Classics Schmassics

So, I was sitting here during Banned Books Week wondering which book I should read (and realizing it's almost over, and I have to wait several months to get my copies of Speak, Twenty Boy Summer and Slaughterhouse Five).  So I go to my awesome built-in bookshelf (because my house was built circa the-stone-ages), because I figure, I'm sure I've got at least one banned book in here, or maybe even a classic.

And this is what I find:



(this is just two shelves worth of books....I think a small child may have been swallowed up in there)

Yikes...ahem, I guess I haven't straightened them in a while...

Anyway, this brings me to a topic brought up by a friend who had an infuriating (yet totally awesome and lively) debate with another friend about what constitutes a "classic", and are all classics crap because they were written by a bunch of old white males?

What defines a "classic"?  Does it have to be written pre-1980, by an old white dude, with tons of literary metaphors and a huge moral at the end that you kind of have to figure out by yourself?

Or can it be an urban contemporary that threatens to break that fine line between fiction and reality?

Or is it just a bestseller- that book that EVERYONE owns, and has sold a million copies?

And...must a book be contested or banned before it earns the right to be called a classic?

My answer is- I have no idea.  Can we even decide what a classic would be today?  Can we really sit down and say "This book is going to be a classic."?  It's so subjective- what one person thinks is a great work of literature, another thinks is a piece of crap.  Plus, how long do we have to wait before it earns that all-powerful recognition of being a CLASSIC? 

This industry is just too subjective.  It's too opinionated.  It can't be put in a definite black and white, this-is-the-best-book-ever-and-you-are-wrong-if-you-don't-like-it category.  That's why, when you are looking for an agent, or an editor, your book may not speak to the first 50 agents you query.  But that 51st agent?  She might totally get your voice, and want to read that book so much that she doesn't eat or sleep for a whole day.  So how can we decide what a "classic" is and what isn't?

Anyway, since I couldn't find any banned books or classics to read in that book black hole (I'm sure they're in there somewhere), I found this at the library:


Two male penguins fall in love and decide they want to have a baby

 I have it on hold and should be getting it shortly.  I plan on reading it to Little Monster.  Mr. Scroggins would LOVE this book.

Happy Banned Books Week!

Yet Another Banned Book

Banned Books Week is coming up (Sept 25-Oct 2), so it was kind of fitting when I heard a book had recently been banned from a school library in a town very near to mine.  It wasn't just contested...it was voted by the school board to ban it.

This is the book that was banned, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  I actually have not read this book, but I plan to.  Very soon.  Along with the hundreds of kids who are now banned from reading this book.  Because when you ban a book, it just makes it that much more popular.  Which is awesome for the author.  But the amount of hatred towards that author is not awesome- and that part sucks. 

You can probably guess the stand most librarians and authors have on this issue.  I'm not going to go into depth why I believe book banning is wrong, because this blog isn't really here for me to rant and go all politic-y on you. 

I think my most basic argument is this:  if you are a parent, and you don't want your child to read something, then don't let them read it.  PLEASE do not decide what is okay for someone else's child to read.  Books are created for our enjoyment, and what one person may hate, another may love.  It is not for you to decide what other children should or shouldn't be reading.  A good parent is one that cares about his/her child, and talks to them about their beliefs and why they believe it.  I'm not telling parents to let their children read this book.  I am saying, let the libraries cary it, and if you need to talk to your own child about whether or not you want them to read it, then talk to them about it.  Not mine.  I'll do the talking with mine, you do the talking with yours.   And leave the book selection to the librarians.  I'm pretty sure they know what they are doing.

And guess what, when they turn 18 and out the door, you better believe they will read every book you wouldn't let them read, watch every movie you restricted, and use every curse word that was forbidden (okay probably earlier while they are out with their friends somewhere...but that's not the point).  I think the more communication we have with our children, the better off they will be as they grow into adults and their little minds are bombarded with information.  If you respect them, they will respect you.  And hopefully, whatever your wishes are (I'm not going into that right now...) they will respect them as well. 

Okay, stepping off my soap box now.

I'd like to close my post with an awesome awesome response to the recent book banning.  THIS was written to the Opinions section of a local newspaper in response to the banning of Absolutely True Diary...
I love how sarcastic he is, and what I love even more, is the fact that many people thought he was serious.

So...pick up a banned book to read next week.  You can find a list of the most challenged books in 2009 Here, and any other links to books or info on Banned Books Week.  I'm going to read Absolutely True Diary that week...  Oh wait, I can't get a copy at my library because there are 65 HOLDS on it! (and it just keeps rising!)  But have no fear!  We have many more on order!  Which means more money for the author, woot!  More publicity = more demand, which in turn = more published books! Or, I can just read one of the many other books that have been contested or banned.

Maybe I'll read this instead:      or this:   or maybe even this:

Have you ever encountered an instance in which a book has been banned in your library or school?

Happy reading everyone!