For the last couple weeks I've been monitoring the statistics for the Group and in recent days have witnessed the jump from 981, where we seemed to be holding, to the latest (as of this typing) figure of 992 Followers. Naturally, my sense of excited anticipation has grown as we approach the 1,000 Followers milestone.
Who will these eight people be who will get us to that threshold. Who will the 1000th Follower be -- a newbie or a DK vet? Which lover of all things literary will make Readers and Book Lovers (our registered name on the site) the first group to attain 1000 Followers?
Whoever it is, I've been secretly hoping we'd make the mark during Banned Book Week. What better commentary on the futility of banning freedom of choice of reading material by those so narrow minded that they would like to put all our brains in the closet? Anyway, my martial instincts choose to react as if R&BLers represents a symbolic basin of resistance to those folks. So, if you're an R&BLers lurker, or even a longtime participant who just hasn't had the heart to ♥ us, please do so!
Who knows, #1000 could be you!
Please turn the page.
I'd like to take this diary time to invite you to post below what act of resistance to banners of books you've chosen to perform to celebrate Banned Books Week. For instance, have you selected an author whose books seem to be the constant or frequent target of book banners?
Salman Rushdie comes to mind as the favorite target (sadly, literally and figuratively) of them. To some, banning a book is insufficient. IF the author's still alive, then killing him or her is better than mere banning of their written works. In Rushdie's case, the Muslim fatwa against him forced him to lose his life not because death took it from him but because the threat of death made living in his normal public presence did. However, moving to the US, Rushdie recovered his life because here he can "hide" in the open. He writes about his lost life in his latest book.
The title immortalizes his nom de guerre, an ironic twist on the pseudonym we usually associate with writers: the nom de plume. BTW, "Joseph" is from Joseph Conrad and "Anton" from Anton Chekov, two of Rushdie's favorite authors. If we wish to demonstrate our principles by standing against those who ban books, then a work about living by one's principles in the face of death, Joseph Anton: A Memoir, would be an excellent resistance read, I think.
To help you in becoming an outlaw, here's a list (not definitive) of the Top 10 Banned Books of All Time. Leading off is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
Why was this book banned? According to the website:
Initially, Ireland pulled it off the shelves for its controversial themes on child birth, before several states in the US tried to have it removed from school curricul[a] due to its “themes on negativity.”
Speaking of "themes of negativity. . .what could be more negative than banning a book, or more illustrative of a dystopian society? Since a major theme of
Brave New World is loss of identity, we should read it "in protest" because one of the enhancements books bring to society is a greater understanding of it and of our place in it.
Interacting with diverse characters in books probably provides a considerable number of us with more encounters with "others than ourselves" than life itself does. Those encounters, those chances to "walk in another person's moccasins" deepen our comprehension of what life can be like beyond the limits of our personal experiences. Book banners try to limit the scope of experience, resulting (they must hope), in a homogenization of society, preferably in the direction that corresponds to their own views.
If the Top Ten list of banned books doesn't offer you enough choice for subversive reading material, here's the ALA's list of the 100 Most Frequently Banned Books by Decade.
1990-1999
The Top 10 from This Decade are:
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. Forever, by Judy Blume
8. Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
9. Heather Has Two Mommies, by Leslea Newman
10. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
2000-2009
The Top 10 from This Decade are:
1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2. Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
4. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
5. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
7. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
8. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
9. ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
For owners of e-readers, check out
this Time article, "Free eBooks for Banned Books Week." Remember to read freely -- in both senses of the word -- and to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week by reading while you still can.
If you are the 1000th Follower of R&BLers, or any Follower at all, please also tell us in the comments why you became one and share the title of your all-time favorite banned book. Whatever your Follower number and for whatever reason you joined the Group, I and everyone -- Admins, Editors, Contributors, and Commentators -- thank you for making R&BLers the vibrant community of readers and resistors that we are.