Thursday, September 26, 2013

Due to Major Backlash, A NC School System Lifts Book Ban on 'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison

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 Via Reuters:
A North Carolina school board lifted on Wednesday its ban of Ralph Ellison's classic novel "Invisible Man" from school libraries after being ridiculed by residents and undercut by a giveaway of the book at a local bookstore.

The widely publicized ban by the Randolph County Board of Education in central North Carolina came after a high school junior's mother complained that the sexual content in the book chosen for a summer reading program was "not so innocent" and "too much for teenagers."

Five of the board's seven elected officials agreed on September 16 to bar the novel, with one member saying he "didn't find any literary value" in Ellison's account of African-American alienation in the United States in the early 20th century.

But after a fierce backlash by hundreds of citizens, the board held a special meeting on Wednesday and voted 6-1 to put the book back on school library shelves. "I felt like I came to a conclusion too quickly," board member Matthew Lambeth said of his earlier vote to bar the book.

In an interview, Lambeth said he has read the book twice and enjoyed it. He changed his vote, he said, after being convinced by local educators that the novel's educational value outweighed his concerns about the appropriateness of certain sexual themes for teenagers. Ellison achieved worldwide fame and critical success with "Invisible Man," which won the National Book Award for fiction in 1953 and was named by the Library of Congress as one of the "Books That Shaped America." Ellison died in 1994.

"Invisible Man" is commonly included in the curriculum of U.S. high school and college literature classes. Word of the ban, which spread quickly thanks to national news coverage and social media, inspired one former resident to ask the book's publisher to donate free copies to area high-school students.

Vintage Books agreed, and a giveaway of "Invisible Man" began on Wednesday at a local Books-A-Million store, said Evan Smith Rakoff, a New York-based writer and Web editor who grew up in Randolph County. "I think banning any book is abhorrent, but banning a book that's so undeniably great is incredibly upsetting," Rakoff said.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Leslie Adler and Eric Beech)



Side Note: Such good news in knowing that the Randolph County school board lifted the ban. Congrats to the folks who made the noise, that was heard loud and clear. Big ups to them!

Oh and btw... 'Invisible Man' is definitely a hard read. It has violence, sex and the subject of race, brutally in your face, wrapped in a story that leaves the reader thinking of the book well after the initial read.

While some may be "uncomfortable" with the subject matter, you must look deeper and not base an entire literary journey that is 'Invisible Man' as trash. It's insulting!

I firmly believe that no book should ever be banned. The control some want, over an artist's creativity is appalling. There are a plethora of books that are banned for one reason or another, and that is quite shameful.

FREE ALL books!

Friday, September 20, 2013

New Releases - BAD HABITS By Sienna Mynx

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Sienna Mynx has released her new anticipated full-length novel BAD HABITS! Be sure to purchase your copy today. I can't wait to read it!


Synopsis:

 Via Amazon:

Simone Livingston wants desperately to start again. She and her husband Keith have both agreed that their marriage is worth saving. Despite the deep betrayal and lies she's suffered thanks to his infidelity.

Their arrival in a small town run by the wealthy conniving Hollingsworths tests her faith in her husband and the sacred vows of her marriage. And when Keith's dastardly deeds unveil who he truly is Simone's bad habits of forgiving and forgetting despite her suffering brings about unbelievable consequences.

The one man she shouldn’t trust throws a lifeline to her, and soon it's a race against time to fight for her future, escape the present that threatens to destroy her, and save everyone she loves. Kim Jensen is a widower. The death of her firefighter, beautiful husband, while pregnant with their twins devastated her. Two years later she has found a way to cope.

A dark secret that she keeps from the nurses and hospital she works for. That is until she meets the dashingly handsome Dr. Mathew Donnelly. Immediately he steps into her life to become the hero she never asked for. But will her bad habits put their careers and new found love in jeopardy, or teach her the most valuable lesson in second chances?

Both sisters struggle to survive pain, betrayal, love lost and the prospect of new love gained. Bad Habits is not your typical love story. It’s an exploration in the human spirit. Through suffering we achieve triumph, through grief we learn the healing power of letting go, and through change of spirit we become the women we are destined to be.

A graphic, explicit tale that explores the avoided topics in romance, infidelity, drug addiction, self-loathing, and ultimately forgiveness with a touch of love.

BOOK OF THE MONTH: [September 2013] - 'No Regrets' By Sienna Mynx - [Tale of Three Hearts Series #3]

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A MUST READ! Download it today: http://tinyurl.com/n7qu5mn 



Synopsis:
Daisy Johnson Keane has a lot to be thankful for. However, happiness has always come at a price. In the past Daisy chose to gamble with love for what she believed her heart desired. It proved to be a costly mistake.

But Daisy has changed and so has the man she now calls husband. Aiden Keane, a powerful casino mogul and master manipulator who has been tamed by love. Or has he?

Aiden Keane has a secret. The man he despises believes himself to be the father of Aiden’s child. To reveal the truth would expose a web of lies and take him and his new bride down a dark path that could ultimately cost him everyone he cherishes. His wife Daisy pleads for patience and compromise. She wants to be done with the past and the animosity between her ex-lover and her husband. It will not be.

What is a man to do when his heart tells him to have faith in her but his pride demands a under handed dealing of justice? If you’re Aiden Keane you strike first. Do what is necessary for control, and vengeance over your future and past. You let it ride. At any cost.

No Regrets is the final story in The Tale of Three Hearts Trilogy. The final exploration of the dark side of love that will leave you, the reader, breathless from page one to the ending consequences. The lives of Daisy, Aiden and Pete are now forever changed. Who will be the victor? Only true love, forgiveness and repentance will decide.



Movie Trailer: 'Great Expectations'


Movie Trailer: '12 Years a Slave' - Based on Solomon Northup's 1853 Autobiography




'12 Years a Slave' hits theaters October 18th 2013.