Lori Alexander: "My Sons Are So Good Because They Read"

[lilwriter85]

When I was little (around 8 or 9), I discovered the Animorphs series, Christopher Pike (horror/sci fi/magic), and R.L. Stine (not the kiddie Goosebumps books but the YA ones like the Fear Street series)

Back then I read everyday too, but it wasn't something to be praised because it wasn't a chore. Those books were awesome! You'd have to pry them out of my hands at bedtime to get me to go to sleep. And I used to check them out of the library 40+ at a time during the summer (read and returned them all on-time too)

I also loved the Fear Street books.

[valsa]

I also loved the Fear Street books.

They were my first introduction to a storyline that was kinda epic and spanned several books (I was particularly interested in the saga of the Fear family itself)

I still have most of my Fear Street books boxed up and, for old time sake, pulled out the first R. L. Stine book I ever read (Children of Fear) A teenage boy worries about his sister, who is rumored to be able to magically control animals, when people all around them (his girlfriend, their parents, etc) are mysteriously killed by various animals. He has her committed to an insane asylum, only to discover that it's actually their little 8 year old brother (who also has the ability to control animals) who has been killing everyone and the sister was the one trying to keep him in check.

Yeah, those would be totally not-fundie-approved. Because fundies hate awesome.

[lilwriter85]

They were my first introduction to a storyline that was kinda epic and spanned several books (I was particularly interested in the saga of the Fear family itself)

I still have most of my Fear Street books boxed up and, for old time sake, pulled out the first R. L. Stine book I ever read (Children of Fear) A teenage boy worries about his sister, who is rumored to be able to magically control animals, when people all around them (his girlfriend, their parents, etc) are mysteriously killed by various animals. He has her committed to an insane asylum, only to discover that it's actually their little 8 year old brother (who also has the ability to control animals) who has been killing everyone and the sister was the one trying to keep him in check.

Yeah, those would be totally not-fundie-approved. Because fundies hate awesome.

The Fear family was also one of the things that interested me too. I sometimes wish there would have been a TV series based on Fear Street books and the Fear family.

[valsa]

The Fear family was also one of the things that interested me too. I sometimes wish there would have been a TV series based on Fear Street books and the Fear family.

That would have been awesome but I'm not sure that it would have worked. The Fear Street books had a lot of gorey deaths in them (off the top on my head I remember people being burned to death, buried alive, killed by a knitting needle through the eye, and one woman having bread dough stuffed into her mouth and nose and being tied to an oven (the dough expanded while baking and suffocated her) I think it'd be hard to do those parts of the books justice in a show aimed at teens.

[lilwriter85]

That would have been awesome but I'm not sure that it would have worked. The Fear Street books had a lot of gorey deaths in them (off the top on my head I remember people being burned to death, buried alive, killed by a knitting needle through the eye, and one woman having bread dough stuffed into her mouth and nose and being tied to an oven (the dough expanded while baking and suffocated her) I think it'd be hard to do those parts of the books justice in a show aimed at teens.

I remember the knitting needle in the eye death. I agree it would have been hard for to make a TV show aimed at teens with gorey stuff. I think maybe a show focusing on Fear family might have worked. It could have been the type of show that attracted both teen and adult viewers.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I am eternally grateful that I was allowed to read whatever I wanted to, and able to take my own self to the library.

Nothing provides more motivation for learning to use the dictionary to learn new words or letters because they're in some compelling story (or scandalous gossip rag) and there's no way you're going to actually ASK anyone, so better hone those dictionary skills!!

All the best scary stuff is for adults and so doesn't have pronunciation guides...!

[Rowan]

I was a true reader. Literally hours spent reading and I had to be forced to stop. I'm still an avid reader to the point where I have on occasion stayed up reading until 4 or 5 in the morning because I lose track of time. I still can't understand forcing someone to read something, particularly something dull.

I got punished for bad grades (when I didn't do/turn in my homework) by my parents taking away my books. FOR NINE WEEKS (a grading period). It was hell. I was reading cookbooks, food boxes, anything I could get my hands on!

My cousin's little girl (just turned two) has the family love of reading and I'm hoping to instill it in my niece. So it breaks my heart that there are kids who don't have the chance to learn to love to read. Some people aren't readers, ok. But for the kids whose parents so severely restrict what they are permitted access to? They have no chance at all. :cry:

[browngrl]

Well here's reason # eleventy that I am grateful I was raised by my parents and not some fundie.

I was allowed to read what ever I wanted. I lived in a small town with a small library so I went through the children's section pretty quickly and then proceeded to read everything from the encyclopedias (which is why I am a whizz at trivia games) to classical literature. The only down side was: I was mentally capable of reading some books long before I was emotionally capable of understanding them. Example: I read Grapes of Wrath at about 7 and all I could do was giggle at the lingo and breast feeding bit. I remember thinking "this is a stupid book". I re read it years later and was stunned to find that it was a great piece of literature.

As far as I can tell - this free range sort of reading has not harmed me in any way. I remain an average (and fairly dull, to be honest) law abiding citizen.

[AtroposHeart]

My cousin's mother would not let her read Harry Potter and I gave her a copy to sneak in herhouse, but for some odd reason she has had a recent change of heart after being against them for years.

I am not sure what brought it on.

[YPestis]

I had a good friend in elementary school whose mother refused to let her read anything that wasn't a "Newbery Honor Award" book. My friend's mother was not a fundie, she wasn't American but from Taiwan. She believed that everything her kids did should be to foster academic growth. In some ways, her mother was just as restrictive as fundies. She controlled her children's tv viewings, books, their daily activities. Even at the young age of 9, I felt that restricting reading materials, even to award winning books, was not healthy. Reading is about transmission of ideas. It opens minds precisely because it exposes readers to ideas they hadn't thought about before. Restrictions on readings, be it a ban on magic or a ban on nonaward winning books, defeats that purpose. I've lost touch with my friend. I only hope that she rebelled against her mom and now lives happily as a well rounded individual with hobbies and interests that she enjoys.

[patsymae]

I grew up East Coast Catholic and didn't meet any fundies until I moved to Cincinnati in my '40s. (At my first job they had a Bible and literature on my desk and I had to look up what "the Rapture" is.) Suburban schools around the city were constantly banning books, even for high schoolers, that they thought were anti_christian or for other bizarre reasons (ie., "the Diary of Anne Frank" was "too depressing"--guess that story should have had Jesus in there somewhere).

My biggest shock was taking out library books and finding either that Christians had scribbled arguments all over them (I remember one book by Thich Nat Than that had margins completely covered with scrawls about the fallacies of Buddhism) or words, lots of words, blacked out (hint, if you don't like salty language, don't read mysteries about NYC homicide cops). When I pointed this out the librarians seemed to think it was normal.

That said, in my pre-Vatican II childhood I remember once a year at mass everyone had to take a pledge from the Legion of Decency, and there was a list of things children weren't supposed to read or see--Superman and Mad Magazine were on that list. Luckily, my parents ignored it and I don't think the church does that anymore.

It's so sad to me that these children are growing up in an atmosphere in which words and ideas are feared.

Not to hijack the thread, but to show my ignorance of this culture, one Sunday morning I was in the convenience store getting juice, the paper, etc. After it was rung up the woman told me I could get something else if I wanted. Well, I kind of knew that but I had everything I wanted. When I told her that she said, "Well, I guess you're not a very religious woman." Huh? I'm not, but how can you tell? Religious people read the Times and drink orange juice. Turns out my total was $6.66, and if you pay that amount in the dairy store you don't get picked up for the Rapture. Or something.

Anyway, I really enjoy this site. Thanks for all the posts.

[lilwriter85]

I had a good friend in elementary school whose mother refused to let her read anything that wasn't a "Newbery Honor Award" book. My friend's mother was not a fundie, she wasn't American but from Taiwan. She believed that everything her kids did should be to foster academic growth. In some ways, her mother was just as restrictive as fundies. She controlled her children's tv viewings, books, their daily activities. Even at the young age of 9, I felt that restricting reading materials, even to award winning books, was not healthy. Reading is about transmission of ideas. It opens minds precisely because it exposes readers to ideas they hadn't thought about before. Restrictions on readings, be it a ban on magic or a ban on nonaward winning books, defeats that purpose. I've lost touch with my friend. I only hope that she rebelled against her mom and now lives happily as a well rounded individual with hobbies and interests that she enjoys.

I have encountered people, like your friend's mom who only restrict their reading or the reading of their children to award winning or highly acclaimed books. I've heard of some parents today who don't like the idea of their kids reading The Hunger Games books or any other extremely popular YA book series. Adults who read YA books sometimes get bashed for doing so. I think reading award winning or highly acclaimed books is good for several reasons. But like you said, reading exposes readers to various ideas or different worlds. There are some YA books that aren't extremely great, but they do have good messages and well developed characters.

[julie paradox]

So - how many Newbery award books are there?

[jesssnerch]

So - how many Newbery award books are there?

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bo ... wberymedal

[alba]

I have encountered people, like your friend's mom who only restrict their reading or the reading of their children to award winning or highly acclaimed books. I've heard of some parents today who don't like the idea of their kids reading The Hunger Games books or any other extremely popular YA book series. Adults who read YA books sometimes get bashed for doing so. I think reading award winning or highly acclaimed books is good for several reasons. But like you said, reading exposes readers to various ideas or different worlds. There are some YA books that aren't extremely great, but they do have good messages and well developed characters.

I'm so glad my parents didn't restrict what I read as a kid. I grew up practically breathing fantasy, and I still adore YA speculative fiction. The only real distinction I see between good YA books and good adult books is that in general YA books have teenage protagonists and adult books have adult protags, and there are a lot of fantasy series that I can't even place as either YA or adult, like Trudi Canavan's Black Magician trilogy.

I've worked out the real reason fundies fear speculative fiction, though, and it's not because of the magic. It's because of the critical thinking skills. I'm an avid reader with a degree in English lit, but a book like The Hunger Games forces me to think about morality and humanity just as much as Great Expectations. The book I'm currently reading, Lauren Oliver's Delirium, would definitely be banned by many fundies. It's set in a futuristic, authoritarian society, in which love has been identified as a disease for which people have an operation at the age of 18 in order to cure it. There are very strict rules on "uncureds" (aka teenagers') behaviour, and touching a person of the opposite sex results in strict penalties. I'm only about 150 pages in, but so far it seems to be a pretty strict condemnation of the idea of curing love, and in the way the society polices it it can even be read as a condemnation of controlling teenage sexuality.

My biggest shock was taking out library books and finding either that Christians had scribbled arguments all over them (I remember one book by Thich Nat Than that had margins completely covered with scrawls about the fallacies of Buddhism) or words, lots of words, blacked out (hint, if you don't like salty language, don't read mysteries about NYC homicide cops). When I pointed this out the librarians seemed to think it was normal.

Someone once blacked out all the swear words in Trainspotting at my local library (bear in mind this is a book in which people use the word "cunt" where others might say something like "guy"). The librarians were unimpressed.

[cindyluvs24]

As a kid many moons ago, we discovered that the local pharmacy would throw out expired magazines and various paperbacks. Then, the books would end up in the trash behind the store minus the covers.. We felt like we hit the jackpot!! All of the Seventeen, Cosmo and Tiger Beat a girl could want. Of course, the paperbacks were totally inappropriate (praise the lord): Sidney Sheldon, Harold Robbins, Judith Krantz. Beat the hell out of Nancy Drew and Judy Blume. I'll trade an afternoon at Barnes & Noble for pedalling furiously down Ocean Ave. with a paper grocery bag full of loot. (Proust had his cookies, I've got the Shore)

[Sumeri]

I literaly had to hand my son a stick and let him point it at me and say avada kedavra to prove once and for all the spells didn't actually work. I couldn't believe a grown adult could be so stupid.

[Terrie]

I literally had to hand my son a stick and let him point it at me and say avada kedavra to prove once and for all the spells didn't actually work.

You need a wand, not just any old stick. :lol: This guy went about it in a very methodical manner:

http://www.theescapist.com/spells/

[Kitty]

I used to work in a library and I loved the parents that said. "No books with magic, ninjas and killing are okay."

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out while I was away at Bible camp. I mentioned this to another girl from my church who went, and she told me about how she wasn't allowed to watch movies or read books with magic, any kind of sexual content, or swearing, but violence was A-OK.

She was probably 14 and even she knew it was bullshit.

[freejoytoo]

Nothing was off limits to me as a child. I was allowed to read whatever I wanted and THAT was what gave me a love of reading. I read anything and everything.

[valsa]

The only real distinction I see between good YA books and good adult books is that in general YA books have teenage protagonists and adult books have adult protags, and there are a lot of fantasy series that I can't even place as either YA or adult, like Trudi Canavan's Black Magician trilogy.

I don't know if it's my library or what but I find that the average YA book in it is far better than the adult reading selection (at least in horror/sci fi/fantasy genres) I actually stopped reading from the adult selection because it was so crappy (The straw that broke the camel’s back was a seemingly "normal" book (for the genre) about a family and two female friends (separately) being abducted by a small town to be sacrificed to a cult of crazy cannibal people living in the woods. Everything went to hell for my enjoyment of the book when a 12 year old boy starts finger fucking one of the female friends on the car drive to the woods, who then falls in love with a guy from the town (a guy who has been part of the group that sacrifices people, for years, mind you) and the other female friend is a lesbian in love with the first woman (who, of course, dies for it) Then the family comes to ruin as the wife and daughter are raped and gruesomely killed by the crazy cult and the dad, at the end of the book, rides off into the sunset with a 12 year old one-armed girl from the cult that he started having sex with earlier (a girl who was abducted when she was 9 or 10 and stays with the rape-happy and eating-her-arm-happy cult because "it's better than having to go to school")

[Terrie]

I don't know if it's my library or what but I find that the average YA book in it is far better than the adult reading selection (at least in horror/sci fi/fantasy genres) I actually stopped reading from the adult selection because it was so crappy (The straw that broke the camel’s back was a seemingly "normal" book (for the genre) about a family and two female friends (separately) being abducted by a small town to be sacrificed to a cult of crazy cannibal people living in the woods. Everything went to hell for my enjoyment of the book when a 12 year old boy starts finger fucking one of the female friends on the car drive to the woods, who then falls in love with a guy from the town (a guy who has been part of the group that sacrifices people, for years, mind you) and the other female friend is a lesbian in love with the first woman (who, of course, dies for it) Then the family comes to ruin as the wife and daughter are raped and gruesomely killed by the crazy cult and the dad, at the end of the book, rides off into the sunset with a 12 year old one-armed girl from the cult that he started having sex with earlier (a girl who was abducted when she was 9 or 10 and stays with the rape-happy and eating-her-arm-happy cult because "it's better than having to go to school")

Let me just give a flat "what?"

[freejoytoo]

The adult section at my local library is very good (but then I'm lucky as I have about five branches near me). I use that more but like to dip into YA now and then. Last year I volunteered in the library to help with a children's reading challenge. They all came in on the first day to sign up and then they took loads of books and went on holiday so I er, enjoyed the chance to read most of the children's section :lol:

[skrmom]

I think I know which books she is talking about. There is a series of biographies about missionaries and pastors. Many of them are interesting. I have read some. I'd guess they are on the 5th-6th grade level.

IMO she should also include the books used in public school English classes- Moby Dick, Crime and Punishment. To Kill a Mockingbird, etc- the classics we read.

[BoomerLynn]

I don't know if it's my library or what but I find that the average YA book in it is far better than the adult reading selection (at least in horror/sci fi/fantasy genres) I actually stopped reading from the adult selection because it was so crappy (The straw that broke the camel’s back was a seemingly "normal" book (for the genre) about a family and two female friends (separately) being abducted by a small town to be sacrificed to a cult of crazy cannibal people living in the woods. Everything went to hell for my enjoyment of the book when a 12 year old boy starts finger fucking one of the female friends on the car drive to the woods, who then falls in love with a guy from the town (a guy who has been part of the group that sacrifices people, for years, mind you) and the other female friend is a lesbian in love with the first woman (who, of course, dies for it) Then the family comes to ruin as the wife and daughter are raped and gruesomely killed by the crazy cult and the dad, at the end of the book, rides off into the sunset with a 12 year old one-armed girl from the cult that he started having sex with earlier (a girl who was abducted when she was 9 or 10 and stays with the rape-happy and eating-her-arm-happy cult because "it's better than having to go to school")

:shock: WTF?