Review: Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell & Giveaway

This post is a part of Sheila's Banned Books Week Awareness Celebration. Go check out her blog, Book Journey for a full list of each day's participants.

War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.

1984 by George Orwell

Originally published in 1949, Nineteen Eighty Four is George Orwell's final novel and is one of the most notable novels in the dystopian genre. He created a world where Big Brother, a government construct to serve as a rallying point of the Party, as a king or president might in their respective government types. The government determined what its citizens do, think, eat, and even who they marry. The government controls history- if they decided to change something in the present, every form of record (tv, books, newspapers, etc.) were altered so that it has always been that way. Everything was done for the good of the party. They monitored the population by way of telescreens to make sure they toe the party line. If they didn't, they punished them by making them not exist. The protagonist, Winston Smith, begins remembering the changes that have occurred, and starts with small bouts of rebellion: Buying not approved items, thinking thoughts denouncing Big Brother, and ultimately entering a relationship of his own choosing. And it is only a matter of time until Big Brother comes for him.

ALA cites 1984 as being challenged in Jackson County, Florida in 1981, for being "pro-communist and containing explicit sexual matter." When this was written, World War II had only recently ended, and out of it emerged the Soviet Union as a major world power. The Soviet Union took over operation of Eastern Europe after the war, and encouraged the growth of communism around the world. In America, the Red Scare was rising, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, where fear of the spread of communism led to accusations of espionage and other "un-American activities". People were blacklisted, and numerous hearings and trials held. This is where America was when Nineteen Eighty Four was published, and this beliefs were still influencing thoughts in 1981, when this particular challenge occurred. No doubt, many similar challenges were made in prior years.

But what is in the claim? The novel is a commentary on Stalin's use of the cult of personality, which Wikipedia defines as:

A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized, heroic, and, at times god-like public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise.

This is exactly what Big Brother is, and perhaps for this reason, some editions sport a Stalin-esque figure on the cover. Big Brother has history rewritten to glorify his plans and actions as being for the good of the people, and show how caring he is. But Winston knows the original truth, and begins challenging it by first disbelieving it, to even attempting to join a resistance movement. Trying to challenge a Communist-esque system, is hardly supporting the system. Success or failure, Winston's motivation was to change how things were done. As to the "explicit sexual matter"- yes, there is sex in the novel. Explicit, no, I don't think so, and not by 1980s standards either. Gone with the Wind has more explicit sex scenes in it, and that is and has been a novel beloved by many, especially pre-teen girls.

Giveaway
When I was at ALA this summer, I picked up a package of this year's bookmark design. Now this is the Facebook Timeline header, which provides a better picture of the designs used on either side of the bookmark.

From Sawcat's Book Blog

I will take 10 standard sized envelopes and mail a few of these out to people. If USPS delivers to you (or hands off to your country), you can enter. Yup, all you international folks, that would include you. Just enter in the Rafflecopter form below. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Banned Book Week Giveaway Hop, Sep 28- Oct 6th

Banned Book Week Giveaway Hop is hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer and I Read Banned Books.

Banned Book Week is an annual event organized by the American Library Association to promote awareness of and advocate against censorship of books. This year, it is the 30th year of Banned Book Week, and ALA has put together this timeline highlighting a different book for each year.

I've always paid attention to it, once I noticed a display at one of my libraries, with some of my favorite books in it. Since then, I've taken my own private glee in reading books that some people have the gall to tell others what they can or can't read.

This year, I read 1984 by George Orwell. I will be posting about it later in the week, along with a giveaway for another Banned Book Week event, so keep an eye out for that as well.

Since I went with a classic, for the giveaway, one person will win their choice of a challenged classic listed here. This will be open internationally- The store I use will be left to my discretion, depending on the winner's location.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the other giveaways in the hop!

Help me choose!

I am still recovering from the tiredness acquired from watching my brother's dog, so still not reading all that much. But it's getting close to that time of year known as Banned Book Week. If you want to take part in events, BookJourney is hosting some activities. I'm a Reader not a Writer and I Read Banned Books are hosting the Banned Book Week Giveaway Hop again.

I need a little help. I can't decide which book to read this year. I've narrowed it down to:



I read Anne Frank in high school, and I think I read Brave New World (but can't remember. It wasn't assigned reading). But this is the new edition of Anne Frank's diary (and would be a good platform to read a Librarything giveaway book I have). So what say you?

Banned Book Week Giveaway Winner

Banned Book Week is over. I hope you all enjoyed learning about different banned books during all the blogger events. An now for the giveaway results...

The winner of A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving is.....

Michele Luker

Congratulations!
An email has already been sent to you, Michele. Make sure to check your spam folder, if it doesn't make it into your normal inbox. Should you have any trouble getting my email, drop me a line here or via private message on one of the book sites to the right.

Thanks everyone for entering! I'll also be participating in the Monster Mash & Bash Hop/Giveaway at the end of October, so keep an eye out for that. It will be a US only giveaway this time.

Banned Book Week- The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Young Adult - Dystopian/Post-apocalyptic
Scholastic
purchased for my Nook.
4.5 stars

The American Library Association lists The Hunger Games as number four on the most frequently challenged books for 2010. The Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom cites that a parent has asked the Gofftown (NH) School Board to remove the book from her child's class "claiming that it gave her 11-year-old nightmares and could numb other students to the effects of violence." (School Library Journal, October 2010). The article also presents the general description of the book the parent gave to the board, which demonstrates that the parent has not read the entire book, and the child either did not pay attention to the reader (the book was being read allowed in class), or as the article seems to imply, had not heard/read the entire book.

This book has been sitting on my Nook Color for several months now. It was one of the first I got for it, so when I saw it on the list of frequently banned/challenged books, I had to read it now (works well for Read your own Books Month too). I had gotten it because I'd seen the hype, and everyone loved it (apparently, hype over Young Adult science fiction/fantasy does not phase me). This one lived up to the hype

. It is set in Panem, after a huge global warming event and war has devastated North America. The country is centered around the capitol, with districts surrounding it. Each district is responsible for the production/gathering of certain types of materials for the country. The capitol lives in wealth, while the districts are kept in reduced states, where it is not uncommon for families to barely get by. This is one way the Capitol exerts its force on the people, to prevent another uprising. The capitol also hosts The Hunger Games, designed to keep the citizens in the districts in line, and at the mercy of the Capitol. For the games, a boy and girl from each of the twelve districts are selected, given a small amount of training, and placed in an arena with minimal supplies for a fight to the death. The novel is told from the point of view of Katniss, the girl tribute from District 12.

I have a 10 year old nephew, and I don't think I would have any problem giving this book to read. Yes it focuses on a society that routinely puts children in fights to the death, but most of these are "off camera". The tributes don't get to know how the others are killed unless they were involved in the process; they just get a basic rundown of the deaths each day. So the reader gets to see a relatively few number of them. The majority of the kids selected do not want to be in these games, to fight and kill. But they must if they wish to try and get back to their friends and family. The ones the readers get to see aren't terribly graphic or gory either. Kids have seen worse things on the news, in the cartoons and movies they are allowed to watch, as well as in school. I know my five year old nephew has. Whether he understands it or not is another thing. But my older nephew is very much into fighting games (first person shooters), nerf guns and army men. But we've always gone over with him how his favorite heros aren't shooting just to kill, but they are fighting the "bad guys".

Everyone has had nightmares at some point in their life; that's no reason to ban a book. Like all books, this has a target age range to be a guide for parents purchasing books for their kids. Yes this could be a book emotionally difficult for some kids, but that's when the parents should step up and discuss it with the kids. But the average 12-18 year olds this is aimed at will have no problem with the reading or subject matter. By that age, they know the "effects of violence"; one little book is not going to determine if someone will be violent or not. And focusing on the violent aspects only blinds you to the more important aspects of being able to fend for yourself, as the tributes are called on to do, or standing up to what you know to be wrong, as Katniss does several times

I really enjoyed this novel, and look forward to finishing the series once my schedule frees up.

Mailbox Monday and What I'm Reading

What I'm Reading is hosted by Book Journey and Mailbox Monday is hosted in September by Amused by Books.


Not much entered my home this week. My copy of Into the Wilderness with a dust jacket arrived (and the ebay seller puts all other book sellers, including Amazon and Barnes and Nobles to shame where her good packaging).  I also headed into the library to check out their sale when I went to the farmers market. Found a copy of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society with a dust jacket (previous copy has none, and this upgrading thing is a problem I have), The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks, and a very nice, 1938 edition of Fanny Kemble: A Passionate Victorian, by Margaret Armstrong. During grad school, one of my classes was assigned Kemble's Journal of a residence on a Georgian plantation in 1838-1839 because she was an English actress who married a Georgian plantation owner, it portrays her views on slavery.


Also, I had holds come in from the library: Bossypants by Tina Fey, Doc by Mary Doria Russell, and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. And I checked out the audio book for The Shadow of the Wind.


Last week I finished The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick and The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, as well as the audiobook for Bossypants by Tina Fey. I started my Banned Book Week read, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and continue with Gone with the Wind.  Next up will be Doc and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

Banned Book Week Giveaway reminder

Just a reminder, if you are entering the giveaway, make sure that you leave your email in the comments section. If you've already commented but forgot, reply to your original post to add it.


Proper post will come later today, but I've been reading The Hunger Games for my banned book week read. Look for a review post later in the week.

Banned Book Week Giveaway Hop

Banned Books Week Giveaway is hosted by I am a Reader, not a Writer and I Read Banned Books

Banned Books Week runs September 24th- October 1, and celebrates the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, and therefore, freedom to read what you want to read. The American Library Association runs Banned Book Week, and highlights the common books banned or challenged by year, and decade. You can see who has challenged or banned a book, where they are located, and what reason is given. I am a firm believer that no one gets to dictate what I can or cannot do. If you want to enforce what you read, or what your children want to read, that's your choice. But you don't get to decide what I or anyone totally unrelated to you can or cannot read. My parents never tried to tell me what I could or could not read. I've been lucky living in a school district that never tried to deny me what I wanted to read. The closest I had was one teacher who though Steinbeck's East of Eden maybe wasn't the best book for a 7th grader to read (12-13 years old for anyone not familiar with the US system). Although the same teacher had no probably with me reading Gone with the Wind the same year. If you'd like to see some of the banned and challenged books, check out the bottom of this page for pdfs of some of the most challenged books for most of the last decade. You can find more lists in the sidebar under Frequently Challenged Books.

So in honor of banned book week, I'm doing a giveaway. Last year, I read A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving and I really enjoyed it. I first became of his writing my first year of college when Cider House Rules won it's Oscars. Rented the movie, liked it, so I do what I normally do if I find out a movie I liked is based on the book. I bought it. I loved it. Its one of those books, where I can't quite explain why it marked me, but it did. I've been collecting his novels since then, but Owen Meany is only the second I've read. Irving is not afraid of covering the difficult subjects. Abortions, out of wedlock births, religion, Vietnam War and draft dodging..., he's covered it. They are well written, and well paced reads, despite many being of the chunkster persuasion. A Prayer for Owen Meany was removed from the Pelham, Massachusetts district reading list in 2009, over complaints about language and sexuality.

For the hop, I am giving away one brand new trade paperback of A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. This giveaway is International, so long as Book Depository ships to your country. If the winner resides in the United States, the book will ship from Barnes and Nobles; everywhere else will ship from Book Depository. Please make sure Book Depository ships to your country before hand.

To Enter: Leave a comment to this post, including your email address where I can contact you if you are the winner. If no email is in the content of your comment, you have not entered.
One entry per person. Winner will be chosen via Random.org
Contest runs from 12am PST September 24th through 11:59pm PST October 1st. That's the end of the day folks.

Be sure to check out all of the other giveaways running as well.