Freedom to Savor the Salacious and Sample the Staid

I went to see my cousin's CofC class production of the play, Quills.  The play is about the Marquis de Sade and is quite provocative.  It was made into a movie starring Geoffrey Rush.  It brought to mind discussions I had in library school with fellow students about censorship and "thought crimes".  Banned Books Week starts tomorrow, too, so the subject of intellectual freedom is at the forefront of my mind.

Personally, I don't think that knowing and thinking about things is the same as doing them.  Thought crimes don't exist in my world.  Even thoughts/concepts that may be unpleasant to me are fodder for books, articles, and discussion.  I believe people should be free to think and write about anything they like as long as they are not planning or inciting crimes.  Not everyone agrees with this and I do find hateful pundits to be extremely unpleasant but I think that holding the ideal of intellectual freedom above all my personal inhibitions and preferences is essential for my practice as a public librarian. 

To paraphrase Ranganathan, "Every book its reader and every reader its book."  Yes, indeed!

Picture from http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/23/115523-004-FA619CA3.jpg .  Accessed 12/8/08.

My Life Post-Harry: What I Am Waiting For

I am not exactly "waiting" for The Tales of Beedle the Bard in the way I waited for Deathly Hallows, but I will buy it and I will read it, mostly for background info.  My capability for anticipatory zeal is not piqued in the slightest by any of the HP movies.  They have not been all that great with the exception of the Cuaron effort.

Here's what I am waiting for.

*David Mitchell's new book about Dutch traders in Japan in the 18th or 19th century on the island of Dejima (or Deshima).

*A new book in Holly Black's Modern Tales of Faerie series or any YA book or any book by Holly Black.

*Wendy McClure's promised tome about disturbing children's books.

*The movie version of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.

*Another season of Flight of the Conchords.

*Finding a copy of Sarah Kider's Mermaid Song to purchase on CD or by audio download.

The waiting is not the hardest part.  The real problem is that a good "wait" is hard to find.