Skip to main content

Controversy

Controversy and libraries are excellent friends.  My perspective on that is that I'm to remain neutral on the controversies surrounding materials and let my patrons be the judges.  This weeks' readings reminded me of the scandal of the 50 Shades of Grey books and my hesitation to buy them.  My chosen direction was to not purchase them until they were requested and the article I read about the series in American Libraries somewhat backed that decision up.  At the time, I worked with two women in their mid 70s who were both highly conservative.  Imagine my laughter when the more reserved of the two left me a note, requesting the titles, touting their popularity, and speculating on how well they'd circulate due to the media buzz.  In stitches, I ordered the series, knowing she had NO IDEA what she'd just asked me to do.  Correctly so.  Her blush and embarrassment were priceless; the first patron to check them out brought them back within 15 minutes in utter horror; another patron checked them out repeatedly and had to replace them for damages twice.

The Somers' article did ring some bells as I remember when A Million Little Pieces was making news for its inflated tales.

Angela Liao's article regarding celebrity book clubs was also something that I hold some familiarity with.  I refuse to read anything recommended by Oprah as the first two titles I tried were garbage (in my opinion) and I'm not investing anymore time in her direction.  The use of celebrity to elevate titles (or the use of titles to elevate and expand celebrity) is an idea that I can't find myself too mad at.  Any avenue that drives people to read more is one that I can't get worked up about.  Particularly when the celebrity appears to live what they're promoting.  I recall reading SJP (Roberts, 2017) talk about how her mother required each child to take a book with them so they always had something to entertain themselves.  I was so personally irritated that I hadn't been doing that with my own kids.

Ultimately, for me it comes down to knowing what's out there and then making buying/weeding decisions based on what aligns with our missions.  Yes, I weeded all the Bill Cosby kid's books this past fall, but they hadn't been touched in years. 

**PS- Today was the day that I learned about controversy surrounding Dr. Seuss.  I don't know if I should be disappointed in myself for that.

Liao, Angela. (2017) Celebrity Book Clubs Create Virtual Reading Community. Retrieved from https://www.bookstr.com/celebrity-book-clubs-create-virtual-reading-community

Roberts, M. B. (2017, June 23). Book lover Sarah Jessica Parker reveals her deep love of the stacks. Parade. Retrieved March 1, 2020, from https://parade.com/581130/m-b-roberts/book-lover-sarah-jessica-parker-reveals-her-deep-love-for-the-stacks/

Somers, Jeff. (2017) 5 Hoax Memoirs Still Worth Reading. Retrieved from https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/5-hoax-memoirs-still-worth-reading/

Comments

  1. Erin CataldiMarch 4, 2020 at 11:45 AM

    Great job addressing a ton of different controversies. 50 Shades still cracks me up, we're on our NINTH set - the paperbacks get checked out so frequently and damage easily! Full points on a great response! Also, Dr. Seuss is always a shocker when you first learn about it!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Still Born.

Yesterday, I was contacted by an old friend that wanted to ask a sensitive question of me.  I'd like to think that I'm an open book and I said yes without hesitation, just interest. The friend wanted to know about my stillborn Caleb because she'd just learned that her niece had miscarried twins.  She wanted to know what my advice was on walking through that experience and if I had any tips or regrets on things to do. I can't have those conversations without tears, but it's not painful in the way you might think. When driving away from the hospital after Caleb had been released to the funeral home, I was broken, but a couple things were clear... ....telling my husband that this event wasn't allowed to tear us up because I wasn't willing to lose any part of a relationship after losing a baby. .... feeling completely empty because you spend months carrying a baby and then it's just gone.  In late-term pregnancy, everyone can tell you're expecting
Post a Comment
Read more

Dating with kids

 I'm getting in the shower this morning and I'm hit with the weirdest old thought process...  What's better: a divorce or a death? Sharing kids with an ex or having sole discretion? I'm not delving into that today, but I'm in the weirdest situation in my marriage.  It's hilarious. Lots of people live in separate places through the course of their relationships.  I never thought that'd be my reality, but Surprise!  Mine turned out to be like that. After months of him staying in hotels, he got his own place.  There's more to it than that, but that's the boil down.  Now, we're in this cool situation where we see each other about 1/2 the week and trying to carve out time for togetherness is now a challenge again; at the very least, it has to involve intention... that is actually something everyone could benefit from.  I hate it.  My first husband died and we were rarely separate... I never thought I'd be alone. Then I went through the whole datin
Post a Comment
Read more

Nonfiction Matrix

T HE READERS’ ADVISORY MATRIX FOR: MAUI REVEALED: THE ULTIMATE GUIDEBOOK , BY ANDREW DOUGHTY 1.       Where is the book on the narrative continuum? o     Highly Narrative (reads like fiction) ✅    A mix (combines highly narrative moments with periods of fact-based prose) o     Highly fact-based ( has few or no narrative moments) 2.       What is the subject of the book? This is a detailed travel guide on the   island of Maui, written by a long-time resident. 3.       What type of book is it?    A travel guide. 4.       Articulate Appeal What is the pacing of the book? Despite its 311-page length, this book is a relatively quick read, mixing quick tips with interesting tid-bits.  It’s easy to hop around, making selective reading easy. Describe the characters of the book. The main character and the focus of the book is Maui, all it has to offer, how to navigate it, what to look for to help the island come to life before you see it. How does the story fe
1 comment
Read more