Happy Banned Books Week!!!

This week marks a very, very important week in a reader's life: Banned Books Week. I can't help but be grateful for the American Library Association's fight against people who desire to make their values force everyone else to change their behavior. I know my reading history would not be as rich and beautiful if the book-banners had won. I wouldn't have read Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God or Twain's Huck Finn.

I do remember in elementary school when some parents' complaints made the library set up a permission slip system in order for students to access the back office, which housed the Goosebumps series. I was never a huge fan...it was always a series that I read when I couldn't find anything else that I was much interested in reading, but even as a young 5th grader, I thought it seemed unfair. So many kids at that time only read Goosebumps, and there really wasn't anything all that scary or inappropriate about them. Looking back now, I think parents should have just been grateful for Goosebumps because it made their children meet their self-selected reading goals with less opposition and fighting :)

I just always thought that the arguments for banning books seemed completely ridiculous. The common citation of the "n" word as a reason to ban the book just doesn't make sense. These books, including the above-mentioned Huck Finn and Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, allow students to talk about and deal with the historical and contemporary issues surrounding race, that word itself, and what it means. I think it expands a student's understanding; it certainly doesn't make every student a racist. Funny thing is, most of the books that are banned that include the "n" word or the "f" word or many others, actually lead to students expanding their minds, opening them up to other cultures, etc (To Kill a Mockingbird, in particular, comes to mind here). Maybe that's what some parents are really afraid of: their children being challenged in school, leading to them moving away from their parents closed minds and being more accepting. And if parents really have moral issues with books in libraries or schools, maybe they should set up an alternative specifically for their children rather than force that moral issue on all students/library patrons.

What do you think? Am I too critical of book banners? How are you celebrating Banned Books Week?

Review: Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver

I really don't know how to describe this novel. It's definitely a little different than The Bean Trees in that it seems to focus more on political and social issues rather than just the characters, but I loved it all the same. I love books that make me really think, and because of the issues raised in the novel, I had to continually reevaluate my feelings about what was happening in the novel.

Basically, the novel picks up where The Bean Trees left off. Turtle remains with Taylor in Arizona, but as the two are on vacation, Turtle saves a man who had fallen into the Hoover Dam, landing the two on talk shows, including Oprah. The Oprah show catches the attention of a Cherokee lawyer Annawake who, because of her own emotional baggage, takes Turtle's adoption as a personal affront against the Cherokee tribe and attempts to invalidate the adoption based on Supreme Court rulings to bring Turtle back to the tribe. The novel traces the family wrangling and emotional issues surrounding how Taylor, Turtle, and Annawake deal with the issues raised.

I honestly was torn throughout the novel about how I wanted it to end. I absolutely loved Taylor's character in The Bean Trees and respected her decision to step up and care for Turtle when no one else would. And I thought that Annawake, at times, completely ignored the fact that the Cherokee "family" had its chance to care for Turtle and blew it. At the same time, the history of the U.S. government's relationship with the Cherokee nation (and other Native American tribes for that matter) has been terrible, and the tribe had a right to prevent their children from being taken away. I won't tell you how the book ended, but I thought it seemed to be a bit of a cop out, allowing Kingsolver to avoid taking a stand. Still, the characterization was great, and the story brought me to tears at times. Definitely not as good as The Bean Trees, but Pigs in Heaven is still a fantastic read, especially if you've already fallen in love with the characters in the first novel (which I totally suggest you read first).

My rating: 9.2/10

I couldn't seem to find any other reviews, but a lot of you have it on your TBR page; I highly suggest you read it :)
*Let me know if I missed your review and I'll add it*

Up next: I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb

The Age-Old Desert Island Question?

My favorite radio station XPN has been taking a survey of its listeners about the 10 songs you'd want to have with you on your low-capacity solar-powered Ipod. They'll compile it into an 885 Desert Island Songs list to coincide with their Fall fund drive. I totally forget which songs I submitted because I decided I couldn't over-think it and decided to just vote early on. Even if you're not from the Phili/Jersey/Central PA listening, you should totally check it out (Voting ends tomorrow 9/11, I believe). I'd also suggest checking into their Live Stream of the radio station so you can listen wherever! They play some fantastic new artists as well as some more national "Indie" bands. Regardless of what they're playing, they're non-commercial, meaning more listening time. Even during the fund drives, they limit fundraising to the amount of time usually taken up by commercials on "regular" radio stations. Just take all this rambling to be a whole-hearted suggestion that you check them out.

Still...it's got me to thinking. What happens if you apply this to books? Assuming the deserted island has tons of food, etc., and you'll be there for a good long time, which books would you want to have along? I decided to set some ground rules for my own list (you're free to make your own rules if you want to muse aloud about similar lists):
1. I have to have read it. Being stuck on a deserted island is not the time that I want to bring 10 unread books that turn out to be duds.
2. Series do not count as one book...if I wanted the whole Harry Potter series, I'd better set aside 7 books.

The list I decided on...and believe me, it's taken some agonizing:
1. The Giver by Lois Lowry
2. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
3. The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory
4. The World According to Garp by John Irving
5. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
6. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
7. Jazz by Toni Morrison
8. Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Shaara
9. The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
10. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

I took it pretty seriously. I figured I should put together a pretty well-rounded list with lots of different kinds of books. I picked a lot of books that I've re-read or read once but think I'll be able to pick up on even more by another couple reads on the island's beach :) Also, I avoided non-fiction because I thought I may want a bit of an escape from my lonely life by connecting with characters (of course, McCourt is the exception, but how can you read that book and not connect to the characters to some extent?).

What do you think? Which 10 books would you want to have in your backpack on your deserted island?

Reminder: you should totally check out XPN's website. They're totally awesome

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

From the Back (because I can't summarize this book any better): "Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. By the time Taylor arrives in Tucson, Arizona, she has acquired a completely unexpected child, a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle, and must somehow come to terms with both motherhood and the necessity of putting down roots. Hers is a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in apparently empty places."

I initially read this book junior year of high school for our yearly research paper. It was my first exercise in literary research, and I think it kept me from enjoying this book as thoroughly as I did during my re-read. I love Kingsolver's style: the way she has of discussing serious matters and saying something important without getting all high-and-mighty about it. The book grapples with some serious stuff--child abuse, the plight of illegal immigrants who come to the U.S. to escape persecution without the means of actually proving that persecution to U.S. immigration courts, economic disparity, friendship, love, the limits of parents' ability to protect their children, racism, etc., etc. Yet, the tone is regularly lighthearted and sweet. The only real villain is "the way things are," which, in this story, is of course frustrating. All the characters in the novel are so sweet and disarming and quirky that you have to cheer for them, especially when they're lost and making bad decisions. And the book is uplifting; without spoiling it, the ending has an excellent message and leaves you thinking, but not sobbing.

I don't think I can quite put how excellent this book is into words. It's even better the second time through (probably helped along by a bit of "life experience").

My rating: 10/10

Other reviews:
A Lifetime of Books
The Written World
**If I've missed your review, let me know via comments, and I'll add your link**

Up next: the sequel Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver