Challenged Books: or, what to read now

gayinpublic's recent post commenting on a Wisconsin "Christian Civil Liberties" groups desire and lawsuit to win the right to burn a library book reminded me about this list from the ALA. Every year, the American Library Association compiles a list of books that are challenged in libraries; meaning, books that someone has requested be removed from the library collection. (That's a nice way of saying 'books that someone wanted banned.') The ALA top ten most frequently challenged books of 2008 are:

1. "And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Anti-Family, Homosexuality, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
2. "His Dark Materials Trilogy" (Series), Philip Pullman
Reasons: Political Viewpoint, Religious Viewpoint, Violence
3. "TTYL"; "TTFN"; "L8R, G8R" (Series), Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group
4. "Scary Stories" (Series), Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: Occult/Satanism, Religious Viewpoint, Violence
5. "Bless Me, Ultima," by Rudolfo Anaya
Reasons: Occult/Satanism, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Sexually Explicit, Violence
6. "The Perks of Being A Wallflower," by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Drugs, Homosexuality, Nudity, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Suicide, Unsuited to Age Group
7. "Gossip Girl" (Series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group
8. "Uncle Bobby's Wedding," by Sarah S. Brannen
Reasons: Homosexuality, Unsuited to Age Group
9. "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group
10. "Flashcards of My Life," by Charise Mericle Harper
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

I expect that Baby Be-bop will make an appearance next year, what with all the press it's getting in Wisconsin. (Do these book burners know it's part of a series they might want to burn? I doubt it. These don't sound like folk who bother with a lot of "research.")

So there you have it- the books folks most want banned. Don't wait for Banned Books Week to get started on them. It sounds like a summer reading list to me!*

*All except His Dark Materials, which I've pointed out before- but it bears repeating- was just plain disappointingly awful.

Solar spring

It's been a bad spring for solar, mostly. Usually this is the season of the $2 electric bills, where I bank a lot of energy against the summer when the air conditioning is running. Unfortunately, with the rotten weather, even when it's not raining it's been overcast- no good for solar!

The good news, however, is that the SREC (Solar Renewable Energy Certificate program) is up to about $675 each- so I just got a big ol' boost in my repayment schedule. I'm on track to get this completely paid off (through energy savings) this summer. After that- FREE ENERGY!

That is, if the sun returns to Central NJ.

New Central Jersey Farmers Market

Hightstown is starting its own Farmers Market, Fridays through the summer from 3-7, by Peddie Lake. (That's the corner of Morrison and Main Streets, aka the corner of Rt. 33 and Rt. 539, aka the park by the library.) They're starting small but hopefully more farmers will join in soon. Come out and get what's fresh!


(cross-posted to sfoodblog)

Vote!

Today is Primary Day in Our Fair State. Polls are open NOW until 8 P.M. Are you registered to vote?

There is more than just the Governor's race on the line today- many Assembly, county and local offices have contested primaries. So, find out about the issues in your local races, and GO VOTE!

Make your voice heard.

ROTFLMAO

Funniest thing I've seen in quite a while. Enjoy.

The best news of all

388 of Our Fair State's National Guardsmen came home yesterday.

Not that far to the left

Times of Trenton columnist George Amick begs to differ with the old NY Times assessment that Our Fair State is as progressive as it gets:

For example, national polls show a growing willingness to allow homosexuals to marry, especially among younger voters. Same-sex marriage is going to be commonplace in a few years. But it won't be because New Jersey showed the way.
...
New York is on the brink of repealing its draconian Rockefeller-era drug laws, which robbed judges of discretion in sentencing and filled the prisons with nonviolent offenders, a disproportionate number of whom were black or Hispanic. But New Jersey clings to its law establishing no-drug zones in the vicinity of public schools, which has had the same result. Senate President Dick Codey, D-West Orange, has hinted that he might allow a proposed modification to come to a vote this spring, but so far there has been no sign of it.
Medical marijuana? Thirteen other states, including Sarah Palin's Alaska, have legalized the use of pot for medical purposes under tight restrictions. Their laws suddenly became significant rather than merely symbolic when the Obama administration announced that federal drug officials henceforth would honor those laws, rather than override them, as happened under President George W. Bush.

So, what happened to Our Fair State's liberal bent? Five other states allow everyone to marry, but not here; we stuck with separate-but-unequal civil unions. Massachusetts has near-universal health care. California is studying whether or not they should legalize and tax marijuana.

Here? We're re-electing Chris Smith. How's that fit in to "progressive leadership"?

Amick is right; New Jersey is no longer a progressive leader in many issues. How sad.

Bad to the Bone release

Didja see that cool widget to the right there, that says Jeri Smith-Ready's Bad to the Bone will be released on May 19, 2009?

Didja realize that it's only two days away?

Didja order your copy yet?

Finished

I finished my iPod project yesterday. I have now officially listened to every song on my iPod in alphabetical order.

Some things I've learned:

• iTunes capitalizes numbers at the end, after letters, which is the opposite of how we do it in the library.
• There are lots of songs that start with "I" and "You".
• I really gotta clean up my library- there's tons of stuff on there I don't need to have, particularly stuff I got free from iTunes.
• Time for some new music! I have a couple of CDs I haven't ripped yet, and at least two songs I want to buy.

It was a neat project, and took a lot longer than I thought- close to a year. Granted, I only listen to my iPod when I'm walking by myself or gardening, but also I don't have that many songs on it.

Now, I'm going to listen to a book for a change.

Someday, the fans will get over it.

Betrayed, say the fans- where is the wooden acting and pontificating?


Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'