Banned, shmanned. Bring on the books.

So this week, September 29th to October 6th, is Banned Book Week (mini shout out to Veronica for pointing it out). I'm an avid reader, and the idea of banning any books is utterly depressing, especially at a time when it seems that people need a great deal of encouragement to crack a book. Sadly, most affected, certainly, are children. Adults can order whatever they want from Amazon. It's the kids who rely on their school or local libraries for books who are being denied.

I remember being a kid and sharing my room with Veronica. Our parents made sure we each had those mini reading lights that clipped on to the back of our books, and each night before going to sleep we'd read. My family's love of reading instilled the same love in me, and I'm so grateful for it. There were no banned books at our house.

I also think it's sad to see how many of the banned books are about sex: straight sex, gay sex, sex with a fried worm...I worry that the same families who are banning Annie On My Mind would allow their kids to play Grand Theft Auto. I have absolutely no evidence to back that up, but there does seem to be a greater tolerance for violence than sexuality in our culture, and I find it mysterious. It just makes no sense to me.


Below is a list of the 100 most frequently challenged books from 1990 - 2000. I've read about a third and bolded them so anyone who is interested can see my deviant reading behavior for themselves.

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Until I Find You: The story of one boy's penis

I find John Irving to be a wholly inconsistent writer. His early works are hit or miss for me: I HATED The Water Method Man but enjoyed The World According to Garp. Most of books written in the center of his career, like The Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and The Hotel New Hampshire, are great. His more recent novels (The Fourth Hand, A Widow For One Year) are at best only ok. I'm currently reading his latest, Until I Find You, which I received as a birthday present.

One of the traits I admire about Irving as a writer is his willingness to tackle controversial subjects. In Cider House Rules he took on abortion, and in Hotel New Hampshire he deftly introduced an incestuous but sympathetic brother and sister. In Until I Find You child molestation is the subject. No novel that I've read has so many references to a child's sexual organs, nor does any other book I'm familiar with have so many women grabbing a little boy's crotch. Jack Burns is the boy in question and the reader is treated to the story of his life, complete with descriptions of every woman who has ever touched, held, fondled, sucked, etc., his penis. I'm only mildly exaggerating when I say that the word "the" appears only slightly more frequently than the word "penis" in this book.

In between anecdotes about Jack's weenie, Irving introduces some of his favorite themes. As with so many of his previous novels, a missing parent is a driving force in Until I Find You. Another favorite theme, gender bending, is not only present but overpowering. Given the many, many references to how feminine Jack is and how his penis is really rather small, it's as though Irving is trying to make him as much like a female as possible while still having his character remain male. From a plot perspective, Jack's gender bending is first introduced through his acting career. Against all logic, Jack is cast in the lead female role in almost all the school plays (this, despite going to a mostly girl's school where actresses abound and actors to fill the male roles are scarce). This casting trend continues even to Hollywood as Jack becomes a professional actor.

I can make my peace with whimsy and a lack of logic if they are in the service of a great plot or otherwise moving story. Unfortunately, in this case, the story is not so much moving as it is maddening. Irving suggests throughout that Jack is somehow asking for this attention. His eyelashes--which are particularly seductive--and any knowledge of his father's ladies' man status seem to be all the justification the women in Irving's book need to molest the child. The connection Irving makes between Jack's clearly feminine stature and appearance and the way so many women can't keep their hands off him also raises several dubious and ridiculous ideas. Does Irving want to believe that all women are lesbians (two of the three main female characters are; the other suffers from a physical ailment making her incapable of sleeping with men)? Does he believe that Jack's femininity is what's attractive to women, even while they go for "the little guy" in his pants? Or, more troubling, is Irving trying to make some connection to his protagonist being something of a girl and thus deserving the abuse he receives?

Irving misses several opportunities in this book. First, we're never given a real emotional connection to Jack's abuse. Irving presents it all as offensively matter of fact. He writes about the awful contradictory feelings Jack has (affection for his abuser while wanting it to end, etc.) without us feeling any of the fear, anger, comfort, love, etc., that Jack is supposed to be feeling himself. Irving also misses the chance to make the reader feel a bit of discomfort. Just where should adults draw the line with children--is climbing in bed with a child to comfort him after a nightmare appropriate? How much hugging and holding should be done? Irving could have explored gray areas about just what is and isn't appropriate in a physical relationship and when consent can truly begin but instead makes every woman a tiny-penis loving cartoon.

When not talking about Jack's peepee, Irving actually has a somewhat interesting story going on. Jack has never known his father and comes to question everything his mother said about him. Irving raises questions about the reliability of memories, the unscrupulous ways love can motivate a person, and how parents mold their children. Without hundreds of pages of crotch grabbing, this could have been a good read.

Admittedly, I'm only about 550 pages into this 800+ page book. Though I doubt it, perhaps something in the final third will win me over. Without some amazing redemption, though, this book is a bust.

My sister, the home owner

I had a nice short work week last week because I took Friday off to drive up to Taunton, MA with my mom to see my sister and brother-in-law's new home. They bought their first house a few months ago and threw a little family-only housewarming party over this past weekend. Shannon and her boyfriend came, Mike's mom and nan came, and after oohing and aahing over their new house we all stuffed ourselves full of tacos and peanut butter pie (yum).

Really, their house is beautiful. It's about a hundred years old and comes with the beautiful and unique details and idiosyncrasies that newer houses just don't have. If I'm ever in a position to buy a house, I'd like to get something with nooks and crannies like Veronica and Mike found. Perhaps my favorite room was what they're using as their library. It's a small room on the second floor with an exposed brick chimney coming through it as well as sloped ceilings. I liked the idea of curling up with a book in one of the corners.

Joey, days 6 & 7

Last Monday Caryn and Larry's daughter, Joey Devin, was born. I made the trip to NJ this weekend to meet her first the time and was instantly enamored. Check out how cute she is!

Water for Elephants

One of my Tattered Cover purchases the other day was Sara Gruen’s novel, Water for Elephants. It’s been on so many best seller lists that I assumed it would be a good, fluffy read at best. I have such little faith in the American public that if a book is a best seller, I assume that it might be entertaining but not good in the literary sense of the word. And while Water for Elephants may not end up in the cannon of American Literature, I will give it a hearty recommendation. Gruen’s style is instantly engaging, and her story of a student turned circus vet grabs you from the start. Though she tips her hand at the story’s ending in the prologue, there are surprises enough along the way to keep you guessing. The book utilizes a flashback structure, which I almost always find at least somewhat ineffective. I think I said it in my Evening review: with that type of structure, the reader is almost always more interested in one part of the story than the other. Gruen, however, is the rare success story who has created two equally compelling narratives: one is a high-stakes love story, the other a commentary on the frustrations of aging. Water for Elephants won’t make you want to run away and join the circus, but it will make you want to curl up with a good book.

Vaca Hey Day

Well, I'm back at sea level and want to say again what great hosts Laura and Nate are. Sitting on their deck, drinking wine, and reading, reading, reading was just what I needed.

Saturday was our most eventful day, and even that was totally relaxing. We went to an amazing spa where we were not only treated to massages, but we also go to take a mile walk around the lake (complete with a little off-roading thanks to Laura's keen navigation!), canoe out onto the same lake, soak in the natural hot springs, and generally take advantage of the gorgeous spa setting. Most of the spas I've been to are either in hotels or here in the city; a massage is always wonderful, but there was something really special about having that relaxation and feeling of wellness last the whole day. The below pics are both from Saturday.





My trip also included a fantastic visit to The Tattered Cover, an independent bookstore I've heard Laura talk about for years; it was great to finally be able to visit myself. Between the books I bought there and those that I borrowed from Laura, my already giant to-be-read pile grew by half! I also loved that we got together with Mike and Dorrie who are so fun, and who I don't see nearly enough.

All in all, I'm smitten with Colorado and hope to go back again soon.

Greetings from the Mountains

Hi everyone! I'm stealing a few minutes on Laura's computer and thought I'd give a quick update of life in Colorado--it's awesome! I'll post details and photos when I'm back home and have more time, but here's the short version. Nate and Laura's home (as anyone who visits ellebee knows) is amazing. The views from every window are stunning! I love it here. Add in a lot of time for reading, a full day at one of the prettiest spas I've ever seen (in competition, of course, only with Drew Patrick Spa) and I'm tempted to stay here as Laura's house guest forever.