Beware the Ides of March Weirdness!!

According to Oxford Reference Online, an Ide is a "day falling roughly in the middle of each month (the 15th day of March, May, July, and October, and the 13th of other months) from which other dates were calculated." So the Ides of March seem to have been only bad luck for Julius Ceasar, but we like to warn ourselves every year anyway, which is weird.

If you'd like to indulge your curiousity for the weird during this Ides of March, the library has plenty of oddities, whether books about weird things or books that are just weird (in no particular order):



Bat Boy Lives! : The Weekly World News Guide to Politics, Culture, Celebrities, Alien Abductions, and the Mutant Freaks that Shape Our World, by David Perel and the editors of the Weekly World News.

Now you don't have to hide your urge to pick up Weekly World News in the grocery check-out. All the absurdity that's fit to print is here in this handy volume.


Ripley's Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia of the Bizarre, Amazing, Strange, Inexplicable, Weird, and All True!, by Julie Mooney and the editors of Ripley's Believe It or Not!.

This is the 'real' version of Bat Boy, with stories like that of Randel Wise, who designed contact lenses for chickens.


Rear Ends : Found Photos from the Collection of Roger Handy, edited by Roger Handy & Karin Elsener.

Butts, no further explanation needed.


Odd Jobs: Portraits of Unusual Occupations, by Nancy Rica Schiff

Ever wondered what it would be like to be a golf ball diver, body piercer, or a video game tester? This is the book for you.


Elephants on Acid : and Other Bizarre Experiments, by Alex Boese

Have scientists ever really tested animal resurrection? You bet, and you can read all about that and other odd experiments here.


The Hypochondriac's Pocket Guide to Horrible Diseases You Probably Already Have, by Dennis DiClaudio

A hypochondriac's dream come true and worst nightmare - odd and frightening diseases.


The Book of Bunny Suicides, by Andy Riley

A classic of weirdness - learn all the ways that bunnies could die.


Read any weird books lately? Please share them in the comments section.

My My My, Lauren Myracle and Censorship

I was very lucky to be able to attend the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in Denver last week. By far, the best part of my trip was attending the Freedom To Read Foundation's Fundraiser featuring Lauren Myracle. (It was there that I learned that her name is pronounced Myracle, not Miracle.)

Lauren spoke about the censorship and challenging of her books. Many adults across the country have challenged or banned her books, because they tend to deal with themes of sexuality, and have some swearing in them. At the fundraiser, Lauren read some angry emails she has received from parents. Parents called her books "evil, disgusting, filthy, and awful," and even referred to Lauren as "Satan."

TTYL was on the list of Most Frequently Challenged Books in 2007, and has recently been banned at the Round Rock Independent School District near Austin, Texas. The superintendent of the school district removed all copies of the book from the library, despite that fact that two committees reviewed the book and found it suitable for the library.

It is important to remember that librarians face book and material challenges on a daily basis, and we do our best to protect the First Amendment rights of teens.

If you'd like to send Lauren a little email of support or encouragement, please do so here.


I read banned books,

Holly


P.S. The photo above is of a two-story tall bear sculpture outside of the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. It doesn't have much to do with Lauren Myracle, but I thought it was awesome, and she was awesome, so there you go.

Winners! Second Annual CLP Teen Awards

Shoe-ins and stunning upsets! It was a fascinating scene at the recent Second Annual CLP Teen Awards Ceremony at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main. What do you think about the winners? Below are the categories and the winners (in bold):

Favorite Music (overall)
Tha Carter II by Lil' Wayne 43%
Kala by M.I.A. 33%
CoCo by Colbie Caillat 24%

Favorite Hip Hop
Tha Carter III by Lil' Wayne 45%
Paper Trail by T.I. 40%
Smoke N Blaze by Kev Blaze 15%

Favorite Non-fiction Book
Stick Figure : A Diary of my Former Self by Lori Gottlieb 73%
Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski 27%

Favorite Fiction Book
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer 52%
Paper Towns by John Green 40%
Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld 2 8%

Favorite Fantasy or Sci-Fi Book
Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer 50%
War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells 36%
Star Trek Series by various authors 14%

Favorite Manga
Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba 63%
Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto 26%
Bleach by Tite Kubo 2 11%

Favorite Graphic Novel or Graphic Series
Spider-Man by various authors 57%
Runaways by various authors 38%
X-Men by various authors 5%

Favorite Wii Game
Mario Kart 42%
Super Smash Brothers Brawl 29%
Wii Sports 29%


Favorite Xbox or Xbox 360 Game
Rock Band 74%
Madden 09 17%
Halo 3 9%

Favorite Playstation I, II, or III Game
Guitar Hero 54%Rock Band 25%
Grand Theft Auto IV 21%

Favorite Movie
The Dark Knight 34%
Twilight 21%
Juno 17%
Wall-E 14%
High School Musical III 10%
The Incredible Hulk 3%


Favorite Website
YouTube 48%
MySpace 21%
Facebook 21%
Google 10%

Favorite Magazine
Time 50%
Seventeen 39%
Cosmo Girl 11%



Favorite Board Game
Scrabble 39%
Apples to Apples 36%
Clue 25%


Favorite Spot to Visit in Pittsburgh
The Carnegie Library (any location) 55%
Kennywood 41%
The Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History 3%


Holly

Banned (or Challenged) Books Discussion

What is a banned or challenged book, you ask? A challenged book is a book that someone has asked to be removed from a library or store because they object to its content. A banned book is a book that has actually been removed from a library or store. Teen books are particularly vunerable to challenges because, well, they are read by teens. Some adults believe that teens don't have the ability to choose what book is right for them. They may believe that books with objectionable content will corrupt your young minds.

According to the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom, the most challenged book of 2007 was And Tango Makes Three. This is a children's book about two male penguins raising a baby together. Another title that is often on the annual Most Frequently Challenged Book List is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This book is by Stephen Chbosky, a Pittsburgh native. Some reasons that are cited for the banning of this book include homosexual characters and offensive language.

Please choose a title to read from ALA's 2007 list of most challenged books and join us on Sunday, September 21st at 3 pm for a lively discussion about intellectual freedom.

Here are a few other web resources about Intellectual Freedom:

AS IF! Authors Support Intellectual Freedom
This blog features many teen fiction authors, such as Cecil Castellucci Brent Hartinger, David Levithan, E. Lockart, Jordan Sonneblick, and many, many more!


The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund started in 1986 and its purpose is to fight for the First Amendment rights of graphic novel artists.


National Coalition Against Censorship
This group is literally a coalition of 50 different non-profit organizations who have aligned to fight censorship. They are an Intellectual Freedom voltron of sorts.

Happy Banned Reading!

Holly