Least Favorite Romance Novel

While there are a couple of books that stand out pretty prevantly in my mind (I'm looking at you, Twilight), Fifty Shades of Gray is probably my 100% all time lease favorite romance book of all time (and yes, I have read the first one.)

As much as i hate Twilight, it IS a teenager book and it fits that category well.  It's not well written, but it doesn't nececerily have to be.  It just has to keep teens interested and reading, which it does do that.  It also introduces that kid to the world of reading.

I hate fifty shades because it's a book that disguises itself as a love story but is actually a story about abuse.  The authors knows nothing about the basics for BSDM. She wrote what she thought happened in the BDSM culture, but she was so wrong.  Instead, Gray is controlling and psychotic and controls every aspect of her life and then expects her to change it when it doesn't meet his expectation.

The worst part about the whole thing is that women READ that and think it's and accurate portrayal.  They think that the BDSM culture works that way, that because they're a different type of relationship, they're love less and conotrolling and abusive, but that's just not the case.

Can I just pick the whole genre? No, I'm sure there are good ones out there. I just kind of hoped that this solid month of reading romance would help me like the genre more, not solidify my distaste for it. I'm just not a romantic person. So even though it feels sort of like cheating, I'm going to go with "every book in the romance genre I've been exposed to so far" as my least favorite romance book. Although Cassy makes some good points about Fifty Shades.

The Top Ten

Just like last year, I'm going to give you the top ten books that have been challeged/banned in the last year (since it's 2014, this is the list for 2013.)  There are a lot of repeats (Captain Underpants is number one again!  Really!?)  But there are some newbies to the list too.

The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

Reasons: Offensive Language, Unsuited for Age Group, Violence

The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison

Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit,  Unsuited for Age Group, Violence

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Reasons: Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking, Offensive Language, Racism, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited for Age Group

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Reasons: Nudity, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited for Age Group (which is just silly, because it's an adult novel, so you're basically telling me either A. it's appropriate for people YOUNGER than an adult or B. it's inappropriate for everyone.  Everywhere.)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Reasons: Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited for Age Group

A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone

Reasons: Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking, Nudity, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Reasons: Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited for Age Group

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Reasons: Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

Bless me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

Reasons: Occult/Satanism, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Sexually Explicit

Bone by Jeff Smith

Reasons: Political Viewpoint, Racism, Violence

A good list this year (especially because we don't usually see graphic novels, so good for you, Jeff Smith.)  The usual reasons for banning book, sex, drugs and inappropriate topics, though I will admit, this is the first time I've seen Occult/Satanism on the list (though, I'm sure not the first time that it's been on there.)

What are your favorite banned books?  We would love to hear and tell us why they've been banned.  What "reasons" were given for the challenge?  

Favorite Books by TV Stars

I love Penn Jillette. I think he's funny, he's smart, he's intent on informing people about issues he thinks are important... and if I ever had a daughter, I would want to name her Moxie, too. (Maybe not Moxie Crimefighter, but to each their own.) I love HBO's Showtime's (thank you, Paul, for catching that!) Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, I remember him being on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (no, seriously... he was the head of the witches' council), and I can even forgive him for being on "Dancing with the Stars" and "Celebrity Apprentice."

Religion is a touchy subject, so I try not to talk about it with strangers very much, and I extend that personal policy to my blogging. The internet is a dangerous place for religious discussion. So I'll leave it at this: If you're an atheist, this is a great book for agreeing with. If you aren't, it's a good book for looking at other perspectives (if you aren't too sensitive about your own religion, because otherwise you might get offended; let's put it this way... it was written for atheists, so if you aren't one, just keep that in mind and put it down if you don't like it... There's a reason I don't go around reading books by Joel Osteen and Billy Graham).

Really, given the chance, who wouldn't pick World War Z?  Even though I named Unwind as my favorite book last year, World War Z was the first runner up, and for good reason.  It was well-written and engaging and gave you such a great sense of... bonding together to defeat a common enemy.

Telling it from the perspectives of individuals makes it even better.

He's mostly done voice-overs in his acting career, probably most notably was Howard in Batman Beyond back in the early 2000s.  He writes more than he acts, but he has done a lot of appearances on shows like Roseanne and 7th Heaven.