Busy day roundup

8 comments on “Busy day roundup”

1. Rob in Victoria says:
   September 22nd, 2008 at 11:39 am

   “Scholaztic cutz Bratz” –

   Hey, George — is there a guide somewhere that I could consult on which way I should come down on the whole “suppression of books” issue when it comes up here? Because the response seems to vary depending on the books involved and how people feel about them, rather than the principle involved, and I’d like to be able to keep up…
   Thanks!

   (FTR – I think the Bratz books, and the whole phenomena, are fairly reprehensible. But that’s how other people feel about “Heather Has Two Mommies”, and we certainly don’t applaud their efforts to have those types of books quashed, do we?)

2. George says:
   September 22nd, 2008 at 11:56 am

   I knew you’d get to this, Rob. Short answer: follow what I say. You’ll go far, son. Longer answer: anything that strives to sexualize children in adult terms for profit (ie, not art) before they reach that point themselves is pretty universally reviled.

3. Monica says:
   September 22nd, 2008 at 12:37 pm

   My opinion about books is usually “doesnt matter what they read, as long as they read’. But i think i’m with George on this one. Not that i am suggesting that we should suppress these or any books.
   I think that if you do allow your kids to read those kinds of things, (bratz, et al) you should be prepared to sit down with them to ask and answer questions. Sadly, i don’t think that happens enough.

4. George says:
   September 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 pm

   It should be noted that the books aren’t banned, just left out of a calendar aimed at the elementary-level educational market.

5. Cameron says:
   September 22nd, 2008 at 1:23 pm

   I was amused to discover that the New International Version of the Bible, published by Zondervan, has 5+ pages of blurbs at the beginning. Motivational speakers, professional athletes, you name it… all lending their earthly clout to God’s opus.

6. sj says:
   September 22nd, 2008 at 1:42 pm

   Man. How much ego does it take for someone to blurb the Bible? “The feel good book of the millenium!”

7. Rob in Victoria says:
   September 23rd, 2008 at 6:25 am

   Oh, I’ve got no problem with Bratz revulsion — in fact, it’s one of those feelings that, as a bookseller, gets me through the day. But if a minority of voices can lead to their removal (and yes, I realize it’s the Scholastic catalog), and we applaud and support that decision, aren’t we giving legitimacy to the other voices that would call for the removal of other books that ‘they’ deem inappropriate? It’s entirely a business decision, but what gives the voices of the enlightened (ie, us) greater moral heft than the voices of the unenlightened (ie, them)?

   (And, for the record, I would follow you anywhere, O Captain my Captain, but please tell me I don’t have to chuck it all and write poetry…)

8. Monica says:
   September 23rd, 2008 at 8:00 am

   Rob in Victoria, have you read Shelf Monkey?

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