Comments on: Looking for Alaska, by John Green

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:34:07 +0000

Urgh, those safelibraries people can’t tell the difference between “This book is aimed at some people in category X” and “This book is appropriate for all people in category X”! How can this be a hard concept?

I know, I know, this is the choir over here, just had to get that off my chest…

By: colorwheel

colorwheel — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:57:47 +0000

from the link: Here are words and phrases from “Looking For Alaska” most people, except ALA librarians, think are inappropriate for 12 year olds

MOST PEOPLE, EXCEPT ALA LIBRARIANS is now my new favorite phrase.

By: Sam

Sam — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:55:18 +0000

Bookworm:

Yeah, it’s totally creepy. I don’t mean to imply that it’s the best representative of Christian review sites, by any means; I picked it because it was the first opposition link that came up when I googled the book, and there has been a serious controversy about this book that I wanted to represent somehow.

I went back and forth about even linking to it at all, but I find it frustrating when people with opposing views don’t link to each other. Like their internets aren’t connected and don’t deserve to be part of the same conversation.

But yes — I disagree with virtually everything they say (except for the part about this book not being for younger kids), and how they say it.

By: jfpbookworm

jfpbookworm — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:04:25 +0000

That safelibraries.org site is seriously creeping me out, not just for the advocation of censorship (my literary adolescence would have been a much bleaker place had folks like these had their way 20 years ago), but for the lack of transparency (who’s behind this organization? What’s their agenda? Who supports them?) and the downright ignorance and/or misrepresentation (implying that inclusion on a syllabus of a library science class constitutes endorsement, or that a stipulation by the parties in a Supreme Court case is precedential; claiming a connection making materials with sexual content available to minors with safety).