Banned Books Week 2015

Hey, all. It’s that time of year again. Banned Books Week! Earlier this month I was interviewed about Banned Books Week and banned books in general by the good folks at Fabulously Feminist. It’s a pretty in-depth interview and Callie asked great questions, so go check it out. If you don’t feel like hanging on my every word, feel free to scroll down and read the list of ways you, yes you, can get involved with Banned Books Week.

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Hey, Instagram, Bring Back the Goddess

Let’s talk censorship. Here’s my take on Instagram’s ban on the Goddess hashtag and why it is not okay on so many levels. #BringBackTheGoddess

Salt & Iron

As you may or may not have heard, Instagram has banned the hashtag #Goddess. While this move was allegedly to cut down on explicit content posted under the hashtag, Instagram has inadvertently stepped onto a landmine of sexism, ethnocentrism, religious discrimination, and censorship. Instagram previously tried to ban the hashtag #Curvy for the same reason and reversed the decision after the backlash they faced. Somehow, nobody at Instagram thought that “Goddess”, an arguably way more loaded term than “Curvy”, would have the same issue.

Yet issue there was. Immediately upon noticing the ban, myself and others took to Instagram and other social media platforms to protest. Hashtags like #Goddess, #BringBackTheGoddess, #BringBackGoddess, #GoddessTribe, #GoddessRising, and others took off on both Instagram and Twitter, some with thousands of posts already. There is also a Change.org petition to reverse Instagram’s ban on #Goddess. Articles about the ban can be found on The Mary Sue, The Daily…

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Passive Aggressive Heroes: A Round Up

Passive Aggressive Hero of the Year – Independent Theatres

As you may or may not know, the comedy movie The Interview, starring James Franco and Seth Rogen, was pulled amid terrorist threats over its content. Related appearances have also been canceled. While I totally understand theatres not wanting to court danger, particularly with The Dark Knight Massacre still fresh in the public consciousness, allowing people who consider any movie with Seth Rogen in it to be something worth getting worked up about to dictate what movies can or can’t be seen in another country leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

One Last Time? Always

As some of you may know, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are banned books. So stick it to the Saurons of the world and go see The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies this week.

I’d Like To Ban Harry Potter: A Response

Many people have tried to (and succeeded in) banning Harry Potter. I’ve been wanting to tackle the books here for years, but never know where to begin (I’ve written two academic papers on the matter and have too much to say) or how to put it in any kind of coherent, non-thesis-y order and then get overwhelmed and put it off again. However, an excellent blog I follow recently wrote a rebuttal to an interview in Times of India, in which a writer gave some odd reasons for wanting to ban the Harry Potter books. Once again it seems the people trying to ban books have all too often never read them. Anyway, it’s an interesting read, so go check it out.

There and Their

Dear Shinie Antony,

Hi! How are you? I read your interview in Times of India today. Being an avid reader myself, I had no idea about your existence till I read your interview.  So, I had to search you on Goodreads. I found that you have written quite a few books yourself..and a total of THIRTEEN  people had rated your most rated book! And most of your books have been rated from the range of 2 to 3.5 stars…wow! Congratulations!!

I am writing to you, because I read your this article:

Now there are a million books out there, and a million more readers. So, I understand that not everybody will be aware of each and every ‘author’ there is. But, do you know, unless the person is living under a rock, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, on some island that has not yet been charted on the…

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Forget the “Gritty” Reboots, The Original Grimm is Here (And Far More Terrifying)

Greetings, readers. First off, I’d like to apologize for neglecting the blog so much recently. Other priorities demanded my attention and I let things get away from me. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me and I’ll be redoubling my efforts to bring you reviews and other banned books news.

To start things off, I bring excellent news for fans of mythology, folktales, fairy tales, German folk culture, and generally scarring children for life. A new translation of the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales will keep all of the uncensored gory details and the (more) disturbing stories that got left out of the Brother Grimm collection when it was refurbished for children and the then-modern, Christian sensibilities of their parents. So, if you ever wished bedtime stories were more like this, only with more dismemberment and mommy issues, you’re in luck.

Stickin’ It to the Ban

Greetings readers, new and old. I’d like to thank you all for dropping in on us and getting involved in Banned Books Week, to whatever extent and in whatever way you did. BBW is a yearly event, not just to celebrate banned and challenged books and the freedom to read, but to draw attention to the fact that, yes, this is still happening. Here. In the US. In your state. In our schools and libraries and sometimes our legislatures.

BANNED BOOKS WEEK: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Today marks the first day of Banned Books Week, an annual event meant to draw attention to book challenges/removals/bans and other censorship or intellectual freedom issues. This year the event, which runs from September 21-27, will focus specifically on comic books/graphic novels. I’ve already written extensively about the unique history and issues involved in comic book censorship on this blog, so I thought I’d offer a round-up of the highlights, as well as Banned Books Week resources and ideas on how you can get involved. It’s also frequently challenged horror author Stephen King’s birthday today, so let’s hear it for banned horror, banned comics, and the twice-damned banned horror comics! Long may ye remain in our libraries.

Another Year of Banned Books

Merry met, my dear readers. It seems my blog has been around for another year. And it has been quite the year here at the Bound and Gagged Banned Books Blog. One of my posts was Freshly Pressed, another was quoted in The Huffington Post, and we went from about 50 followers to over 2,000. So whether you’re new to the blog or have stuck by us since the beginning, thank you. Thank you for reading, sharing, commenting, and taking the time to come to our little corner of the internet.

This year we also gained two excellent writers. Hannah and Victoria Lepore were both kind enough to grace the blog with their thoughts, rants, and insights, joining me and Elliot Oberholtzer on our banned book crusade. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all three of them for contributing to the blog, for taking the time to write such thoughtful reviews, and for being generally awesome human beings.

I hope you’ll all stick with us for yet another year of banned book reviews, censorship news, and the occasional nerdrage. Banned Books Week is fast approaching, so check back for more Bound and Gagged goodness (not nearly as kinky as it sounds). In the meantime, enjoy this look back at the last year of banned book reviews.

Giving, Receiving, and Wanting

Phew. I just got back from seeing the film adaptation of The Giver, and I am pleased to report that the terrible, sinking feeling I have had ever since they started releasing trailers for it (actually, ever since they announced Taylor Swift was in the cast) was unwarranted. Obviously no film adaptation is ever actually going to do everything right, but I do feel that this one did enough right that I am glad to have seen it, and feel comfortable recommending it to others. I have done my best to leave spoilers out of this review, but the few parts where spoilers were necessary I have put in white text. If you are okay with spoilers, highlight the blank spots in between plus signs to reveal.