"Censorship offends me" Anonymous

Alas, Banned Books Week has come to a close today. Hopefully, my extreme blogging motivation continues though, since it generally motivates me to write and analyze and edit and all sorts of literary type things, which is why I am about 2/3 of the way (possibly even 3/4) complete with my grad school applications! In reality, I only have 2 more personal statements to write, a cover letter, and a quasi cover/personal statement for a graduate assistantship, type up my writing samples, and actually doing the applications. Next week will be dedicated to editing- my personal statements and the writing samples. It looks like I will be able to start sending things at some point in November (hoping I actually have the money after the $220 I spent today on GRE scores and transcripts). Hopefully I can finish the Library Science personal statement today, fix up the cover letter and at least start the grad. asst statement today. Tomorrow is most likely a break day since its the big family party, but since I have to take my laptop for picture viewing, I may get a bit of time to write (or edit).

It just feels so real this time around, and that is very exciting. I guess the one good thing about being unemployed is that I have had a great deal of time (in fact, nothing but time) to work on this. And even if I get a job sometime soon, the most difficult parts are now complete, and all that is left is the tedious, menial filling out of information, which can be done at any point.

But, without further adieu...



Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

I am pretty sure everyone knew it would culminate with this. I was surprised to see that this was #1 on this decade's most frequently challenged books, mainly because I LOVE Harry Potter and JK Rowling. I'm bummed I couldn't catch her interview with Oprah yesterday, but I'm very happy that she hasn't completely ruled out writing more Harry books in the future. Yes, we may have to wait a long while for them, but that is much more hopeful than her saying she was done with them forever and ever. But, after spending so much of her life with Harry, creating an entire world for him, a world that helped her so much, I don't think she could ever be through with him. Many writers consider their works to be like children or family, but Harry is as much a flesh-and-blood child for Jo as her three beautiful ones are.

Yes, it is tentatively a book about witchcraft. But only in so much that Harry and the others are wizards. Yes, it talks about spells and potions and other magical type things, but it isn't a how-to guide. This story is about loss, friendship, understanding, justice, prejudice, love, the importance of education, growing up-- basically LIFE. Harry's problems are everyone's problems, and that is why this series is appealing to more than just the "typical" child and YA audience. It is my opinion that any good child and YA book NEEDS to appeal to adults because, after all, we were once children and always retain a bit of that innocence.

There are so many undertones in this series- political, social, economic, feminist, everything- that it opens itself up to true scholarly critique and analysis. Yes, I am one of those Harry Potter nerds, and No, I will never have enough time, space or brain waves to adequately describe how important HP is to my life and to the literary world as a whole. But I do know one thing: if you haven't read Harry Potter, you are truly missing out.