Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop 2015

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read

September 27−October 3, 2015

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. Check out the frequently challenged books section to explore the issues and controversies around book challenges and book banning. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted with removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read.

For more information on getting involved with Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read, please see Calendar of Events, Ideas and Resources, and the new Banned Books Week site. You can also contact the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4220, or bbw@ala.org.

(The above information comes directly from the Banned Books Week page on the ALA website.)

To view a full listing of the top ten books challenged/banned each year for the last decade, visit here or view PDFs of the lists in the BBW press kit.

To do my part to help support this worthy cause, I'll be giving away one of any of the books banned in 2014-2015 to one lucky winner, as long as the book is available from The Book Depository. Check this list to see which books are eligible and why they were banned or challenged.

Rules:

• This giveaway is international. As long as The Book Depository ships to your location, you are good to go. (You can double-check that here.) 
• One entry per household. 
• Entries will be verified. Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
• Please note that if you use your Twitter account solely for giveaway entries and you enter using the Tweet about the Giveaway entry, that entry will be disqualified. Please remember that this entry method is to spread the word about the giveaway, not simply increase your chances of winning.
• Winner will be notified via email. Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. Please check your SPAM folder!!! 
• We are not responsible for lost packages. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you've entered here, be sure to check out all of the other stops on the Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop:



Thanks to the ladies at BookHounds and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for hosting!

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Labels: banned books, giveaway hops, giveaways

Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop 2014

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read

September 21−27, 2014

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. Check out the frequently challenged books section to explore the issues and controversies around book challenges and book banning. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted with removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read.

For more information on getting involved with Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read, please see Calendar of Events, Ideas and Resources, and the new Banned Books Week site. You can also contact the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4220, or bbw@ala.org.

(The above information comes directly from the Banned Books Week page on the ALA website.)

To view a full listing of the top ten books challenged/banned each year for the last decade, visit here or view PDFs of the lists in the BBW press kit.

To do my part to help support this worthy cause, I'll be giving away one of the top ten frequently challenged books from last year to one lucky winner. FYI, Looking for Alaska was banned or challenged for the following reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group.

Rules:

• This giveaway is international. As long as The Book Depository ships to your location, you are good to go. (You can double-check that here.) 
• One entry per household. 
• Entries will be verified. Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
• Please note that if you use your Twitter account solely for giveaway entries and you enter using the Tweet about the Giveaway entry, that entry will be disqualified. Please remember that this entry method is to spread the word about the giveaway, not simply increase your chances of winning.
• Winner will be notified via email. Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. Please check your SPAM folder!!! 
• We are not responsible for lost packages. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you've entered here, be sure to check out all of the other stops on the Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop:



Thanks to the ladies at BookHounds and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for hosting!

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Labels: banned books, favorites, giveaway hops, giveaways, john green, looking for alaska

Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read

September 22−28, 2013

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. Check out the frequently challenged books section to explore the issues and controversies around book challenges and book banning. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted with removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read.

For more information on getting involved with Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read, please see Calendar of Events, Ideas and Resources, and the new Banned Books Week site. You can also contact the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4220, or bbw@ala.org.

(The above information comes directly from the Banned Books Week page on the ALA website.)

To view a full listing of the top ten books challenged/banned each year for the last decade, visit here or view PDFs of the lists in the BBW press kit.

To do my part to help support this worthy cause, I'll be giving away one of the frequently challenged books below to one lucky winner.  This giveaway is international, as long as the book is currently available at The Book Depository and TBD ships to your location.



And in light of the recent banning of Rainbow Rowell's first YA novel in the Anoka-Hennepin school district based on allegations that the book is "dangerously obscene", I'm adding it to the list of prize choices, too, even though it doesn't appear on the official banned/challenged books lists...yet.

Rules:

• This giveaway is international. As long as The Book Depository ships to your location, you are good to go. (You can double-check that here.) 
• One entry per household. 
• Entries will be verified. Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant. 
• Winner will be notified via email. Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. Please check your SPAM folder!!! 
• We are not responsible for lost packages. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you've entered here, be sure to check out all of the other stops on the Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop:



Thanks to the ladies at BookHounds and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for hosting!

Read More

Labels: banned books, favorites, giveaway hops, giveaways

Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop 2012

From the American Library Association's 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.

Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.

The books featured during Banned Books Week have been targets of attempted bannings. Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections. Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society."

It's amazing to me just how many great literary works have been banned over the years (including To Kill a Mockingbird...one of the greatest books ever written) and the reasons listed for the bannings.  Even some more recent favorites have made the list, including Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.  One of my favorite series ever --His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman -- last made the list back in 2008 due to political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, and violence.

I disagree with the inclusion of any and all of the books on that list, but especially this series.  And so I'm going to give you guys the freedom to read it, to like it or hate it....just don't tell me if you hate it.  I'll be crushed.  :0(

Published in 40 countries, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy – The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass – has graced the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Book Sense, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists.

The Golden Compass forms the first part of a story in three volumes. The first volume is set in a world like ours, but different in many ways. The second volume is set partly in the world we know. The third moves between many worlds.

In The Golden Compass, readers meet 11-year-old Lyra Belacqua, a precocious orphan growing up within the precincts of Jordan College in Oxford, England. It quickly becomes clear that Lyra's Oxford is not precisely like our own—nor is her world. In Lyra's world, everyone has a personal dæmon, a lifelong animal familiar. This is a world in which science, theology and magic are closely intertwined.

The Subtle Knife is the second part of the trilogy that began with The Golden Compass. That first book was set in a world like ours, but different. This book begins in our own world.

In The Subtle Knife, readers are introduced to Will Parry, a young boy living in modern-day Oxford, England. Will is only twelve years old, but he bears the responsibilities of an adult. Following the disappearance of his explorer-father, John Parry, during an expedition in the North, Will became parent, provider and protector to his frail, confused mother. And it's in protecting her that he becomes a murderer, too: he accidentally kills a man who breaks into their home to steal valuable letters written by John Parry. After placing his mother in the care of a kind friend, Will takes those letters and sets off to discover the truth about his father.

The Amber Spyglass brings the intrigue of The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife to a heartstopping close, marking the third and final volume as the most powerful of the trilogy. Along with the return of Lyra, Will, Mrs. Coulter, Lord Asriel, Dr. Mary Malone, and Iorek Byrnison the armored bear, The Amber Spyglass introduces a host of new characters: the Mulefa, mysterious wheeled creatures with the power to see Dust; Gallivespian Lord Roke, a hand-high spy-master to Lord Asriel; and Metatron, a fierce and mighty angel. And this final volume brings startling revelations, too: the painful price Lyra must pay to walk through the land of the dead, the haunting power of Dr. Malone's amber spyglass, and the names of who will live—and who will die—for love. And all the while, war rages with the Kingdom of Heaven, a brutal battle that—in its shocking outcome—will reveal the secret of Dust.

These Yearling paperback editions each contain bonus material: the found papers, notes, and other archival material of Lord Asriel, Dr. Stanislaus Grumman, and Mary Malone. They also feature chapter-opening artwork by Philip Pullman.

And now I must find the time to fit in a re-read.  =D

Rules:

• US residents only, unless you can provide a US shipping address. 
• One entry per household.
• All entries will be verified.  Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
• Winner will be notified via email.  Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected.  And, people, check your SPAM folders...I've had to reach out more than once to some winners because they "didn't get the first email."  I don't want to, but I'm going to have to start just picking new winners.  :C
• I am not responsible for lost packages.

And now on to the fun stuff!  You only have to follow my blog to enter, but all other entries/follows are appreciated!  :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you've entered here, be sure to check out the other 100+ giveaway stops on this blog hop:

 

Good luck & happy reading!

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Labels: banned books, boxed sets, favorites, giveaway hops, giveaways, his dark materials, middle-grade, must-read, philip pullman, random house

Back to the Books Giveaway Hop

For my stop on the Back to the Books Giveaway Hop, hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Buried In Books, I'm featuring a book that is set during high school in keeping with the back-to-school theme.  It is also being released as a feature film on September 21st and is an often challenged/banned book.  I read this book for the first time last year and it really stuck with me.  It's a coming of age story that really tugs at your heart-strings.  Sounds cliche, I know, but it's true.  You can check out my review here.

Here's what's up for grabs:

Title:  The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Author:  Stephen Chbosky
Series:  stand-alone
Publisher:  MTV Books
Publication Date:  August 14, 2012, originally published February 1, 1999
Purchase:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble

standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective…but there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. since its publication, stephen chbosky’s haunting debut novel has received critical acclaim, provoked discussion and debate, grown into a cult phenomenon with over a million copies in print, and inspired a major motion picture.

the perks of being a wallflower is a story about what it’s like to travel that strange course through the uncharted territory of high school. the world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. of sex, drugs, and the rocky horror picture show. of those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

Rules:

• US residents only, sorry, unless you can provide a US shipping address.
• One entry per household.
• All entries will be verified.  Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
• Winner will be notified via email.  Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected.
• I am not responsible for lost packages.

And now on to the fun stuff!  You only have to follow my blog to enter, but all other entries/follows are appreciated!  :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you've entered here, be sure to check out all the rest of the stops on the Back to the Books Giveaway Hop:



Good luck & happy reading!

Read More

Labels: back to school, banned books, contemporary, from book to screen, giveaway hops, giveaways, the perks of being a wallflower

TGIF #20 - Most Popular Posts

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at GReads!  In this weekly feature, Ginger poses a question to her followers and then asks everyone to link up at the end of the post, sharing their responses.

This Friday's Question:

Most Popular: What blog post has gotten the most comments/activity on your blog this year?

I had two posts that were quite popular compared to the rest.  Both were TGIF posts.  And both were holiday-related:  TGIF #14 - Spooktacular Reads and TGIF #17 - Giving Thanks.  People seem to be especially generous with their comment-love around the holidays.  :D

I loved writing about spooky reads, first because I love them, and second because I got to spread the word about Anna Dressed in Blood again.  That was such a great book!  And the Thanksgiving post was just fun because it's always nice to thank others for their kindness, and it was nice to spread the word to you guys about how awesome those people are.

If we're going off of the most activity, though, that would have to be my Banned Books giveaway post, with good reason.  Sure, a lot of people were only stopping in to try to win The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but just the fact that they were there, trying to win a banned book, meant that they were showing their support for the cause.

I don't think I could pick a favorite post, though.  If I'm writing about a book I loved or hope to love, I'm pretty happy with the results.  Did you have a favorite post of mine this year?


Week in Review:

Review:  Crossed by Ally Condie
In My Mailbox #11
Review: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Review: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

 

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Labels: anna dressed in blood, banned books, popular posts, tgif, week in review

Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop

From the American Library Association's 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.

Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.

The books featured during Banned Books Week have been targets of attempted bannings. Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections. Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society."

 --- GIVEAWAY ---

I am appalled at some of the books that make this list each year.  I understand that every book is not for every reader, but the decision to read or not read a book should be up to the individual, or at the very least, the parents of impressionable children.  Whenever I think about banned books, I'm always reminded of that scene in Donnie Darko, at the PTA meeting, when that hag of a teacher, Kitty Farmer, tries to get Graham Greene's The Destructors banned from the curriculum.  This same woman believed that Graham Greene was the actor who played "Pa" on Bonanza.  (That was Lorne Greene, in case you weren't aware.)  Idiocy like that is why no one else should be able to dictate what me or anyone else is allowed to read.

I looked over the list of most frequently challenged books for the last decade or so, and I saw that The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky was often on the list each year.  The reasons why this novel was challenged so often per the ALA's website are as follows:  anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to age group.  Not only is this a frequently-challenged book, but it's also on its way to the big-screen, with some big names attached to it.  I was intrigued, so I decided to read it myself and pick up an extra copy for this giveaway.  You can find my review here.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  And I hope you'll celebrate the freedom to read by visiting the rest of the stops in this giveaway hop!

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Labels: banned books, giveaways, the perks of being a wallflower

Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Title:  The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Author:  Stephen Chbosky
Series:  n/a
Publisher:  MTV Books and Pocket Books
Publication Date:  February 1, 1999
Links:  Amazon | Goodreads
Rating: 

From Goodreads:

Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie is navigating through the strange worlds of love, drugs, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and dealing with the loss of a good friend and his favorite aunt.

Review:

Wow. I must have exclaimed, “Oh, Charlie!” at least twenty times through the course of this novel. I’m not usually a big fan of contemporary novels, young adult or otherwise, but I really connected with this book. Maybe it’s because I was a bit of a wallflower myself when I was younger. Maybe because I’ve always been a reader, much like Charlie. Whatever the reason, I really enjoyed this novel, and it’s made me rather thoughtful and reflective these last few days.

Charlie’s tale is poignant and intense at times, but it also has moments of light-heartedness and frivolity. It was a much more realistic portrayal of the average teenager’s life than a lot of other stories out there. This was a story based on truth and brutal honesty, and yet it was surprisingly easy for me to read.

The characters in this narrative are not the one-dimensional characters that you typically find in a contemporary novel. They have real problems and real hopes, and they’re all doing what they have to survive high school. Charlie is naïve and likeable and immediately easy to sympathize with. He candidly expresses the happenings in his life to some unknown individual in the form of letters, and he makes it seem as if this is the most normal thing in the world. He’s peculiar and he’s aware of it, but he makes the best of the hand life has dealt him.

I love that although I knew where the story was going, it wasn’t predictable in how it achieved its end. And what an ending. Wow. Did not anticipate that. The story itself was good, but it was made that much better by that ending. It made it all so much more real. And harder to digest.

And with that, I’ll leave you to wonder and hopefully consider reading this book. If you’re not interested enough just yet, maybe a free copy would help? I’ll be giving away a copy of The Perks of Being a Wallflower as part of the Banned Books Week hop, which runs from 9/24 to 10/1. So check back on Saturday to enter!

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Labels: banned books, reviews, the perks of being a wallflower

In My Mailbox #9

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.  It's a weekly meme where we all get to brag about the books and swag we got in the mail, for review, won in contests, etc.




I got some great books this week, people.  But I started a Fall Challenge -- my first ever -- and so as part of this challenge, I'm trying to use books I already own to complete it.  I've already picked my books for the challenge, which spans the months of September through November and requires nine books, and I only had to purchase two books.  I would say I'm proud of myself, but I also bought books that weren't on my list.  Oy.

Okay on to the spoils:

For review:

The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen
Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes




Purchased:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
Hades by Alexandra Adornetto
The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore/James Frey, et al.




Audiobooks:

Eon, Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman
Eona, The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman




Swag:

Dog tag for pre-ordering Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
Signed bookmarks for Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey




What did you get in your mailbox this week?

P.S. I'll be reading, reviewing and giving away a copy of The Perks of Being a Wallflower for Banned Books week, so check back for that.

 

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Labels: ashes trilogy, banned books, eon, halo, in my mailbox (imm), lorien legacies