#IndieThursday- Are You In?

Are you on Twitter or Facebook? If so, you have a great opportunity to advocate for independent bookstores each week. Jenn of Jenn's Bookshelves has started a great hashtag campaign called #IndieThursday.

Each week on Thursday, tweet out the books you've bought from independent bookstores that week along with the name of the store and if you know it, the store's @Twittername.

The Facebook #IndieThursday page is here.

This week, I bought Mirage by Matt Ruff and Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca from the Harvard Coop.

If you need to find an independent bookstore in your area, go to www.IndieBound.org and use their Indie Store Finder feature. Many independent bookstores offer online shopping and will ship to your home- so distance is not excuse!

And don't forget to use the tag #IndieThursday so it shows up with all the other posts. It's a great way to show your support for independent bookstores and remind your followers to shop indie, too!

Then come back to Twitter and Facebook on Friday for #FridayReads!

(You can always find me on Twitter at @bostonbibliophl.)

World Book Night!

Are you in?

World Book Night is an event during which people all over America and elsewhere are volunteering to give out copies of favorite books to strangers to encourage and promote literacy and reading in their community.

From the site:

We need book-loving volunteers to fan out across America on April 23, 2012! Just take 20 free copies of a book to a location in your community, and you just might change someone's life. Please sign up by Feb. 6 EST at midnight. 

The goal is to give books to new readers, to encourage reading, to share your passion for a great book. The entire publishing, bookstore, library, author, printing, and paper community is behind this effort with donated services and time. 

The first World Book Night was held in the UK last year, and it was such a big success that it's spreading around the world! Please volunteer to be a book giver in the U.S. Sign up now to be a book giver.

You choose books you'd like to give away from their list; I signed up for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian as well as two backup choices. You should have read the book you're given away, and you should love it, so you can be a great evangelist for it.

It costs you nothing, and it might help someone else discover the joys of reading. It's such a great opportunity to spread the word about a book you love! Sign up today. You have until February 6 to volunteer!

Buy Indie Day

Have you heard about Buy Indie Day?

Buy Indie Day is May 1, 2009. The idea is to rally book lovers around independent bookstores and have a day where folks go to their favorite independent bookstore and buy a book. It's the brainchild of best-selling author Joe Finder, who's proposing it as a way to advocate for and raise the profile of independent bookstores nationwide, and world-wide. There's even a Facebook page you can join.

So how can you participate, besides going to your favorite indie and buying a book?

Blogger Kevin Guilfoile, who's written a terrific post on Buy Indie Day, suggests announcing on your blog where and when you're planning to shop ahead of time- and spread the word. On your blog. On Twitter. On Facebook. Where ever you live and play online.

If you don't have an independent bookstore in your area, or you're not able to get out that day, you can also participate online. IndieBound.org can link you to indie bookstores- simply go to their website, click on "Find Bookstores," and you're off and running.

There's a lot of talk about the value on independent bookstores, so Buy Indie Day is an opportunity to come out and show that we mean what we say.

Me? I'll be going to Porter Square Books in Cambridge, a great neighborhood indie. And I already know what book I want!

IF YOU PLAN TO PARTICIPATE in one way or another- blogging, buying, etc.- I would love to know so I can set up a list of blogs and we can visit each other on May 1 to see what we're all up to!

IF THERE IS NO INDIE BOOKSTORE IN YOUR AREA, use zip code 02138 or 02115 to locate one in the Boston area that will ship! No excuses! :-P

Banned Books Week - Wrap-Up

Okay, well I've talked about Banned Books Week, listed banned books, reviewed banned books, and seen what other folks on the web and in the world are doing for the cause of free speech and access to information. As the week wraps up, the question arises- what next? What can we do for the other 51 weeks of the year to protect our freedom to read? For today I've compiled a list of organizations that we can turn to and to whom we can offer our support.

First off, ALA. The American Library Association is one of the most important voices when it comes to advocacy. Join ALA, support ALA, and get involved with ALA.

The American Civil Liberties Union is another important partner in the ongoing battle for free speech.

Electronic Frontier Foundation. They're big on digital freedom and issues pertaining to the online world.

ChillingEffects.org, an organization dedicated to helping people understand their rights in the online environment.

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund exists to "defend the First Amendment rights of comic book professionals throughout the United States."

The Media Law Resource Center, for law nerds, provides bibliographies and case information about First Amendment and intellectual property cases nationwide.

All of these resources themselves contain extensive links and information about other resources. So look them up and support the ones that do the things that matter to you.

Banned Books Week - Other Web Sites and Happenings

So, you're interested in Banned Books Week but my humble little blog isn't satisfying your craving for information and involvement. Okay. So I've assembled a list of resources and articles to give you more information.

I Love Libraries.org. A website run by ALA for non-librarians, this site has a feature on Banned Books Week and lots of links on advocacy, library issues and "Ask the Librarian" to answer your questions.

The Forbidden Library. A website run by an anti-censorship person, listing various banned books and the reasons they were challenged including specific instances. I couldn't quite figure out the creator's background/qualifications but the site looks like it's informative.

Google Book Search has a page on Banned Books Week too.

Amnesty International uses Banned Books Week as an opportunity spotlight the plight of those "who are persecuted because of the writings that they produce, circulate or read."

Surfing the Net with Kids has produced a kid-centric feature on Banned Books Week.

The Online Books Page has an information-rich feature on banned or censored books with an emphasis on classic literature including Shakespeare and Whitman and others not on lists of more recent banned or challenged works.

There are more sites and resources out there, too, of course; these are just a few. Happy reading!

Tuesday Thingers: Banned Books Week: The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000

 For this week's Tuesday Thingers, I've copied the list of the most-challenged books of the 1990s straight from the ALA website. I've highlighted the ones I've read. Highlight what you've read, and italicize what you have in your LT library.

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Interesting, no? This list always reminds me of those classics that somehow I never got around to, and then I want to run right out and read them all right away. And then I look at my reading chair and the big pile next to it. Sigh! Celebrate your freedom to read by buying or borrowing one of these books.

Banned Books Week

Posted with permission by the American Library Association. Click on the photo to go to the official site.

Banned Books Week is an annual campaign launched by the American Library Association to promote awareness about the existence of censorship and the continuing challenges to our freedom to read. Lots of bookstores have displays up with books that have been challenged- my local Barnes and Noble has an excellent series of displays with a variety of books and notes about why each one was challenged, and where and why.

This year's campaign runs from September 27 through October 4. During that time, I will be posting reviews of several banned books and polls and other fun stuff that I can dig up on the subject. Please come visit the blog during the week (and before and after, too!) and let me know if you have any suggestions or comments. And thanks to the folks at ALA for letting me use the graphic!