Read Everything

I am constantly in search for interesting quotes about books & reading. Most of the ones I like are about the love of books, the need for reading, or straight from my favorite books, but this one really caught my attention this morning. It's very true.

"Books can be dangerous.  The best ones should be labeled "This could change your life."  ~Helen Exley

Books can put wonderful ideas in our heads. They can enhance our imaginations and take us places we have never been. They can inspire thoughts, art, even actions. How many children have read Where The Wild Things Are and proceeded to run wild through the house in any costume they could get their hands on? How many adults have seriously contemplated and /or discussed moral dilemas that Harry Potter was facing? Even though we know they are fiction, for a short time they can be reality. They plant seeds of thought and reflection.

I have a thought that it is not only the best books that can change your life. I believe that all books have that potential. Frequently, books (good and bad) have been banned throughout history and are still banned and challenged today. Usually the intention is to protect people from controversial ideas or opinions considered dangerous. There's that word again, dangerous. If you're interested in semi-current banning look here

 

To choose a good book, look in an inquisitor’s prohibited list.  ~John Aikin

I ban books from certain age groups in my home all the time. Movies are censored and I consider books just as influential. I have an upper shelf of books that are an appropriate reading level for Gwen, but have some negativity, language, ideas or behaviour that is not acceptable for her at this time. Among those books are titles such as Matilda, Freaky Friday, Bridge To Terabithia and Shilo. All perfectly acceptable to have in my home and I like them, but for a 7yr old they are a bit mature.

I am under the impression that most parents censor what their children read and it is perfectly acceptable, but do we censor what we ourselves read? Should we? I have found myself full of disturbing notions after reading some of the nonsense I like to pick up at the bookstore. Many of the books I have read have smudged gray the realities that I had previously considered black and white and for that I am thankful. But others have given me irrational thoughts and ideas that have no place in the society in which I live.

Many would say that I get too wrapped up in my books and they are right. I have been known to become just short of obsessed... passionate (Come on National Treasure fans, You knew that) about what I am reading. I am convinced though that all people, while they may not have my kind of passion for their books, still become very involved in them. As adults in a free country we have the right (thank God!) and the means to get our hands on just about anything that we want to read.

The question is: Should we? Well, I think we should. As adults we need to equip ourselves with the wisdom and the common sense to deal with 'crazy' thoughts and ideas. We need to take into our minds new concepts, swish them around, chew them up and see the roots and intricasies of them. But we also need to surpass the mentality of children and have the ability to spit them out in disregard if they are obscene or without merrit or morals. 

I will stop my babling and end with this:
If you resist reading what you disagree with, how will you ever acquire deeper insights into what you believe?  The things most worth reading are precisely those that challenge our convictions.  ~Author Unknown