Hello my fellow bookworms,
Fall is upon us! Last Monday marked the start of a new season, and while some of the weather still has some remnants of summer, the cool mornings and evenings definitely feel like autumn. The leaves are starting to change colors, our pets are happier walking in the cool breeze, and the weather is perfect to find a good spot in nature and read! Also, today is National Coffee Day, so I hope you had some reading and coffee sipping time to yourself today!
 |
| Photo by ALA |
This upcoming October 5th - 11th marks Banned Books Week! This year's theme is "Censorship Is So 1984. Read For Your Rights." It is a theme taken from George Orwell's cautionary tale 1984, a warning about the dangers of censorship, while also reminding us that the right to read belongs to all of us, so defend your right to do so! While many of the top challenged books for 2024 are similar to those of previous years, the week is a reminder to not allow censorship to influence your views. It is important to have items in the public that you may not agree with, whether it be politics, religion, or just a world point-of-view, in order to broaden your own horizon, your viewpoint, and to allow for open discussion. If we were in a world where we all thought and talked the same, how boring would that be? Open discourse is what drives us to strive for more, brings upon change and innovation, and teaches us new things each day.
Below are the top 10 most challenged books of 2024, along with an updated information page, detailing the statistics and censorship trends.
 |
| Photo by ALA |
 |
| Photo by ALA |
I was reading a very informative post by librarian Judi Moreillon online, which listed ways the community could become involved themselves with this week. If you are interested in participating in Banned Books Week, aside from reading books that are/were challenged and supporting your local pubic library, you could also:
- Sign up for the weekly post from the American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom (www.oif.ala.org)
- Sign online petitions and write letters to representatives, schools, and public library boards
- Advocate online using the hashtags:
- #BannedBooksWeek
- #DefendResearch
- #FreeSpeech
- #FirstAmendment
- #IntellectualFreedom
- #UniteAgainstBookBans
- Attend a Banned Books Week Event (https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/public-school-strong-partnership-will-connect-banned-books-week-events-to-advocates-nationwide/)
- Volunteer with the American Library Association
- ALA Council Intellectual Freedom Committee: www.ala.org/alsc/aboutalsc/coms/pg1childadv/als-if
- ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom: https://www.oif.ala.org/
- ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/
- Authors Against Book Bans: https://www.authorsagainstbookbans.com/
- Defend Research: https://defendresearch.org
- EveryLibrary: https://www.everylibrary.org/
- For the People: https://www.librariesforthepeople.org
- Freedom to Read Foundation: https://www.ftrf.org/
- Intellectual Freedom Round Table: www.ala.org/ifrt
- PEN America: https://pen.org/
- Unite Against Book Bans: https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/
- United for Libraries: www.ala.org/united
- We Need Diverse Books: https://www.diversebooks.org/
Some fun book news:
- Do you know someone who is blind, but enjoys to listen to movies and television? I just found out about this neat website run by volunteers called AudioVault. The website requires a login to download any materials and you are limited to 25 a day. Each item is uploaded by volunteers, some of whom are the ones providing the audio description! The website makes it easy for those who cannot see to hear their favorite shows or movies with the audio descriptions narrating along with the actors. AudioVault also tries to upload entire series, so it is easy to continue to binge listen.
- Reading Rainbow is returning! The new host is none other than *insert drumroll here* MYCHAL THREETS! I personally think this is so cool, first to reboot a favorite show and also one of my school's alumni librarians will be hosting it! :D
- If you enjoy authors Ali Hazelwood, Christina Lauren, J.T. Geissinger, Ruby Dixon, Katee Robert, and/or Kimberly Lemming (all fantastic romance/science fiction/fantasy authors!), there is a new Amazon Original Stories section where each author wrote a creepy romantic fantasy novella! It is a series titled Scared Sexy, available free to Amazon Prime and Kindle Unlimited members! If you are not a member of either, you can still buy the entire collection for $5.94 online from Amazon.
- As of this month, the Associated Press is no longer offering weekly book reviews. More details here.
- If you remember reading The Baby-sitters Club, you'll be happy to hear there will be an official Baby-sitters Club Musical, with a score composed by the same composer of K-Pop Demon Hunters! I'm excited for it - if it is anything like the trending movie, we will be bopping to new music (that is hopefully faithful to the books)! Read more here from Deadline.
I am thinking of using Substack as a way to post in-between things and blog updates. What do you think? Do any of you have a Substack and like the experience?
I am currently reading Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto. I am enjoying it, as a music lover and romance novel enthusiast. What are you reading this lovely fall season? Anything you look forward to? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time - Happy Reading! :)
