Books on the Nightstand discussion

I had no censorship. help!

oops...looking for book that is one your parents didn't let you read. I am not sure if that shows up with my original post. first time posting in goodreads

I had only one book that was forbidden to me -- Helter Skelter.

Many, many years later, I still have not read it, even though I do own a copy :)

I have this square and found it an interesting category.
When I was 15, I brought home "Sybil" from the library. My mother saw it in my pile of library books and started reading it herself. A few days later she said, "I'm not going to forbid you to read this, but I strongly recommend you wait until you are older."

I decided to follow her suggestion. And now at 55, I guess I'm mature enough for it!!! So that's my pick for the Bingo square.

There's a really interesting follow-up to Sybil that you might want to read, too: Sybil Exposed: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case

This thread is bringing back such memories! I had no censorship either and read ( and enjoyed) Sybil and Helter Skelter among others. I remember them all as summer books, but that may have been when I was able to read them after the school year was over. I also read The Exorcist because I wanted to see the movie and was too young. My mother told me I could see it after I read the book. After I read the book, I had no desire to see the movie!

:)

Interesting. I don't have this square. There were no books that my parents said I couldn't read, but there was a book that I didn't think my mother would like me to read so I kept it under my mattress. I don't recall the book's title but it was about a Hollywood lawyer who defended some Hollywood big names against prosecution on charges that may have finished their careers. I believe one was Errol Flynn over rape charges.

My parents never censored my reading, either--although in some cases it probably would have been a good idea! I remember pulling Fear of Flying off my mother's bookshelf when I was about 10...maybe 11? I was way too young and that book just confused and kind of scared me at that age!

Same here...I could read what I wanted but many of my friends couldn't read

Tropic of Cancer
Lolita

One couldn't read
Peyton Place

My parents never denied a book to us because we really did not read many books. I did find copies of "Redbook" that my mom read. Wow!

Amanda wrote: "I had no censorship. help!"

I've been struggling with this one, too. I can think of a few of my Mom's books I knew I never wanted to read, but nothing was off limits.

I thought my "cheat" would either be something she told me she was not allowed to read - Peyton Place (although that didn't stop her), or one of those I never wanted to read. Since I already have the "That you think you will dislike" square, I might go with the former.

Linda wrote: "Interesting. I don't have this square. There were no books that my parents said I couldn't read, but there was a book that I didn't think my mother would like me to read so I kept it under my mattr..."

Jerry Geisler was a Hollywood attorney who defended several male actors, including Errol Flynn, when they were charged with rape. He typically used tactics and arguments we find objectionable now, like blaming the victim, asserting she was asking for it, or claiming it was impossible to be raped by a leading Hollywood movie star (presumably because the fact of his stardom would have melted any reluctance the victim had). GeislerGeisler was often hired by the studios to defend their star properties.

Jaylene wrote: "Linda wrote: "Interesting. I don't have this square. There were no books that my parents said I couldn't read, but there was a book that I didn't think my mother would like me to read so I kept it ..."

Yep! That was the guy.

My parents were also ones that felt that if you wanted to read it, that meant you were old enough or mature to read it.

But I've heard a lot of people say that their parents didn't let them read Stephen King/Horror. And my best friend doesn't want her 12 year old daughter to read the last few Harry Potter books because she thinks they are too scary for her. (the daughter, however, has been sneaking them, so go her)

Lianne wrote: "My parents were also ones that felt that if you wanted to read it, that meant you were old enough or mature to read it.

But I've heard a lot of people say that their parents didn't let them read S..."

I read the Harry Potter books specifically because there were so many naysayers about them. I would not prohibit my son from reading them but figured we would read them together so we could discussions about them if necessary.

Of course, a discussion wasn't necessary and I found them absolutely delightful and marvelous.

I related the other night at book discussion (To Kill a Mockingbird) that one place where I taught a parent objected to a book (The Chocolate War) and the principal peremptorily prohibited the book. I believe I was not the only one who read that book because of the banning.

Linda wrote: "...one place where I taught a parent objected to a book (The Chocolate War) and the principal peremptorily prohibited the book. I believe I was not the only one who read that book because of the banning. "
I read The Chocolate War at 12 from my English teacher's 'recommended' shelf (he was trying to discourage me from reading unsuitable books like 1984!)
My mother never restricted my reading but she put certain books on the top shelf and recommended I wait to read them.
One holiday abroad when I was 14 I read myself out of books and just hoovered up what was available around me which included Jaws (brilliant), soft p0rn and a nursing magazine with an article about giving palliative care to terminally ill cancer patients.

I'm another reader who had very little restrictions on books growing up. I was reading The Godfather when I was 13 or 14, and my father didn't stop me, but he did ban me from seeing the movie. I still haven't!
The only bookish thing I can remember my parents banning outright is my dad saying I couldn't read Spawn comics. I'm not sure why he made that call, I was never really into superhero comics so it's not like it would have come up!

I remember my mum buying me Flowers in the Attic, and then starting to read it herself. Several weeks later I remembered she had never given it me to read and asked her about it as I was wanting to start something new. She pursed her lips and said something on the lines of 'oh, that tripe, I'm afraid I've thrown it away, it was terrible!'.

Several years later I read the book and worked out why she'd decided I shouldn't read it! I must have been 15 or 16 when this happened, but apparently she considered that too young for one of the central themes, though if she had but known, I'd been reading books with far worse!

My parents weren't readers, and I think often viewed my excessive bookworminess as something of a flaw. Nevertheless, they never seemed to take an interest in what I read either way, either to encourage, discourage, or forbid.

I was raised by a single mom and she was not a reader either. She had enough on her plate that she never concerned herself with what I was reading. I think she did raise an eyebrow when I read Peyton Place but Valley of the Dolls wasn't even on her radar. I'm sensing a connection here between parents who didn't forbid much and adult children that now read voraciously.

My mother was a reader (not so much anymore). She used to send me to the library to pick out books for her (once I was old enough to go to the adult section - we had to be a certain age then). She especially liked Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt. She would tell me "historical fiction" but I never knew if she had read something already.

This same lady, however, would try to get the reading me off my bed (my favorite place to read) by telling me, "Go out and blow some stink off."

Yeah, my parents never really cared about what I read. And I read some real trash. I do remember that there were movies they didn't want me to see. Of course I can't remember them either.

So I'm thinking about reading The Exorcist a movie they would not want me to see.

Or re-read a book I shouldn't have been reading at "that age", like The Other Side of Midnight.

Or read a book that I couldn't understand until I was older like To Kill a Mockingbird.

Linda wrote: "This same lady, however, would try to get the reading me off my bed (my favorite place to read) by telling me, "Go out and blow some stink off."

Hah! My mom used to say the same thing!

Eric wrote: "Linda wrote: "This same lady, however, would try to get the reading me off my bed (my favorite place to read) by telling me, "Go out and blow some stink off."

Hah! My mom used to say the same thing!"

I had only heard my mom say this. You might be the only other person who I know that heard that.

I'm enjoying reading the threads about the BOTNS bingo this year, even though I am not playing this time around!

If anyone is so inclined, it might be interesting to consider this a chance to read something that has been banned to others. For me, I may add the Chocolate War to my TBR since someone above said it was challenged when she taught it.

The lists of books that have been banned at one point or another are incredibly long - at least in the US.

Here's a "frequently challenged" list of 10 books from the American Library Assoc. but of course you can easily find other lists online:
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlyc...

Happy reading!

Linda, my mom actually said, "Go out and get the stink blown off ya."

So your mom gets points for style for using the active voice.

Eric wrote: "Linda, my mom actually said, "Go out and get the stink blown off ya."

So your mom gets points for style for using the active voice."

: > )

It is so interesting that almost all of us had freedom to read whatever we wanted in our childhoods. It seems to be a state that grows readers. I wonder if the kids who were heavily censored by their parents, schools etc grew up to be the adults who check the less than 1 book a year box.

I got a kick from a remembrance of a local reader friend of mine shared today.

We both go into our local diner to read, but if we find the other one of us there, little reading happens, but a lot of talking about reading.

He related that his mother used to buy comics when he was a kid and she kept those under her cushion/mattress because the kids couldn't read them until mom was done with them. What a great mom!

Diane wrote: "It is so interesting that almost all of us had freedom to read whatever we wanted in our childhoods. It seems to be a state that grows readers. I wonder if the kids who were heavily censored by their parents, schools etc grew up to be the adults who check the less than 1 book a year box. ..."

Well, my brothers (I have 4) were also not censored by my parents. And today 3 of the 4 of them do not read. Like, at all. In fact, one of them was "bragging" recently that he hasn't read an actual book since he graduated from high school -- in 1988. For some reason he's actually proud of that fact. Whereas I read between 90-110 books a year, every year. So I don't think there's necessarily a correlation between parental censorship/lack thereof and people who grow up to become voracious readers. I think a love of reading is something you are born with. Yes, it helps when that love is nurtured by parents, schools, friends, etc. But the freedom to read anything and everything in the world means nothing if you just don't like reading.

Amy,
Another contributing factor may be that in some circles, reading by boys is viewed as a "not masculine" activity. Never underestimate the power of peer pressure.

Just look at the ratio of women to men at Booktopia gatherings.

Janet wrote: "Amy,
Another contributing factor may be that in some circles, reading by boys is viewed as a "not masculine" activity. Never underestimate the power of peer pressure."


Oh, I'm aware of that. I have two boys who are now in college. Both are voracious readers and have been since even before they could actually read to themselves. Enjoying books is something that was in their blood even before they knew what peer pressure was. By the time they could be taunted for pursuing "non-masculine activities," the reading bug was already deeply ingrained.

Plus, I have another brother who reads as much as I do. It's the other three who don't. We all grew up together in the same circles and with the same access to books. In fact, one brother who doesn't read at all? He actually went to a private, academically intense college prep all-boys school where students were encouraged to aim for Ivy League colleges. The rest of us attended public school.

Which is all besides the actual point of my original post. Which is that having no restrictions on your reading selections does not necessarily promote a lifelong love of reading.

I would argue that the converse might be true though. Having parents that extremely limit your reading choices could very well discourage one from reading.

My mom never censored what I read, within reason. I do remember in 7th grade, everyone was reading "A Child Called It" and she strongly advised me not to read it. She was so passionate in her persuading that I followed her advice. Ten years later I picked it up and read a few chapters before I could stomach it no further. I'm glad she advised against it at such a young age.

My parents never discouraged me from reading either, however there were some books that my teachers wouldn't let me read during class if I had finished my work early.

The one I remember was a book called Flyy Girl by Omar Tyree. A lot of the older girls were reading it at the time and isn't the sort of book I'd normally choose, but I wanted to know what the fuss was about.

It's a coming of age story about a girl in an urban setting, and so naturally there is some sex content.
Again, not usually the type of book I'd choose, but it was not allowed to be read during class.

My Mom didn't censor my reading. But I argued, to no avail, about seeing the movie The Exocist. I couldn't see the movie but she handed me the book!!! First time I read certain words :-) I read Sybil in 8th grade and my teacher questioned this when I was reading it on our trip to DC.

Sarah wrote: "I'm another reader who had very little restrictions on books growing up. I was reading The Godfather when I was 13 or 14, and my father didn't stop me, but he did ban me from seeing the movie. I st..."
My mother let me see the movie when I was about 8. I do remember that she clapped her hand over my eyes when the 'horse in a bed' scene came up.

My husband comes from a non-reading family. He read has 3 novel-like books in his life; an autobiography when he was on bed rest, a messianic-style mystery a friend gave us and Jaws, in English because I couldn't find a translation to his mother-tongue. Jaws is his favourite film and he loved the book as well.
But he does read piles and piles of non-fiction almost exclusively about cars.

I have this square on one of my cards and strangely enough my parents censored what we watched on TV but not what we read. I could not watch shows like The facts of life because it might be about sex or horror movies because they might give me nightmares. At the same time they gave me and my sister money to spend at the flea market so we combined our money and bought a huge box of books which turned out to include a few Harlequin romances. We read them in plain sight--no problem! So I guess I'll pick up a steamy romance or a horror novel because I'm sure they just saw we were reading, and didn't look close enough to see what we were reading.

My parents didn't censor my reading at all either! I was just encouraged to discuss things I didn't understand with them. I might read a book censored by teachers for this one, since I don't want to leave it blank! :)

I had this square last year, and, since my parents didn't censor my reading when I was young, I took the opportunity to ask my mom about it. She couldn't imagine censoring anything. I described the comic Sex Criminals to her as an example. She said, "Oh my! I don't think there was anything like that when you were a child!" So I used it for that square.

My mother forbade me from reading Gerald's Game by Stephen King. When I finally did read it, I realized my perspective of disturbing differed greatly from what my mother considered disturbing.

I don't believe my mother ever censored what I read. I remember she didn't quite understand my interest in Flowers in the Attic, or Go Ask Alice. I don't think she knew I was reading Jaws though, and now that I think about it, some of the themes were really over my head! I was about 8 years old when I found a copy on my uncle's nightstand. Always a voracious reader and a little too curious for my own good, no one's book shelves, or nightstands were safe from my desire to read. : D

Diane wrote: "It is so interesting that almost all of us had freedom to read whatever we wanted in our childhoods. It seems to be a state that grows readers. I wonder if the kids who were heavily censored by the..."

Well, that is interesting. My father-in-law was a voracious reader as a child. He grew up in Krakow, Poland and when WWII started, he was forbidden from attending school or going to the library because he was Jewish. This didn't deter him one bit! He managed to get any book he could and even started his own lending library for fellow Jews. Both his sons have a deep love and respect for reading. They read nonfiction, fiction, business, whatever the genre! So, maybe it's inherited some how. I know my love of reading came from my mother. I loved nothing more than sneaking into her secret stash of books and reading what she read. To this day we compare and share books.

April -- This account of your father-in-law is priceless. His story would make a great YA or children's book . . . along the lines of "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry.

Harlequin Romance books. I borrowed one when I was 13 or 14, hid it under my bed, and when I went to read it, it was gone.

The only book my parents said I couldn't read was Flowers in the Attic -- and only because I was nine (my older sister was reading it).

I read it anyway. :)

Stephanie - Adventures Thru Wonderland wrote: "Harry Potter and Twilight.

A lot of others, but my mom was strict on those two. I never asked if I could read something, because the answer was likely no, so probably a lot of the books I read wer..."

Stephanie was there any specific reasons for those two. The only person I know who refused to have anything to do with those two series was from a very conservative religious background (the only book he read was the Bible, according to him).
As far as the topic at hand goes, If my memory serves me correctly the only thing I ever got in trouble for reading was a couple of copies of Playboy my dad got given to him while he was convalescing in the hospital after a gall bladder operation. Mind you a lot of the books other posters are talking about weren't even around when I was young (I started grade one in 1961). I do recall reading some of my dad's books that he might not have been to happy about me reading (the Nick Carter and Matt Helm books come to mind). I read Stone Angel in grade 13 and my mother might not have liked that book, but of course it was an assigned test so there was nothing she could do about it.

My parents never noticed what I read. They probably were just happy I read. My father was a big reader of science fiction I think. I also used to babysit allot and I would read the books of the parents. I know I read The Godfather at a very young age and I think I also read The other Side of Midnight and the Valley of the Dolls at a young age. I am sure there are others I read too young but I can't remember. I found an erotic short story book once up my attic as a youngster. I had two teenage sisters I would guess it was theirs.