The Chocolate War

I was talking with my friend Adam over gtalk earlier today, and the conversation turned to books - which isn't altogether unusual considering. He had emailed me over the weekend regarding A Confederacy of Dunces, which I have not yet read, so of course I added it to my book bucket; Then over our IMs he mentioned The Chocolate War - which I have not yet read either. Also added to bucket.

So while we were IMing, I was being my supernerdy self and wikiing the authors, and then somehow I came across the American Library Association's (ALA) web page on banned books...Probably because The Chocolate War is a frequently challenged book. This year banned book week is September 27 - October 4, 2008.

I think I am going to challenge myself to read 25 of the ALAs 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000 as well as the the books on the 2007 list which I haven't yet read. I've only read 39 out of the 100 challenged books from the former list, and I have not read 3 or 4 out of the 10 on the latter list, so I have a decent pool working in my favor. Goodness knows I don't read enough already. Ha ha ha ha.

I'm going to further my challenge by restricting myself to buying only half of the books, and the other half needs to be checked out of the Greater Cleveland Area Library System. Yes, I usually purchase used books at Half-Price or Amazon Used or McKay's if I'm in Knoxville, but today Adam pointed out that I should use my library more often. And I agree.

I used to spend hours upon hours in the library - whether it was in Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, or Tennessee. Why, just 7-8 months ago, the Maryville library in Knoxville was my regular after work haunt for a few hours a day. There is always something to learn and discover at the library.

And just in case you missed it, I am a supernerd.

Game on.

Okay, Okay

Dear Blog,

I have not forgotten about you. And no, I do not want to write you a Dear John letter either. Just things have been kind of OOC since coming back from Argentina. Yes, I realize I have not even updated my book list for May yet, but please rest assured because I will be posting my book list from May AND June together in a couple weeks. So shake out those ants in your pants. Please and thank you.

So much has been going on with work and my personal life, but I am still here, trucking through each day, refining the art of deep breathing and trying to take life one day at a time. There have been some recent ups and downs, and I may have some pretty big news to post here soon, so hold still and get prepared. I have a feeling I am going to be in for the roller coaster ride of a lifetime.

Sincerely,
Karoline