Love between the covers

I am a lover of books. Anyone who reads this blog should not be suprised by that statement.

I recently fell in love with a surprising find: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Sure, I have read reviews of this book, most of them written by Simon and Schuster her publisher, which are then picked up by "news" outlets. They all say the same thing: a love letter for a reader... blah, blah, blah.

Frankly I've been disappointed for a while in the "top" critical choices for books. The last one I really enjoyed was Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. (Which, I just discovered is being made into a movie directed by Peter Jackson. Hi, bring the kleenex cause you're going to cry, and not because the hobbit is stomped by a tree that moves.)

I have been spending the night with The Thirteenth Tale for about a week and I just can't put it down. That's the joy of reading a good book -- that journey to the other world, a world that can be the same or completely different than your own. It's magical in it's own way.

That's why I cringe whenever I see yet another attempt at banning books.

I grew up in a household filled with books and never, not once, was I told what I could and could not read. In sixth grade, I read my first Stephen King novel, Eyes of the Dragon. I worked as a library assistant in junior high and practically consumed the contents of the shelf. Not once was I told that a book was not appropriate. In high school, I had my first public library card and the horizon was limitless.

I am not a wiccan, I still had sex at a young age, I know where babies come from and I have fabulous gay friends. None of these decisions or actions were the direct result of reading a book like Harry Potter or anything written by Judy Bloom.

My love of literature and writing, my desire to know new things, my interest in culture and diversity are all directly related to the influence of reading.

I did once spend a weekend locked in my closet pretending to be a young Jewish girl, coming of age during Nazi-occupied Germany. But that ended quickly after I had to pee in a pot too many times.

The American Libarary Association publishes the list of most frequently challenge books each year. I challenge you, dear reader, to pick one up, read it and pass it along.

I personally recommend the Captain Underpants series. You'll laugh your pants off! (HA!)