Freedom to Read Week

This week I have been working on a Banned Book Display. I've been doing some light research on censorship, and it is kind of weird and surprising to see the works that have been challenged in the past. Mostly, because many of those books are considered today to be great classics. Fantastic works like Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and books like "Catcher in The Rye" have at one time or another been challenged. Tolstoy's "The Kingdom of God is Within You" was banned in the Russian empire for being anti-establishment. "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker has met with multiple challenges in North Carolina (as recently as three months ago this was happening..)

This made me consider more carefully the justifications people use for censorship in today's world. I looked at the books have been challenged this year. If you are interested, this is an interesting article from the Kids' Right to Read Project and the top banned books of 2013.

What is the reasoning for challenging these books? At first glance, the listed books deal with race or lgbt issues. This shows that these are issues that our society is still struggling to accept. This is exactly why book challenges should not be taken lightly. These books offer learning experiences to adults and youth alike. This is why Freedom to Read week is so important. These issues need to be discussed. Especially in light of recent events, such as the deaths of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Dunn. Issues of race continue to permeate our world, even as people become more open and aware. Another example, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chobsky is a beautiful coming of age story. It is an honest look at what growing up looks like, for kids from many different backgrounds. This book deals with themes of identity, sexuality, loss, and friendship. I feel like the only reason someone would challenge this particular title, is if they hadn't read it.

The list of the most banned books of 2013 seems to show many beautiful works that are having their literary merit discounted. Many of these challenges appear to stem from smaller and more rural communities. That in itself is worth nothing, as for many children of colour or lgbt youth, a book may be the first representation of themselves that they really have access to.

This is a great article on banned books via the New York Public Library.

That's all for now! Happy weekend!

visual tools: pinterest

Pinterest is a visual tool. It allows you to collect ideas and share your interests. Pinterest was listed in Time Magazine's "50 Best Websites of 2011". If you jump in and take a look, you will see that pinterest is essentially online inspiration boards. Many bloggers and entrepreneurs use pinterest as another means of reaching people. Artists on etsy.com use pinterest as a way to publicly share their work and drum up interest in their online stores. You can use it to gather ideas about books to read, places to visit, and recipes to experiment with. If you click on my pinterest button, you can take a look at a few of the different boards I've assembled and images that have piqued my interest. That's all for now!

Experiments with Wordle

I have experimented a bit with wordle.net, and I actually quite like the product of my efforts. I created a simple wordle using the surnames of some of my favourite authors. This is actually a very cool little tool. You could use it to create your own decor, or graphic designs. It's pretty simple, but the product looks great. It took me a minute to get the hang of it, and thanks to the help of my co-worker I think I have got it down pat. Until next time!

Images part 1 #thing4

Images are a great way to draw attention to a poster or project. For a blog, it can be a way to grab your reader's attention. Locating images can sometimes be time consuming, because you can't just use any picture you like. Copyright law dictates that the author or artist of any creative work has full creative license over their product. However, there are organizations that provide free content license such as Creative Commons. When you license your work with creative commons, you are granting people permission to use your image as long as they adhere to the terms outlined in the creative common license. For my purposes, I will use one of my own images.

This is the picture of a farm owned by a family friend. They raise horses, and they are beautiful. This was taken last summer outside of Fredericton, New Brunswick. I have always loved animals, and horses are no exception.