Sunday. COFFEE. The first day of life beginning to simmer again. With today being the first day of Banned Book Week (YAY!) and tomorrow starts the fall book sale set up leading to the book sale later in the week and then a big board meeting a week from Monday and Tuesday a meeting and Thursday of that week the Minnesota Library Association meeting and a day out-of-town….
lets just say things are about to get bookish.
And really – they have. Welcome to Banned Book Week a week I LOVE being a part of and try to read books during that week that have been banned or challenged.
So today I am still listening to…
Not only is this our October classic read for book club… it is also a Banned Book.
The Civil War epic which is often cited as one of the most beloved novels of all time was banned by a California school district for the book’s portrayal of slaves in the antebellum South and for the immoral behavior of its heroine, Scarlett O’Hara.
Just Google “Gone With The Wind Banned” and you will find a plethora of information on potential Gone With The Wind bannings – in book form AND in movie format as well.
But what does it say about us as a nation if we continue to embrace a movie that, in the final analysis, stands for many of the same things as the Confederate flag that flutters so dramatically over the dead and wounded soldiers at the Atlanta train station just before the “GWTW’’ intermission? ~ New York Post June 24th 2015
Yes – Gone With The Wind DOES use many words and references to African Americans that is not correct – not b a long shot. Even I admit to cringing at parts – HOWEVER, while this is by no means acceptable now. It was at the time. AND like it or not… we can not change history.
So… I continue to read/listen to Gone With The Wind and I will watch the movie afterwards to get the fully rounded effect of a bucket list book – AND look forward to our book discussion.
Each year I offer other book reviewers, authors, etc to join me in reading a banned book during Banned Book Week. I love the surprise that people have when they realize a beloved childhood read, or a favorite classic, or even a modern-day YA is on this list. Banning is flatly – censorship. And while I do not choose to read all banned books *cough cough 50 Shades of Gray cough cough* I do not have any right to say that YOU can not read it.
See how that works?
So today – I have a few bloggers joining me to chat up Banned Books. I do hope you will check out their posts as someone this week will have a picture within their post and if you find that post and email me (journeythroughbooks@gmail.com) to tell me who’s post you found it on you will go into a special drawing for…
This mug will be shipped directly to one of our commenters on the Banned Book Post you find THIS picture on:
A second mug will be given away from all the comments on banned book post participants posts this week including mine.
SO enough said…
Here are today’s participants. Stop by. check them out. LEARN about banned books and READ them.
Brooke from Brooke Blogs: The Right To Think For Ourselves and a Giveaway!
(There are a couple more but I do not see their posts up yet so will add them if they put them up) 🙂
A quote from a banned book page on Gone With The Wind:
To the book burners; to those who hide from the truth of history; to those who oppress out of ignorance and fear I can only say this: Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.
Enjoy your Sunday. I am linking this to the Sunday Post as this is what I am up to today. Listening to Gone With The Wind, canning a little bit, and maybe mowing this afternoon. Here is a list to other banned classic reads. I bet you cant read just one.
Book Journey 
Sounds like you have some busy days coming up! I’ve never read (or watched) Gone With the Wind. I don’t have a reason for it, other than I think the size of the book was intimidating to me when I was younger. 🙂 I might have to dive into it now.
That mug is cool! Enjoy Banned Books Week! 🙂
I am really enjoying Gone With the Wind and I never thought I would. Scarlett is a modern day mean girl – she reads like a YA book 🙂
So excited about Playing For The Banned, and hoping to get my book read and reviewed in time. I’m off now to check today’s participants. Have a great week Sheila!
Thanks Vicki 🙂
I think I need to go back to bed. I meant Playing To Beat The Banned.
They both work for me 🙂
I read and watched Gone With the Wind when I was in college (for fun not assignment). I think it was the romance novel cover that drew me in otherwise the size of the book may have put me off reading it with all my schoolwork too.
I will have to check out the Banned Books Week posts. My library put up our display on Friday.
I hate romance reads…. ok that seems strong… I HATE romance reads… nope, I guess that is what I meant 🙂 I have to say though I dont look at this as a romance – if it is it is a twisted one at that 🙂
I am celebrating banned book week by reading To Kill a Mockingbird. And the I am reading the sequel.
Excellent choice!
Sounds like you are about to get even busier!! Good luck this week.
Gone With the Wind has been on my ‘to read’ list forever.
I am … not sure that I like it. I have really enjoyed this mind break at home 🙂
Gone With the Wind is such a classic. I understand that the terminology is not acceptable today, but there are many things that have changed over the years, for good and bad. It is good that terminology is unacceptable now, but we can’t go back and rewrite every book. It was true to the time period.
Exactly.
I’m excited! Thanks for organizing this amazing event!! I’ve had this event on my calendar for a while (yay me) so I am looking forward to reading everyone’s posts. Let’s choose to read!
Oh good. I am usually more into it but glad I did not pass it by this year
Oh, Sheila, the movie is fantastic! I don’t know how it compares to the book, though my daughter-in-law is a huge fan of both, so I’m thinking the comparison is good 🙂 You’ll LOVE the scenes and her dresses and the mix of comedy and drama and just EVERYthing, I’m sure 🙂
And, you know, trying to stamp out or protect through book banning is a bit futile, I think. People don’t know where to draw the line as far as where and by whom restrictions need to be made with certain things.
I read GWTW about THREE or FOUR times when I was young, despite the number of pages…I didn’t then have the plethora of books available that I do now.
But I loved it, and despite any “politically incorrect” references or topics, we can’t change history, and it is what it is.
Hope you are enjoying it…I had to laugh at the remark about Scarlett being “immoral.” I wouldn’t exactly characterize her that way…self-absorbed, maybe; obsessed; and definitely a little short-sighted, since she kept focusing on Ashley when the gorgeous Rhett was nearby. LOL. Love the reference to the famous line: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Probably the most quoted line ever.
Enjoy the movie….of course, it was filmed back in the day, and there are some “dated” aspects to it, but again, it is what it is.
I am looking forward to Banned Books Week.
I really need to read Gone With The Wind. I have seen the movie numerous times, but have never read the book. Will I picture Rhett as Clark Gable?….probably.!
Looking forward to everyone’s post. Thanks for posting.
I wonder if the magnitude of the movie is conveyed in the audio book. That said, the movie was rather looooooooooooooooooooong
It is shocking to see the books that have been banned.
http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com
Happy Banned Books Week! I have my Monday post up on WritersFlow.tumblr.com and I have more planned all week 🙂 GWTW was one of my all-time favorites. I was a big film fan as a teen and just fell in love with it. It has been a while since I read it though.
Love Laurelrainsnow’s comment: “We can’t change history”.Afew years back, TCM received a LOT of baclash for it’s showing Birth of a Nation”. I watched it…it sure was painful, but so was “Metropolis” the first time I saw that. My father’s favorite saying was “those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it”….ain’t it the painful truth
I’m not sure I’ve said “thanks” for setting up the Banned Books Week participation. I’m getting settled in after three days at a film festival, and I’m excited about looking at all these books and blogs! Oh, and yes: thanks.