Trust the English...

I got this courtesy of Shelf Awareness, which arrived in my email Inbox this morning. It's nice to know that someone else--even if it is across the pond--thinks like I do & tracked book interest:

If book buyers in the U.K. were U.S. voters, Barack Obama would win next week's presidential election, the Guardian reported, noting that "Obama's two autobiographies, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream and Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, have sold over 130,000 copies between them, according to the U.K.'s book sales monitor Nielsen BookScan. McCain, by contrast, barely tops 2,000 with his Hard Call: Heroes Who Made Tough Decisions and Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir."The article also noted that "online book retailer the Book Depository estimates that of the 350 U.S. election books it has sold lately, 96% have been Obama titles. 'According to the Book Depository's global book-buyers: Democrats read, Republicans don't; Palin isn't popular, Biden is invisible. If the Book Depository's customers were voting it would be an Obama landslide,' said Mark Thwaite, managing editor of the site."

My 2008 election wrap-up will occur on Wednesday, November 5th. Assuming the results are in by then. Stay tuned....

Books are Uniters, not Dividers

For those who didn't hear Morning Edition on NPR earlier today, here's the link to a story about one thing that both John McCain and Barack Obama agree on: their favorite literary figure.



Go to http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95604448

Books as Election Predictors, Part 3

Current circulation figures show all five of John McCain's books are on the shelf, having a combined total of 77 check-outs (that's one up from a month ago)

Three of the four books by Barack Obama are checked out at the moment, having been checked out for a total of 125 (up five from last month).

So, in our library, McCain's post-convention bump quickly faded while interest in Obama has increased. Which leads me to wonder: is our circulation following the national polls or is the country following the lead of our readers?

Stay tuned for the election wrap-up on November 5th!

I Read Banned Books--Do You?

I suspect that Banned Books Week isn't marked on your calendar unless you're a librarian or bookseller (and really, aren't the terms almost interchangeable to the consumer? Having been both, I can state that the two jobs are very, very similar). And it's doubtful that the average reader gives the idea of book banning much thought, until you hear stories of politicians inquiring about how to get certain books off of shelves (& folks, it's happened before in this neck of the woods, though a decade has passed since that encounter) or read accounts of this group or that group who doesn't agree with a book's contents and wants to restrict it from everyone's perusal. But think how you'd feel if you walked into the library to get a particular title, perhaps a beloved tome from your youth, only to discover it was no longer there because "someone" had decided you should no longer read it?

Not a pleasant thought, is it?

Do I approve of every single book that we have on the shelves in the library? Not by a long shot! And for a variety of reasons. But that's my opinion and mine only. I may not want to read the book that you check out but I don't have to read it. And you may not like what I'm reading (and yes, people let me know when they disagree with my reviews!) That's fine. Everyone's tastes differ, which is why we have so many different kinds of books.

Free speech is a tricky thing. For example, I deplore Fred Phelps and his actions. He is not only an embarrassment to Kansas but to all mankind (in my ever so humble opinion). His words made me cringe as I proudly passed through his picket lines but if I work to silence him, then why couldn't someone work to restrict my speech?

Banning books works the same way. Sure, I can work to keep a particular book off the shelves because I don't agree with the message but if I do that, what argument can be made when you want to take away my right to read To Kill a Mockingbird?

In this era of blue state/red state divide, it's very easy to fall into an us vs. them mentality but it's that very diversity that creates a strong country. And it's been refreshing to hear some of the comments from patrons this week as they took in our Banned Books Week display, particularly the woman who said incredulously, "we don't ban books in this country". Unfortunately, some do. But we are still able to point out the importance of free speech--and reading.