Really Random Tuesday #54: Banned Books and a Book Winner

Pick a book, any book.  Chances are good that it's been banned at one time or another.  You might be be surprised at some of the seemingly innocent books that have been banned over the years, books pictured below, as well as numerous others, including James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

For school, my daughter is currently reading a novel that I also read during my school days, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a book that has been banned in the past.  And she recently read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee for school, which is on the list of banned books below.  According to the official Banned Books Week website, the top 10 banned books of last year are:

1. ttyl, ttfn; L8r, g8r  (series) by Lauren Myracle
2. The Color of Earth (graphic novel series) by Kim Dong Hwa
3. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
4. My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy by Dori Hillestad Butler 
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
6. Alice (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
7. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
8. What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
9. Gossip Girl (series) by Cecily Von Ziegesar
10. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This year, Banned Books Week lasts from September 30 through October 6.  BBW began in America in 1982, in response to the great number of books that have been banned by schools and libraries for various reasons, such as offensive language, and sexual and religious content.  2012 marks the 30th anniversary of BBW.  In conjunction with BBW, Sheila from Book Journey is hosting a cleverly named special event this week for readers, Jump on the Banned Wagon, which I learned about on Petty's blog, Pen and Paper. 

You might want to exercise your freedom in celebration of BBW and read a book that is or has been banned. The book I'll be reading this week is most likely on a banned book list right now, Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult (my final novel for The Jodi Picoult Project).

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Please help me to congratulate the randomly chosen, lucky winner of The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli,  Harvee from Book Dilettante.  If you didn't win this time, please check the right side of my blog for other book giveaways.  I often add new giveaways to my sidebar, so be sure to visit again soon.

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Appearing on random Tuesdays, Really Random Tuesday is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of.  Often I announce my book giveaway winners in these posts.  If you're inspired by this idea, feel free to "grab" the button for use on your own blog, and indicate your participation in the comments so I'll know to stop by.  For other recent Really Random Tuesday posts, please visit Naida's blog, the bookworm, and Vivienne's blog, Serendipity Reviews (after today, I won't be mentioning other recent RRT posts).  As always, your comments are welcomed.

Book Blogger Hop: Books into Movies

It's been ages since I've participated in the Book Blogger Hop, the blogosphere's biggest and brightest BOOK   PARTY!  The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event for bloggers and readers, an opportunity to connect with other book lovers, make new friends and followers, and share a genuine appreciation of books. Hosted by Jennifer from  Crazy-for-Books, this Hop runs from August 31 - Sept 6.  During the Hop, we're usually asked a question pertaining to books. This week's question is: What is the one book or series you are dying to see turned into a movie or TV series?

That's a tough question!  Some of the books I've read and reviewed within the past few years have been made into movies, such as Shanghai Girls by bestselling author Lisa See, and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (now in production or pre-production, I think).  As I read I often imagine the book turned into a movie or TV series. It's hard to choose just one, so I will bend the rules a tad and choose a few books I've read recently that I think would make great movies, and one book series that I believe would be quite entertaining as a TV series.

The Iguana Tree by Michel Stone, The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli, and Dancing with Gravity by Anene Tressler would make remarkable movies.  I read (and reviewed) them recently and they're still quite fresh in my mind; I can definitely picture them as movies.  Another book that comes to mind is Creating an Orange Utopia by Patricia Ortlieb and Peter Economy.  This would make a wonderful historical movie.  As I've mentioned before, I can see Meryl Streep playing the lead, pioneer Eliza Tibbets, and even directing the film.  As for a TV series, I would love to see the four-book series, The Adventures of John and Julia Evans by Linda Weaver Clarke, made into a mini-series for TV.  Her cozy mysteries are exciting, and would translate into an engaging TV series.

Thanks for visiting!  If you'd like to enter my giveaway for The Color of Tea,  please do so by September 3.  If you'd like me to "hop by" your blog,  please leave me a comment.

Winner of The Lotus Eaters

Many congratulations to Darlene from Peeking Between the Pages! She's won a copy of the novel The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli.

If you didn't win this time, don't despair! I have other book giveaways posted on this site, and more giveaways are planned for the near future, so you might win a book soon.

As always, thanks for visiting. Your comments are welcomed and appreciated.

Wondrous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday, hosted by Kathy from Bermudaonion's Weblog, is a very enjoyable meme. Today's words are from England and Vietnam.

1. gobsmacked: completely astounded, shocked (British slang)

I came across this wonderful word in a recent review on Vivienne's book blog, Serendipity. Vivienne, who lives in England, uses it in reference to the book Brooklyn by Colm Tibin: "I was utterly gobsmacked by this book." I adore the sound of this word, and Vivienne's review has piqued my interest in Brooklyn.


2. pho: Phở (fuh)- Vietnamese beef noodle soup

It takes a long time to simmer a good pot of pho--sometimes 10 or more hours! I found this word in the book I'm currently reading, an advanced copy of The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli. Undoubtedly, many if not most of you already know what pho is, because pho restaurants are opening up everywhere. So while this word isn't really new to me, I've never seen it in a book before, and it is wondrous--and quite delicious. My favorite soup, Pho Rau Cai (pictured), has vegetables and tofu.


What wondrous new words have you encountered during recent reading?