Banned Books Week

Yes Yes Yes, every year, we report on the same books that have been challenged (meaning not actually banned but was attempted to be removed or restricted based upon the objections of a person or group) or banned over the years.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowlings

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

But this year I wanted to focus on worldwide books that have been banned. 

D.H Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928), Jackie Collins's The Stud (1969) and Bret Ellis's American Psycho (1991) are among some of the books once banned in Australia.

In Ireland:

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was banned in 1932, due to alleged references of sexual promiscuity.

Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger was banned in October 1951.

Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan was banned in 1958. The Irish Censorship of Publications Board was not obliged to reveal its reason but it is believed that it was rejected for its critique of Irish republicanism and the Catholic Church, and its depiction of adolescent sexuality.

The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien was banned by Ireland's censorship board in 1960 for its explicit sexual content.

The Lonely Girl by Edna O'Brien was banned in 1962 after Archbishop John Charles McQuaid complained personally to Justice Minister Charles Haughey that it "was particularly bad".

United Kingdom:

I thought this one was interesting:

Boy by James Hanley 

Hanley’s literary classic charts the short and brutish life of a boy who was unfairly neglected and forced out of school into the unforgiving world of work by his father. He escapes by running away to sea, but his exposure to the brutality that men are capable of only deepens his feelings of rejection. Narrated with unflinching language, it offers a visceral and acute observation of power imbalances. When Boy was initially published in the 1930s, it was prosecuted for obscenity due to the overtly violent writing and remained banned from 1935 until 1991. When the new British edition appeared in the early Nineties, there were significant omissions.  

In the 16th century, Spain had banned the Bible! But what is also interesting is that it has not been banned anywhere else. Challenged a lot? Yes!

If you really want to be bad you must read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov or Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawerence. Both have been banned in more than 5 countries! 

Besides being challenged in the United States, Animal Farm by George Orwell was banned in Russia, Vietnam, and United Arab Emirates, and then some!

I would like to end with this quote from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: 

A Pattern Story: August Book Club

 "...every story is a pattern story."  ~~ A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, George Saunders

According to George Saunders, no writer begins his or her great work of fiction with the idea, "I think I'll write a pattern story" or "What this story needs is pattern." And yet, no matter how funny, beautiful, complicated, or bizarre, every story is a pattern story.

Life, in itself, is a pattern story, though we rarely recognize repetition as part of the process. The same is true with stories. For example, all rags to riches stories follow the same pattern. The protagonist starts out with hard times, then an opportunity presents itself which leads to a change of fortune or the ability to overcome the original adversity. The characters and/or circumstances might be different, but the pattern is the same. The same is true for rebirth. The lead in the story is experiencing darkness - physical, spiritual, or maybe even other-worldly. He succumbs to the torture that is his life until an unexpected intervention breaks through the bondage. Once free, the main character begins to live life with peace and happiness. 

A pattern story can also be compared to the acts of a play. In comedy, the protagonist is characterized as pretty normal - the pizza guy, the beat cop, the lawyer, the dogwalker, or the loafer. Their life is upended by an unusual and unexpected conflict, which is perpetuated by their self-deluded desire to find a solution. The involvement of the main character usually results in even greater chaos, until he or she returns to normal life. In drama, the story follows an opposite pattern. Maybe everything is okay or great or even perfect in the beginning. Then a problem arises that usually descends from bad to worse. Finally, the story hits rock bottom. All hope is lost - or maybe not! Could there be a way out? A way to rise above the waves and make it to the shore? At the very end, once the main character finds salvation, he learns a lesson he never forgets - a gift that came out of the darkness.

As with the other exercises, once a reader begins to recognize pattern, it becomes difficult to overlook. Tragedy, mystery, adventure, romance - every story is a pattern story. If the main character is overcoming a monster (real or imagined), he restores peace and calm by facing down the foe that seeks to wreak havoc upon his society, his family, or himself. If the protagonist is beginning a quest, he answers a call to act, sets out on a journey, encounters troubles that threaten and overwhelm, and finally, by whatever means necessary, finds the inner strength or outside help to restore peace - usually accompanied by a new perspective of life or greater responsibility. 

When you strip a story down to its barest bones, similarities of pattern exist. Even the most original ideas for fiction follow a pattern, which is sometimes described as formulaic or predictable; however, readers are often creatures of habit when it comes to genre fiction. If readers prefer romance, they have general expectations of pattern. The protagonists meet, experience an attraction, reject the relationship on one or both sides, face a midpoint crisis, confess their deepest secrets and fears, break up completely, recognize their misery and loss, and complete the pattern with a declaration of love and a happy ending.

Pattern is expected in all genres; it is why readers read what they do. In fantasy, the pattern involves a hero's journey. In horror, the reader waits for the unexpected horrifying twist that is totally expected. If the reader is bored, he or she might choose adventure which provides an adrenaline high. Or maybe they want to read fiction that shocks the senses with its graphic realism. These novels still follow a definite arc with internal struggles laid bare for all to see. Armed with preexisting prejudices and judgments, realistic fiction combines the main characters' layers of motivations, fears, and desires with adverse external circumstances and internal conflict - creating what is known as the framed narrative, or the story within the story.

Saunders is correct in his statement: "every story is a pattern story." The best writers master the art of a pattern story, and readers return to their favorite genres and authors time and again to find that formula they crave. From Agatha Christie's crime fiction to Julia Quinn's regency romance to Michael Farris Smith's gothic Southern realism, pattern is what readers expect. The difficult task for the writer is to create an addiction to pattern from which the reader never recovers.

Please make plans to attend the Forest Public Library adult book club on Tuesday, August 24, at 6:00 p.m. as members discuss pattern in the books they are currently reading and in their favorite genres. Pre-packaged snacks, bottled water, and canned drinks will be provided.

A Page at a Time

American author and epic fantasy writer Terry Goodkind said, "A book is read one page at a time. A shelf is read one book at a time. A library is read one shelf at a time." 

The most amazing journey of a reader begins a page at a time. Even as a small child, the act of turning the page is one of deliberate movement. Teachers witness the phenomenon all the time. As a child learns to read, he/she develops decision-making skills with each positive or negative reaction to a single page. A child cannot always identify where a story is headed, but they know almost immediately if they want to find out. If they are not interested by page one, they might not even make it to page two.

Adults are the same, even though our power of deductive reasoning has been strengthened over time with practice and repetition. In the book, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, George Saunders gives an example of how this process is so critical to the response of the reader: "In the first pulse of the story, the writer is like a juggler, throwing pins into the air. The rest of the story is the catching of those pins. At any point in the story, certain pins are up there and we can feel them. We'd better feel them. If not, the story has nothing out of which to make its meaning."

Each page presents the possibility of a pivotal moment for the writer and reader. The writer decides what will happen next, and the reader decides if he wants to know. Children understand this concept with their first bedtime stories. One page can introduce a warning, and they anticipate a pin drop. One page can create specific curiosity about a setting like a beautiful castle, or a dark wood, or a candy-coated cottage. One page can initiate a conflict that even the youngest listener recognizes as trouble. Saunders calls this "a linear temporal phenomenon."

In classic logic, formulas are fixed. Monday comes before Tuesday. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Everything is absolute - true or false. The simplest definition of linear temporal logic is that a condition is true until another fact becomes true or an expected condition will eventually be true if the path continues. However...if a subsequent path appears in time, one questions if the expected condition will remain true forever or never be true at all. Isn't that the very definition of reading?

That scientific formula is supported by the bowling pins example. We know they are up there - in the air - and we feel that we understand their trajectory. But, once again, what might happen, what needs to happen, or what will happen remains in the air until we turn the page.

If you are not able to attend the Forest Public Library book club in person, please enjoy the exercise presented in the book: Read one page and answer the following questions: Without looking at the page, 1) What do you know so far? 2) What are you curious about? 3) Where do you think the story is headed?

Consider this final quote from the book as we complete the first exercise. "It's kind of exciting to pause here and admit that, as things stand, it's not yet a story. Not yet. And I'm going to claim, right now, that by the end, it's going to be a great story. So, there's something essential to learn here about the form itself: whatever converts not yet a story into great story is going to happen any minute now, over this next (last) page."

From Public to Personal: The Importance of an Excellent Library

Jane Austen, the author of Pride and Prejudice, said, "When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library."

Public librarians understand one thing above all else - the unexaggerated importance of an excellent library. During these technologically-advanced times of electronic books and audiobooks, virtual programs and databases, and digital media, an entire generation has moved towards the ephemeral and away from the enduring. And yet, without an excellent library, Jane Austen herself would have been miserable. 

So how does one create or curate an excellent library? If you want to build an excellent home, you seek out excellent contractors. If you want to serve excellent food at a party, you secure excellent caterers. And if you want to create an excellent library, you start with the advice of excellent librarians. Thus, the purpose of this blog is to help the reader create an excellent personal library by following the guidelines that librarians use on a daily basis to create excellent public libraries. 

The first consideration is the ability to view the library as a reflection of the community of readers. Library patrons possess different interests, passions, hobbies, and concerns, so the excellent librarian must know and understand the public he or she serves. The same application is true when creating a personal library. One must know and understand their own unique likes and dislikes. Whether the library is two small shelves at a reading nook or a room of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, the collection of books should reflect the personality of the individual. Dr. Neil Aitken, author and poet, stated the following: "A personal library not only reveals what types of narratives, knowledge, and beauty we think are worth investing in and holding onto, it also serves as a way in which we build a model of the universe as we understand it. A library's very arrangement can be used to affirm certain hierarchies and relationships to privilege some texts over others and to position ourselves in relation to all these different voices. Our personal library is a type of argument - a case we're making about ourselves in our own eyes and in the eyes of those we expect will encounter it. With every purchase and acquisition, we are saying to others (and to ourselves), 'I am the type of person who owns this type of book.'"

Just recently, a long-time CMRLS librarian began the process of creating a personal home library. She recognized the similarities between her work as a public librarian and her efforts to stock her home bookshelves. "I began to learn things about myself as I organized my personal collection of books. I knew that I was a devoted reader of romance, but I was surprised by how interested I was in history, travel, folklore, and personal memoirs. My collection of books helped me to understand more about my preferences, just as I have done for library patrons over the years."

As with the public library, the personal library uncovers what's missing or the gaps in our collections. According to Aitken's article, "the gaps in a collection also reveal what we do not know or have not made a priority in our lives." His father, who was a professional librarian, admonished that when visiting someone at their home, you should "always check out their bookcases" - not only for what's represented but also for what's missing.

The second consideration is the budget size when it comes to developing a collection. Public librarians face this dilemma on a monthly basis as they select books for their patronage. English author Neil Gaiman stated, "Don't ever apologize to an author for buying something in paperback, or taking it out from a library (that's what they're there for. Use your library.) Don't apologize to this author for buying books second hand, or getting them from bookcrossing or borrowing a friend's copy. What's important to me is that people read the books and enjoy them, and that, at some point in there, the book was bought by someone."

Some private libraries consist of signed first editions, while others are made up of books from library book sales, second-hand thrift stores, and discounted displays at independent bookstores or big-box retailers. Personal library collections range from rare to bestseller, hardcover to paperback, oversized to miniatures, and baby board books to scholarly tomes. As compared to the public library, the personal collection also requires occasional weeding (or removing) a book to make room for a new addition.

A final consideration is the atmosphere of the personal library. Excellent public librarians understand the significance of creating a place for patrons that feels welcoming, safe, and connected. The same is true when creating a private home library. Aitken calls it a "chosen literary refuge" and within it, we can "find the tools we need to survive and thrive in a sometimes hostile world." Excellent public libraries provide us with curated collections that educate, inspire, entertain, and inform, but more importantly, they provide the sanctuary to immerse ourselves in what is most important  - our sanity. No matter our struggles, we can find solace within the walls of an excellent library - public or private.

Author James Baldwin said, "You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive." Aphra Behn called it, "that perfect tranquility of life, which is nowhere to be found but in retreat, a faithful friend, and a good library." And Susan Sontag described her library as an "archive of longings."

One final quote from Dr. Aitken (and maybe the most important consideration) emphasizes the transforming power of the library, both public and private. "But each library...is vital in the same way that it asserts the importance of what we choose to keep, of what endures move after move, of what we hold sacred. Our libraries sustain us - and in time, we hope, will sustain those who come after us."

To read the article, A Library of One's Own by Dr. Neil Aitken, please follow this link: https://www.de-canon.com/blog/2018/1/24/the-need-for-a-library-of-ones-own

Also, check out the CMRLS libraries for the following list of books about creating an excellent library:

• At Home with Books: How Booklovers Live with and Care for their Libraries - Ellis, Estelle.
• Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany - Mount, Jane
• Library: An Unquiet History - Battles, Matthew
• House Beautiful: Decorating with Books - Proeller Hueston, Marie
• Remarkable Books: The World's Most Beautiful and Historic Works - Collins, Michael

December Events at the Morton Library

 We are going to have a lot of exciting things going on in December!

First off we will be having a contest to see who can Disguise the best Gingerbread Man! Come by the library and pick up your Gingerbread Man and take it home and decorate it to look like something other than a Gingerbread Man. Bring it back to the Library by December 20th and We will pick the best disguise to win a prize.

Next, we will be having a special Letters to Santa! Come in the Library and make out your Christmas list and we will have a magical Santa mailbox where you can put your letter in and it will be sent to Santa as soon as you put it in the mailbox!

We will also have a Santa's Naughty and Nice list up for you to add your name to for Santa to see. You better be nice or Santa will know!

We hope you have a great and safe Christmas Holiday! Spend time with your family and read some Christmas stories. We have lots of Christmas books for you to choose from so come see us and get some books to read together as a family and make this Christmas one to remember!

Merry Christmas from the Morton Library!

Brain Builders for Your Baby

Did you know that babies can hear their parents before they are even born?  They are learning even before they come out of the womb, so it is important to start talking and reading to them early on.  

Once your baby is born it is important to keep helping them with their brain development.  Add learning to any time of the day, no matter if it is at mealtime or bath time.  You can find conservation starters to help with vocabulary on any theme from being at the beach to discovering their own body at http://www.talkwithmebaby.org/start_a_conversation.

Find brain-building tips for ages 0 – 5 at https://www.vroom.org/.  This site is free and has an app you can download or get texts to your phone so that you can take these fun learning tips on the go.

The Brandon Library has tons of board books, lullaby cd’s, or learning DVD’s that you can check out for your precious little one to learn and grow.  You can even bring them to our Baby and Me storytime for ages 0 – 15 months on Mondays at 1 pm, Toddler storytime for ages 15 months – 2 years old on Mondays at 10:30 am, or Preschool storytime for ages 3 - 5 years old on Wednesday and Thursdays at 10:30 am.