Showing posts with label The Diary of Anne Frank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Diary of Anne Frank. Show all posts

Friday, October 08, 2010

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 38



This week's book is actually a "banned" book. You may have heard recent controversy over books that have been banned throughout the United States. I happened to visit the Hamilton County Public Library in downtown Chattanooga during Banned Books Week and they had a display devoted to banned books so I picked up The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner.

To be frank, I have a hard time believing that The Sound and The Fury is banned. I feel the same way about The Diary of Anne Frank. It makes me question who is trying to censor these books and why. 

I truly believe it is the responsibility of parents to decide what their children can or cannot read. I read The Diary of Anne Frank when I was 13 and it gave me my first glimpse of the atrocities of the holocaust. It did not adversely affect me as a person. 

As an adult, I get that The Sound and The Fury deals with some difficult content (if you have the energy to wade through the stream-of-conscious-type writing that makes up the first half of the book). I don't know that a child would comprehend what the book is about. Furthermore, you can flip on Prime Time television and see much worse on Law&Order SVU or any number of shows.

The Sound and The Fury was not my favorite book. It took a lot of energy to read and you have to fill in the gaps of what is going on. This is hardly a book worth banning. We live in a free country and people should be allowed to choose what they want to read.

Word for the Year: Reframe

For fifteen years now, I have been starting my year with intention. Last year I hoped to find contentment in my life, and I believe I did. T...