Bookish News 7/25 - 7/31

Bookish News is a weekly meme here at Feeding My Book Addiction that asks fellow book bloggers and avid readers to share the bookish news stories that interested them this week. There is so much going on in the various bookish communities that it is hard to keep up on everything. I read blogs, watch the news, and follow my twitter feed to round up some bookish news for you each week! All you have to do is post a link to your Bookish News post in the comments section so everyone else can check out your post. I post my bookish news on Sundays, but you can post yours any day of the week. If you don't have a blog, you can still participate. Just post links in a comment and provide your thoughts. Now, on to this week's bookish news!

Missouri School District Bans Slaughterhouse Five and Twenty Boy Summer 
Courtesy of the Huffington Post

A Missouri School District banned Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut and Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler after a local man spearheaded an effort to get them banned because they were 'inappropriate.' 

Ugh. Book banning stories always rile me up, but this one gets even better. According to the article, only one member of the school board who voted to ban these books had even read either of them. What example is this school board setting for its students? How can you ban something without knowing what you are banning? How can a school board that is supposed to spearhead a district's efforts to educate its youth ban books without so much as reading them? And teachers wonder why students write reports without reading the books first...


The Boston Book Festival is Coming Up! 

Save the date book fans! The Boston Book Festival is Saturday, October 15. It's a free, one day festival full of bookish events with an eclectic line up of authors and writers. I know I'm going to start saving for a fun and bookish weekend in Boston this October! 


The Case for Rauchy Teen Lit 
Courtesy of Salon

It seems like everyone has got something to say about YA books these days and not all of it is positive. Tracy Clark-Flory defends 'teen lit' as she calls it and its propensity for sexual situations claiming that it is a safe way for teens to learn more about their sexuality in a safe environment. Reading is about experiencing things you've never experienced or reading about similar experiences to your own so you can make sense of them for yourself. I think young adult books that include sexuality are doing young people a great service by giving them a safe place to learn and reflect on what it means to a sexual being and/or sexually active. It seems like a better alternative to internet videos and lewd talk on the school bus. 

Well, that's my bookish news for the week. Are there any bookish news stories that caught your attention this week? Tell me about them!