A book is a magical object. You can learn from a book. You can improve yourself with a book. With a book you can travel to other places. They might be near or far. The place might be real or imaginary. The possibilities are endless.
One of my favorite things to do on a rainy day is to wrap myself in a shawl or comfy blanket. I make a cup of tomato soup and grab a book. I sit by the window to read and watch the rain.
Now there are some who wish to censor our books. There is talk of re-writing objectional passages or words they find objectionable. In some cases they are correct; those things might be objectionable. However the author took time to write them in that particular format. It is not up to us to change what the author wrote.
Some want to ban books that are written abouts subjects with which they do not agree. If you do not agree with a book DON'T READ IT!
I do agree that some books are not meant for children. Parents are responsible for seeing to it that their children are not reading material that could cause harm. Pay attention. If needed read the book yourself to make the decision.
Some books and authors that have been marked for censorship are Mark Twain, The James Bond series, Lolita, To Kill A Mockingbird, Ulysses, The Handmaid's Tale, Satanic Verses, The Catcher In The Rye, 1984, The Lord Of The Rings, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Brave New World, Forever Amber, Mein Kampf, The Naked And The Dead, Peyton Place, Animal Farm, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Frankenstein, J.K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series, The Grapes Of Wrath, The Color Purple... the list goes on and on and on.
My feeling is that no book should ever be banned. Even so-called "dirty" books might be a psychological study.
Again if you do not like it DON'T READ IT.
great sharing dear Emma !
ReplyDeletei agree with each of bit you said here
policies are made already and rule have been declared for parental guidance so there is no need for such childish thing to do . writers have right to speak their mind it is upto readers whether they want to read or not .manipulating art is condemnable indeed
animal farm and god of small things have been recommended to by my eldest son
Thank you for your thoughts. It hurts me any time a book is destroyed.
DeleteI too agree with what you posted, Emma, and many times I have stopped reading a book not because of anything controversial but simply that I wasn't enjoying it. There are far too many books to read to waste time on one that isn't enjoyable. For all of those who talk about banning books did they never read the Bible which has a lot of atrocities wthin its pages.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about the Bible this morning. Most of the things they want to ban books for are in the Bible. Thank you for your thoughts.
DeleteDear Emma, that is exactly as I see it too! (And what I wanted to say about the censorship of Roald Dahl in my last post on Willpower).
ReplyDeleteI too think that it is utterly wrong to change the work of an author - next they will go and overpaint the naked lady in Edouard Manet's picture "Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe", because they think it scandalous.
I agree that parents of small children should first read the book they want to give them (as well as keeping them away from TV as long as possible, and then watch over what they see. I know: it only works with small children, but hélas: then you maybe have laid a foundation).
And grown-ups who want to decide what I, also grown-up, should (!) read: I am very belligerent about that. As you say: THEY can decide for THEMSELVES not to read it.
Amen. I have yet to figure what Raold Dahll wrote that was so dangerous.
DeleteHe called obese people "fat" - that's what they changed - to hurt nobody's feeling.
DeletePity
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