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.

The Forgetting Tree: Review and Giveaway

Even before I saw the gorgeous cover, I was interested in reading Tatjana Soli's new book, as I relished her first novel, The Lotus Eaters, published in 2010, my first novel about the Vietnam War.  In 2010 I was also fortunate to interview this gracious author, while she was working on her latest book. The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli is the author's second novel, which was published earlier this month.

"Alone, the last of the sun on her skin, the moment took Claire back to her early days, peeling an orange as she walked through the rows of trees, dropping a confetti of rind behind her, eating the sun-warmed fruit, the girls small and playful as puppies, running in their coveralls through the trees--seeing eternity down the rows the long way, seeing only the bushy trees across--yelling, laughing, You're it!  You're it!  You're it!"
~The Forgetting Tree, Tatjana Soli

The Forgetting Tree is a novel about the life of Claire Nagy.  Claire relinquishes her literary education to follow her heart when she marries Forster Baumsarg, the son of California citrus ranchers.  Living on the ranch in Southern California, she develops an intense, lasting love of the land.  Early in the book, Claire experiences a horrific, heartbreaking loss at the ranch.  As time passes her entire family suffers, and she has ongoing problems with her two daughters, Gwen and Lucy, as well as marital difficulties.  Even when Claire is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, Claire's determined to stay on the ranch.

To be a good writer, you need to have style, and you need to have substance.  Tatjana Soli's new novel is rich in both style and substance. Beautifully written, sensuous, and profound, The Forgetting Tree is a book about relationships, including the relationships you have with yourself and with your surroundings (in this case, the citrus ranch).  The cast of characters in this novel--and I use the word 'cast' purposely because the book is cinematic--especially Claire, Forster, Gwen, Lucy, Octavio, Don, Mrs. Girbaldi, and, of course, Minna,  enact a story that's haunting, offbeat, and surprising at times.  Claire's caregiver, the mesmeric Minna, is a particularly alluring character; she helps Claire in numerous ways, and reignites Claire's "lost" love of literature.  Claire aptly rereads Wide Sargasso Sea (a book I've coveted since reading about it on The Reading Life). 

The Forgetting Tree features unexpected yet elegant illustrations by the author's husband, Gaylord Soli, which tie into the story well.  I could go on and on about this new novel, The Forgetting Tree.  Instead, I implore you to read it yourself, and provide a chance for you to win a copy of the book.

St. Martin's Press is generously offering a copy of The Forgetting Tree as a giveaway (U.S./Canada only).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, October 1.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, October 2. 


Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for sending me an advance readers' edition of this book (and for this reason, the lines quoted above may be different in the final version of the novel). To read more reviews of this book, please visit the other stops on TLC's book tour for The Forgetting Tree.

Mailbox Monday: A Confessional

More books! I need to try to stop, or at least to reduce my addiction to, getting books in the mail. This meme does not help me resist those neat packages. ;)

Here are the latest additions to my collection of books (maybe I am becoming a bibliophile!). 

I won As Always, Jack by Emma Sweeney on Anna's blog, Diary of an Eccentric, and This Bright River by Patrick Somerville, on Leslie's blog, Under My Apple Tree.  I received The Siren of Paris by David LeRoy and The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli for upcoming book tours, and I ordered You Being Beautiful by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz, MD from Amazon, because I'm a fan of Dr. Oz.
 

Mailbox Monday, one of my favorite memes, is almost a confessional for book bloggers, a way to assuage our guilt.  Currently on tour, Mailbox Monday is hosted this month by 5 Minutes For Books. What books arrived in your mailbox recently, or from elsewhere?