Banned Books Week’s Wednesday Word: Smut

Banned Books Week’s Wednesday Word: Smut

Smut noun ˈsmət obscene language or matter Most books are challenged because someone finds something offensive about the story, language, or characters. Much of the time, it’s considered obscene. In the old days, we called that “smut”. Listen to what...
Banned Books Week: Judith Krug – Library Advocate

Banned Books Week: Judith Krug – Library Advocate

Judith Krug (from Wikipedia) was an American librarian, supporter of freedom of speech, and prominent critic of censorship. Krug became Director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association in 1967. In 1969, she joined the Freedom to Read...
Banned Books Week: Why does it matter?

Banned Books Week: Why does it matter?

Why should you be interested in keeping ALL books on the shelves? Because we need to protect the freedom to read whatever we want; and, that includes explicit, suggestive, disgusting, violent, and everything else under the sun of which writing consists. You are not...
John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burrows

John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burrows

When I went to see the new Rise of the Planet of the Apes movie, I saw a trailer for a future movie titled John Carter. What an odd title for a movie, especially since it’s not based on a historical character like Rob Roy, Ali, Ray, Che, or Bobby. This made me...