Clean Books

The library community where I work is primarily a devout religious one. In turn I'm frequently asked for "clean" or "safe" books by the parents and children. Working in the children's department one would think finding a clean and/or safe book is easy. Let me tell you it is not, there are levels of clean. The first level of cleanliness is the purest, straight and wholesome goodness of Dick and Jane and the Bobbsey Twins. Then there are just the plain dirty books, but dirty books are not usually in the children's department. What constitutes if a book is on a certain level of purity are the elements the book contains. There are two major elements that makes a book clean and safe or dirty and dangerous. These elements are boy-girl interaction and magic.To make a book clean and safe there should be little to no boy-girl interaction. This is the basic element for all clean and safe books. According to the community boys and girls can be friends or siblings, but if there is any love interest what so ever it is no longer a clean book. One might think children's books usually do not have girl-boy romances in them, but they do. Early chapter books and easy readers always have a valentine story. I know it is seemingly innocent, but the community asking for these books do not feel that way. Once I started looking in the collection, recollecting the books I have read and asking around, there seemed to be lots of first crushes, kisses and boyfriend/girlfriend subplots in juvenile books. Back in April I booktalked There's a Girl in my Hammerlock by Jerry Spinelli. I thought it was a great book about girls fighting against stereotypes and sibling rivalry. What I had forgotten about one of the subplots with main character having a huge crush on a boy, they go on a date and he kisses her. I felt wretched. The girl I had booktalked is part of the community that should only read clean and safe books. The girl in fact loved the book and wants to read all of Spinelli's other books. I have learned that if there are any hugs or kisses in the book to tell them right off. It goes against the my librarian belief to give away the ending, but sometimes it's the only way.The other major element that causes a book to be unsafe is magic. Fantasy books are wonderful! I love fantasy and a little sci-fi as well. Ask me about my Harry Potter collection. Fantasy books, especially the ones on the juvenile and easy reader levels, rarely have boy-girl interaction, but they have magic of one kind or another that can harbor satanic and wican beliefs that are definitely unsafe to a young person. These are the books I read most often following closely by chickette lit, which sometimes mixes the boy-girl interaction and fantasy.Drugs, alcohol and death are the typical elements that cause books to challenged and/or banned. They also contribute immensely to the sanctity of a book. If the book makes the reader question their own belief system or introduces an idea into their head that is against the communities ideals it is unsafe.I try to recommend the safest and cleanest books I can without asking the customer in front of me to describe their level of cleanliness or devoutness. And yes, as a librarian, we should only booktalk the books we have read and loved, but really there are lots of books out there and I cannot read them all. I read lots of J and YA books, but most of them do not qualify as clean or safe. To end my first blog I wanted to mention that even though there is a tremendous stress on clean and safe books in this community, but no one complained about my Banned Book display and have had any challenges of the collection since I have been working here.

In Your Face

I was on my way to work today & thouht let's hear some music. So to prevent me from getting into an accident, I grabbed the CDs next to me and chosed from there. What did pick you say, it was 311!!! Now most of you know that I have a long standing love with 311. There songs have been choosen best songs of the day since I have started best songs of the day. Today I'm taking to another side of 311. These songs are popular in the fan populus of 311 but many outside have never heard these songs. Let me tell ya there f***in' awesome! So the songs that I had to share with you today are Beatiful Disaster and Feels so Good!!! Now you really need to read the lyrics for Feels So Good, but I'm warning you it's dirty! All I got to say is IN YOUR FACE!
~Trace
ps: You're lucky it could have been an owe to the BeeGee's day!

Beautiful Disaster
Today seems like a good day to burn a bridge or twoThe one with old wood creaking that would burn away right on cueI try to be not like that but some people really suckSome people need to get the axing chalk it up to bad luckI know a drugstore cowgirl so afraid of getting boredShe's always running from something so many things ignoredI might do that stuff if it didn't make me feel like shitI'm on some old reality tip so many trips in itBeautiful disasterFlyin' down the street againI tried to keep upYou wore me out and left me ate upNow I wish you all the luckYou're a butterfly in the wind without a careA pretty train crash to me and I can't careI do I don't whateverI know a drugstore cowgirl so afraid of getting boredShe's always running from something so many things ignoredI try to be not like this but I thought it'd make a good songThere's nothing to see shows over people just move alongBeautiful disasterFlyin' down the street againI tried to keep upYou wore me out and left me ate upNow I wish you all the luckYou're a butterfly in the wind without a careA pretty train crash to me and I can't careI do I don't whatever

Feels So Good
Well everybodys got an opinion thats loud and unbendingI spend my time healing and mending, togetherIts a question of whether live positive well i giveP-Nut joins our back, must be arthriticTim is from the '70's and so we live itSA has the wisdom of a nobel laureateI'm down for our days of gloryIt's easy to do when you're up with SextonA rhythmatic genius, turnin' up the next oneWould you know, you're a bro, I flow in that circumstanceYou'll get your chanceBecuase payback is a motherf***in' missionTo the sharp-ass rocks slippin' on us but we rockIt comes to writing on us derisionSend in you a voice now we're sending you a visionAnd those who fought me they say they taught me everything I knowI go aww, when I hear that, that chit and that caht, bullshit!So sick of me knowing everything, saying!In your faceThat's rightAnd it feels so goodIn your faceYeahIt feels so goodTake it to 'em bro, throw down, now saySettin' forth a course I'm really wiggin' outIn my dome I roam, no time to doubtF***ed up you right there while I was rhymin'Now you're sulking in the corner, a baby cryingHittin' up now we feelin' to rock MarsF***in' up the shit, now their heads bobWe ain't new to jack swing, the groove and thatWe got crazy factiffs and we all thatI don't often rock and I'm a laureateI don't pull the punch you know I'm throwin' itFreestyles my style on the mic and flexYou're stalkin' the mind of a punk that's nextI get retarted now that I started you knowA condition which I keep close togetherLike the kind buds you know my sceneMy team thinks I sing supreme, but you, the weasel,Try to bring us down but in reality it make you look like a clownToo bad cause we'll be sittin' in the sun and choose a rocky ass fast ballIn your faceThat's rightAnd it feels so goodChoose a lock y'allIn your faceYeahIt feels so goodYo P-Nut, beat that thingWon't you warm the mic NicholasCan't get with this my stream of conscieceness is a seaMuch like Bukowski with a rageSpeakin' to pageBeasts in the cageJumpin' off the stageDivin'Thrivin'Strivin' for a better day or say(Strive for a better day SA?)Beat back by fleshShatterd doors braggin' fists to the sky we're feelin' highHas to live and dieJust take a moment to have a fit once in a whileYou know, you knowI do it daily and like it but that's my style, yeah, here I goIn your faceAnd dow your throatAnd it feels so good'fraid soF*** it up y'allIn you faceAnd down your throatIt feels so goodThat's all