Some Favorite Books for Banned Books Week

When I was a young girl I discovered, as have many before me, The Twilight Zone. My favorite episode was called The Obsolete Man. It took place in a not too futuresque society, and starred Burgess Merideth as a librarian named Romney Wordsworth and Fritz Weaver as the totalitarian judge who finds him "obsolete". The reason for this obsolecence is that books have been outlawed, therefore removing the need for libraries and librarians. I was only about 9 or 10 when I saw this for the first time and it made a huge impression on me, as did seeing the film version of Fahrenheit 451 around the same time. (The scenes of books being burned in the film are devastating.)  By the time I read Ray Bradbury's masterpiece in college, I had developed a great abhorrence for the restriction of access to books, let alone their actual destruction.

I read that book in a class on Utopian and Anti Utopian literature, and after reading such works as 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, it wasn't hard to notice that one of the first things any totalitarian society was to restrict of alter books.  In college I proudly wore a button proclaiming "I Read Banned Books." In recent years such challenges have become even more common.  The target lately has been not so much actual destruction of books, though there have been several cases of Harry Potter being tied to the stake lately, and there was that pastor who wanted to burn the Koran a few years back. Book burnings lead to dramatic headlines and unfortunate comparisons to Nazis , so more recently censorship efforts have focused instead on restricting access, by challenging the presence of books in classrooms and libraries.

It was with all this in mind that the American Library Association (ALA) created Banned Books Week, some 30 years ago. It was chance to remind people of the preciousness of the privilege of reading, and of the importance of keeping a variety of works, and opinions  available to everyone.  And in honor of the occasion I have compiled a list of some of my favorite banned or challenged books.

Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Censorship is nothing new, of course, and Victor Hugo was well acquainted with it. Tsar Nicolas I banned all of Hugo;s works in the 1850's (thus giving Les Miserables the rare distinction of being banned before it was written) and was on the Catholic Church's Index of Forbidden books until 1959. Ironically, some 20 years later I would write my senior English paper for my Catholic high school on "The Christian Message in The Hunchback of Notre Dame."  The more things change...

Leaves of Grass
New England indecency societies were trying to ban Whitman's poetry before the Civil War began, and people have been objecting to Whitman's frank sexual language and commentary of religion ever since.

A Wrinkle in Time
Somehow I missed out on the Madeline L'Engle  books growing up. I read them for the first time a few years ago, and have reread several since, and enjoyed them very much.  Besides, one of the chief heroines is named Meg.


Fahrenheit 451
 I once observed of the banning of this book that "Sarcasm is lost on the Intolerant".  Its always fascinating to watch a book become exactly what it warned of. In this case, not only have we seen attempts to ban and restrict books, but also the growing prevalence of television and interactive media that Bradbury warned of (she says, typing on the bluetooth keyboard communicating with the mobile device.) In one particularly ironic case in the 90's, a California middle school expurgated the books by taking magic markers to words they considered obscene.

The Light in the Attic
Widely considered among the best books of poetry ever written, but it has been challenged often as well, in part for encouraging disobedience and messiness.

Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak's classic has been challenged both for being too scary, and for Max's bad attitude and talking back to his mother.  Because kids never have temper tantrums.


The Lord of the Rings
Speaking of irony, the devoutly Catholic Tolkien would be appalled to know that his masterpiece has been challenged for detected themes of magic and satanism. As epics go, it may look a little small compared to more recent fantasy book series, but it's still the benchmark by which such works are judged.  Plus how many of the others get made into Oscar winning movies?

Harry Potter series
Someday people will look back on J K Rowling's  work and realize how much it changed children's literature, that such books could appeal across a wide age range, and that digital era children with their alleged short attention spans could still read really long works if they were engaged by the story. Unless, of course you are one of those people who want the book banned because you think fantasy magic and witchcraft equals Satanism.  Or the lady who rewrote the entire series as a fundamentalist adventure.


To Kill a Mockingbird
Perhaps the most beloved of the great American novels of the 20th century, It has also been one of the most challenged, for its adult themes, and use of certain objectionable language and conduct. My personal opinion is that such material is acceptable when it is true to the historic context, or when it's made clear in context that such behaviour is unacceptable. There are  compensating lessons to be learned from the integrity and courage of all the positive characters in the book.

In various ways, all of these books have enriched my life.  Many are books are I have reread repeatedly.  I dipped in and out of several this week, revisiting old friends The world would be a poorer place without them, or without access to them.

How about you.  Do you have a favorite banned or challenged book?

credit:ALA

For more information please visit the American Library Association's Banned and Challenged Books page.

A Dawn Photo Walk at Cedar Point

Very early  last Sunday, I joined a number of other Bloggy Con attendees for an early morning photo walk.  Our hosts were Angie Keiser who had also taught the session on Photography, and Bryan Edwards the VP of public relations for Cedar Point.

We began on the beach, in time to catch the sunrise on Lake Erie.

While we were there taking photos of the gorgeous sunrise, a seagull appeared as if summoned and posed for us.

Tried him from further off first, then
when he showed no sign of being spooked
I got closer,

Next, with Bryan as our guide, we headed into the nearly deserted park, to see a side of
Cedar Point most people never get.

credit:Anna-Marie Walsh

One of the things we looked for was interesting angles to photograph. Angie talked about how one didn't need to photograph the whole ride to get a great picture.

 On the other hand there are great  juxtapositions of several rides at once.

Bryan also talked about how the park has tried to emphasize the water front in recent years. 

All in all we had a great time, well worth the

rising time. Here's a few more pictures:

Shhh...don't tell the kids,
I took a selfie at dawn.

My thanks once again to Angie and Bryan for such an enjoyable experience.

Bloggy Con 14--Had a Wonderful Time, Can't Wait to Go Back

I spent this past weekend at Bloggy Con 2014, sponsored by the fabulous people at Bloggy Moms. It was an amazing experience.

It was the perfect first conference for me.  More low key than some of the bigger conferences, with only about 250 bloggers in attendance, and far more affordable and conveniently located as well.

We were hosted by Cedar Point Amusement Park, which offered generously discounted rooms, in the lovely Hotel Breakers.  Our suite (which the Hotel graciously upgraded from a single room for us at the last minute when we wound up with a bigger group than expected) was lovely, with a fantastic view of the lake, and convenient proximity to both conference and amusement park.

  Cedar Point wanted this to be an event that bloggers could bring their families to, so they also provided passes to the park for the weekend. I was able to take my sister, her 3 boys, and my own daughter.

Upon arrival Friday we checked into our room, then Sis and the kids decided to go hit the roller coasters. I decided to enjoy the quiet for a couple hours and check out my swag bag, which was filled with a variety of  products that I can't wait to check out.

Saturday morning I made sure everyone was squared away with their park tickets for the day, and I headed off to  breakfast at the convention center.  I was a little apprehensive (I am actually rather an insecure person)  but the larger part of me felt I was taking myself and my writing a giant step forward.

The first thing I encountered at the table was a lovely memo portfolio that doubles as a tablet easel, courtesy of Cedar Point, as well the plus Snoopy in a Santa Suit.  We were asked to take pictures of Snoopy around Cedar Point as part of a Twitter contest.

Snoopy and I wait for
 the Blue Streak

Snoopy checks his social
media

The Girl becomes
possessive of Snoopy

Passing out Lefty Pop cards

and promotes this blog
as well

Each morning we all met for community time, before we broke off into special interest group sessions.  I attended classes on subjects as varied as blog monetization, attracting brands and sponsors, social media trends, SEO, and travel blogging. Especially exciting was the photo walk I took on Sunday morning, which deserves its own post

Our schedule left us with plenty of free time to enjoy the park with our families as well. I hadn't been to Cedar Point in over 20 years, so it was great to catch up with old favorites among the attractions and discover new ones.

A view of Cedar Point at night.

The Windseeker is a particularly impressive ride at night.
It looks like the mothership in Close Encounters taking off.

Another view of Cedar Point at night. 

Also the park and hotel were decorated for Halloween, which was also fun.

More important of all I met a lot of other bloggers, some novices, some experienced, all enthusiastic and helpful.  It was good to be in a group of like minded people for a weekend. I found that we all have our uncertainties regardless of followers and page hits. And I know I picked up both ideas and friends that will stay with me a long time.

At our final group session  it was announced that Bloggy Con 2015 will be held at Cedar Point again.  I'm already making plans to go.

Heading Off to Bloggy Conference

Several years ago I began working on this blog, largely in an attempt to reawaken the writing ability that had lain fallow for about 20 years as work and kids took up most  of my time and creativity.  I was first encouraged to do so by my longtime friend Linda Roy  of Elleroy Was Here who was herself dealing with similar issues.   What started as a writing exercise has taken on a life of its own.

I have written some 300 posts now.  I have been to blog hops and link ups and tweeted my little heart out. I have earned a position as a staff writer at Lefty Pop, probably my proudest online achievement to date.  I decided it was time to take the next big step and attend a blogging conference.  For two years now I have watched my friends blog about their conference activities: contacts, inspiration, information, networking. I wanted my piece of the action.

I was looking for an event that was close to home, affordable, and reachable by public transit if necessary. Pretty soon I discovered Bloggy Conference 2014. It was a mere 85.00 for attendance, with major discounts and perks for staying at the Breakers Hotel at the park. Best part of all, Cedar Point is less than two hours from my house (especially when one isn't fighting summer amusement park traffic). Returning to Cedar Point is especially fun because I worked there the summer between high school and college.

The number of attendees is a relatively small 250 or so. I will be attending classes on topics like managing social media, the dreaded Search Engine Optimization, and blog photography. I will get to network with people, and hopefully raise awareness of both this blog and my cyber home away from home: Lefty Pop.

So the bags are packed, the business cards are made, and shortly I will be on my way.

Bloggy Conference 2014 here we come.

Rocking out with Schoolhouse Rock

One of the things modern kids have trouble believing is that at one time all new kids TV proramming aired on Saturday Morning, and that since this was the pre-VCR era, one spent long hours deciding which shows one would watch. And although many kids TV shows today are better written, and far better animated, I have a few shining memories from back in the day, including Scooby Doo, Jonny Quest and Schoolhouse Rock. That classic series of 3 minute snippets of grammar, history, math and science is over 40 years old now, and last night ABC did a one hour special.

The show was one of the treasures of my middle school years. Several episodes, especially those celebrating grammar and history have stuck with me ever since. (If only there were a Schoolhouse Rocks for algebra, my college career might have gone more smoothly.)

Last night ABC reported on their picks for the 5 best/most popular episodes. I agree with their top two choices, but not the others, so here is my countdown of the five best segments of Schoolhouse Rocks.

"The Preamble" is a sentimental favorite.  When my son was young he had a Leapster and he had both Grammar Rocks and History Rocks games for it. He learned the Preamble to the Constitution courtesy of Schoolhouse Rocks and Leap Frog.

"The Great American Melting Pot"  A classic that has stayed remarkably timely as well.

"Interjections" I rank this higher than ABC did--for the sheer genius of fitting lines like "or with a comma when the feeling's not as strong" into a  song, not to mention audaciously setting a kids educational video to Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus,".

"I'm Just a Bill" One of the best civics lessons ever, in the space of 3 minutes here is the story of how Federal laws are made (and not made).

"Conjunction Junction" Here it is, the earworm to end all earworms.  As I mention over at Lefty Pop, I had a high school teacher who made students who misused conjunctions sing the song in front of class. It is the perfect merging of pop art and useful knowledge.

So those are my favorites. What are yours? If you go over to my post on Lefty Pop you can see the ones ABC picked. Or let me know what your choices would be.

Sophomores!

Last year at this time our world was chaotic and adventurous. The children were both embarking on grand new academic adventures at the same time; with the Girl starting high school while her big brother headed off to college.

The Girl had been admitted to our school systems performing arts program, by auditioning for orchestra on viola.  The program is housed at a different high school than the one that middle school fed into and her brother had attended. With the exception of a few girls she knew from a city wide summer academic program she was heading off to school without any of her friends. Moreover, due to her time commitments for orchestra she had decided to give up dance; thus she was shifting her identity from "dancer" to "musician".

The Boy, meanwhile, had chosen a school a 3 hour drive from home, in another state; thus allowing him to put some distance (but not too much) between school and family. His last spring and summer at home had its own brand of chaos, as he navigated college offers, finished classes, tried to complete his Eagle Scout Requirements, worked all summer at the scout camp, finished his last season of baseball, and tried to get all the things he needed for his first semester of school.  Somehow, with a lot of help, he managed the juggling act, including having his Eagle Project finish 4 whole days before the 18th birthday cut off.

I'm happy to report that both did well this year, each surmounting a few challenges along the way--with good grades, extra curriculars, new friends, and teachers who seem to like them.

So September beckons again, and now they both are Sophomores, veterans of the scholastic trenches as it were. 

The Girl started back to school with all the drama of screwed up schedules, over packed classrooms, last minute summer reading assignments (as in she was finishing them up last week--she got the assignments in June) and the usual quest to color co-ordinate her notebooks and folders. But she survived that first week (which was exactly 2 days long, since they went back on Thursday) and now has had a 3 day weekend to recuperate. 

All week the kitchen and dining room had filled with all the Boy's treasures and necessary items: TV, coffee pot, clothes, drinks and snacks, school supplies and text books. Sunday we loaded up the car for an early start. One difference this year--the Boy drove going to the school, a relief to his dad who only had to make the return trip.    

So now they both are Sophomores--1 year down and 3 to go in their respective schools.  Both have more schooling ahead. The boy is already considering grad schools, the girl is looking at dozens of colleges and majors, her choices change almost daily. 

Both have a long way to go--and no doubt many twists and turns along the way, but so many kids their ages see only dead ends, or can't even find the road at all.  At least these two are both studying the map.