Banned Books Week: Who Challenges Books?

On Thursday, I discussed why people challenge or ban books, at least what they claim are their reasons. Today, as Banned Books Week starts to wind down, I want to discuss who challenges these books. In order to understand why this censorship continues in the modern era, particularly in the supposedly-progressive United States, we need to understand exactly who is taking offense in the first place.

I have extensively examined the infographics on the ALA’s website in preparation for this post, and I’ve found that challenges, for the most part, come from the same prominent initiators year after year. Namely, the top three groups are parents, patrons, and boards/administrations.


Infographic courtesy of the ALA
In 2016, 42% of reported challenges were initiated by parents, 31% by patrons, and 10% by boards/administrations. Other initiators also challenge books, including librarians, teachers, political and religious groups, and local governments. Most of these other groups, however, individually make up smaller percentages than the top three.

The year 2016 wasn’t the only time that these initiators dominated the scene. In 2015, 2014, and even the 2000s, parents and patrons were among the most prominent initiators, with “other” or “unidentified” initiators taking the spot of boards/administrations in 2014 and the 2000s.

Personally, I was surprised that more political and religious groups had not been initiators in 2016. In fact, they only made up 2% of all initiators. How, then, do we have so many challenges based in “religious viewpoint”?

I believe that this trend points to the top two initiators: parents and patrons. Parents use their religious beliefs to keep their children from books they don’t want them to read, and religious patrons try and keep their libraries and bookstores “clean” according to their personal standards.

The fact that parents top the charts does not shock me. After all, parents want to keep their children innocent and scar-free. They don’t want them reading what they’ve deemed “filth” and yet they don’t want to take the time to monitor their children’s books themselves. Instead, they insist that libraries, schools, and bookstores do so for them.

I can see why parents may want these organizations to remove books for them. After all, you can’t watch your children every second of the day, especially when they’re at school during the week. Parents also shouldn’t have to choose between an active role in their children’s lives and their jobs/careers, and so their schedules can be tight and they may not want to waste family time.

Regardless, I still think that relying on libraries and other book-dispensing organizations to remove books at parents’ whims is unwise. Some books are not appropriate for children to access, but others are more subjective, depending on the parents’ attitudes. The latter should not be removed so that no children can get them. Such removal ignores children’s First Amendment rights and cultivates a narrow-minded, uneducated society.

Similar violations occur when patrons challenge books. These challenges try and restrict the public’s access to books, and so individuals would not be allowed to decide if they should read a certain book or not. This violation of First Amendment rights forces the views of a few on the many. If Americans are not allowed to read and make decisions for themselves, can we truly claim that we stand for freedom?

Mind you, these statistics are only for challenges which have been reported. The ALA claims that, in 2016 alone, 82-97% of challenges remain unreported. The unreported challenges could tip the scales in favor of other initiators, such as administrations and libraries, but we won’t know if they continue to fall off the radar. All we can work with, while trying to determine the causes of challenges, are reported statistics.

Based on the ALA statistics, I see two obvious changes which could help weaken the fight against knowledge: parents could more closely monitor their children’s reading habits and patrons could decide that their only business is with what they read, not what some random stranger or even their neighbor reads. Such changes would require an adjustment to societal thinking, which could take years to accomplish. However, if we keep pushing back on those who push to ban books, we may get the general public to listen.

Were you surprised by the top initiators? What do you think these trends mean for the battle to censor books? Is it something we can change? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

 


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Book Reviews: Golden Silence by Lee Jerrard

Trigger Warning: Dark Side of the World: Golden Silence by Lee Jerrard contains violence, disfigured persons, and references to rape, sexual abuse, and assault. If you are triggered by such matters or otherwise wish to avoid them, proceed with caution.

As most of my readers have surmised, I’m a big science fiction and fantasy fan. I’ve discussed the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest and brought your attention to the science fiction/fantasy publisher DAW Books. I’ve also introduced you to many new novels in these genres over the past few months, from The Origin of F.O.R.C.E. series to Sister of Echo: The Making of a Villain. Today I’m offering you another compelling science fiction novel, Dark Side of the World: Golden Silence by Lee Jerrard.

Imagine, if you would, a world of advanced technology such as flying cars, hand print-recognition door locks, and weapons of mass destruction. Beneath the utopian advances, however, runs a society which is just as corrupt as any other. The upper sections, from the apartments to floating taxis, are reserved for the rich and overall well-off. The bottom is left to the poor, the scoundrels, and the inbred. Some of the upper wander down into the lower, but it’s never for very long and not without a purpose. The government hires eliminators to dispose of the political opposition and other supposed-threats to the country’s way of life. In turn, underground organizations hire bounty hunters to kill the eliminators. Worst of all, the government controls the media and, by extent, the information leaked to the public, and so civilians only know what the government wants them to know.

This world may sound like an updated version of 1984, but it’s not nearly as large-scale as the countries of George Orwell’s dystopia. Instead, this world belongs to an island called Pervil, one built on the backs of the dregs of society which were then tossed aside as less-than-human. This island nation, while made unstable by disparities in social rank, has a bigger threat looming overhead: a terrorist intent on destroying Pervil’s current society and then, presumably, its neighboring ally nations, Tennesse and Crianca. That’s where our story begins.

Edward Sole is a broken man. An ex-marine, loving husband, and devoted father, Sole carries the weight of a dark secret in his heart. He’s an eliminator, recruited four years ago from the marines to dive into the worst parts of Pervil and kill his employer’s enemies. Everything he’s seen now haunts him, and even this once-disciplined and dedicated soldier can’t reconcile who he once was with who he has become. He wants nothing more than to be rid of his job and migrate his family to the “bright side” of the world, but he knows he can never leave this line of work alive.

That is, until his employer makes a deal with him: Sole will be free of his duties as an eliminator and given a new life with his family on the other side of the world if he completes one last job. The offer is too good to pass up, until he learns what the job is. Along with a team led by a retired marine major, Sole is to target and eliminate the terrorist leader Carlang Bodelle, his entire army, and the island which serves as his base of operations. Even with that caveat, Sole can’t pass it up; recent developments have put him and his family in danger, and he has to snatch any way out he can.


Image retrieved from Amazon
Despite his wife’s protests, Sole soon leaves with the rest of the team for Andolin, but he can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right. It doesn’t help that his teammates, while mostly highly-qualified, are each broken in their own right and carry personal troubles which could take their focus away from the mission and endanger them all. Yet something else is weighing on Sole more. Who is Carlang Bodelle? Aside from his military record, Sole doesn’t know anything about him, nor does anyone else. Who was he before the military? What is he really after? And, most importantly, why is he even organizing these terrorist attacks?

These mysteries and more await readers in Lee Jerrard’s Golden Silence. Action, drama, and technological advances abound in this dystopian tale, and any fan of 1984 and stories about military action will be pleased with the premise.

At first, I wasn’t sure what sort of story to expect from Jerrard. The prologue pointed me more in the direction of natural disaster, whereas the first chapter more pointed to terrorism and political corruption. Eventually the connection started to piece together, and I’m certain that the tie will become even clearer as the series progresses. However, I found myself distracted for the first half of novel wondering exactly how the prologue fit the rest of the book; besides setting the scene, my brain was not wanting to connect the prologue with the rest of Jerrard’s writing. Regardless, this slight disconnect did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the novel.

As the story progressed, I became more and more engrossed in Jerrard’s world. The world building and plot are very compelling but they didn’t capture my attention nearly as much as the characters themselves. Sole’s backstory had my heart aching for the poor soul and I grew to understand why he’s falling to pieces. The tale of the romance between him and his wife, Connie, is very sweet and heartwarming, while also slightly heart-wrenching, and added a level to Sole that I don’t think readers would see without Connie.

Most of the main characters are likewise well-developed: Charlie Harris, the naïve media-made hero; Bomba, Sole’s friend from marine training whose job as an eliminator has hardened his view of the world; Lucas, the retired major with the ghosts of many men hanging over his shoulder; Ryce, the sarcastic jackass who prods at others’ pain so he won’t feel so bad about his own; Hawkins, the arrogant and technology-obsessed escort; and Dillian, the weapons expert who gives everyone the creeps with his masked temper and mystery.

However, much of the character development occurs through exposition. An entire chapter early on in this story is dedicated to Sole’s backstory. On the one hand, this chapter proves key to Sole’s development throughout the rest of the novel. On the other hand, I would have preferred the smoother, more dramatic effect of slowly unveiling his past through hints dropped as the book progressed. I can see the benefits of this technique and have seen it often in science fiction and fantasy, but I feel that it was still to on-the-nose at times in Jerrard’s writing. In fact, it sometimes slows the narrative down so that I started to lose focus during those passages. This technique is used less later in the book, allowing for the pacing to pick up in time for the meatier action and tension scenes, so the story in its entirety did not suffer from the exposition.

The moral dilemmas which the characters experience as they prepare for the mission helped me to invest interest in their ultimate fates. The struggles of characters like Sole and Harris expose their vulnerabilities and beliefs, giving readers something to latch onto in order to connect with them. The coldest of some of the more experienced and troubled characters, like Bomba and Dillian, increases the tension greatly. I spent a good portion of their on-screen appearances wondering who was going to burst and when.

The most important moral dilemma, which I cannot discuss in too many details to avoid spoilers, does not come to fruition until Sole finally encounters the mysterious devil Bodelle. Jerrard, in a classic dystopian twist, turns the tables on the eliminator and forces him to question everything he thought he knew. What is real? What is only a figment of his delusions? Is ignorance truly bliss, and does it matter who controls information? Jerrard raises these questions and more through this heart-racing exchange between our protagonist and the supposed villain. Given the state of politics today, I’d say that Jerrard is reigniting these debates none too soon.

I didn’t notice many proofreading errors in this book. There were some, such as missing periods and quotation marks, but those were never a distraction. I had some issues because Jerrard uses British spellings and phrases that I’m not used to, but it’s nothing that a Yankee can’t figure out.

All in all, Jerrard has composed a piece of classic dystopian science fiction, but with a twist. Approaching the dystopia from the point of view of a government employee—military personnel, no less—adds a new level of conflict and anticipation not found in a civilian’s perspective. The ending is quite the cliffhanger that has left me wanting to dive head-first into the next book. If nothing else, I want to know how Sole will finally reconcile his marine self, his eliminator self, and his conflicted self, if he does at all. What will become of the morally-conflicted hit man and his loved ones? I can’t wait to find out!

To read Jerrard’s Golden Silence, follow this link to Amazon.

Know of any books I should read? Want me to review your book on this blog? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or message me on Fiverr.

 


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Publishing Opportunity: DAW Books

Happy Friday, everyone! Sorry for the late post; I’m knee-deep in projects right now and, unfortunately, I can only do so much at once. Nevertheless, I wanted to take some time to tell you about a publishing opportunity for science fiction and fantasy novelists. It’s not a contest but it’s unique for a modern publishing company in that it accepts manuscripts without a literary agent. I’m talking about a branch of Penguin Books USA called DAW Books.

DAW Books was founded by paperback editor Donald A. Wollheim and his wife, Elsie B. Wollhein, as the first publishing company exclusively for science fiction and fantasy novels. They’ve published such authors as Mercedes Lackey, author of the Heralds of Valdemar series, and Patrick Rothfuss, whose first novel–The Name of the Wind–was Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of the Year in 2007.

So, a science fiction and fantasy publisher that accepts unsolicited manuscripts? OK, what’s the catch? After looking at their website, I could only find two:

  1. DAW books does not accept manuscripts which are currently on submission with another publisher unless a prior arrangement has been made with an agent.
  2. They do not accept short stories, short story collections, or novellas. While the average length of the novels varies, most of them aren’t fewer than 80,000 words.

There are also requirements for formatting and DAW books accepts electronic submissions only through Submittable, but you can found out all about that on their website.

A big thank you to Ameel for the tip!

If you know of any writing contests or publishing opportunities that you wish to share with other writers, feel free to drop a line in the comments below or e-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com

I’ll be back with a book review and more Banned Books Week material soon, but until then, happy writing!

 


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Why are Books Challenged or Banned?

Every time I look up the ALA Top Ten Challenged/Banned Books lists, I love to check the reasons for the challenges. It’s often the same old, same old with some variations, the most prominent of which tend to be “unsuited for age group,” “violence,” “sexually explicit,” “LGBT” or “homosexuality,” “offensive language,” and “religious viewpoint.” Sometimes we get a fun one thrown in such as “inaccurate” or “occult/satanism.” (Believe it or not, the latter of those two reasons was used to challenge Bridge to Terabithia.) Challenged books often have more than one reason listed.


Image retrieved from Goodreads

Why would these reasons be the most prominent? The answer may be multifaceted: more people are offended by them, people are more deeply offended by them, and/or louder people take offense to them. A couple of reasons, namely “violence” and “offensive language,” are to be expected. That doesn’t mean that the books should be challenged or removed, but violence and offensive language are so common in rating and censorship that you can’t really be surprised. Not all of the most prominent reasons make as much sense, though.

I’ll start with “sexually explicit.” Again, this doesn’t mean books should be challenged or banned, but I know from ratings given to movies and TV shows that concerns about sexual imagery and innuendo are abundant. Some of the challenged books this reason is assigned to, however, don’t always fit the bill in my opinion, at least not to the point that they should be removed from shelves.

Take The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The Chocolate War has made the Top Challenged/Banned Books lists for decades, even snagging the #1 slot in 2004. The Hunger Games made its debut appearance on the list in 2010. Both books/book series have been marked as “sexually explicit,” among other things. Now, it’s been a couple of years since I last read either book, but I do not recall seeing anything overly sexual in those books. Yes, sex and teenaged sexuality are addressed in the books but as a part of the confusing time which is puberty. They’re teenaged/young adult books, not children’s books or even middle grade books; they’re ready to approach more adult subjects. If you don’t think your teenaged kids are ready, sit them down and talk to them about it. Others don’t have to suffer just because you won’t be a more involved parents or you don’t want to have a heart-to-heart with your own children.

Even the health book It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris has made the list many times over the years for being “sexually explicit” just because it provides sex education for its readers. Sometimes you have to push past your own embarrassment to help your kid become well-informed or at least let them know why you don’t want them reading a certain book.

Now I want to lump together “LGBT/homosexuality” and “religious viewpoint.” I know that both reasons are hot-button topics around the world, but I can only speak from an American point of view. Here are some of the books which have landed on the Top Ten Challenged/Banned Books lists for “LGBT” or “homosexuality” over the years: And Tango Makes Three, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Looking for Alaska, I Am Jazz, Heather Has Two Mommies, Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, George, and too many others for me to list here.

Fun fact: the first of those books is a children’s book about two male penguins adopting an orphaned penguin. It was also challenged for being “anti-family.”

Pretty much, if a book has a character who’s a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, it’s bound to get challenged for “LGBT” or “homosexuality.” You can probably bet on an additional reason of “unsuited for age group” if it’s for young adults or younger audiences. The people who challenge these books, therefore, are challenging them for the diversity they show.


Image retrieved from Amazon

In 2015, The Holy Bible made the Top Ten Challenged Books list for one of the same reasons as the Harry Potter series in 2001.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Religious viewpoint” can be seen as a related reason because many objectors to the LGBTQIA+ community claim to come at it from a religious perspective. A funny turn-about occurred with these reason, though. In 2015, The Holy Bible snagged #6 on the list of Top Ten Challenged/Banned books for that very reason. I still don’t think that any books should be banned or removed from shelves and I think that anyone who wants access to the Bible should have it, but I find bittersweet humor in the situation.

Last, but not least, we have “unsuited for age group.” This reason has been use to challenge books from The Catcher in the Rye to Where’s Waldo? I’ll discuss this reason more in-depth in a video later this week but I still wanted to mention it here due to its prominence. When in doubt, say it’s unsuited for the age group. This can encompass everything from sex to a differing worldview. It’s a catch-all, one which both amuses me and pisses me off.

No matter how ridiculous it may seem, book challenges always have some sort of reason attached to them. Whether those reasons are truthful or justify removing the book, that’s for you to decide. I think you can tell that my answer is a resounding “no.”

For more information on this subject and the statistics, please go to the American Library Association’s website.

What do you think about these reasons for challenging books? Are they ridiculous or justified? Do you think books should be removed from public shelves for these reasons, or should people take responsibility for what they and their children read? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

If you have any topics related to Banned Books Week you wish to discuss, be sure to drop me a line at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com.

 


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Book Reviews: Only Human (Act One) by Leigh Holland

Trigger Warning: Today’s book, Only Human (Act One): The Pooka’s Tales: Speak of the Devil by Leigh Holland contains brief moments of gore, violence, and sexual innuendo. The book also focuses on a view of Heaven, Hell, God, and the Devil which varies in many ways from mainstream Christian views. Although this work is fiction, proceed with caution if you take offense to or otherwise wish to avoid any of these matters.

As part of Banned Books Week, it seems appropriate that I review a book which, for some people, discusses a controversial subject: the concept of Heaven, Hell, God, and the Devil. Today’s book is fiction—fantasy, even—and deals with this very familiar concept in a different way than one normally envisions these Christian constructs. This book takes an approach to the role of the Devil in the cycle of eternal life and punishment reminiscent of Anne Rice’s Memnoch the Devil. You may even find yourself having sympathy for the Devil and his minions by the time you finish Only Human (Act One): The Pooka’s Tales: Speak of the Devil by Leigh Holland.

Framed by a device similar to 1001 Arabian Nights, Only Human begins with the rescue of a Twyleth Teg, also called a pooka, by an Irish Catholic priest, Father Patrick O’Donnell. The pooka, nicknamed “Rory” by Father O’Donnell, makes the mistake of telling the good priest that he owes the man for saving his life. What does Father O’Donnell ask for in return? Stories. Stories about the Devil, about demons, all the stories that Rory knows first-hand. Rory agrees, but with a twist: he’ll tell Father O’Donnell his stories in a way which won’t allow him to know which of the players Rory is.


Image retrieved from Amazon

That’s where the meat of Holland’s work begins. Rory the Pooka throws Father O’Donnell and the readers into a string of stories from five different characters’ perspectives: Heather, a witch who only wishes to be reunited with her husband after his premature death; Todd, Heather’s husband, who tries desperately to return to her when he wakes in a befuddling situation; Father Eustace, a priest with a dark secret; Magnus, a demon—i.e. one of the Devil’s workers—who hates how things operate in his world; and, to top off the list, the Devil himself, known more informally as “Luke.” At first, the stories of people like Heather, Todd, and Father Eustace appear unrelated. By the end of the book, Holland—through Rory—reveals them to be intricately intertwined in ways which not even the most observant reader will figure out until well over halfway through the novel.

Holland weaves a plot that’s both heart-warming and heart-wrenching and keeps readers on the edge of their seats until the very end. Yet when we return to Rory and Father O’Donnell, we are left with more questions than answers. Who is Rory in this story? Why is Father O’Donnell so obsessed with the question of whether the Devil regretted his fall from grace? What secret is Father O’Donnell hiding, and what exactly does Rory have brewing in that mischievous head of his? The story within the story appears to have ended, but Rory and Father O’Donnell’s has just begun.

Holland packs a lot into 137 pages, and her writing has me hooked. Quick, funny, but appropriately emotional, I flew this short book much faster than normal. The cliffhanger, while a little frustrating, was also a bit of a relief to me; I don’t want this world to end, not yet, and I can’t wait to see what else is hiding in the pooka’s head.

Not surprisingly, my favorite character turned out to be Luke, a.k.a. the Devil. He is pessimistic, stubborn, and sometimes pushy, bordering on a creepy stalker, but he is also a romantic with a distinct sense of right and wrong, a longing to do right by the good and innocent, and an underlying backstory which made my heart hurt for him. Unfortunately, Holland only hints at this backstory. Still, she gives enough for the readers to understand where Luke is coming from and, with any luck, more of his tragic background will be revealed in future books.

Holland also gives the other characters interesting backgrounds and reasons for doing what they do, which allows the readers to emotionally investment in them and their ultimate fates. Whether they’re innocent humans, witches, or even demons, it’s hard not to have sympathy—or at least empathy—for them and understand their motivations. Will readers approve of their actions? Not all of them, but they will understand them.

Admittedly, I grew a little confused when the stories transitioned from our world to Luke’s. It forced me to wonder: what’s real? What’s not? What actually happened, and whose truth should we believe? I had a hard time reconciling Luke’s world with the human world Holland depicts earlier—both in the stories and in the frame narrative—but I feel that effect is purposeful. After all, some of the themes in this book include the fine line between good and evil and the fact that nothing is what it seems. This confusion helps put the readers into Father O’Donnell’s shoes as he listens to the pooka’s tales, trying to work through the moral dilemma which he still hasn’t revealed.


Image retrieved from Leigh Holland’s Amazon Author Page

If you’re looking for a happy ending, you probably won’t appreciate this book as much as I do. As in life, things get ugly and not everything wraps itself up in a neat little bow. The stories are being told by a pooka, and one which we don’t even know if it’s light or dark, at that; readers are lucky that the stories are as heart-warming as they are. Holland doesn’t deal her readers fluff pieces about good winning out over evil. She gives us compelling, action-packed, and emotional stories which tell us that nothing is black-and-white and, often times, life is bittersweet.

I didn’t find too many proofreading errors in this book. I located a couple but they’re minor, and many of what I saw as “errors” are probably a difference in writing style preferences more than actual proofreading errors. This book is actually one of the better-edited small-scale publications I’ve reviewed in a while, and I appreciate the effort put into that.

Overall, Only Human is an exciting and compelling tale of fantasy. I love Holland’s take on the Devil and Hell, and even her depiction of Heaven is one I’ve never really seen before. Some aspects are a little cheesy, like the name “Godfrey Goddard” for God. Others, however, are well-planned and amusing, such as the name “Mormo” for Luke’s closest servant. Holland liberally uses humor without, making some uneasy situations more palatable and helping the story go by even quicker. The cliffhanger has me wanting to get my hands on the next book immediately so that I can learn the secrets hiding within Rory the Pooka and Father Patrick O’Donnell, as well as watch their rickety friendship grow.

To read Leigh Holland’s Only Human (Act One), follow this link to Amazon, where you can either buy the book or borrow it on Kindle Unlimited. If you want more information on the book or the author, be sure to check out Leigh Holland’s blog and follow her on Twitter as @Leigh_Holland1.

Know of any books you think I should read? Want me to review your book on this blog? Contact me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or message me on Fiverr.

 


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Banned Books Week Video Commentary

Good day, book lovers. Today I’ve decided to test out video recording and posting, so bear with the length and clumsiness of this video. Hopefully, future videos will be much smoother and more succinct. For this video, I briefly discuss my favorite challenged/banned book series, read a quote from one of the books, and give some thoughts on why books are challenged or banned. I had to split it into two videos because it was too big to upload at once, so I hope there aren’t any problems. Enjoy!

Also, if you experience problems playing these videos, let me know. Like I said, this banned books video is my first attempt and I don’t have all the kinks worked out yet.

Thanks for your patience as I tinker!


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Little Free Libraries: Spread the Love

Good day, everyone! I hope you’ve had a great weekend. Mine has been filled with research related to Banned Books Week, and I thought it would be appropriate to start the week with a project that anyone can do to spread the love of reading. I’m talking about building your own little free libraries.


Image retrieved from treehugger

One of the issues brought up by Banned Books Week is restricted access to reading materials. Many factors can limit access to books: lack of money, lack of public libraries, and, yes, censorship which leads to the removal of books from library shelves. We have to do everything we can to help books, especially challenged/banned books, be more readily available to the public. That’s where projects like the Little Free Library come in.

You may have already heard of the trend. It’s a book lover’s dream, a 24/7 mini-library and DIY project all in one. The concept is all about taking a book, leaving a book, and building a community. There’s more to it, though.

The project traces back to an international, nonprofit organization called Little Free Library. They provide instructions and sell materials for creating little free libraries, register the libraries so that the “stewards” (as they call the keepers of the little free libraries) can access a support network, and even provide a world map of registered little libraries.

You don’t need to use the kits sold by Little Free Library. You can build one from any material you can get your hands on, so long as you make sure they’re secure and can withstand the elements. Also, make sure that you have permission to put your library where you want to put it, don’t block any pathways, and make sure to maintain it. You don’t even need to make them out of wood. People have made little free libraries out of old mailboxes, mini-fridges, and microwaves.


Image retrieved from Little Free Library’s blog

To register with the Little Free Library, you’ll have to pay $45, which is included in the price if you buy one of their kits. (A steward’s packet with advice and tips is also included.) There are many benefits to registering, such as becoming a part of the international steward network, getting an official charter sign, and being able to put your library on the world map so that readers in your area can find it.

However, you don’t have to register. After all, who can tell you not to put a little free library on your own property? You just won’t have a charter number or a sign and you’ll have to get the word out some other way. (If you don’t register, be careful about calling it a “little free library” for copyright reasons.)

There are a lot more details, ideas, and advice provided on the Little Free Library website, so I suggest going there before committing to any strategy for constructing libraries. You can also donate to the organization and find little free libraries near you. There are thousands of them; some have even been put up in small cities near me (not my actual town, not yet). Our county is rural and not very populated, so they really are everywhere in the United States.

Do you have a little free library? Seen any in your area? Tell us about them and post some pictures in the comments below! I’d love to get some ideas for my own little free library. Also feel free to share other ideas you have for increasing access to books, as well as any other banned books topics you wish to discuss.

 


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Commencing ALA Banned Books Week 2017

Welcome, everyone, to the beginning of the ALA Banned Books Week 2017! All week bookworms and libraries across the United States will be celebrating and raising awareness for banned books. The Writer’s Scrap Bin is no exception.

From now through September 30th, I will provide you with posts designed to promote banned books and raise awareness of this issue which, sadly enough, still exists in modern-day America. These posts will include, but not be limited to, discussions of my favorite banned books, analyses of literary censorship overall, and at least one test video post. (Bonus: if the video goes well, I will be posting more for another special event during the last week of October.)

I already started the festivities by replacing the blog’s social media covers/profile pictures with artwork courtesy of the ALA. Here’s a link to free downloads from the ALA if you would like to show your support on your social media accounts and/or blogs. You can even download free banned books-themed coloring sheets and fortune teller!


Get this and more artwork from the ALA

You can join the movement in many ways, including writing letters to your local newspaper, library, and schools, join the Freedom to Read Foundation, and donate to the ALA. The ALA discusses more options at this link, and I’ll keep you updated on ways you support banned books not just during Banned Books Week but all year long.

I’m going to leave you with a fun banned books fact: the ALA top 100 hundred challenged/banned books of 1990-1999 was topped by the children’s series Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz. It wasn’t just one of the books; the entire series was grouped into the #1 slot (the same thing happened some years with the Harry Potter series).

Be sure to check back frequently for more interesting challenged/banned books facts, and feel free to leave your thoughts on the issue in the comments below.

 


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Reader’s Choice Awards from TCK Publishing

I have another contest for self-published and indie authors, this time brought to you by TCK Publishing. It’s called the 2017 Reader’s Choice Awards. As the title implies, the contest involves readers voting on their favorite book from the list of approved self-published and indie book entries. The book with the most votes wins a Kindle Fire HD 8 Tablet and a book review.

Authors submit their books for entry, but the books must be approved before they are officially presented to readers for voting. There is no purchase or payment required but entrants must be at least 18 years old at the time of entry and a legal resident of the United States and District of Columbia. TCK Publishing encourages non-US authors to submit their books for the votes and exposure; authors outside of the US and DC just won’t be eligible to win the Kindle Fire and book review.

You may also nominate a book you’ve read through the same process.

There are many categories under which a book may be entered:

  • General Non-fiction
  • Advice
  • Self-help
  • Business and Investing
  • Health
  • Romance
  • Fantasy
  • Mystery
  • Thriller
  • Science fiction
  • YA and Middle Grade
  • Children’s Book
  • Historical Fiction
  • General Fiction
  • Memoir
  • Religion

Entries are evaluated by the TCK Publishing Reader’s Choice Awards committee and, if approved, the entrant will receive a confirmation e-mail from TCK Publishing and the book added to the voting page. Voting is opened until December 10, 2017, and authors may cast one vote.

For more information on how to enter, check out the TCK Publishing website. To read the current list of approved entries and cast your vote, go to the Reader’s Choice Awards Voting Page.

Thank you to Frida for the tip about this contest!

Do you know of any upcoming writing/publishing contests? Feel free to share the information in the comments below or e-mail them to me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com.

 


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Book Reviews: Evolution of FORCE by Sam B. Miller II

Warning: Evolution of FORCE by Sam B. Miller II contains violent scenes, some of which are also graphic and gruesome. There also suggestions of sex scenes and sexual innuendo. If you have a weak stomach or otherwise wish to avoid references to violence and sex, proceed with caution.

Spoiler Warning: This review covers the third and final book in The Origin of FORCE trilogy, Evolution of FORCE. If you have not read the first two books, be advised that this review contains spoilers for the entire trilogy.

TGIF, readers and writers! This week I’m shaking things up a bit by starting Friday Fun-Day with a book review rather than a writing prompt, quote, or contest. I’ve taken you through the series behind this particular review for a few weeks, and today I’m bringing you the third and final book of The Origin of FORCE trilogy, Evolution of FORCE by Sam B. Miller II.

When we last left FORCE and its allies, Yuri-Milost had betrayed Whatsit, Becky, Doug, Miguel, and Dr. GooYee, leaving them stranded on the war-torn surface of Chrysalis. Yuri-Milost escaped justice at the hands of the remaining FORCE team, but Whatsit and his shipmates struck some luck when the Chrysallaman Underground advisor Cherree rescued them from the Asiddian torture chamber.


Image retrieved from Amazon

Evolution of FORCE picks up where Dawn of Chrysalis left off, with Whatsit and company fleeing the Asiddians for the catacombs under Chrysalis and the rest of FORCE planning a rescue/revenge scheme back on Earth. While Whatsit, Becky, and Doug help the Chrysallaman Underground steal supplies and take on Asiddian commandos, Tom rounds up humans anxious to help their teammates and Chrysallamans longing to save their home planet. Heinbaum and Longarrow also busy themselves with technological leaps which not even McPherson knows about.

What unfolds over the following 300+ pages are action, deceit, leaps in technological and social advances, and an enemy which only the most discerning reader could foresee. Fans of gripping, traditional science fiction with a twist won’t want to miss the exciting wrap-up to this trilogy.

I can say that, by this book, Miller has pretty well worn down my hesitation towards alien invasion stories. As with the first two books, Miller has put a lot of research, attention to detail, and creative energy into Evolution of FORCE. Even with all the details about the new technology and alien societies, the book never loses sight of the plot and character development, which is both key to good science fiction and hard to accomplish. I admit that the names of many of the Asiddians are too on-the-nose considering they’re a bird-like species. I also could have done without backgrounds for characters who only appear long enough to die, but these issues are relatively minor.

The development of the inter-species relationships, particularly the Princess Peregrine/Miguel romance, and the entire range of budding romantic relationships add a personal dimension to the story. However, as in the first two books, my favorite dynamic is still between Heinbaum and McPherson. They are still the bickering, comedic duo we’ve grown to love—with GooYee now thrown in the mix—but Evolution of FORCE reinforces their emotional foundation. I rooted for all of the main characters to survive the battle, but I became most invested in Heinbaum and McPherson and desperately hoped for both to make it to the end.

While the mix of action and emotional strain enhanced the story, I found the pacing to often be uneven. Miller has a tendency to restate observations made in the previous books about returning characters, which causes excessive exposition and description that slow down the narrative. This problem is particularly prominent during the first few chapters. On the flip side, the final chapter feels far too rushed. I think that Miller could’ve spent a few more pages of description and action to draw out the tension as well as wrap up some elements without so much exposition in the characters’ dialogue.

These issues aside, the story becomes so engaging that the read is quicker than one would expect based on the length of the book. Multiple plot twists and new story elements kept me wondering what would happen next and how the trilogy would end, making it very hard to set the e-book aside until I finished reading. Sometimes the number of new elements confused and disoriented me, but that effect only fueled my desire to learn what happened next.


The Origin of F.O.R.C.E., first book in the trilogy

Unfortunately, there are many more proofreading errors in this book than the first two. I discovered many places where Miller uses a semicolon when he needs a comma, missing words and quotation marks, and other improper punctuation. Perhaps the most confusing and tedious for me is the inconsistency in the spelling of Princess Peregrine’s first name. Sometimes it spelled “Caroline” and other times “Carolyn”. The same inconsistency occurs in Dawn of Chrysalis but is more noticeable in Evolution of FORCE. These errors don’t detract from the overall quality of the book; they are just more prominent and, therefore, more distracting.

Overall, I think this book is a fitting end to a great trilogy. It ties up the loose ends quite nicely while still leaving room for Miller to return to this world. In fact, I’m counting on him deciding to expand FORCE’s operations and explore the reconstruction of human and Chrysallaman societies. I also hope that his note at the end, while promising stories that are different from this trilogy, indicates that Miller is not entirely through with Whatsit, Tom, and the rest of FORCE.

To read Evolution of FORCE and the other books in The Origin of FORCE trilogy, follow this link to Amazon. To follow the author on social media, check out @SamBMillerII on Twitter.

Know of any books I should read? Want your book reviewed on this blog? E-mail me thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or look me up on Fiverr.

 


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011