So a friend posted this and I'm embarrassed to post here, but I have a very short attention span. I've started so many more books than I've ever finished. But I'm a firm believer in giving almost anything a shot- but I won't waste time on something that doesn't interest me thoroughly. I would much rather be in love with a book than force myself through it only to hate it....so here we go. I'm probably not the best librarian out there when it comes to classics....And I also gather (after filling this out) that I don't take kindly to being assigned reading...haha!
Bold--I've read it.
Italics-- I tried to read it.
Highlighted--I want to.
Nuttin'--I don't care.
I don't believe in burning books.
1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (I own 4, will read them to my kids, couldn't get through the second book)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible (never made it all the way through front to back.)
7. Wuthering Heights --Emily Bronte (loved this book)
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman (Way before the hoopla this was an assigned reading for a class. I was bored to tears. I hate fantasy books)
10. Great Expectations -Charles Dickens (Started, but I just don't have a taste for Dickens)
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (I thought Amy and Beth were too whiny)
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy (Started as well.)
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare (I certainly haven't read all of them but I would say at least 1/2.)
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (loved as a teen, re-read and hated it as an adult)
19. The Time Traveller's Wife – (tsk tsk I know)
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (loved it)
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (high school, barely remember it.)
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (read parts of Through the Looking Glass and was surprised at how well I liked it, but didn't finish.)
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (school assignment)
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
37. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
38. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (I've owned this book forever and never finished.)
39. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (Another school assignment.)40. Animal Farm - George Orwell (loved it)
41. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (Read it in one day. Good if you like poorly written mysteries/puzzle stories)
42. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
43. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
44. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
45. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (currently listening in my car.)
46. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
47. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
48. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
49. Atonement - Ian McEwan
50. Life of Pi - Yann Martel (REALLY need to read this I hear.)
51. Dune - Frank Herbert
52. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
53. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
54. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
55. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
56. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (school assignment)
57. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
58. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (didn't understand the hype)
59. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
60. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (high school)
61. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
62. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
63. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (excellent excellent book)
64. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
65. On The Road - Jack Kerouac (too wordy)
66. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
67. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding (I can read my own diaries)
68. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
69. Moby Dick - Herman Melville (UGH!)
70. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
71. Dracula - Bram Stoker
72. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (I wrote the author as a little girl and was devastated when I found out she had died years prior and never received my letter)
73. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
74. Ulysses - James Joyce
75. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath (I own 2 copies and have only read half)
76. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
77. Germinal - Emile Zola
78. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
79. Possession - AS Byatt
80. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (school assignment)
81. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
82. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
83. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
84. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
85. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
86. Charlotte's Web - EB White (sigh. Is there any such perfection as Wilbur and Charlotte?)
87. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
88. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (school)
89. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
90. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (Creepy- school)
91. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
92. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
93. Watership Down - Richard Adams
94. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
95. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
96. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
97. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
98. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
99. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
100.The Outsiders -S. E. Hinton
Another thing I noticed after filling this out, is often I select other books by the same authors listed here- though I've never been a fan of Jane Austen. Something must be wrong with me, right?
Friday, September 12, 2008
Adopting patrons
So I've had the pleasure of getting-to-know many of my teen patrons who frequent the library more often than most. In the area where my library is situated, we're surrounded by condos and apartment complexes, most of them are filled with single parents and several children...some of them teenagers. We're also surrounded by a lot of homes- some with loving parents and some with less-than ideal situations. But regardless, for whatever reason, teens flock to the library each evening after school, whether it's to update their Facebook or Myspace pages, laugh at videos on Youtube, do homework, pick out a great book, or converse with friends, they're there- and I'm glad. I want the teens there- even when they're ruffling my feathers and pushing my buttons.
For several teens the Library is a Home Away from Home, or just more of a home environment in general, where adults look over them or at least pay some attention to what they're needs are- whether it's a book for a book report, help with homework, a snack before dinner, or small talk about what's going on.
With some of these teens, I've learned more about their home lives. I've heard some stories that make me sick to my stomach- adoptive parents telling kids they can't go to college, not buying them proper shoes that fit on their ever-growing feet, and even locking them out of the house each morning so they "don't get into trouble".
After talking at length with one of my teens last night I had to resist the urge to bring them (a brother sister pair) home with me. I mean, of course I know I couldn't ever do this. But when I used to work in Daycare, and when I worked as a student teacher, it became painfully obvious how many negligent parents there are out there. I'm certain that most of them do it because they don't know of another way- but it hurts my heart to know that hopes and dreams can be dashed so quickly of these bright teenagers who are so full of personality and intellect that they could certainly make huge differences in the world when they grow up. I can't believe that parents- particularly adoptive parents, would choose to treat their adopted kids/teens with such disregard and disrespect. I doubt they realize how insidious that kind of abuse is, and how it will effect the generations that their own kids end up creating.
Why adopt a child or children or teenagers if you don't plan on loving them? If you don't plan on providing for them the things that their biological parents can't provide?! I'm under the assumption that many adoptions and foster families go along with this system for the monetary aspect of the responsibility. They agree to adopt/foster, in order for the government handout that comes along with the kid, and that's it.
I've said it before- I'm pretty much broke. But when I talk to these kids and realize that their parents won't buy them shoes that fit, won't allow them to participate in sports, won't provide them with a nutritious dinner or breakfast before school, I realize that I could do that. I could certainly send a teenager to school with a granola bar and an apple- a sandwich and $3 for lunch. I could certainly splurge on a $40 pair of shoes every so often and I know that I could afford the room in my heart to listen to these kids- that's mostly what they want, is to be acknowledged and listened to.
It makes me hate the "system" that ignores bad parenting in situations where the system IS responsible for placing children in loving homes. We can't avoid placing biological kids in crappy home lives, but when people are fostering and adopting kids and teens, who have already had many many crosses to bear, I think it's absurd that the system can't more adequately provide these kids with what they need.
So last night, as I sat on my break, thinking over the stories that I heard from a young patron who explained to me only SOME of her home situation, it became painfully obvious to me that by choosing this field (as opposed to choosing education) I did not escape the feeling of wanting to "Save the children" from their crappy home situations. I was hoping I'd never have to have that heartaching feeling again (after my years of daycare and education experiences).
It sucks to feel so helpless and know what these great kids are going through. It sucks to feel like I can only give them animal crackers and homework help, instead of new shoes, a ride to school that's 4 miles away, or a bed that they could call their own.
For several teens the Library is a Home Away from Home, or just more of a home environment in general, where adults look over them or at least pay some attention to what they're needs are- whether it's a book for a book report, help with homework, a snack before dinner, or small talk about what's going on.
With some of these teens, I've learned more about their home lives. I've heard some stories that make me sick to my stomach- adoptive parents telling kids they can't go to college, not buying them proper shoes that fit on their ever-growing feet, and even locking them out of the house each morning so they "don't get into trouble".
After talking at length with one of my teens last night I had to resist the urge to bring them (a brother sister pair) home with me. I mean, of course I know I couldn't ever do this. But when I used to work in Daycare, and when I worked as a student teacher, it became painfully obvious how many negligent parents there are out there. I'm certain that most of them do it because they don't know of another way- but it hurts my heart to know that hopes and dreams can be dashed so quickly of these bright teenagers who are so full of personality and intellect that they could certainly make huge differences in the world when they grow up. I can't believe that parents- particularly adoptive parents, would choose to treat their adopted kids/teens with such disregard and disrespect. I doubt they realize how insidious that kind of abuse is, and how it will effect the generations that their own kids end up creating.
Why adopt a child or children or teenagers if you don't plan on loving them? If you don't plan on providing for them the things that their biological parents can't provide?! I'm under the assumption that many adoptions and foster families go along with this system for the monetary aspect of the responsibility. They agree to adopt/foster, in order for the government handout that comes along with the kid, and that's it.
I've said it before- I'm pretty much broke. But when I talk to these kids and realize that their parents won't buy them shoes that fit, won't allow them to participate in sports, won't provide them with a nutritious dinner or breakfast before school, I realize that I could do that. I could certainly send a teenager to school with a granola bar and an apple- a sandwich and $3 for lunch. I could certainly splurge on a $40 pair of shoes every so often and I know that I could afford the room in my heart to listen to these kids- that's mostly what they want, is to be acknowledged and listened to.
It makes me hate the "system" that ignores bad parenting in situations where the system IS responsible for placing children in loving homes. We can't avoid placing biological kids in crappy home lives, but when people are fostering and adopting kids and teens, who have already had many many crosses to bear, I think it's absurd that the system can't more adequately provide these kids with what they need.
So last night, as I sat on my break, thinking over the stories that I heard from a young patron who explained to me only SOME of her home situation, it became painfully obvious to me that by choosing this field (as opposed to choosing education) I did not escape the feeling of wanting to "Save the children" from their crappy home situations. I was hoping I'd never have to have that heartaching feeling again (after my years of daycare and education experiences).
It sucks to feel so helpless and know what these great kids are going through. It sucks to feel like I can only give them animal crackers and homework help, instead of new shoes, a ride to school that's 4 miles away, or a bed that they could call their own.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Tough Week
Well, it's been a tough week here at my branch. Our Manager went on a much-deserved vacation. Normally things would run smoothly without her, however this week was also a week in which we were short 3 people-- roughly a quarter of our staff. What did this mean? Mostly that we were busier than usual (that's just the Universe or Karma or something) and patience gets harder to come by, and people work more/longer hours, get stressed more easily, etc.
And of course I get sick. The crud. The Creeping Crud that every child under age 5 has right now has somehow wormed its way into my chest and head, which has made me achy and tired and miserable for three days. It's pretty bad.
BUT the John Green visit was MADE OF AWESOME, as promised. That guy is so easy to work with it makes me want to invite a million authors to come visit. He didn't ask for strange requests like vegan sandwiches cut into quarters or bottles of a certain brand of water. Instead, he was flexible and great, and it was incredibly surreal to be sitting and having a conversation with him IRL, when typically I'm used to just listening to him on my home computer. I'm a NerdFighter (and somewhat of a lurker) on his blog and Ning site, and watched most of Brotherhood 2.0 in a week or two to catch up with them when they were halfway through the year of vlogging. Of course I felt I said and did embarrassing things (which I always do around people who I'm intimidated/impressed by..) but oh well- if I hadn't then I suppose it wouldn't be "me"....right?
So tomorrow is my OFF day, which means I work saturday. I'm so excited to have a day off, you have no idea. I'm planning a multitude of things, but if they don't get done, they don't get done. The only major plan is to make a cake for the boyfriend, whose birthday is on Sunday.
I finished a YA book! Hooray!
BlackBox by Julie Schumacher
Elana and her sister Dora have a typically atypical friendship -- meaning, that they share a secret code language, understand each other's fears and are inextricably linked as siblings and best friends, despite their differences in personality. However, Dora starts to slip away from Elana, as she falls deeper and deeper into depression, and is even hospitalized for it. As Elana tries to learn more about what-Dora's-feeling, she befriends a boy at school whose mother is a psychiatrist. The boy is mysteriously kind (yet still odd) and their friendship grows as Elana deciphers Dora's strange actions when she returns home from the hospital. At the same time, Elana is forced (by her parents) to open-up to a therapist herself, and for Elana this is difficult, as her emotions have always been well-hid from others, sometimes even from herself.
I really liked this book, which had short chapters and was a fairly quick read. The suspense increases as Elana learns more and more about Dora's condition, and it pulls the story along at a nice pace. I would recommend this to teens who know someone dealing with depression, as it speaks to how a clinically depressed person actions affect the people surrounding them, particularly how it affects family and close friends.
I'm also listening to Anne of Green Gables on audio in my car. I had never read the book before (tsk tsk tsk I know), though I used to watch the Disney version of the movie over-and-over again as a little girl and teen. It's like soul-food for me. Listening to the audio is so much better than I expected it to be. Though I'm impressed by how closely the text matches the movie, there are so many more things to "imagine" while listening to the actual book instead of the screenplay. I'm starting to think that I'll have to read/listen to the entire series. Getting into my car is something I look forward to now with this book. If only it could also make going to the gas station as fulfilling....
And of course I get sick. The crud. The Creeping Crud that every child under age 5 has right now has somehow wormed its way into my chest and head, which has made me achy and tired and miserable for three days. It's pretty bad.
BUT the John Green visit was MADE OF AWESOME, as promised. That guy is so easy to work with it makes me want to invite a million authors to come visit. He didn't ask for strange requests like vegan sandwiches cut into quarters or bottles of a certain brand of water. Instead, he was flexible and great, and it was incredibly surreal to be sitting and having a conversation with him IRL, when typically I'm used to just listening to him on my home computer. I'm a NerdFighter (and somewhat of a lurker) on his blog and Ning site, and watched most of Brotherhood 2.0 in a week or two to catch up with them when they were halfway through the year of vlogging. Of course I felt I said and did embarrassing things (which I always do around people who I'm intimidated/impressed by..) but oh well- if I hadn't then I suppose it wouldn't be "me"....right?
So tomorrow is my OFF day, which means I work saturday. I'm so excited to have a day off, you have no idea. I'm planning a multitude of things, but if they don't get done, they don't get done. The only major plan is to make a cake for the boyfriend, whose birthday is on Sunday.
I finished a YA book! Hooray!
BlackBox by Julie Schumacher
Elana and her sister Dora have a typically atypical friendship -- meaning, that they share a secret code language, understand each other's fears and are inextricably linked as siblings and best friends, despite their differences in personality. However, Dora starts to slip away from Elana, as she falls deeper and deeper into depression, and is even hospitalized for it. As Elana tries to learn more about what-Dora's-feeling, she befriends a boy at school whose mother is a psychiatrist. The boy is mysteriously kind (yet still odd) and their friendship grows as Elana deciphers Dora's strange actions when she returns home from the hospital. At the same time, Elana is forced (by her parents) to open-up to a therapist herself, and for Elana this is difficult, as her emotions have always been well-hid from others, sometimes even from herself.
I really liked this book, which had short chapters and was a fairly quick read. The suspense increases as Elana learns more and more about Dora's condition, and it pulls the story along at a nice pace. I would recommend this to teens who know someone dealing with depression, as it speaks to how a clinically depressed person actions affect the people surrounding them, particularly how it affects family and close friends.
I'm also listening to Anne of Green Gables on audio in my car. I had never read the book before (tsk tsk tsk I know), though I used to watch the Disney version of the movie over-and-over again as a little girl and teen. It's like soul-food for me. Listening to the audio is so much better than I expected it to be. Though I'm impressed by how closely the text matches the movie, there are so many more things to "imagine" while listening to the actual book instead of the screenplay. I'm starting to think that I'll have to read/listen to the entire series. Getting into my car is something I look forward to now with this book. If only it could also make going to the gas station as fulfilling....
Monday, September 8, 2008
Read Paper Towns by John Green, it is made of awesome
As is the man himself. But we all knew that, right?
But alas it has been an incredibly long day, and I must rest myself before going into work tomorrow. Will blog more about this great experience hopefully tomorrow.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Annual Tornado Nightmare
So every once in a while, typically when I'm in the midst of some sort of emotional crisis, I have a nightmare about either the End of the World (think- Armageddon type visual effects) or Tornadoes. I'm terrifed of tornadoes, always have been.
Anyways, since I've been in the midst of a pretty severe internal emotional crisis-- covering everything from money, career, baby-making/husband-wanting? futures, losing best friends, other best friends moving out of state....well it's been a bad past couple of days. My brain is flitting from one feeling to another, and I find myself not being able to concentrate because I'm in "flight mode" (from Fight-or-Flight psychology). I have images of just staying on 315 south, hitting 71 south and keep driving until I reach Georgia. Yea, it's THAT time of year for me.
At any rate, I had this crazy dream last night, that I was loading up a bus full of teens (that work at the library) and library co-workers. We were going to a fancy hotel in some (unknown to me) city with huge beautiful buildings. We were having some sort of celebration, because in the hotel restaurant, everyone from the library was getting ready for the event. And all of them were wearing red Library of the Year t-shirts, only these t-shirts had long sleeves and ON the long sleeves there was an image of my high school mascot, Quaker Sam. (I know- weird. Our mascot was a Quaker, peace-loving pious people, but we were calling the Fighting Quakers-- supreme oxymoron, but I digress.)
All of the sudden, while the LOTY t-shirt wearing clan is readying the restaurant for our "celebration," enormous boulders start piercing the building causing huge gaps in the walls of the structure. I mean, these boulders (or meteors?) were the size of HOUSES. No one would listen to me when I told them to get out of the building. Everyone was just going about their business before the celebration, folding napkins while I was screaming at them to get out of the building.
THEN I find myself looking out of one of the gaping holes in the hotel and see numerous tornadoes in the distance. Again, I'm trying to corral everyone into a basement, or at least FIND a basement in the hotel, which I am attempting to do while scaling the walls of the elevator shaft.
I woke up extra early because I couldn't take anymore of this dream. It was awful.
My interpretation?
My subconscious is overwhelmed with work....and mainly I feel a complete and utter loss of control over everything (tornadoes...) and I feel like no one's listening to me.
Great, huh.
More later.
Anyways, since I've been in the midst of a pretty severe internal emotional crisis-- covering everything from money, career, baby-making/husband-wanting? futures, losing best friends, other best friends moving out of state....well it's been a bad past couple of days. My brain is flitting from one feeling to another, and I find myself not being able to concentrate because I'm in "flight mode" (from Fight-or-Flight psychology). I have images of just staying on 315 south, hitting 71 south and keep driving until I reach Georgia. Yea, it's THAT time of year for me.
At any rate, I had this crazy dream last night, that I was loading up a bus full of teens (that work at the library) and library co-workers. We were going to a fancy hotel in some (unknown to me) city with huge beautiful buildings. We were having some sort of celebration, because in the hotel restaurant, everyone from the library was getting ready for the event. And all of them were wearing red Library of the Year t-shirts, only these t-shirts had long sleeves and ON the long sleeves there was an image of my high school mascot, Quaker Sam. (I know- weird. Our mascot was a Quaker, peace-loving pious people, but we were calling the Fighting Quakers-- supreme oxymoron, but I digress.)
All of the sudden, while the LOTY t-shirt wearing clan is readying the restaurant for our "celebration," enormous boulders start piercing the building causing huge gaps in the walls of the structure. I mean, these boulders (or meteors?) were the size of HOUSES. No one would listen to me when I told them to get out of the building. Everyone was just going about their business before the celebration, folding napkins while I was screaming at them to get out of the building.
THEN I find myself looking out of one of the gaping holes in the hotel and see numerous tornadoes in the distance. Again, I'm trying to corral everyone into a basement, or at least FIND a basement in the hotel, which I am attempting to do while scaling the walls of the elevator shaft.
I woke up extra early because I couldn't take anymore of this dream. It was awful.
My interpretation?
My subconscious is overwhelmed with work....and mainly I feel a complete and utter loss of control over everything (tornadoes...) and I feel like no one's listening to me.
Great, huh.
More later.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
aw naw she didn't....
From the NYT:
"Ann Kilkenny, a Democrat who said she attended every City Council meeting in Ms. Palin’s first year in office, said Ms. Palin brought up the idea of banning some books at one meeting. “They were somehow morally or socially objectionable to her,” Ms. Kilkenny said.
The librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, pledged to “resist all efforts at censorship,” Ms. Kilkenny recalled. Ms. Palin fired Ms. Emmons shortly after taking office but changed course after residents made a strong show of support. Ms. Emmons, who left her job and Wasilla a couple of years later, declined to comment for this article. In 1996, Ms. Palin suggested to the local paper, The Frontiersman, that the conversations about banning books were “rhetorical.”
I hate book banning, book bann-ers (if that's a word) and I really didn't need another reason to dislike this woman....but now I have one more. I have a feeling it won't be the last reason...
And I'm not turning this into a political blog. I reserve political rantings to myspace, where I can be obnoxious and say what I really feel. But since this had to do with libraries, I thought I'd post it here. Sigh. Censorship Sucks.
UPDATE: I have scoured the interwebs for Wasilla's City Council Meeting Minutes as well as Library Board Meeting Minutes in search of the list of challenged books by Mrs. Palin. Nothing before August of 2008 is available without a Public Records Request (which takes weeks) and it appears as if this information USED TO be more widely available. There's even a section for media and other people seeking information on Palin...too many bridges to cross and lines of red tape to get through to find the appropriate list of books. Several lists have been made public, but none of them are well-sourced. Once I find the list, rest assured I will be posting it on here.
ANOTHER UPDATE: I've done more research and this is what I've gathered regarding Palin's Book Banning Stance:
"Ann Kilkenny, a Democrat who said she attended every City Council meeting in Ms. Palin’s first year in office, said Ms. Palin brought up the idea of banning some books at one meeting. “They were somehow morally or socially objectionable to her,” Ms. Kilkenny said.
The librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, pledged to “resist all efforts at censorship,” Ms. Kilkenny recalled. Ms. Palin fired Ms. Emmons shortly after taking office but changed course after residents made a strong show of support. Ms. Emmons, who left her job and Wasilla a couple of years later, declined to comment for this article. In 1996, Ms. Palin suggested to the local paper, The Frontiersman, that the conversations about banning books were “rhetorical.”
I hate book banning, book bann-ers (if that's a word) and I really didn't need another reason to dislike this woman....but now I have one more. I have a feeling it won't be the last reason...
And I'm not turning this into a political blog. I reserve political rantings to myspace, where I can be obnoxious and say what I really feel. But since this had to do with libraries, I thought I'd post it here. Sigh. Censorship Sucks.
UPDATE: I have scoured the interwebs for Wasilla's City Council Meeting Minutes as well as Library Board Meeting Minutes in search of the list of challenged books by Mrs. Palin. Nothing before August of 2008 is available without a Public Records Request (which takes weeks) and it appears as if this information USED TO be more widely available. There's even a section for media and other people seeking information on Palin...too many bridges to cross and lines of red tape to get through to find the appropriate list of books. Several lists have been made public, but none of them are well-sourced. Once I find the list, rest assured I will be posting it on here.
ANOTHER UPDATE: I've done more research and this is what I've gathered regarding Palin's Book Banning Stance:
- Palin becomes Mayor.
- Palin approaches Librarian and asks, "Would you let me ban some books?"
- Librarian staunchly replies, "Absolutely not, our collection development policy is based on National Selection criteria and we have policies and procedures in place to handle Book Challenges."
- Palin backs down.
- Palin approaches City Council and suggests Librarian resigns.
- Community and City Council love their Librarian and stand up for her.
- Librarian stays employed by the City, no books are challenged.
- There is no record with the Office of Intellectual Freedom (a segment of ALA) reporting that Wasilla had any book challenges.
- There is not a list of books anywhere that Palin was going to ban, except for maybe in Palin's mis-shapen beehived head somewhere.
So it's not as bad as I thought, but still not good. Oh well. To each their own I suppose....
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