Malinda Lo
Blog
Sep 27, 2010
It’s Monday. That must mean it’s Banned Books Week.
I‘ve been neglecting my blog lately, I know. I have a plethora of blog ideas, but last week I was hit with a cold and had to step away from the internets for a few days. I recovered just in time to go to the Sonoma County Book Festival on Saturday, which was a great experience! I met fellow authors Kim Culbertson and Barbara Quick, and during the panel we discussed such hot topics as “What’s the difference between adult and YA fiction?” and “Where do you get your ideas?” Both of which I get asked all the time, and every time I give a different answer.
It occurs to me that they would make fun blog post topics. However, I’m just going to add them to my growing list of topics that I will write in the future, because this morning my cold returned.
(OK, sidenote: Yesterday I went to the championship Women’s Professional Soccer game, between the FC Gold Pride and the Philadelphia Independence. The FC Gold Pride, led in part by the awesome skills of Marta, the one-named Brazilian soccer star, won, 4-0. Woot! I’ve never been a really big sports fan, but being married to one has broadened my horizons. The game was great, but the stadium is not covered and it was about 95 degrees yesterday. I suspect that sitting outside for two hours in the heat, eating junk food, and cheering may have led to the resurgence of my head cold.)
The FC Gold Pride: Winners!
Since I took a couple of days off last week, that also means progress on Blue Book has temporarily stopped. I’m planning to get back to it (and my bursting in box) today, though. Recently I’ve had the joy of writing a section that came to me so easily it almost felt like automatic writing. I just totaled my word count so far, and I’m now at 37,505 words. I think that’s just under the halfway mark. I can’t wait to get back to it.
Last but not least, due to my battle against stupid little cold bugs, I’ve been unable to formulate a coherent blog post about the ridiculousness of the latest attempt at book banning, which is targeting Laurie Halse Anderson’s classic novel Speak, and my friend Sarah Ockler’s beautiful book, Twenty Boy Summer. All I can say is: This guy is the worst kind of conservative stereotype.
This week happens to be the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week. The number one reason that books are challenged in the United States is because they’re believed to be “sexually explicit.” You can read more about the shocking books that people try to ban by checking out the top ten most frequently challenged books of 2009. The second-most challenged book was And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, because it tells the real-life story of two male penguins who raised a penguin chick together. What does that mean? In the eyes of book challengers: “homosexuality.”
Basically, one person’s “homosexuality” is another’s “wtf this is not gay, it’s two male penguins raising a chick!” The same goes for every reason that books are challenged. One person’s “sexually explicit” is another’s “but isn’t it good that they used condoms?”
In the wake of the recent challenge against Twenty Boy Summer, the Debs have joined forces with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (my publisher! and Sarah Ockler’s!) to give away one hundred copies of Twenty Boy Summer. You can go here to enter the contest, which ends on Oct. 2.
You can also speak out against banning books by using the Twitter hashtag #speakloudly, or visiting the newly launched website, speakloudly.org.
And now, I’m going to go back to my echinacea tea and box of tissues.
I can’t believe they’re trying to ban “Speak”. I mean, banning any book is wrong (obviously), but “Speak”: crazy. Great book.
I have one chief issue with Banned Books week, though. In all the hoopla over “challenged” books, what’s lost is the fact that some libraries may choose not to purchase a book because of fear of controversy. I’m certain that goes on, and it doesn’t get publicized. For instance, I’ve noticed that your book “Ash” hasn’t really been challenged yet. Now I don’t know is this is a fact, but I think it’s likely that most libraries in conservative communities haven’t puchased a copy (and that could be one reason why). Even if it’s not true in this case, I have little doubt that such “preventative” censorship does happen. And that’s arguably the most dangerous kind. Just saying.
However, in the spirit of the week, I’d like to recommend two lesser-known books that have been challenged:
“Shattering Glass” by Gail Giles
“Looking for Alaska” by John Green
Both great books. Warning: the former is extremely depressing and disturbing.
I do agree that fear of controversy may prevent some libraries from acquiring books, although I don’t know that’s the case with Ash. School Library Journal did a great article about this kind of self-censorship last year:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6632974.htm
But also, I think the whole book challenging thing is kind of random. It’s pretty clear that those who challenge books like Speak haven’t actually read the books. I wonder how they even hear about potential books to challenge. I don’t think there’s a group going out there and looking for books to ban; I kind of think these parents stumble on the books accidentally and then try to ban them.
That’s a great article. There were a few books in there that I’d never even heard of. I think I’ll go check them out.
One of the nice things about this whole “Speak” controversy, by the way, is that it’s only going to encourage more people to read the book. And that’s another reason why this “self censorship” stuff is way more dangerous. If people try to ban a book that’s already on the shelf, it’s just going to make people more interested in it. But with self censorship, nobody ever hears about the book.