Banned Book Week (Sept 30-Oct 6)

I can't remember how I came across this tid bit of info that this week, September 30 - October 6, is Banned Book Week, but I somehow did. And as I checked out a list of banned and/or challenged books, I realized I've read a few of the books on the list, but not nearly enough of them! I need to read more banned books.

I even own a few of them:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey*
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

But the book that I always think of when I think of banned books is the children's book Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman originally written in 1899. I have had this book ever since I was little and have always loved it! It took me years to understand, even if I don't fully agree, why this book would be banned. I always just saw it as a story of a little boy who saved himself from being eaten by vain tigers. And when the tigers let their vanity get the best of themselves and turn into butter, the little boy and his dad took the fresh butter home to mom, who made lots of pancakes with fresh butter for them to eat. Ok so that is an over simplified version of the story, but to me, it was all very innocent.

Do you read banned and or challenged books?

*My little claim to fame is that I got to meet Ken Kesey a couple of years before he died when he was in town for the opening night of his play in my hometown.

Not everything was bad during our trip

Today has definitely been a much better day than yesterday.

Our recent trip to the US for my mom's memorial wasn't all bad. We did have some laughs and I did get to do a very tiny bit of shopping. We got to eat crab! Plus my DH packed our suitcases so well, I didn't have to leave much stuff behind (for a future trip).

The bit of shopping I did was for folic acid (much cheaper), an almost 3lb mix bag of Reese's pieces, cups, sticks & fast breaks, Tom's of Maine Wintermint toothpaste, some chapstick (Vanilla Lip Smacker) and Smarties (US kind, not Canadian kind). As I said, I only did an itty bit of shopping, but it was enough. DH did buy himself some books to bring back.

Another important part of visiting my family is food. Almost every (every?) trip we go out in the bay or ocean with my dad to get clams, crab and/or fish. This time there was only crab and muscle (clams) runs. My dad took people out two times for crab while we were there! (I'm sort of kicking myself at the moment, because I probably should have gone with him at least one of the times. Such is life.)  In addition, I have to eat at Taco Bell at least once when I'm in the US. Bean burritos just bring back great memories and I really do love them. But what I love even more is the Taco Bell sauce packets (mild is my favorite). I'm very lucky that my family is so supportive of my Taco Bell Sauce addiction. Whenever they go to TB, they take extra packets and save them for me. We were able to bring back another TB bag full of them with us!

In addition to those few things I bought, I wanted to bring back many of my mom's knitted items (hats, scarves, socks, bags, baby booties, etc), yarn, some of her knitting books (14 in total) and just books (about the same amount) in general along with some other miscellaneous stuffs. And because my DH loves me so much, we went and bought one more (used) suitcase to carry more stuff back with us. We came back home with 3 suitcases jam packed with stuff. Our total weight was almost 150 pounds of stuff! I know how much my DH hates packing our suitcases at the end of a stay, only because I find so much stuff to drag home with us. But I love him dearly for it each and every time. Although, I do like to think I've gotten a bit better about it over the years.

So while our trip was a difficult one, it wasn't all bad. I was able to stock up on some of my dear US products. *big grin* I also got to spend time with family.

Friends & something new learned

Two friends & I drove to visit another friend this afternoon. It was great to see them all at the same time as it's rare for us to be able to get together. It's amazing how fast time flies when there is so much to catch up on.
Before meeting with the two today, I was wandering around the mall downtown for a bit. I went into a book store and saw Jean M. Auel's Earth Children series (The Clan of the Cave Bear, etc). Only her last name was written Untinen-Auel. I hadn't seen that before, so I whipped out my phone to google it. Turns out she was born to Finnish parents. I also learned that the 6th & final book in the series is supposed to come out on March 29, 2011. I guess that means I should read the 5th book first. I bought it years ago but I just never got around to reading it.
I was around 14 when I first read The Clan of the Cave Bear. I remember how I loved and devoured the books back then. My dad didn't want me reading them because of their adult content, but my mom didn't care. So I read them.
I remember being close to finishing the first book and staying up late to do so. As I finished the book my mom came up stairs to find me bawling my eyes out over the book. She comforted me and said soothing words, but that has always stuck with me.
Now that the final book is coming out, I wonder, should I .read the whole series again or just pick up where I left off?