Chronicles of a Book Evangelist

Link Trove #20

The Reader by Maja Lindberg on Etsy

So I know that a little over a month ago I said I wasn't going to participate in any reading challenges or official reading commitments for a while -- and I'm not! not really! -- but there have been quite a few popping up that have really caught my eye.  Also, Flannery from The Readventurer has invited me to participate in a read-along of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest... and I'm doing it!  But it doesn't really count as a challenge or commitment because I make no promises to post a review. Some of the others that have tempted me recently are:

Reading Challenges:

• YALSA’s 2013 Hub Reading Challengebegins at 12:01AM EST on February 3 and ends at 11:59PM EST on June 22.  The goal is to read/listen to 25 of the 83 titles on the list of eligible titles, all of which were either winners or honor titles for various awards.  Considering how few of this years winners I had actually read, this would have been a great challenge to participate in!  Plus, those who complete the challenge are eligible to submit a response for one of the books they've read to be published on The Hub, and are entered to win a grand prize of a YALSA tote bag full of 2012 and 2013 YA lit! 

• Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer is hosting a "Take Control of Your TBR Pile Read-a-Thon" from March 15th to 18th.  I could really use something like this!  I've got scads of new books that I genuinely want/wanted to read piling up, but I can't seem to get myself motivated to actually read them.  Instead, I've reading and rereading (mostly rereading!) sequels to my favorite urban fantasy series, as well as my favorite old gothic novels.  It's fun and unchallenging reading, but it doesn't exactly make for new material for the blog! 

And now for a list of (some of) the cool links I've been finding around the web -- I usually only post about 1/3 or 1/4 of what I've found. Perhaps I should start doing this twice a week!

Interesting Reads:

• Sarah from Clear Eyes, Full Shelves had a great opinion piece on the "rights" and "wrongs" of reading -- or rather, how there isn't a right or wrong way to interpret what you read.  She brought up many good points, and the discussion continues to be engaging into the comments.

• Kelly from Radiant Shadows really caught my attention with her post on the Bechdel Test in YA.  It really surprised me when I thought about how few books I had recently read within the genre would actually pass!  For those who are unfamiliar with the Bechdel Test, it is a test measuring female presence in fictional media.  To pass the test, if must 1) include at least two named women, 2) who have at least one conversation, 3) that is about something other than a man or men.  Kelly does a much better job of talking about it, so check that out!

New to the Online Reading Community:

•  A brand new website just launched called Bookish. From what I've read, it is pretty similar to Goodreads or LibraryThing, with an added component of reader advisory-ish picked book recommendations?  In my experience, computer generated book recommendations are rarely as successful as reader advisory, you know, from a librarian or fellow book lover.  We'll see.  (via Tor)

• I've also recently stumbled upon Books That Changed Me, a tumblr where you can submit a response/review/essay/call-it-what-you-will about a book or books that have changed you in some way.  It is a fascinating look at how different people read books, and what they take away from them.

And Just for Fun:

• Presidential Monsters! Action figures that are a mash-up of the residents of Pennsylvania Ave and our favorite horrific creatures.  I seriously want to buy Wolf Bill for my mother. (via Tor)

Link Trove #18

Smart Owl by Amy Hamilton

The print above is "Smart Owl" by Amy Hamilton, and the Art Print size is available for only $17.  My bird girl's (whose favorite books include Owl Moon and Owl Babies) has her 4th birthday coming up -- as well as a redo of her big girl room.  I see a framed "Smart Owl" in her future.  Now that I've mostly stopped curling my toes at the cute owl, on to the links!

Censorship:

• Following a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Davis School District has returned "In Our Mothers' House" by Patricia Polacco to school library shelves.  It was removed from shelve after a group of parents petitioned the school for its removal.  You know, because we can't have a book that represents a same-sex household as normal or anything! (That was extreme sarcasm, for the record.)

• The New York Times had an interesting question in their Room for Debate feature, What’s ‘Just Right’ for the Young Reader?  The various perspectives were all interesting to read, though I must admit that I still think Sendak said it best, "I don't believe in children, I don't believe in childhood. I don't believe that there's a demarcation. 'Oh, you mustn't tell them that. You mustn't tell them that.' You tell them anything you want. Just tell them if it's true. If it's true, you tell them."  In all fairness, that is essentially what a few of the debaters, especially Lisa von Drasek, said.  I also found the opinion of Betsy Bird, who wrote "kids are excellent self censors," to be particularly interesting in terms of this next piece:

• Susane Colasanti's When It Happens will stay in the teen section of IL library, despite a parent's attempt to remove it.  The unsuitability of the reading material for her daughters' age group was pointed out to her by -- wait for it -- her daughter.  As Leila from bookshelves of doom responded:

Discounting the whole challenge thing, this story was actually a nice example of a younger reader holding her hand up and saying, "WHOA. THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR ME."  I mean, obviously, the parent took that statement and went a step further to "IF IT'S NOT FOR YOU, IT'S NOT FOR ANYONE YOUR AGE", which is problematic, but still."

• Oddly enough, Maggie Stiefvater was also recently weighing in on the issue of age appropriate content, albeit in a much more light-hearted fashion.  After mentioning that she won't let any of the children in her family read her current books until they are 30, she announced that she will be participating in a middle grade level project with scholastic.  Very cool.

For The Girls:

• Elizabeth Burns of A Fireplace, A Chair & A Tea Cozy raises an interesting question about the importance of (or lack thereof) including menstruation in stories about teen girls with her post It’s That Time of the Month.  I highly recommend reading the comments as well as the post, as there are lots of interesting things being said, and good books being recommended.

• Jezebel managed to scare the crap out of me with their article about teen girls meeting strangers in real life that they met on the internet.  According to a new study released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, 30 percent of teenage girls have met an internet contact without confirming their identity beforehand.  YIKES.

To Lighten Things Up:

• McDonald's in the UK is replacing its Happy Meal toys with books.  How awesome is that?!  Now, if they could just make this an international policy!

• Maureen Johnson is offering up some awesome swag in the form of custom stickers and an autographed bookplate to anyone who preorders Madness Underneath from an indie bookstore.  Check out her website for a view of the stickers and a list of participating bookstores.

• Finally, a lovely quote from Ursula K. Le Guin found via teaching literacy:

"While we read a novel, we are insane—bonkers. We believe in the existence of people who aren’t there, we hear their voices… Sanity returns (in most cases) when the book is closed."

Review & Giveaway: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

As I am sure you have guessed now from the badge to the left, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is the book that I will be giving away for World Book Night!!  I really don't think I could be more excited!  To celebrate I want to start this week with an (admitedly late) review of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, as well as a giveaway for a hardback copy!  The winner will be announced on April 23, 2012 - World Book Night!  On to the review!  (And I'll try to put away the exclamation points!!) 

 

Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers

Publication Date: September 12, 2007

Awards: 

2007: National Book Award for Young People's Literature, A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, American Indian Library Association Award, Horn Book Fanfare Best Book, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry

2008: Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award Nominee, American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Young Adult Book, ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults

2009: Florida Teens Read Nominee, James Cook Book Award Nominee

2010:  South Carolina Book Award Nominee for Young Adult Book Award

2011: Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee

Whew!  I think that's all of them!

Goodreads Description:

In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live. 

Review:

I just finished reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian for the third time, so, according to Gordy, I suppose I should know it by now.  However, I feel just as inadequate to the task of writing a review for it as I did the first time I finished it.  You see, every time I have read it, I have come away from a different book.  It would be really easy to just go on and on about how often Part-Time Indian is banned, and why that is wrong or absurd, and never have to say something personal.  (And yes, each of those words is its own link.)  However, though I lack his humor, I will try for Arnold's honesty and explain why I think this book is so very special.  

My first time to read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was not long after it had been published.  My life was full of change, and much of that change was a result of death.  I didn't really know anything about Part-Time Indian, or I probably wouldn't have picked it up.  Thank goodness I did!  Even while reading things that resonated so deeply that I thought I would shatter all over again, Alexie made me laugh.  Laugh!  Because Alexie is right, "I know death is never added to death; it multiplies." (p 212)  But it is also true that, "When it comes to death, we know that laughter and tears are pretty much the same thing." (p 166)  After finishing, my love of Part-Time Indian was something that was just too personal to share.

My second reading of Part-Time Indian brought shame.  Not a general sort of shame, but the very specific sort that comes from recognizing privilege you have previously ignored. I live near reservations.  I have friends who are Native American.  I know the very unsavory statistics of life on reservations.  I thought of myself as a knowledgeable, understanding sort of ally.  I could be quick to jump into a conversation with historical facts or statistics.  But what a place of privilege!  I could think about it or not as I chose--I don't have to live it.  And a verbal 'victory' at a dinner table does precisely nothing for the people who do have to live it.  I was one of those "liberal, white, vegetarian do-gooders" or "white missionary saviors" or "yet another white guy who showed up on the rez because he loved Indian people SOOOOOOOO much."  You see, it took reading Part-Time Indian to realize that just 'caring' wasn't enough.  Just trying to 'fix' things within the reservations isn't enough, because the problems come from outside as well.  Until the Arnold's of this world are wrong when they say, "Almost all of the rich and famous brown people are artists," then we are still doing something wrong as a society. (p 6)  I just love what Sherman Alexie said in an interview with the Progressive when he was included in the banned curriculum of the Mexican American Studies Program in Arizona:

"You give those brown kids some books about brown folks and what happens? Those brown kids change the world. In the effort to vanish our books, Arizona has actually given them enormous power. Arizona has made our books sacred documents now."  

I want our world to change.  But, yet again, what a personal response!  Who really wants to write a review revealing just how ignorant they have been of their own privilege?

With this last reading, though, things changed.  I realized that it wasn't the comfort it brought the first time I read it or the self awareness it provided with the second reading that brings me back again and again.  It is simply this: Arnold.  His frank, funny, painful, humiliating, triumphant, honest story.  The way Alexie can bring you from the greatest of emotional heights to the most painful moments of sadness or shame with a single sentence--and you want to stay along for the rest of the ride because you're invested.  Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a compelling story of a young boy's coming of age; it is not an issue book, but a character-driven story about a boy with a lot of issues.  It is a story about finding hope when you think all hope is lost.  It is about making your own hope.  It is a story of learning to expect more for and from yourself than what others expect for and from you.  It is about learning that where you come from does not have to define where you are going.  It is about seeing the good and bad of each situation; that love can be expressed in a lot of different ways and still be real.  It is about realizing that we are all a part of many different tribes, be they the tribe of poverty, small-town kids, funeral-goers, tortilla chips-and-salsa lovers, or chronic masturbators.  It is about learning that "the world, even the smallest parts of it, is filled with things you don't know." (p 97)  So maybe Gordy is right, maybe I do know Part-Time Indian, at least a little better than I did the first time.  But that doesn't mean I won't be back again. I think there are still some things I don't know in this small part of the world, and I enjoy it here.  

 

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!!

I am giving away one Hardback copy of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, one sticker (that was really supposed to be stuck to the book, but I just couldn't do it) naming it as a World Book Night 2012 selection, and one World Book Night bookmark.  Simply leave a comment to enter, and that's it!  For an additional entry, tweet about the giveaway and post the URL in the comments.  (But only once, guys!  Don't spam friends!)  Giveaway closes on Sunday, April 22, 2012.  Winner will be chosen via a random number generator (ie, my beautiful TI-89) and announced on World Book Night, Monday, April 23, 2012!  

***Giveaway Closed***

Winner announced here.

This review also appears at Goodreads; I purchased both my copy and the giveaway copy from Nightbird Books.  They were also my World Book Night Pick-up location, because they rock like that.  

Link Trove #11

(I currently only have a pinterest source for this image.  If you know more about it, please let me know.)

First off, if you haven't checked out the Kickstarter page for Kate Milford's new novella, The Kairos Mechanism, you really, really should!  You can also read more about it here or on Kate's website, The Clockwork Foundry.

Listomania:

• This article exploring What If Famous Writers Had Written Twilight… had me laughing out loud. A couple of my favorites:

Herman Melville

"Call me Bella." A tome about the length of the original series investigates Bella's monomanical search for the vampire who stole her virginity. There's an entire chapter devoted to describing the devastating whiteness of Edward's skin, and several on the physiognomy of vampires, starting with their skeletal structure outward.

Ernest Hemingway

Edward and Bella exchange terse dialogue alluding to Edward's anatomical problem. Eventually, Bella leaves him for Jacob, a local bullfighter with a giant…sense of entitlement.

• This tumblr is trying to list the final sentence of every literary work they can find.  I wasted a LOT of time looking through these!

• There are some really great ideas in this list of 10 Books That Would Make Great Theme Parties

Interesting Miscellanea:

• From Flavorwire: Listen to Jack Kerouac talk about what a "Beat" is in this 1958 recording:

Reading and Writing in the News:

• This New York Times essay discussing the way books written by and for women are classified and considered was well worth the read.

• Gender and reading have been really hot topics this last week.  This article suggests that boys read more, and consider reading more worthwhile, when they can do it on an e-reader.  The School Library Journal also created quite a stir with their article about a library creating a "boy cave" for their male students.  Here are a few responses.  

• A new study says that people with e-readers read more books.

• There is also an interesting discussion going on over at New York Times about the value of the book blurb.

Literacy Promotion and Censorship:

• The ALA released their list of the Top Ten List of Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2011. Big surprise, both The Hunger Games and Part-Time Indian made the list.

• I absolutely LOVE guerrilla libraries.  Here is a new one that I find fascinating:

Built from a welded frame atop a 1979 Ford Falcon, Raul Lemesoff drives around the streets of Buenos Aires distributing free books to anybody who wants to be assaulted with some serious learnin’. (via Fuck Yeah, Book Arts!)

Link Trove #9

This cartoon from foxboros cracked me up.  In her own words, "me earlier as i sobbed to my friend shelby about the hunger games."  (I love that she is wearing a Black Keys t-shirt, even if it does put "Howlin' for You" in my head all day.)  I think I may be the only reader I know who will not be watching Hunger Games this weekend - not for a lack of desire, but rather a lack of babysitter...

Now, for linky things:

•  I thought the question of whether or not John Green, author of Looking for Alaska, is a pornographer had been answered four years ago.  Apparently, though, the good folks of Knox County want to revisit the issue.  When are people going to get it that just because you don't want to read something, and do not want your kids to read it, does not mean that you can tell other people's children that they cannot read it either!

• Speaking of books being accused of pornographic, why don't we include Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game...what, huh?  I mean, you can accuse Mr. Card himself of saying some fairly hateful things, but writing porn isn't something I think he's ever be accused of before!  Yet, it is true: a Schofield Middle School teacher has been placed on administrative leave for reading from Ender's Game.  

• Let's move to something less depressing, shall we?  According to the Guardian, Phillip Pullman (an auto-buy in this household!) will be revisiting 50 0f his favorite Grimm Fairytales and "telling the best of the tales in [his] own voice!"  I really cannot describe the sheer amount of awesome that sentence contains!  

• Algonquin Books has seven e-books that will be on sale for only $1.99 until March 28th.  A good deal if you are interested in the titles.  

• The following Pie Chart displaying the division of YA Deals by Genre for the past year actually surprised me!  I thought that the Paranormal category would be larger and the Contemporary much smaller.  Kate Hart put this graph, and many others, together in this enlightening series of posts about YA Deals.  (I was also shocked by the portion of single book deals vs. multi book deals - I thought the trilogies would outweigh everything else! (found via YA Highway)

That's it for this week!  

Link Trove #8

First Thing First: Teens, GO VOTE for your favorite books, author and illustrator in the Children's Choice Book Awards.  The nominees this year are:

Teen Book of the Year
Clockwork Prince: The Infernal Devices, Book Two by Cassandra Clare (Margaret K. McElderry/S&S)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (Little, Brown) 
Divergent by Veronica Roth (Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins)
Passion: A Fallen Novel by Lauren Kate (Delacorte/Random House)
Perfect by Ellen Hopkins (Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster)

Author of the Year
Jeff Kinney for Diary of a Wimpy Kid 6: Cabin Fever (Amulet Books/Abrams) 
Christopher Paolini for Inheritance (Knopf) 
James Patterson for Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life (Little, Brown) 
Rick Riordan for The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, Book 2)(Disney Hyperion) 
Rachel Renée Russell for Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star(Aladdin/S&S)

Illustrator of the Year
Felicia Bond for If You Give a Dog a Donut (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins)
Eric Carle for The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse (Philomel/Penguin)
Anna Dewdney for Llama Llama Home With Mama (Viking/Penguin)
Victoria Kann for Silverlicious (HarperCollins) 
Brian Selznick for Wonderstruck (Scholastic)

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

Now that is done, on to the links!

• This video of The Exquisite Book looks awesome! (via Fuck Yeah, Book Arts!)

From Goodreads: “In The Exquisite Book, one hundred indie artists play an ingenious version of the Exquisite Corpse drawing game. Each adorns a page with artwork having seen only the page of the artist immediately prior and using a single horizon line to connect the two. Some continue the “story” quite literally while others build on the previous page in more fanciful ways. This astonishing volume’s format is as unique as its content, with each of the book’s ten chapters residing on a ten-page accordion pull-out, allowing readers to view the art continuously. With an illustrated foreword by Dave Eggers, and art from such luminaries as James Jean and Jill Bliss, this charming book is, simply, exquisite.”

• I really enjoyed this article from Tor about Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series.  It reminded me of what Micheal Stipes said when REM retired, 'the skill in attending a party is knowing when it's time to leave.' I have enjoyed every book in the series thus far, and am glad she won't drag it out past its natural conclusion.  (I think it helps to know that there is a new spin off series - The Finishing School - in the works, though!)

• Finally, I know it has been a while since I talked about the banning of books used in the  Mexican American Studies program in the Tucson Unified School District.  It is wonderful that there are still groups of people fighting this just as strongly as when it first happened.  The Librotraficante Caravan is "a bus filled with about 60 Latino writers, artists, activists and students 'smuggling' Latino-themed books to Arizona."  According to My San Antonio, the librotraficantes ("book trafficers") will be participating in a series of events in six different cities between Houston and Tucson.  Tony Diaz, organizer of the tour, wrote this excellent opinion piece explaining his reasons for starting this tour, 'For me, this was a cultural offense on the same level as denying Rosa Parks a seat at the front of the bus.'  A video from their website: 

Just in case you couldn't tell from the video, Diaz says the caravan's "use of words such as 'trafficking, 'underground' and 'smuggling'--and its use of 'tricked-out taco trucks' to deliver them--has captured imaginations" with targeted satire: "It's meant to expose how unfair the law is." (Found via Shelf Awareness)

Link Trove #4

 

 

If my TBR list were not digital, this is very much what it would look like.  It is awesome (but also a little overwhelming) to be swamped with so many books that I really can't wait to read!  So, until next week (when I will have at least four reviews) I leave you with some interesting links:

• This Tumblr has images of literary characters created by using law enforcement composite sketch software.  Quite a few of them are pretty creepy, and not at all how I pictured the characters. (via bookshelves of doom)

•  The recent ban on the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program in Tucson, Arizona, is still very much on my mind.  Sherman Alexie's response was just spot-on; and Samantha Mabry's post was very moving.  Teacher groups across the U.S. are launching a "No History is Illegal" campaign as a response and are encouraging a month of solidarity teach-ins. The No History is Illegal website offers a "guide that includes sample lesson plans from the MAS curriculum as well as creative ideas and resources for exploring this issue with students."

• I know I am guilty of a few of these 20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes.  

• If I didn't already love Margaret Atwood, these Rules For Writers would have won me over.  (We pencil-lovers must stick together.)

•   Neil Gaiman screams like a lunatic after winning the SFX award. (via tor)

• I was surprised to learn how many publishers are opting out of providing e-books to libraries.  The picture below is one Librarian's response:

Link Trove #3

• Author Hannah Goodman has put together a magazine of YA stories written by various authors in the first issue of Sucker Magazine, and you can download it here. 

• Kelly at Stacked has a follow up post Doing Our Part: Nominate Titles for YALSA's Lists & Awards where she links to the nomination forms and gives some general ideas for how and why to nominate your favorites books for awards.

• School Library Journal's 2012 Battle of the Kid's Books has begun.

• This article from The New York Times on literacy and education of the world's poorest children has both devastating and hopeful statistics to relay.  Save the Children's new program, Literacy Boost, sounds awesome.  From the article:

"The most innovative part of the program is the work outside the classroom.   The goal is to expose children to reading as much as possible.  This often starts with simply maximizing children’s exposure to print  — in some places, the only writing a child sees is what the teacher puts on the blackboard.

 "In a few places, Save the Children has worked with local publishers or nongovernmental groups, or even government ministries, to print books.  But more commonly, the program depends on an ingenious solution —  the books are homemade.  Sometimes adults write down favorite stories, but often the authors are children."

• The New York Times has an interesting debate which starts with the question Should Parents Control What Kids Learn at School?

• This article entitled Libraries, Sexual Content and the Internet: Striking a Balance Between Rights, Access, And Comfort from the Huffington Post was pretty interesting.  It didn't tell me anything earth-shatteringly new, but was still well worth the read.

• In yet another New York Times article, Julie Bosman details the future of Barnes & Noble, both digital and print.  If you are still on the fence about which e-reader to buy, I would consider giving it a read.  (I purchased a Nook after reading the article.)

• The Electronic Frontier Foundation gives a short and sweet explanation of What Actually Changed in Google’s Privacy Policy.

Controversial Books and World Book Night

I am applying to be a World Book Night book giver this year.  Basically, if chosen you are sent 20 copies of a book you love, which you then take to a public place to be given away free of charge to people who rarely or never read.  It is a thrilling concept - the idea of engaging with people who aren't readers, trying to persuade them to start with a book you have found particularly compelling.  I feel a bit conflicted, though.  Of the books available this year, hands down the three I love most are also some of the most controversial.  The Huger Games and The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian both made the ALA's 2010 Most Frequently Challenged Books list, and Part-Time Indian has already been challenged twice in the past three months (here and here.)  In the interest of full disclosure, I could not actually find an instance of The Book Thief being banned, but it is often included in banned books lists, or banned books read-alongs, for the touchy subject matter.

I think choosing any of these books would put me in the much more difficult position of having to not only convince the teen to try the book, but also their parents.  I think it would be worth it - these books need to be read for the very reasons they are often challenged.  They talk about difficult, gritty, dark things; but kids live through difficult, gritty, dark things all the time.  For those who have experienced it, perhaps the books could provide comfort.  If the reader is completely unfamiliar with the topics, the books could provide insight into the lives of their peers.    They will eventually learn about these things; we cannot keep them sheltered forever. As a parent, I would much rather my child learn about sex as an expression of low self esteem or drug and alcohol abuse from a book rather than experience. 

Whenever the topic of censorship and children's or teen's literature comes up, I cannot help but think of my favorite Maurice Sendak quote:

        “I said anything I wanted because I don't believe in children, I don't believe in childhood. I         don't believe that there's a demarcation. 'Oh you mustn't tell them that. You mustn't tell them         that.' You tell them anything you want. Just tell them if it's true. If it's true, you tell them.”

So, here is to hoping on the night of April 23 I will be standing in the Mall Food-court convincing teens and parents to give these books a chance.  

More information on 2012 World Book Night.

More information Challenged or Banned Books in 2010-2011.