I read banned books.
This week, September 21-27, 2014 is Banned Books Week, a great opportunity to curl up with a book that was banned, and love on it. Bonus points if the book in question outraged stupid people and/or politicans, who probably couldn’t even be bothered to read it and thus think for themselves.
I still giggle about being in seventh grade, when my (irritating) science teacher, upon seeing me reading,Portnoy’s Complaint, said to me, “Does your father know you’re reading that trash?” And I gave him The Look, the look that only smug, self-righteous, snarky American teenage girls can give when they’re about the experience the heady joy of winning an argument with a man, and sneered, “He should; he got it for me.” (Fun fact: Philip Roth lives only a few blocks from my parents here in NYC, so I routinely see him in their favorite restaurants. Eventually, I’ll have to get over my shyness and approach him for an autograph, but given his notorious crankiness…oy, won’t that be fun!)
Reading books is one of the many ways we fuel our imaginations. Reading great books inspire us, and allow us to make sense of the world. Books allow us to start understanding the complex worlds within ourselves. The more books we read, the more ideas we have about ourselves and, crucially, our abilities. How many of us have, consciously or not, molded ourselves on the heroes and heroines we read about during our most formative years? How many of us can remember where we were when we first read a life-changing book and experienced that shocking moment of clarity and recognition? (I first read Chekhov’s plays when I was 14 in 1987, and while I can’t remember exactly what I did yesterday, I could tell you in detail all about that weekend which I spent in bed, reading The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya, missing most of what Dr. Chekhov was getting at, but feeling as if, in some amazing way, my entire life was changing. Which, of course, it was. )
In many ways, I have a hyper-active imagination–which is why you probably don’t want to watch a horror film with me, because all night, I’ll keep you awake. Like the time I watched Paranormal Activity with my boyfriend at the time, and all that night, I kept the lights on and kept waking him up to accompany me to the bathroom, whenever I had to go. Yes, I was terrified that the demons were going to get me. You can imagine how thrilled he was.–but it’s that very imagination which, in many ways, saved my life when I was at my lowest, and felt that my best years were far behind me.
When I wanted to give up, when I thought that starting this business would be too difficult, or just wouldn’t work, I would grit my teeth, and think of all the books I had read, in which people changed their lives through hard work and determination. I thought of all my favorite authors who spoke at length about how many times they were rejected before things worked out for them, and I thought,”…well, if they could do it, I have to at least try, for f**k’s sake…! If Kurt Vonnegut could suffer through 800 rejection letters, I could really stop whining.”
Invariably, the clients who seem to do the best with me, are the ones who read a lot and have vibrant imaginations. Life can be extremely disillusioning and depressing. Life can be pretty boring. Books, and the imagination they foster, are what will keep you going through many hard times. Books will inspire you, when everything around you seems to be advising you to give up. (Spoiler alert: DO NOT GIVE UP!) I was very lucky in that I grew up in a home wherein no book was ever banned. Not to say that my parents were thrilled by certain books I read, but they were happy I was reading and they’d, grimacing, do their best to answer my (bizarre) questions. Yes, I grew up in the kind of house wherein there are books in the bathroom, the kitchen, and spilling out of shelves everywhere. Compulsive readers are compulsive, after all…
Books saved my life in so many ways. The thought to me of people telling other people that certain books are wrong is just heartbreaking, and really speaks to people’s ignorance and fear. If you’re confident in yourself and your values, what does it matter what other people read? Naturally, the people who most need to lose their massive ignorance, are the ones most committed to watching dreck on TV, and never reading. Alas. Again: it’s Banned Books Week in the United States. Feeling feisty? Want to piss someone off? Great! Go read, proudly, a banned book! 😉
Banned books that shaped America
