Verdict on the book banning

I'd blogged a while ago about the banning of Maureen Johnson's The Bermudez Triangle solely for having homosexual (though in no way explicit) content. There's a verdict now. You can read her post here, if you're interested.

In short, the school library will allow the book. However, it must be kept on a reserve shelf and only checked out for school assignments by students who have parental permission.

How asinine. And slippery slope. Dangerous precedent. All of the above.

Oh, and this is on the heels of the librarian on the book banning committee having been removed from her position and the school librarian resigning. What a world we live in.

Footloose, anyone?

The Giver

I just read that Lois Lowry has sold film rights to The Giver. This was pretty much my favorite book when I was a kid and I think it will make a fantastic movie. IMDB has it as in-production and slated for 2007, but no cast list or anything. So cool.

The new age of banned books

Maureen Johnson, a popular young adult author who I haven't read but now certainly will, has gone and gotten one of her books banned from a high school library. The book in question, The Bermudez Triangle, is an examination of how friendships change when friends begin to date. The apparently problem with the book is that the couple in question is a lesbian couple -- which, according to Maureen, is really not the focus of the book.

Don't people realize that banning a book, in any form, just drives interest in the book? God forbid we let kids think for themselves and learn to formulate their own opinions.

Maureen's blog post includes the comments made by a parent that got the book banned and how she plans to respond. I applaud her.

Randomness

I finally joined MySpace, so you can go see my pretty page here. Essentially, I've found another way to waste time and distract myself from my writing ;) Willpower. I need willpower!

I picked up Laura Durham's (one of the Cozy Chicks) book Better Off Wed and a couple books by Joan Lowery Nixon. Now I have to find the time to read them. Along with Stephen King's On Writing and the other writing books my aunt gave me for Christmas that I haven't read yet. And the Clancy and Ludlum books I bought last summer and haven't read yet.

I've also added several more agent and author blogs to my links here. I haven't updated my site yet, mostly because I haven't gotten around to it.

What I really need to do is disconnect myself from the Net for awhile... I'm way too big a procrastinator.