. It may well be the most unique (anti-)war book written, imo. I've always said that Vonnegut's writing is deceptively simple, so easy to read, stories broken into short sections. But, his simplicity has such a punch, just goes right to the core of issues. It's hard to describe this book, esp. if you're not familiar with Vonnegut's writing style. Let me ponder a bit on how to answer....

 

:svengo:  Definitely NOT Flufferton Abbey!   :lol: Thanks for the info, I won't be reading it. :D  And now I'm officially the black sheep :blushing: , explicitly sexual scenes IMHO shouldn't be assigned to a high schooler or be part of a high school library. If you (collective you) as a parent are ok with that then you can take them to the library or buy the book for them because you know your child as well as your own values.  

 

Now I'm slinking away because obviously I'm pro-ban (some) books in school libraries.   :leaving: And maybe you won't want to be my friend (which is all your fault you should have left my ostrich head in the sand!  :willy_nilly:

[Angel]

Ok, signing off for the rest of the night!  We are going to see Richard Paul Evans tonight at Books and Co.  His new Michael Vey book came out last week and dh and Aly are so excited to go and buy it and get it signed!  Unless we buy two copies, I won't see if for a few days  ;)   Dh and Aly will be fighting over it enough without me.  

[Stacia]

Just quickly...

 

All that said, it is a slippery slope.  I mean A Wrinkle in Time, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harry Potter, etc.  what's to ban there?

 

Well, from the same list I used to find the challenges against Slaughterhouse-Five, here's...

 

 

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

• Challenged in Eden Valley, MN (1977) and temporarily banned due to words "damn" and "whore lady" used in the novel.
• Challenged in the Vernon Verona Sherill, NY School District (1980)  as a "filthy, trashy novel."
• Challenged at the Warren, IN Township schools (1981) because  the book does "psychological damage to the positive integration process" and "represents  institutionalized racism under the guise of good literature." After unsuccessfully trying to ban Lee's novel, three black parents resigned from the township human relations advisory  council.
• Challenged in the Waukegan, IL School District (1984) because the novel uses the  word "nigger."
• Challenged in the Kansas City, MO junior high schools (1985). Challenged at  the Park Hill, MO Junior High School (1985) because the novel "contains profanity and  racial slurs." Retained on a supplemental eighth grade reading list in the Casa Grande, AZ  Elementary School District (1985), despite the protests by black parents and the National  Association for the Advancement of Colored People who charged the book was unfit for junior high use.
• Challenged at the Santa Cruz, CA Schools (1995) because of its racial themes.  Removed from the Southwood High School Library in Caddo Parish, LA (1995) because the book's language and content were objectionable.
• Challenged at the Moss Point, MS School District (1996) because the novel contains a racial epithet. Banned from the Lindale, TX advanced placement English reading list (1996) because the book "conflicted with the values of the community."
• Challenged by a Glynn County, GA (2001) School Board member because of profanity. The novel was retained. Returned to the freshman reading list at Muskogee, OK High School (2001) despite complaints over the years from black students and parents about racial slurs in the text.
• Challenged in the Normal, IL Community High School's sophomore literature class (2003) as being degrading to African Americans.
• Challenged at the Stanford Middle School in Durham, NC (2004) because the 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel uses the word "nigger."  
• Challenged at the Brentwood, TN Middle School (2006) because the book contains “profanity†and “contains adult themes such as sexual intercourse, rape, and incest.† The complainants also contend that the book’s use of racial slurs promotes â€œracial hatred, racial division, racial separation, and promotes white supremacy.† 
• Retained in the English curriculum by the Cherry Hill, NJ Board of Education (2007).  A resident had objected to the novel’s depiction of how blacks are treated by members of a racist white community in an Alabama town during the Depression.  The resident feared the book would upset black children reading it.  
• Removed (2009) from the St. Edmund Campion Secondary School classrooms in Brampton Ontario, Canada because a parent objected to language used in the novel, including the word “nigger."

 

If you notice, many of these charges are similar between Slaughterhouse-Five and To Kill a Mockingbird -- charges of depicting sexual intercourse, profanity, violence, degradation of a people or group of people, being filthy, etc.... But, you've read To Kill a Mockingbird, so you know & can decide for yourself how these charges stand up against the book. You haven't (yet) read Slaughterhouse-Five, so you don't really know how those charges stand against the book -- you are relying solely on the opinion of those who tried to challenge the book, rather than deciding for yourself.

 

Why would you read To Kill a Mockingbird yet not be willing to read Slaughterhouse-Five?

 

(More later....)

[Stacia]

I guess I haven't read many of the fairy tales, fables, myths, etc. that include explicit s*x. 

 

The Bible? It contains stories involving rape, sodomy, incest, etc....

(And that is all I will say about that as I know it can easily become a controversial topic.)

 

Plenty of the Greek and Roman myths are stories of the gods 'mating' with humans (sometimes when the god is in animal form -- so, then it's bestiality, no?), half-human/half-god children, etc.... Many old fairy tales are wickedly evil, having murder, mayhem, & cannibalism, among other things.

[Stacia]

Eaglei's latest update: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/498232-urgent-prayer-request-for-ds/?p=5941501

[Guest]

I finished Book #41 Sunday night, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.  Aly picked this for our co-op book club (three girls ages 9, 13, & 14 and the moms).  It has been one of her favorite books for over a year now, and she has been wanting me to read it.  I was skeptical at first.  I don't mind reading her "fluff."  I'm not opposed to "fluff" myself  ;)   However, to my surprise and the surprise of the other moms, it was a well written book, heavy with vocabulary and full of riddles and puzzles.  Everyone enjoyed it, including me.  The author offered us no real foreshadowing so as the characters in the story found out/solved/discovered things, we as the reader did as well.  The characters all had growth in the story, which I like to see as a good example!  It made for an exciting read and left you trying to puzzle out the answers for yourselves.  I would call it engaging!  While I, as an adult, would probably give it a 4 star rating.  If I was 14, like Aly, it would definitely be a 5 star  :D   I highly recommend it for the kids!  As a side note, Aly's favorite character was Kate, who carries a red bucket with various "tool" inside.  She had her own red bucket full of various things to take to co-op yesterday.  Wore it all day  :lol:   Even funnier, her friend also brought a bucket full of various things!  I love it when they get passionate about what they read.  The buckets were very handy when we took our group nature walk later in the day.  The 2 and 4 year old boys kept throwing their treasures into the girls' buckets to take home to keep. 

 

I loved that one, and then I read The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, which is a prequel. Loved that one, too. I want to get them all and read them with my kids. Fun books!

 

Whoever tried to ban Captain Underpants does not have a family with all boys. Captain Underpants is the natural extension of a fart joke between 8 year old boys. Of course we own the set.  :rolleyes: Hundreds of hours have been spent over those things by the 4 of them...but just when they're the right age for them. 

 

I resisted and rolled me eyes on those. BUT, when I saw ds & dh reading them together (dh has dyslexia and won't read) and laughing that started changing my mind. And then, when I saw the writing that my son was producing after reading them and the humor and voice that he included in his writing, I about fell over. I still don't encourage them, but I'm not as against them as I once was.

[Mom-ninja.]

I want you all to know that thanks to this thread over the last several years, I have finally accepted and embraced stopping a book if I'm not feeling the vibe.  :thumbup:  I started The Heretic's Daughter which I found at a library sale. It sounds interesting but I'm 100 pages in and find myself just not that attached to the characters. Maybe it's because I know what happens and I know it's not a happy ending. Who knows maybe I'll find myself wanting to finish it sometime in the future, but right now I'm setting it aside. I will say this, the Puritans in the 17th century were a crazy, cruel lot.  

[Stacia]

Just a couple of random comments & ramblings from the earlier conversation...

 

Generally speaking, I think school libraries (since this seems to be the area of most questioning) are stocking books that are rated for the reading levels & age ranges for the students they serve; they are stocking classics, non-fiction, as well as some fiction for entertainment purposes. That said, I don't think any school library is stocking x-rated books just for the sake of doing so. (And they wouldn't be anyway as there are laws against that.) The books selected can & need to cater to a variety of life experiences & ages. While it may not be a book that you would choose for your child, it is not for one parent or a few parents to decide to completely remove those choices for everyone else. If that were the case, most classics would be missing from the shelves, along with popular books like Harry Potter & others. Extending that out, if anyone could pull anything at any time for causing offense, libraries would have nothing on the shelves. They would cease to exist.

 

For some students, the school library may be their only access to a library. They may not have a nearby county/city library or may have no way to get to one. So, for some, their only access to reading &/or research material might be through their school library.

 

For high school, I think the general age range is 14 to 18 years old. At 16, in many states, a teen can drive a car -- heavy machinery that has the ability to injure or kill the driver &/or others in case of accident. Also at 16, at least in some states, it is considered ok to marry. By 18, teens are considered legal adults, can vote, participate in the jury system, be drafted (if that were in effect) &/or serve in the armed forces, live on their own, etc.... Certainly some have had children of their own by the end of their teens. You can have a pilot's license by that age. The high school years are full of ever-increasing responsibilities & (legally) heading into adulthood. I'm not sure why these same students should have their access to books restricted because a couple of people might be offended that the book contains violence or profanity or sexual situations, considering these books are generally selected for the library in order to enhance education or (sometimes even) to entertain, but are generally not selected just for prurient purposes. Books that are challenged do actually have content that makes them worthy of reading & discussion: matters of war, or rape, or suicidal thoughts, or survival, or belief, or doing the right thing in a bad situation, or... so many other topics that are relevant to teens as they are entering the world of adulthood. These books can spark debate, thoughts, empathy, new ideas, affirmations, and so much more. Life isn't always neat, tidy, & straightforward. There's a lot out there in the world & reading, debating, & discussing some of these topics with parents, teachers, & peers can help prepare kids & teens as they head out to the world.

 

Sometimes the calls for challenges themselves are incendiary & are meant to manipulate others to easily & quickly convince others to join in the call to ban a book. The charges against the book may or may not be accurate reflections of the book, content, or tone. Out of context & without having read the book for oneself, it is hard to make a fair assessment of the charges & form your own opinion. Perhaps the motivation/purpose behind banning a book may be offensive in & of itself. It pays to be educated, read the book yourself, make up your own mind, as well as considering who wants to challenge the book & the intents & purposes behind the challenge.

 

If you are of the belief that the government does not/should not supersede a person's rights as a parent, why would it then be ok for one parent to supersede the rights of other parents & children (by removing/restricting access to books)?

 

Studies have shown that reading fiction makes you smarter & more empathetic. (I don't have the into/articles on hand right now -- can look them up later -- but I know we talked about this in an earlier thread.) If these are good things, then it is another argument in favor of having a variety of fiction available for students to read.

 

Just because a child or teen reads about something does not mean the child/teen will believe, emulate, copy, revere, etc... what has been presented.

 

Sometimes books with material deemed 'offensive' have some very worthy topics & information. Sometimes you might read a book & it may indeed contain material offensive to you. Otoh, it might also challenge you to expand your thinking, consider something new, reaffirm your already-existing beliefs, make you more empathetic, or just expand your general base of knowledge.

 

And, Angel, of course we can still be friends. :seeya:  :grouphug:  After all, we are both exercising our right to free speech as we discuss this issue. (I still do challenge you to read Slaughterhouse-Five  ;)  :D  & I'm guessing/hoping you will then see that some of the challenges against it seem out-of-place, to put it mildly.)

 

(And, now I'll sign off. I know this hasn't been the most eloquent response & I'm not sure that I'm really clearly stating my stance, but I just wanted to put a few thoughts out there.)