Banned Books Week Giveaway!

I can't believe it's banned books week again! 

In honor of Banned Books Week, I am giving away my trio of Phantom books to a random commenter (to be chosen by Random.org). The winner may choose the format: digital, paperback, or audio (GREAT NARRATION ON THIS SERIES, just sayin') 

BE SURE TO LEAVE ME YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO I CAN NOTIFY YOU IF YOU WIN! (Giveaway ends Oct. 2, 2016)

GOOD LUCK now GO OUT AND READ A BANNED BOOK JUST FOR FUN!

Stevie-girl and the Phantom Pilot http://ow.ly/rkYrw

Book Two Phantom Student http://tinyurl.com/d47a8hs

Book Three Crybaby Bridge http://tinyurl.com/n7pusfw

Audio http://tinyurl.com/p7fdpjm

I'll bet everyone is familiar with certain banned books like Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man about the horrors of racial discrimination, 

but did you know the chunky children's book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See was once banned by the Texas Board of Education. Author Bill Martin Jr. happens to Texas Board of Ed because Bill Martin, Jr (the author) has the same name as a Marxist theorist and no one checked to see if they were the same person. Talk about oversight. Sheesh!

For another surprise, check this out. In 1987 the Anchorage, Alaska school board voted to ban the American Heritage Dictionary because of entries for slang words like "knocker," and "balls." I may be twisted, but I think that's funny. As if any self-respecting teen would check out the dictionary to learn new slang.

Those are only a few of the strange reasons books get banned, and while my Phantom series hasn't been banned--to my knowledge--it did have several religious references cut by the publisher. I've restored some of those references in the first book, but not all. 

Afterthought: Censorship comes in many forms.

Banned Books Week - Giveaway Blog Hop 9/21 - 9/27

This blogpost is dedicated to bringing attention to the idea that certain books should be banned because of questionable content or language. Many books are pulled from public schools and public libraries because a few people want to impose their beliefs upon the majority of the population. I personally think that is dangerous. 

I was brought up with the idea that if you CAN read it, then you MAY read it. So I read anything and everything that piqued my interest. I raised my own daughter the same way. Now here's where I may differ from others in this campaign: I don't believe the same ideas extend to other forms of entertainment such as video games and movies. Those are passive pasttimes. They don't require any brain power. That's a huge difference if you ask me.

Books make you think, and if you aren't able to read and understand the words in the book, then you probably aren't going to attempt the material. Visual media, on the other hand, doesn't require one to have a working vocabulary. Quite the contrary, images on a screen are "fed" into your brain at warp speed whether you are "mature" enough for them, or not. I think this is dangerous, too. But that's another topic.

For this post, I'll just conclude by saying that some of my favorite reads were (or still are) on the banned books list (according to the American Library Association's website). These books are:
The Grapes of Wrath
To Kill a Mockingbird
Call of the Wild
The Color Purple
Animal Farm
1984 

More recent additions are the kids books, Captain Underpants, and the YA series, The Hunger Games.

I could go on an on, the list is very lengthy, but I think you get my point. Yes, there is controversy in all of these books, that's what makes them "good reads." 

If you would like to win an electronic copy of any banned book, just mention that book in a comment on this blog post (along with your email address), and at the end of the week, I will let Random.org select the winner. I will then email you the electronic version of that book.

Also sponsored by I Am A Reader: http://www.iamareader.com/

Afterthought:  To learn more about banned books, check out this website BANNED BOOK WEEK 

Here are the other participating blogs: 

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