Artifacting » books

That’s About All I Can Tell You, Really.

hubs — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:40:49 +0000

photo courtesy of clusterflock.

The stories mentioned above have been mentioned here back in 2007. As for any of Salinger’s manuscripts that might have hidden away in a cabinet somewhere to be printed posthumously, I believe his thoughts about them are the same as stated above, or we all would have seen them by now.

Listen to the last chapter (Chapter 26) Of “Cather In The Rye”

Banned Books Week

hubs — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:26:27 +0000

It’s the final days of 27th annual Banned Books Week here in the US. Created by the American Library Association, the event was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries.

Since 2001 bans on 3,736 books and other materials have been requested. And according to the ALA, there were more than 500 “challenges” to specific books in schools, stores, and libraries reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2008.

In solidarity with this student who is running an banned book library out of an empty locker at her school, I thought I would post this list of the top ten most challenged books for each year back to 2001. A link to their Amazon page is included so you can collect them all or buy copies for your local library or school.

2008

And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group
His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, and violence
TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, and violence
Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, and violence
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to age group
Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
Reasons: homosexuality and unsuited to age group
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper
Reasons: sexually explicit and unsuited to age group

2007

And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, sexism, and unsuited to Age Group
The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: offensive Language, sexually explicity, violence
Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit
The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
Reason: religious viewpoint
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Reason: racism
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit
TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Reason: sexually explicit
It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, by Robie Harris
Reasons: sex education and sexually explicit
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

2006

And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Reasons: anti-family, homosexuality, and unsuited to age group
Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group
Alice style='font-style:normal'> (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Reasons: offensive language and sexually explicit
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: anti-family, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
Reasons: offensive language, sexual explicitly, and unsuited to age group
Scary Stories(series), by Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: insensitivity, occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, and violence
Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher
Reasons: homosexuality and offensive language
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicity, and violence

2005

It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, by Robie H. Harris
Reasons: homosexuality, nudity, sex education, religious viewpoint, abortion, and being unsuited to age group
Forever, by Judy Blume
Reasons: sexual content and offensive language
The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger
Reasons: sexual content, offensive language and being unsuited to age group
The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: sexual content and offensive language
Whale Talk, by Chris Crutcher
Reasons: racism and offensive language
Detour for Emmy, by Marilyn Reynolds
Reason: sexual content
What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: sexual content and being unsuited to age group
Captain Underpants (Series), by Dav Pilkey
Reasons: anti-family content, being unsuited to age group and violence
Crazy Lady!, by Jane Leslie Conly
Reason: offensive language
It’s So Amazing! A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families, by Robie H. Harris
Reasons: sex education and sexual content

2004

The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence.
Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Meyers
Reasons: offensive language, racism, and violence
Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture, by Michael A. Bellesiles
Reasons: inaccurate and political viewpoint
Captain Underpants (Series), by Dav Pilkey
Reasons: offensive language and sexually explicit
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, and sexually explicit
What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: offensive language, unsuited to age group, and sexually explicit
In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
Reasons: nudity, offensive language, and sexually explicit
King & King, by Linda deHaan
Reason: homosexuality
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Reasons: offensive language, racism, and violence

2003

Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Reasons: sexual content, using offensive language, and being unsuited to age group
Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
Reasons: occult/satanism
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Reason: offensive language
Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture, by Michael Bellesiles
Reason: inaccuracy
Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
Reason: racism, sexual content, offensive language, drugs, and violence
Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
Reason: drugs
It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, by Robie Harris
Reason: homosexuality, nudity, sexual content, and sex education
We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier
Reason: offensive language and sexual content
King & King, by Linda de Haan
Reason: homosexuality
Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
Reason: occult/satanism and offensive language

2002

Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
Reasons: occult/Satanism and violence
Alice style='font-style:normal'> (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
Taming the Star Runner, by S.E. Hinton
Reason: offensive language
Captain Underpants (Series), by Dav Pilkey
Reasons: offensive language and unsuited to age group
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Reason: offensive language
Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
Reasons: occult/Satanism, offensive language, and violence
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor
Reason: offensive language
Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
Reasons: unsuited to age group and violence

2001

Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
Reasons: anti-family, occult/Satanism, religious viewpoint, and violence
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Reasons: offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group, and violence
The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Reasons: offensive language and sexually explicit
Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene
Reasons: offensive language, racism, sexually explicit
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: offensive language and unsuited to age group
Alice style='font-style:normal'> (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Reasons: sexually explicit and unsuited to age group
Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
Reasons: drugs, offensive language, and sexually explicit
Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
Reason: offensive language
Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause
Reasons: sexually explicit and unsuited to age group

Fuckin’ Math

hubs — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:15:20 +0000

If my highschool math text books were more like this I probably would have grasped onto abstract algebra a lot easier – Fuckin’ Concrete Contemporary Abstract Algebra Introduction By First Course Radical Solution Dummies: Dummit, Foote, Hungerford, Shifrin, Gallian, Fraleigh, Beachy, Herstein, Saracino, Artin, Deskins (Paperback), by Nicolas Bourbaki Junior, ISBN 1441451579, 100 pages, published 2009. Here is an excerpt:

For fucking example, the symbols could be fucked as symmetries of a fuck, as the fuck of a switch, as an instruction to a machine fuck, or as a way to fuck a statistical experiment. The fucks could be manipulated using some of the unusual fucks for fuckers. For fucking example, the fucked polynomial 3x²+2x-1 could be fucked to and multiplied by other fucking polynomials without ever having to interpret the fuckbol x as a fucker.

UPDATE: Unfortunately Nicolas Bourbaki Junior’s book has been erased from the Amazon database. It can now be found here or here.

2008: The Year In Literature

hubs — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:00:37 +0000

I haven’t read many novels this year. I think my top four include every book I read during the whole of 2008 (and it wasn’t much better last year). Ouch. Hopefully this will change dramatically in 2009. It would be nice to be able to at least make a top five this year. Despite my unfortunate lack of reading, here were my favorite:

1. The Little Prince
2. Middlesex: A Novel
4. Dry: A Memoir
3. Beerspit Night and Cursing: The Correspondence of Charles Bukowski & Sheri Martinelli 1960-1967

I keep track of my reading on Library Thing and Goodreads so be sure to go over there and mark me as a friend if your interested.

Everybody’s A Winner

hubs — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:14:22 +0000

There was a package on the table when I came home yesterday. I was pleased to find out it was a limited edition (575) print created by Dan and Mike of Aesthetic Apparatus. The print celebrates the latest release of the Coudal Partners’ Field Tested Books which is a project in which people are asked to review books that made a particular impact on them relative to where they were read. A fun idea. Fortunately enough, I recieved my poster free-o-charge by winning the 543612 contest but you can get yours here.

What A Cat Wants, What A Cat Needs

hubs — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:21:30 +0000

Since I’ve been doing the dog thing so much, I think it’s only fair that I do the cat thing for a bit. Below you’ll find the “mental model” of a cat (click to make the picture big and legible). The cat’s mental model, as well as the concept of metal modeling, can be credited to Mental Models: Aligning design strategy with human behavior by incredibly smart Indi Young. There are a lot more images from the book on flickr. If any of this sparks your interest, Liz Danzico has a good review of the book.

Mystery Book

hubs — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:26:52 +0000

About seven or eight years ago I was at a party when a girl I had a heavy crush on handed me a small coffee table book. After stating that the book somehow reminded her of me, I flipped through it. I really liked it and was flattered that it was me she thought of when she first viewed it.

Ever since then I have been in pursuit of this book.

Unfortunately, I was never able to remember it’s title (or illustrator). It was a children’s picture book with no words. I’ve searched through entire children’s sections of several bookstores looking to both give the book as a gift and to buy for my own. I haven’t had any luck until today, when I found these scanned-in pages while surfing the internet. Does anybody have any clue who the author/illustrator is? Maybe the name of the book? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I copied the pages for you to view below.

UPDATE: Kasey and Giyjun found it! The book is titled Zoom and is Illustrated by Istvan Banyai (if you’re into design/illustration you should check out his website)

2007: The Year In Literature

hubs — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 01:23:20 +0000

I haven’t read many novels this year. I think my top five includes every book I read during the whole of 2007. Despite my unfortunate lack of reading, here are my favorite:

1. The Good Times Are Killing Me
2. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
3. The Kite Runner
4. Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
5. The March: A Novel

Wednesday’s Wonderful World Of Wikipedia: Fictional Doctors

hubs — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:51:15 +0000

This week on Wednesdays Wonderful World of Wikipedia is simply a list of fictional doctors from literature, movies, and television. Mind you, it’s a very long list.

Prospector

hubs — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 23:31:49 +0000

Dang! I can’t believe I didn’t know about this before now. But Cass’, the incredibly cute young thing up in Laramie, pointed me out to Prospector. Prospector is a catalog of twenty three libraries in Colorado and Wyoming. Through Prospector you have access to over 20 million books, journals, DVDs, CDs, videos and other materials held in these libraries. With a single search you can identify and borrow materials from the collections and have them delivered to your local library. It’s so easy I can’t believe it. This is gonna save tons of time and increase my library usage.

If your interested in other useful local library tools you should check out this incredibly helpful bookmarklet. It allows you to both search for and hold books books at the Denver’s Public Library straight from any Amazon.com book page. This will allow you to quickly find out if the library has the book before I purchase it.