They're Challenging Reading Challenges?

In 1961 the town of Tarzana, California pulled a book off of the city library shelves as it was deemed unsuitable for children. The offense was clear: the story, one of a group of adventures, featured a couple clearly living in sin: Tarzan and Jane.

There was no evidence that their cohabitation benefited from appropriately recognized marital vows. (Although the author's estate explained that the 'bride's father' had had served as a minister...)

Although Florida has long been lauded as progressive and forward-thinking (cough* cough*), the news last week came that the Dictionary has been 'pulled pending formal review' from schools because it contains words that pertain to sex.

Please note: Florida is VERY careful not to state that this, and other books waiting for formal review are 'banned'. They merely "must be removed within 5 school days of receipt of the objection, and cannot be returned to shelves until it is reviewed". So, NOT banned. Just removed, unavailable, and inaccessible. Thank heaven's for spell-check, amiright?

Amazingly, Florida is not the first state to pull this stunt. Many readers of this article may not have been alive when it first happened, but in 1987 the school administrators in the Anchorage Alaska School Board banned the American Heritage Dictionary due the its slang sexual entries such as "bed," "knocker" and "balls." So, perhaps unsurprisingly, Florida is again lagging behind the trailer of societal horror of verbose sexual perversion... or maybe not.

In 1977 the children's book Sylvester and the Magic Pebble was banned. The book about Sylvester, a donkey that wished for the impossible, was urged by the police associations in 12 states to be banned because it portrayed the police characters as pigs.

If you don't know this story, you can enjoy it here, read courtesy of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation:

* Sigh* Some days I JUST CAN'T EVEN HANDLE IT!

And now? And now comes Canada.

Really.

The most even-tempered and let's-get-along of all of the North Americas: Canada is challenging-not books!- but the time-honored New Year Reading Resolutions, specifically the ones that put a goal on the number of books a user has or intends to read. Really--- I kid you not.

Tapping into TikTok, where all of the very best information in the world is freely shared in convenient soundbite accompanied by incongruous music, the CBC News shares that reading challenges and the posting of the number of books the participant reads, can make people that don't read as much or struggle in reading UNMOTIVATED or FEEL BAD about themselves. Inadequate and Overwhelmed is how my Northerly-Neighbors described it.

Please. Really. Please.

We here in the U.S. already have our hands full down here. Let me have some fun and a feeling of accomplishment as I update my goal of reading 52 books this year on Goodreads. It's an election year for us in the U.S.

Can we just get through the sturm und drang of the elections without the additional pressure that we are making Canadians depressed, too?

Find a Challenge You Like!

There are many many many Reading Challenges that will make ANY reader feel accomplished and special (looking at you, my sensitive and thoughtful Canadian neighbors). Here are some you may enjoy.

The Alternate to Goodreads: The StoryGraph

Some readers want to support Indie bookstores, you know: keep their friends and neighbors employed in local businesses and not buy books from a website named after a the AM$$)N River. If that is you, check out The StoryGraph.

It's free, gives you reading suggestions, has community involvement, and also posts giveaways for FREE books. And there are reading challenges.

This is my favorite list of random reasons to pick up a book (let me know in the comments which number you like best... and do you have a book in mind from the participant-created titles?)

Cats. Cats in Books. Cats on Books. Cats.

This is a challenge that's been ongoing for eight years. The challenge is to read mysteries with cats as the main characters. I caution you: there are more of these than you think. I guarantee it. The creator of the challenge is going for an easily achievable 10 books, and you can find out more through this link.

Tip of the Iceberg

I could go on and on (and on and on), but that will cut into YOUR book reading time. Instead, here's a handy dandy 2024 alphabetical List of reading challenges for kids and adults. It even has TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Challenges for reading, too.

A Little Freebie for You (But don't tell Florida, m'kay?)

In case you, like some of the students in Florida, don't have access to a printed book filled with words and definitions: here's something that could come in handy.

~

Comments are always welcome and (more often than not) actually much appreciated.