JN201 Week VIII Blog Forum

Topic I: Banned Books and My Bookshelf

I read more books than magazines, you have been warned.

1) Did I see any books on the ALA's "Frequently Challenged" list(s) that I recognized? Yes, yes I did as I'm sure several others who view the lists will. There was Harry Potter, Catcher in the Rye, Huckleberry Finn, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Twilight, just to name a few. Admittedly though, a lot of the books I recognized I know more through reputation or association than having actually read them. I (somehow) never had to read Huckleberry Finn in school and while Catcher in the Rye was on the reading list for my junior year literature class, we never actually got around to it. My poor sister had to read both of them though, and The Kite Runner, though that probably has to do with her going to a different high school than I did; yet weirdly we've agreed I ultimately went to the better one, and somehow the only common high school required book I had to read was Gatsby which has not been challenged, at least in recent years. The only book on the list provided that I have read, albeit not by choice, was To Kill A Mockingbird which I have mostly forgotten in the years since my freshman year of high school since at the time I found it boring. I probably still would if I am honest; I find most books of that nature unappealing. 

2) My take on limiting access to certain books? Well, it's complicated. The most recurring reason for book challenging I can see on the list is matters pertaining to sex and (for lack of better phrasing) non standard sexuality (i.e. homosexuality, transgenderism, etc.). Violence and "occult" references do occur on occasion, but sex and LGBT matters seem to be the more common of the causes. If it was not the only reason for being challenged that it was at least one of them.

Personally I find this hilarious since I think it is less because of the content and more because, as a friend of mine put it: "Everybody wants to have sex, not talk about it." Having sexual content in a book means that younger readers might not understand everything and go to their parents for an explanation which, depending on the question asked, the parents might not be able to answer. Some parents would also probably rather their children not learn about something like sex or sexuality through means other than their parents, which is where "The Talk" comes in. Though in my experience "The Talk" only happens briefly in the car on the way to school and ends as soon as we get to the school and is never resumed afterwards. For my part, I wouldn't mind any kids I have learning about sex or sexuality through reading or learning about it on their own; I'll help them to the best of my ability if they ask, but it would be kind of hypocritical to keep them from learning this stuff on their own when that's pretty much what I did (please do not ask for specifics). 

Ultimately I think it is the responsibly of the parents to decide which books to let their kids read, one parent might be perfectly fine with letting their kid read The Hunger Games, but another might not because, you know, it's a book about a bunch of kids between 12 and 18 killing each other for blood sport. Each kid will react differently to the same thing. I want to be a writer myself, and while what I want to write I would with the intention of making the books for anyone who wants to read them, young or old, I can totally see some people not finding my work appropriate for children (not that it would be written specifically for them anyway).

That said, while I do not endorse book banning, that are some cases where I think restricting a book is more valid. This is my opinion on books where legitimate arguments for their being potentially dangerous can be made beyond having "sexual content" and "LGBT themes" which are rather vague and uninformative. The Fifty Shades books are such examples. These three videos can explain how Fifty Shades can be dangerous beyond its being an affront to literature much more than Twilight ever could have been. Thirteen Reasons Why is another possible example, though that is a bit more up in the air because some people read it differently than others. Books where a reasonable argument for it containing harmful messages are probably better off away from the grasp of impressionable kids. There is a huge difference between handling a taboo subject with respect and tact to the subject matter (or including it in a more inconsequential way, think Dumbledore's homosexuality and how it is just a trait that does not really change anything in the long run) and merely using taboo subjects as window dressing or as an attention grabber, and I would like think most people are smart enough to tell the difference. The latter area is where I think people can argue restricting access to a book since such books are usually, well, legitimately dumb... and bad. 

3) What kind of books do I like? Well, the books I can see on my bookshelves from where I am sitting at my computer are my copy of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, my collection of Redwall books, my copy of Ivanhoe, my My Little Pony IDW comic books... the only thing I can see that they all have in common is that they are fantasy and/or fiction. Which is fitting because I do enjoy fantasy and science fiction, they are two of the genres I want to write (although I have a leaning towards fantasy). Those are the printed books I read though, as I have mentioned in posts past I also read fanfiction online. I mostly use the website TV Tropes to pick a fanfiction to read sine they have a "Fanfic Recommendations" page to make it a bit easier. One that I read recently was a crossover and mashup of The Simpsons and Sailor Moon that saw Lisa becoming Sailor Moon instead of Usagi (no I have not read or seen Sailor Moon but I do know the basic premise) that I found legitimately funny; and then there was that impressive My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic take on Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night. Basically my taste in reading material is much like everything else: I like what I like, don't know why I just do.

Topic II: Magazines

1) Do I read magazines, online or print? No, not really. I've never really had an interest in reading them. Occasionally, I will use what I think count as online magazines (such was the case with my two Blog Projects where I used articles from, Vulture and The A.V. Club among others) for school work when I need information and sources of it. Otherwise I've generally had no interest in reading magazines.

2) Advertising in those magazines? It's impossible for me to tell. I don't read print magazines and I have an ad-blocker on my computer so any online magazines I visit won't show ads. And since I don't read magazines, I cannot say what my tastes in magazines would say of me.