When we talk about Freedom To Read Week here in Canada, it’s easy to think only about books that have been banned.

However, sadly, it’s not just books—in Egypt, blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman has just been sentenced to four years in prison because of what he wrote in his blog.

So the Internet is not just one big happy playground, and Amnesty International has started an initiative called Irrepresible Info that allows bloggers and owners of websites to fight back.

It’s easy—you go to the site, register, and are given a bit of coding that you put in your blog template. Then, every time you reload the page, a new bit of censored material loads. Check it out in my left sidebar.

You can also sign up for the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Blue Ribbon Campaign For Internet Free Speech.

Money is always useful, of course, but another thing you can do is simplay display the blue ribbon logo in support of freedom of expression. Check out the left sidebar for this as well.

Posted by Amy as Blogs and Bloggers, Censorship at 1:47 AM EST

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The Canadian Book and Periodical Council has put together a wonderful website on book censorship and challenges.

There are many, many examples there of books that have been challenged or censored; here are two of the sillier examples that they document:

1954: Mickey Mouse comics were banned in East Berlin because Mickey was said to be an “anti-Red rebel.”

1983: Members of the Alabama State Textbook Committee called for the rejection of The Diary of Anne Frank because it was “a real downer.”

Humph.

Posted by Amy as Censorship, Readers & Reading at 1:06 AM EST

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I posted Saturday about the American Library Association’s list of 100 most frequently banned books, and here’s another link to a list of more banned books: The Forbidden Library.

It lists the books that have been banned or challenged and often provides brief explanations about why they’ve raised someone’s ire.

I think that banning/challenging is, at one level, extremely silly (someone thinks I shouldn’t be reading that? I wonder why—I’ll get a copy and find out). But the reasons people give are often achingly lame. The Forbidden Library lists a case in point: the challenge to Where’s Waldo:

Challenged at the Public Libraries of Saginaw, Mich. (1989), Removed from the Springs Public School library in East Hampton, N.Y. (1993) because there is a tiny drawing of a woman lying on the beach wearing a bikini bottom but no top. Yes, but did they find Waldo?

You have to be looking awfully hard to be offended to object to that.

Posted by Amy as Censorship, Readers & Reading at 1:46 AM EST

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Today marks the beginning of Freedom to Read Week here in Canada, and I’m doing my bit to mark it by posting exclusively about it for the duration.

Book banning and challenges to books are ongoing, and one thing that we can do is to read the books that have been challenged or banned. It’s a way of showing solidarity with the author and to demonstrate that we won’t allow our freedoms to be shut down.

It’s with this in mind that I’m delighted to sign up for the Banned Books Reading Challenge (which I blogged about yesterday). Here are the books I hope to read for this challenge before it ends on 30 June:

• The Analects by Confucius
• Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
• A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
• Deenie by Judy Blume
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
• A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
• The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
• One Thousand and One Arabian Nights
• Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
• The Witches by Roald Dahl

Once again, thanks to A Reader’s Journal for the head’s up on this challenge.

Posted by Amy as Censorship, Readers & Reading at 1:38 AM EST

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Sunday 25 February—Saturday 03 March is Freedom To Read Week in Canada.

As a result, Elaine at Fahrenheit 451: Banned Books has started a Banned Book Challenge.

The rules are simple:

Set a goal for yourself to read as many banned or challenged books as you wish between February 26 (Freedom to Read Week) and June 30, 2007.

She also asks you to register and let her know what your goals are.

I will definitely do this. I’m going to think about what books I’ll read and post my list later.

Unfortunately, there are all too many books to choose from. The American Library Association has put together a list of The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000. Here it is.

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

Via A Reader’s Journal.

Posted by Amy as Censorship, Readers & Reading at 7:41 AM EST

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Here’s a site that will be a big help to those of us who read works written before the 20th century: Archaic Medical Terms.

I’d always wondered what some of the characters were getting sick with; now I’m able to look them up. Here are a few:

• melancholia: depression
• French pox: syphillis
• fever and ague: malaria

The site doesn’t list every archaic term ever mentioned, but it’s a great start and an interesting browse.

Via The Electric Eclectic.

Posted by Amy as Words at 1:18 AM EST

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If you’d like to help support literacy in Africa, consider supporting the Camel Book Drive.

Here’s what the site has to say about the project:

Though The Camel Bookmobile (HarperCollins, April 2007) is a novel, the camel-borne library actually exists. It operates in Kenya’s isolated Northeastern Province near the unstable border with Somalia. It brings books to a semi-nomadic people who live with drought, famine and chronic poverty. The books are spread out on grass mats beneath an acacia tree, and the library patrons, often barefoot, sometimes joined by goats or donkeys, gather with great excitement to choose their books until the next visit. I visited the region and walked the bush with the camel library, and you can see pictures and a short video.

But of course, the bush is hard on books and the traveling library needs more. The books they have are written in either English or Swahili, both of which are taught in school.

They’re looking for donations of books; check out the site for the various methods/costs of shipping.

Via The Elegant Variation.

Posted by Amy as Books, Readers & Reading at 1:26 AM EST

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As you may remember from your school days, homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings (e.g. to, two, and too).

I’ve just discovered a fun site: Homophoner. You type in a phrase and click on the button, and you get a sentence with homophones.

I decided to have a little fun with Shakespeare, and I got these results:

• a rows bye any other name wood smell as suite
• butt soft what light threw yonder window breaks
• two bee oar knot two bee, that is thee question

I’m sure my results would have been even better if I’d been a little more imaginative in what I put in.

Via The Presurfer.

Posted by Amy as Words at 1:00 AM EST

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If you’re a fan of diaries and journals by famous people, check out The Diary Junction.

This site holds information on more than 500 people and their diaries. The site does not necessarily hold links to the diaries themselves (although in some cases the text is there). Here’s what you will find:

• biographical details, a biographical summary, and diary dates and descriptors,
• up to six internet links to a) a more detailed biography, b) texts of, or about, the diaries, c) institutions holding the original manuscripts,
• up to three diary titles.

When I looked up Louisa May Alcott, I couldn’t find online text of her diaries, but when I looked up Jane Welsh Carlyle, I could.

Via Internet Resources Newsletter.

Posted by Amy as Authors at 1:21 AM EST

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Robert Silverberg has written an excellent article that was published a year or two ago in Asimov’s Science Fiction. The article, called ”Reflections: The Days of Perky Vivienne”, shows us yet again that sf writers can be depressingly right about the future.

In this case it was Philip K. Dick who wrote about something that came true. He created a character called Perky Pat who, Silverberg explains, “is a kind of Barbie doll that becomes the object of intense cult-like fascination.”

Well, guess what? A company in Hong Kong called Artificial Life has created Vivienne, a virtual girlfriend.

It’s not an exact match, but the similarities are evident.

Via Alternative Religions.

Posted by Amy as Speculative Fiction at 1:10 AM EST

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I’ve just discovered a great blog: separated by a common language.

It’s a blog that explores the differences between American English and British English For example, the hair that Americans (and Canadians) refer to as “bangs” is called “fringe” in the U.K.

Now I’d like to see a blog that explores the differences between American, British, and Canadian English. I’m thinking of words like “runners” (Canadian) that are referred to as “trainers” in the U.K. and, I understand, as “sneakers” in the U.S.

Via Neat New Stuff On The Web.

Posted by Amy as Words at 5:25 AM EST

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Garret at dangerousmeta! highlights Frank Wilson’s recent review of the book The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books.

I love books, and I love lists. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Frank has some interesting points to make about the book. He also tells us that there’s a web site featuring bits from the book and also featuring a spot where readers can post their own top ten lists.

It’s hard to whittle the list down to just 10 books that have meant the most to me, but I’m going to try here. Not counting various books on matters spiritual, here are the ones I love the most and constantly reread (listed alphabetically):

• Bleak House (Charles Dickens)
• Courting Saskatchewan (David Carpenter)
• Emma (Jane Austen)
• Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
• The Famished Road (Ben Okri)
• Gaudy Night (Dorothy L. Sayers)
• Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
• The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
• Mansfield Park (Jane Austen)
• Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

Posted by Amy as Readers & Reading at 1:11 AM EST

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If you’re browsing the Internet and you’re not sure what NALOPKT or a 404 is, you might like to check out NetLingo.

The site aims to cover “thousands of definitions that easily explain the Internet and the online world of business, technology, and communication.”

It features such lists as the following:

• Top 20 Internet Acronyms Every Parent Needs to Know
• Top 20 Tech Terms that are Now Common Expressions
• Top 20 Newbie Terms Everyone Needs to Know

But the site is not limited to technological terms; it includes such words as “blamestorming” (“A term used in the modern workplace to describe ‘sitting around in a group discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed and who is responsible’”).

It’s a fun (and useful) browse.

Via The Moose Jaw Writers Page.

Posted by Amy as Words at 8:17 AM EST

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It’s always nice to hear about the possibility of another Poet Laureate in the world, so I was pleased to read that one has been proposed for Minnesota.

What’s eyecatching about this position, though, is the method by which the bill has been proposed: it’s written in verse.

Here’s the beginning of the bill:

House Bill HF-224

The Gov’ shall appoint a state poet laureate,
Who shall serve for a four-year term.
Because this appointment will always be great,
There’s no need for the Senate to confirm.
In appointing a poet for the public good,
And to ensure there’s no unjust omission,
The governor shall consider, if he would
Thoughts of the Humanities Commission.

Subd. 2. Removal.

The poet will be free to write rhyming lines,
With removal only for cause,
But we trust that the bard will promptly resign,
If the verse reads as badly as laws.

You can read the rest of the bill here.

Via Neil Gaiman’s Blog.

Posted by Amy as News, Poetry at 3:35 AM EST

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While I was browsing the web reading trivia about Valentine’s Day, I discovered something that I either didn’t know or had forgotten: Chaucer’s Parlement of Foules is the first place that romantic love is mentioned in conjunction with Valentine’s Day.

The Parlement of Foules is certainly not as well known as The Canterbury Tales, but If you’d like to read it, here’s the link to a prose rendition of the poem (in modern English).

Go ahead; check it out. It’s topical, and what the heck—everyone should read more Chaucer.

Posted by Amy as Authors, Poetry, Special Days/Weeks at 1:22 AM EST

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O.K., this YouTube video is too funny: Introducing The Book.

The premise? Someone used to scrolls has to call the help desk to master the new technology: the bound book.

It’s in Norwegian, but there are English sub-titles.

Definitely watch this one.

Via Books, Inq. and The Bibliothecary.

Posted by Amy as Books, Humour at 5:29 AM EST

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Susan at I Buy Books has found a fun meme: 10 Things I Like.

There’s a twist to it, though; each thing that you like has to begin with the same letter. Those who want to take part get in touch with the person on whose blog they’ve found the meme, and that person assigns them a letter.

Susan gave me the letter C, so here goes.

1. Chaucer, Geoffrey.

2. Charles Dickens.

3. Cookbooks.

4. Comics.

5. Carpenter, David.

6. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor.

7. Chandler, Raymond.

8. Clarke, Arthur C.

9. Christie, Agatha.

10. Creative non-fiction (especially Joseph Epstein, Pico Iyer, Alberto Manguel, Joan Didion, and Sharon Butala).

If any of you would like to do this, leave a comment and I’ll give you a letter. Or, alternately, pick a letter yourself and go ahead and have fun!

Posted by Amy as Memes at 6:51 AM EST

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Books, Words, and Writing is one year old today!

365 days and 369 posts later, I’m still greatly enjoying the opportunity to bring you all the terrific links that I find about matters literary.

Thanks for reading; I look forward to seeing what the second year will bring.

Posted by Amy as Blog Housekeeping at 9:26 AM EST

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