Let's Celebrate Banned Books Week! With a Hop!

Hello everyone, and welcome to my giveaway for Banned Books Week Hop, hosted by the awesome bloggers at I Read Banned Books and I Am a Reader Not a Writer.

As someone who has loved reading since I can remember, the fact that books are contested/censored/banned makes me feel like I'm going to turn into the Hulk. And I think that particularly now with the weird backlash to YA and the subsequent YA Saves movement, there is more and more focus on book censorship.

And lately, the books being challenged are RIDICULOUS. Like, Sherlock Holmes books. Really. SHERLOCK HOLMES. People are uptight and touchy and really need to stop looking at books as purveyors of immorality and sin. Because they aren't.

So, with that. Here are the two books I'm giving away for this very awesome week and hop.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This is a book that means a whole hell of a lot to me and no one should be denied access to it. Ever. For any reason. It's important and has important things to say about, you know, humanity and compassion and decency and life in general. Which obviously means it should be banned? I SAY GOOD DAY TO THOSE PEOPLE and show them the door. I hope it hits them on the way out.

2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
I just really like this book. :)





Please note that winners will be chosen by Random.org and that your email address will not be shared or distributed.

Be sure to check out the rest of the AMAZING bloggers hosting giveaways this week! Much love to you all and Happy Reading of Banned Books!!!

TGIF: Books That Make a Difference

Well hello there new TGIF graphic. You are nice lookin'. *low whistles* 


This week the oh-so lovely Ginger at GReadsBooks has asked: 

Which book(s) would you put in the hands of today's teenagers in hopes of making a difference in their lives?

Questions like there are always really hard for me to answer. Part of it is because I tend to avoid books that tackle difficult subjects (yes, that means I haven't read Thirteen Reasons Why) and those are the types of books that I expect a lot of people would recommend. So I'm going to recommend books that I think help make people better. Or at least, books that help people have a greater sense of understanding or humanity. 

Consequently, these are the types of books that a lot of teens think of as "required reading." But whatever. These required for a reason, and that's because they're good. So! Here we go!

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Alright, I'm gonna stop there. Although, I should probably add in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street. And Voltaire. And Dickens. And more women. And The Beats. But. If I start naming EVERYTHING I think has the ability to make a difference in a person's life, then we'll be here from now 'til kingdom come. So let's call it a day shall we? *grins*

I hope that y'all have all had a wonderful week and that you're gearing up for a languorous long weekend! TGIF!