Booklist Online: Book Reviews from the American Library Association

The Chicago Tribune reports on a case of book-phobia that’s not all that far from ALA headquarters: Antioch, Illinois (”Some parents seek to ban ‘The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian’,” by Ruth Fuller). According to the story:
Some parents of incoming freshmen at Antioch High School want an assigned summer reading book pulled from [...]

After getting a ton of ink in 2008 (much of it electric ink right here at Likely Stories), Sherry Jones’ controversial Jewel of Medina hasn’t made much news this year. Now, however, in a story with a tabloid-worthy headline (”Muhammad child bride novel author condemns UK ‘censorship’,” by Alison Flood) The Guardian reports that Jones “has [...]

In a former life, I interviewed movie stars. I can tell you what Russell Crowe smells like, what Neve Campbell drinks, and what Ben Kingsley would really rather be talking about. But here’s the main revelation: hanging out with movie stars, as it turns out, is kind of a drag.
Which is why, these days, I [...]

When Judith Krug died on April 11, the children’s and young adult literature communities lost both a tireless supporter and a defender. As the director of the Office of Intellectual Freedom and the founder of Banned Books Week, Judith was on the front lines helping libraries keep books in their collections, everything from Harry Potter to [...]

Greg Landgraf assembled this video, which was played at this morning’s memorial for Judith Krug. Well worth your while.

Arrived at work this morning to find an e-mail from Keith Michael Fiels, ALA’s executive director, announcing the death of Judith Krug, the founder of Banned Books Week and the director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom. There’s a brief note on AP (”Judith Krug, founder of Banned Books Week, dies“); click “read the rest of [...]

And what a week it was. All right, fine: weeks. A few miscellaneous links I can’t delete without sharing . . . .
The editorial board of the New York Times makes a good point (”Banning Books in Miami“):
The Miami-Dade School Board’s decision is not only unconstitutional, it is counterproductive. If the board wants to oppose [...]

An update on David Carnoy’s Knife Music: just before New Year’s, I noticed a review of the book in Kirkus Discoveries. The review praises the pacing and prose, and sums up by calling it a ”gripping thriller debut that is just what the doctor ordered.” A review almost any writer would kill for–and which any writer can apply [...]

I received a press release for a book (David Michael Slater’s The Book of Nonsense: Sacred Books, Vol. 1) headlined, “Publisher Expects New Series to Be Banned.” Have we come to the point where publishers and authors want their books to be challenged, in the belief that the resulting attention, positive and negative, will increase sales? (After all, they can’t burn [...]

Sadly, the talk of violence in the Jewel of Medina controversy was not just theoretical. The New York Times reported yesterday that Martin Rynja of Gibson Square, the book’s UK publisher, was the victim of something more than inflammatory speech. Thankfully, no one was hurt (”Attack May Be Tied To Book About Muhammad,” by Sarah Lyall):
Early Saturday [...]