BusinessDay – AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Books not to be judged by their covers

IF LESLEY Lokko was in the habit of judging books by their covers, she admits she’d be giving all six of her bestsellers a wide berth. Five of them have twee images depicting idyllic seaside scenes, complete with pink beach umbrellas, swaying palm trees and rambling holiday homes.

“I absolutely loathe them — the last cover had a beach and there isn’t a beach reference in the book!” she says, exasperated.

But beach scenes sell, according to the UK’s supermarket giants, who are the biggest buyers of the books — and it’s a brave publisher to change a winning formula.

Another tropical scene does little justice to her latest work, A Private Affair (Orion) , which has as its backdrop army life in the UK and Europe and follows the lives of four women who all have one thing in common — a strapping, though rather sinister, army major whose dark side has repercussions for each of them.

There’s Sam, a gorgeous and successful entertainment lawyer who, having lived in the shadow of her more fashionable twin, has finally made her mark in the corporate world. But she yearns for Mr Right — and seems to have found him on a holiday in Morocco. Abby comes from a long line of army wives and has been groomed to put her husband’s career ahead of herself, playing the role of model wife and mother with aplomb. But she proves that looks can be deceiving.

via BusinessDay – AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Books not to be judged by their covers.

Strange Random Book Quote:

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.”
― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

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BBC News – Why are parents banning school books?

Image via Wikipedia

Following on from Sesame Street and Katy Perry (see previous post), this article focusses on what some American parents object to in new as well as classic literature in schools, while others are fighting for their children’s right to read those same books. The list of the 10 Most Challenged Books makes for interesting reading, if you’ll pardon the pun

The issue is being highlighted by the American Library Association during its Banned Books Week.

The ALA recorded 460 attempts in 2009 to have a book withdrawn from a library or classroom.

Part of the problem lies in the rise of young adult fiction. Nearly 60 years after the publication of The Catcher in the Rye, teenager readers are now a lucrative market around the world.

The Twilight series has brought author Stephanie Meyer millions, but she has also found her work in the top 10 most challenged, with parents objecting to sexual explicitness and unsuitability for younger readers.

Continue reading the main story

10 most challenged of 2009

* •ttyl, ttfn, l8r, g8r (series) by Lauren Myracle: Drugs, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

* And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson: Homosexuality

* The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: Anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group

* To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group

* Twilight (series)by Stephenie Meyer: Religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

* Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

* My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult: Drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group, violence

* The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Carolyn Mackler: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

* The Color Purple by Alice Walker: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

* The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier: Nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

* Source: ALA

via BBC News – Why are parents banning school books?

Strange Random Book Quote:

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read. – Groucho Marx

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