The World's Gone "Mad"

Banning is burning

The books on the list that I know of are ones like Twilight, The hunger Games and 50 Shades of Grey.

The books that I have actually read, although it has been a while are The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men and Harry Potter.

I do not think any of the books I listed are bad enough to be banned. I noticed some of the others did contain drug use and I have a hard time with anything that might glorify drug use to children. If you're going to ban the books though then you also gotta ban the music. Eminem glorifies drug use. 

I am a very open minded person. I am not religious and I have no children. I do what is best for me on a daily basis and I believe that, just like the saying “there is no such thing as bad publicity,” I also think there is no such thing as bad knowledge. Books provide alternate viewpoints and I think that children only gain by being exposed to other cultures, points of view and historical accuracy. I heard once that a group wanted to change the wording in Tom Sawyer so that the African American character is not called “Nigger Jim” anymore because of the use of that particular offensive slang. I think that is silly. People in those times were cruel to African Americans and by doing this it actually takes away from the intensity of the story. For me, it is very difficult to condone censorship of any kind because of the music I listen to and literature that I like. Banning books reeks of darker times in history.

However I also do not have children in school and therefor I feel I must abstain from controversial issues involving school curriculum.

My crazy bookshelf…

One of the first things people might notice is my fascination with all religions. This is a concept that so many of my friends and family cannot grasp. Whether they are religious or atheist they can't seem to understand how someone would not contain any religious bias at all. I have, side by side on my shelves, The Bible, The Qur'an(Koran), The Bhagavad-Gita and several books on Buddhism such as, one of my favorites, Samdhong Rinpoche’s Uncompromising Truth for a Compromised World. Buddhism was born in the shadow of prosperity and will always dwell there but it is hard for many who practice this faith to come to terms with living by its teachings while being yolked to modern society. Even practicing Buddhist must be able to survive and compete in the modern world. Moderation and compassion are the two most key tenets. 

Other random interest I have in book form are The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit as well as books written by some band members. I have the Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue and Seven Deadly Sins by Corey Taylor of the band Slipknot. Moving down the row you will find books like the Lord of the Flies, the five people you meet in heaven and even a very thick book that is a compilation of comic strips from Mad Magazine because on occasion I just want to dumb myself down and laugh at the crazy world around me.   

“If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.” 

― Oscar Wilde

I think that my interest might imply that I am fairly insane but the truth is I'm just a bit erratic. There are books I like for a day and then there are others I love for a life time. I am not religious but I have no hang ups when it comes to religion. I like to refer to myself a Buddhist Heavy Matalist. I will get in the pit at a concert with kids half my age and yet I will not even harm a spider. I will entertain 'any and all' points of view of divinity and I am also a big fan of mythology, heroism and journey tales. I’m not really into the egos of rock stars that much so I have to say I am not likely to buy another autobiographical novel written by a pampered rock musician. I got to meat Corey Taylor at his book signing, though and that was extremely cool. He is very down to Earth considering the style of music he makes. When it comes to any famous people, though, I may like their art but I don't really care so much about their personal lives. 

Corey Taylor 

Corey unmasked

I found most of my books in local bookstores and I buy them because I like their tangibility. My main bookshelf is right next to my computer desk and sometimes I just like to turn off the glaring screens and pull a book off the shelf to read. I think I will always buy the books that peak my interest the most. Especially the ones that I might like to take my time with or even ones I may want to re-read.