20 Oct Book Banning Booms

Book Banning Booms

“It was a pleasure to burn.”  The opening line of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury*.

Maybe you’ve been reading the same disturbing news I have. About book banning. It’s back with a vengeance. The ALA (American Library Association) has fielded almost 1700 requests through August of this year for books that somebody wants banned. Nearly 140 school districts in 32 states issued more than 2,500 book bans during the 2021-22 school year. You can probably figure out the kinds of books they ban.

I did some research and guess who is always on the list of authors whose books are requested to be banned? Toni Morrison! Yeah, Oprah’s good friend, author of Beloved, among many others. So, somebody or some organization doesn’t like what she has to say in a book—and they make a request to have it banned. That’s censorship.

I write controversial material in some of my non-fiction books. Material that I absolutely know some people do NOT like. Because I believe in God, and that he created the universe. Those two basic facts are controversial. Am I on the list?

I thought we lived in a free society. I thought we were guaranteed freedom of speech. We do NOT want to live in a world where a few can ban ideas. Where censorship runs rampant or sneaks up on you one book at a time. That’s fascism, plain and simple. You might want to write your library and request that NO books be banned. The ALA has a great resource to fight CENSORSHIP on their website here.

*In the copy of Fahrenheit 451 that I have, that story would now be called a novella. It was published with two other stories (The Playground, And the Rock Cried Out), all in under 200 pages.

Arthritic Hip Update

            I forgot to mention in my last blog the outcome of two years of battling hip arthritis. I replaced it. Total hip replacement surgery on March 29. Get this: outpatient procedure. No hospital. In by 11 am, out by 8 pm. Walking the same day, albeit with a walker. I’m here to admit, the first several weeks were NO FUN AT ALL. But now, six months later, I’m back to my almost normal self. Ocean swimming, walking with no pain, weight training. I gave up my bicycle because, well, I have a second hip I want to keep as healthy as I can. I don’t think my artificial titanium hip will ever be as sound as my 1951 God-factory installed original, but it’s better than the defective, warranty-expired one.

Help Me Pick a Title

This past week I finished the rough draft of my next novel. Milestone! With editing, book cover design, proofreading, and layout, I’m hopeful it will be published in the spring. It always takes longer than you think.

            With no knowledge of what the book’s about—except that it takes place in Haiti—which of these titles stand out to you?  (When I narrow it down to two or three, I’ll reissue this challenge).

1. The Experience of Becoming Poor
2. Days in Haiti, Evenings at the Lakou
3. 30 Days in Haiti
4. 30 Days at the Lakou
5. Please Send Anyone But Me
6. Torn Between Two Lives