We have winners at SOS Aloha!
Friday, September 16, Roy Peter Clark's HELP! FOR WRITERS
- Elizabeth, Janet, and Molly are the winners.
Saturday, September 17, Tess Gerritsen's ICE COLD
- Carol M is the winner.
Sunday, September 18, USAF's 64th birthday
(book of choice from RWA stash)
- Heather is the winner.
Monday, September 19, FOREVER TEXAS Blog Tour
- Liz, Marlene, and Cathy are the winners of both books.
- Natalija is the international winner.
- CEP is the bonus winner.
Tuesday, September 20, Jennifer Estep's SPIDER'S REVENGE
- Donna is the winner.
Wednesday, September 21, Barbara Freethy's GARDEN OF SECRETS
- Jane is the winner.
Plus Barbara is giving away an ebook of choice
- Debra V is the winner.
Thursday, September 22, Heather Lynn Rigaud's FITZWILLIAM DARCY ROCK STAR
- Johanna is the winner.
Friday, September 23, Nadine Rose Larter's COFFEE AT LITTLE ANGELS
- Desere is the winner.
Winners: Please contact me at sos.aloha@yahoo.com with the following information:
- Confirmation that you accept your prize
- Your mailing address (it's easier for me to forward to the publisher/author)
When you receive the book, consider thanking the author for supporting SOS Aloha by email (authors love email!)
And history makes us winners .... on this day in 1789, US Congress passed twelve amendments to the US Constitution. Ten of these amendments became known as the Bill of Rights.
(It seems that we have focused on US history lately. We have celebrated other countries' history and will continue to do so in the future. If you want to submit an idea for an international celebration, contact me at sos.aloha@yahoo.com).
The Bill of Rights gives us free speech which makes the idea of "banned books" unbelievable. Enter the American Library Association who spotlights intellectual freedom during "Banned Book Week". From its website,
Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.
Check out the list of "classics" that have been challenged at this link. Let's celebrate our intellectual freedom with a book of choice from my RWA Stash. To enter the giveaway,
1. Leave a comment about a "controversial book" (not necessarily from the banned book list) that helped you grow intellectually.
HUCKLEBERRY FINN is often challenged. It is a snapshot of American history. I think reading it today makes us realize that we can never go back to that time of suppression.
2. This giveaway is open to all readers.
3. Comments are open through Saturday, October 1, 10 pm in Hawaii. I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 2.
Mahalo,
Kim in Hawaii
From INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, the Nazis burned books. Even the villainess, Dr. Elsa Schneider, shed tears at the loss of knowledge. The irony - this scene was filmed at Blenheim Palace, family home of Sir Winston Churchill, who challenged the Nazi regime.
The American Library Association website for banned/challenged books--short list for classics only--includes To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; 1984, by George Orwell; A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway; Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell; and Sophie’s Choice, by William Styron. The first four were required reading in my school days.
ReplyDeleteA commenter on Murder She Writes, however, took me aback by mentioning the Bible, which of course is banned in some places. It is the book to which I return throughout my life, so it ranks first in helping intellectual growth. And, it's protected by our Constitution.
Congrats to all the winners.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all the weekly winners!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the weekly winners!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kim and congrats to the other winners!
ReplyDeleteTo Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books. I read it as a young girl many years ago and I learned a lot from it. It's not a story you can forget.
Wow, when I was in high school How to Kill a Mocking Bird and Huckleberry Fin were required reading for English. Huckleberry Fin, I remember the class actually having fun reading, even those who did not like to read, liked that particualr book. Those two were among the best books school made us read.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the winners.
ReplyDeleteOh, I just despise censorship. I do not want anyone telling me what I can or cannot read!! I have read at least half the the banned books and some are my favorites. I think The Jungle, To Kill a Mocking Bird and Catch 22 made a big impression on me when I read them in school. And LOTR and Gone with the Wind are two of my favorites among others. Keeping people in ignorance is never a good thing. Everyone should be thinking for themselves.
catslady
To Kill a Mockingbird is a book I think everyone should read. Gone With the Wind was the first romance novel I read. These two are among the quintessential Southern novels and I am a better person for having read them.
ReplyDeleteIt’s hard to believe that people in the United States are so closed-minded that they believe they should ban others from reading certain books…and that they are so simple-minded as to believe these efforts to quash our freedom will work.
Thank you so much for participating in this important event.
Congratulations to all last week's winners!
ReplyDeleteI had previously checked out all the books listed and was amazed not only at all the books that I had read and loved but also how many were "required" reading when I was in High School in the 1960's! Does this mean that our society has regressed over the last 50 years? I thought we were now in an enlightened age!
Fortunately I still own most of these beloved books including the children's books read during my own childhood and am definately going to share them with my grandchildren! We should all take advantage of this opportunity to speak to our children, grandchildren and friends to urge them to remember the past and not give in to to our freedom from censorship!
Congrats to all the winners! I must admit I have not read many of the classics that I probally should have. I did read Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer and enjoyed them. I read a lot of John Steinbeck books in H.S. and really liked those. The Pearl was my favorite. Thanks for sharing today!
ReplyDeleteThank you and congrats to the winners. My favorite banned book is Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451."
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all the winners.
ReplyDeleteIt still amazes me when books are banned or challenged in this day and age. You would think that people would be above these things by now. When I read that books like Harry Potter and Twlight are challenged, I just shook my head. Some people have nothing better to do than complain about this type of thing? Really? How sad is that.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is still on the high school reading list - at least where I live in Ohio, but I'm pretty sure it was/is banned in other parts of the country. I know Harry Potter is too. There are several things that happened in history that are tragic and terrible. Just because a story was written 50 or a 100 years ago, doesn't mean it should be banned. It was a sign of the time. Isn't that why history is so important - so we don't repeat the mistakes that were made then?
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to see that SE Hinton's THE OUTSIDERS was listed on contraversay/banned book lists. I read her books (for the first time) when I was in 5th grade, thanks to a librarian recommending them to me. They continued to be my favorite books growing up and occasionally, I still love to re-read them, or watch the movies. I know they contain some grown up situations (probably shouldn't have read them at like 10 or 11).
ReplyDeleteThat book would be Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED. I remember struggling with it during high school but I did revisit it many years later.
ReplyDeleteToday, the foolishness of banning books and changing the words in such classics as Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer is preposterous. I find the Harry Potter serious harmless.
And, Congratulations to all of this weeks winners!
Thank you for my book, Kim. And congrats to all the other winners.
ReplyDeleteI find banning books to be ridiculous. If anything, once a book is banned, it makes me want to read it more! I want my kids to read all the Mark Twain classics. They should know what a different world it was back then -- heck, even back a few years before computers and internet were everywhere. They still don't believe me when I told that there used to only be three, then four, TV channels and cartoons were only on Saturday morning.
Reading books from different eras reveals a lot of what our culture and communities were like. We can't change history by banning it and trying to forget it.
~Janet
Yep, ridiculous to ban books. I have seen Harry Potter on banned books lists. I'd have to say that those books helped me grow as a writer....disecting how JK created her characters, the world building in HP, the fore-shadowing, etc, has helped me with my own writing.
ReplyDeleteTHE COLOR PURPLE is on the banned books list. I was so touched & moved by this story. It is heart-wrenching & certainly an eye opener for me.
ReplyDeleteI checked at the banned books list and was floored. When I was in school a lot of these books were on our required reading list. I love Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Great books. I also love Harry Potter series and the Twilight series. Some of the books I can understand why they would be on that list. But the more of a big deal you make out a book, that just makes people are just going to go out and buy and read. If you don't make a big thing then most people don't even know about it. I love to read a banned book because I want to know what was wrong about it. I love to read and this blog is great for recommendations, keep it up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway and the chance to win.
GFC & blog follower: Chris Bails
christinebails@yahoo.com
I read the list of "classics" that had or were banned. I did not realize how many books had been banned at one time and now the ban has been lifted. I read about Huck and Tom and a lot of the banned books but was an adult when I read them. I gave most to the Old Book Sale locally but still have "A Farewell to Arms" as a keeper. I do think that most of these banned books should not be offered to anyone under 21 because they could be poison to their mind. I don't think the average teen could process these books until they are more mature, then they will be able to see that this is not the normal thing but does happen to come people. That this is only a story and not a way of life they would want.
ReplyDeletemisskallie2000 at yahoo dot com
Congrats to the winners!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with some of the comments here that To Kill a Mockingbird and The Outsiders were great books. I enjoyed reading them in school.
Wow, I wasn't aware Huckleberry Finn was a banned book. I loved the story and learned a lot from it growing up. Some controversial books that were intellectually valuable are The Outsiders and The Diary of Anne Frank.
ReplyDeleteThe diamond engagement ring ad campaign described in the article by DeBeers was a monumental task. For the first time in history, a single marketer, actually based in Europe, attempted to change an entire culture. They invested millions of dollars with a top New York marketing firm in the 1930's to create an image of diamonds as the status symbol given by young men to their girlfriends. Part of the campaign involved giving away expensive diamond rings to movie stars, to generate the impression of extreme glamour and romantic appeal. It was a huge success, and changed the nation.
ReplyDelete