Is There a Place for Book Censorship Today?

Today I read a post by fellow book blogger, Sheila at Book Journey

about book censorship.  She was asked to assist a group who want to censor the books available in schools.  She is, of course, upset about this turn of events and put the question out there to fellow bloggers.  Do you/we believe in censorship?

When I think of censorship, I think of one of my all-time favourite books, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  To Kill a Mockingbird was first published in 1960, an era of much contention between caucasian and African American individuals in the States.  The New Yorker and Time magazines both published positive reviews and the book was subsequently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961.  So what was all the fuss about?

In 1968 the National Education Association placed To Kill a Mockingbird on its list of titles having received the most complaints.  The complaints were in reference to the subject matter of rape, racial insult, and profanity.  In 1977 Eden Minnesota placed a temporary ban on the novel. Even as recent as 1990, school districts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia attempted to have the book banned, not to be used in the curriculum.  2006 (Tennessee) and 2009 (Ontario) saw it removed from schools yet again stating that the use of the word "nigger" was offensive.  Some parents and school officials thought it would be offensive and uncomfortable for children to read, citing that the content may incite racial hatred.  These schools were not alone in this opinion.

I have to wonder if these individuals actually read the book themselves.  If anything, this novel, in my opinion, was ahead of its time.  The story is built around a lawyer and his children, the lawyer believing the young man charged with rape was entitled to a defence and set out to prove the charges were false. 

"It is sad to consider that this book was once banned from schools and libraries.  Perhaps the individuals who wanted it banned did not read it for To Kill a Mockingbird was ahead of its time in promoting equal rights for all and the value of one soul is no greater than another.  To have the opportunity to read and to study To Kill a Mockingbird, is a privilege.  For a book that raises the question of racism and addresses the issues through the eyes of the innocent child, is certainly a book that I would encourage all people to read, particularly young people.  Atticus teaches his children the value of a human life." To read more, please refer to my review.  

What are your thoughts on censorship?  Is there a time and a place when it might be necessary?  Who should have the right to decide what a person reads?

I encourage you to stop by Book Journey and comment there as well after reading Sheila's thoughts on censorship of the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

Sources:  

http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2012/07/30/banned-books-awareness-to-kill-a-mockingbird

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_issues_faced_in_'To_Kill_a_Mockingbird'

http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics/reasons

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/CriticalEssayDetailsPage/CriticalEssayDetailsWindow?zid=7d6ff762c015c06f22406d479b43b107&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ2111200618&userGroupName=dove10524&jsid=09d2bcaf178358634b27046a14f20aef

First Book of the Year!! Happy New Year Everyone!

Another year has begun today and I was able to sleep in!  What a delight after a month of being up at 3:15 am to work at the hour of ridiculous (5:30 am).  You see, I work in a bookstore and supervise the team in charge of putting out product, signage for promotions, changeovers and such.  It's early but you get used to it and for a month, it's not too bad.

Raclette (courtesy of Amazon)

How was your New Year's Eve?  We spent it together, most of us, enjoying Raclette, eating chocolate and munchies and playing cards.  I, however, being a tired woos, was falling asleep playing cards so I gave up and went to bed at 10:30 and was woken just in time to bring in the new year with family.  It was a delightful evening and a few friends stopped in briefly to wish their new year greetings.  We did the countdown with a local tv station, cheered, hugged and kissed and the merriment ensued without me as I retired to bed.

Today it is cloudy, threatening more snow and the roads are slick (at least they were last evening, so I don't expect they've miraculously changed for the better.).  We have a lot of snow but it is warming at week's end to highs of -1 and -7 Celsius, Thursday and Friday respectively, with a risk of freezing rain Thursday.  We've had more freezing rain this winter than I've ever seen in the last 13 years we've resided here in the Edmonton area.  Rather treacherous for walking and driving. (I got the cleats for my boots, it's that bad!)

When Sheila at Book Journey posted a 1st Book of the Year join in, I decided now would be a perfect time to read a book I've wanted to read for two years.  It's Markus Zusak's The Book Thief.   It's the story of a young orphan, Liesel, and her love for books, a love that begins with acquiring a book left behind at her brother's graveside.  In her foster parents' home, a young Jewish man stays hidden from the Nazis during the beginning of World War II.  Oh, the possible ramifications if he were found. It is also about a love of books and words during a terribly tumultuous time in history. I invite you to watch the extended trailer below with an introduction by the actress who plays Liesel.

It is 1939.  

Nazi Germany. 

The country is holding its breath.  

Death has never been busier, 

and will become busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger finds her life changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden int he snow.  It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.  So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read.  Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times.  When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish man in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

(from the book cover)

I'm so excited to be able to fit this book into my reading schedule... finally.  The movie of The Book Thief is out in theatres now and I can't wait to see it but first I must read the book!!  Are you the same way? Must you read first before watching the movie?

What is your first book of the year?