Banned Books Week

This week--September 27 through October 4,2008-- is Banned Books Week, a week set aside to celebrate the freedom to read.

The freedom to read ANY and EVERY Book we wish to pick up and enjoy.

So, in celebration of this week, I would like to encourage you to check out this list of the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books of 2000-2007, pick one out that looks interesting and read it.

While you're at it, why not leave a comment sharing what you are reading?

If nothing else, please just check out the list...I think you might be surprised of some of the titles on there...

The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss

This is the story of a Dutch-Jewish family in Holland during World War II, specifically the story of Annie, the family's youngest daughter. Through Annie's eyes, the audience lives the harsh reality of having the Nazi Army invade their country. The family has heard the news of what is happening Jews throughout Europe, and realizes that they are in grave danger.

As the Germans begin to implement more and more restrictions on the Jews in their city and begins to take the Jews to "work camps," Annie's father arranges to have the family sent away and into hiding. Unfortunately, Annie's mother is very sick and must stay in the hospital during this time. Annie's father goes to one part of Holland while Annie and one of her older sisters (Sini) head to a different area to stay with another family. The oldest sister, Rachel, opts to stay behind with her mother and eventually finds safety with yet another family.

The first family that is hiding Annie and Rachel must move them for their own safety, so the girls move in with the Oosterveld family for two weeks. Two years later, the Germans are defeated in Holland and the girls are freed and allowed to safely return home and are reunited with their family.

This book is Annie’s description of what life is like living basically like a prisoner in a stranger’s home as she is not allowed to be seen by anyone. She cannot go outside, she rarely gets to visit other children her age, and her life is put in danger often. However, she makes some lifelong friends in the Oosterveld family, for without them, Annie’s story may have been much different.

What I Thought:
What a powerful story! I could not imagine being a young girl and trapped in a small house for years, not to mention rarely getting to go outside or socialize with my peers.

While my favorite kids book about this time period is Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, I think this book is another excellent addition to literature dealing with WWII, the Holocaust, and those who lived through the nightmare.

This book is a Newbery Honor Book and an ALA Notable Children's Book.

Want to see more? Check it out on Amazon: The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss.

New Book Day!

On the days when a book I have ordered for my personal library arrives, I will post a picture and explain why I just HAD to have it for my very own.

Being a librarian, I'm a firm believer of not purchasing books but using the resources available for FREE!

But there are just some books I have to have. (Besides books for school, although some of those are quite awesome.)

New Book Day is very exciting. It is like Christmas, my birthday, and every holiday rolled into one as I open the box and find a wonderful new adventure. Even if I've already read it. My husband totally makes fun of me, but I don't care. It's New Book Day.

So, without further ado, here the first installment of NEW BOOK DAY! (YAY!!!)





Today's arrival is My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.

I read this book a few years ago, and have since read it again AND listened to the audiobook. It is my all time favorite Jodi Picoult book and is definitely in my top ten of all time favorite books ever. I will post a proper review at a later date, no time to do it justice right now!

I have been wanting to purchase this book for a while, but it was not being printed in hardcover, only softcover. And I really wanted a hardcover version. Plus, the movie is coming out in 2009, so I imagine there will be a run on this wonderful novel and I wanted to be SURE to get it just like I wanted it. I finally broke down and ordered it through half.com and now proudly own my very own copy!

Hurray for New Book Day!

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Colin is a child prodigy who just graduated from high school and has just had his heart broken by his girlfriend-Katherine. He only dates girls named Katherine and has the same result eighteen previous times-the relationship never works out. He is also disappointed that he is now an adult and never did anything outstanding to prove that he was a true child prodigy.

Colin and his best friend Hassan head out on a road trip to clear their minds and figure out life when they end up in a rural West Tennessee town called Gutshot. (Gutshot claims to be home of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the person responsible for the first shot of WWI). Here they meet Lindsey and her mother Hollis, whose family runs the local textile factory that produces tampon strings and is the major employer of this tiny town.

Hollis invites the boys to spend the summer in Gutshot and employs them to visit various community members to record their personal memories of the town and factory. Colin is also busy working on his relationship theory that will predict the outcome of all relationships. He uses his past relationships with the many Katherines and with a little help from Lindsey and some realizations of the truth-Colin figures out the theorem. (Which is explained in the appendix, and is actually quite fascinating.)

Not only do Colin and Hassan have an interesting summer making new friends (and girlfriends!) and have all kinds of new adventures, but they both make some important personal decisions and learn a lot about themselves.

What I Thought:

I am never disappointed when it comes to John Green’s books. This is an outstanding work, and I found myself pondering this book for days. I actually found this summary very difficult to write, as so much good stuff going on I had trouble making it short enough for a short summary. (And I probably did not do such a great job summarizing, but hey…I’m still learning!)

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great story and great literature. (I think this book is also slated to be a movie sometime in the future.) A plus for some may be the use of anagrams and math. (I enjoyed the anagrams, not so much the math…..that would not be surprising to anyone who knows me!) It was a Printz Honor Book.

In the meantime, I will continue to anticipate the release of Green’s next book Paper Towns due out in October. (And if you have not read Looking for Alaska-Green’s first work- you should RUN to the nearest bookstore or library and read it today. It is that good.)

Want to see more? Check it out on Amazon: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green.

Dirty Little Secrets from Otherwise Perfect Moms by Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile

This book reveals the confessions of moms from all over in this short book that was born from the research the authors conducted for their first book, I Was a Really Good Mom Before I had Kids.

This book is super short, each page holds one confession, but it is very sweet and very humorous.

I am not a mom myself, but can am very sure that the confessions are the thoughts of many moms worldwide.

What I thought:

This book is super cute and a very fun read. It won't take long, I read it in about 20 minutes and just had to share some of the quotes with my husband. I think any mom, anyone who wants to be a mom, or even anyone who works with children would enjoy this book. (And dads would probably get a kick out of it as well!)

Want to see more? Check it out on Amazon: Dirty Little Secrets from Otherwise Perfect Moms by Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile.