Gilford Public Library. Notes from the Libraryby Mark Thomas, September 2. The Fate of the Furious alternatively known as Fast 8 and Fast Furious 8 is an upcoming 2017 American action film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Chris. They may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom to read William Wallace in Braveheart. No need to be so dramatic about the freedom to read right I mean, who is stopping you A shocking number of people. Throughout history books have been banned, burned, challenged, and censored. Libraries and schools the world over attempt to fill their shelves with resources that will be of interest, use, and relevance to any of their patrons, but controversial books are challenged frequently and with surprising support. The American Library Association reported 3. Almost half of the challenges happened in Public Libraries. If you look at the top ten most challenged books of 2. American Library Association Top Ten Banned Books most of them are teen and childrens books. Reasons range from sexual content, to politics, to scandals about the author, to social issues, and a common word used is offensive. Why, you might ask, would a public library have offensive material in the first place What good does it serve the publicOffensive to one or a few people, or even most people, does not make it offensive to everyone. Some of these books are among the most read in the library. Some number of library patrons find meaning in each of them. Our readers are not homogenous and so our collection is not homogenous. We want people to find the books they want to read at their library, regardless of whether the books they want to read are offensive to others in the community. Banned Books Week is this week. Banned Books Week is a chance to give banned and challenged books notoriety so that the public is aware that the right to read is still challenged. It is a chance to keep the ongoing pressure of censorship in the public eye, and to remember times when books have been attacked. It is a time celebrate a diversity of materials to help promote new ideas and invite discourse. Librarians tend to love Banned Books Week for several reasons, but mostly we love the right to read. Stop by this week to see the displays at the front desk, childrens desk, and the Teen Room. I guarantee some of the challenged books will shock you National Library Card Sign Up Month is almost up. Its been a big hit this year, and there are a couple of days left if you know someone who doesnt have a library card. Tell them they can read banned books with a new cardGilford Public Library Website, Gilford, New Hampshire. View upcoming events, information about library services and programs, and more. AcbX9WJCsh0/hqdefault.jpg' alt='Kubo And The Two Strings Downloading ' title='Kubo And The Two Strings Downloading ' />Notes from the Libraryby Mark Thomas, September 2. The Middle East. When talking about the Middle East, people often dont know where to start. Its unclear because the Middle East is hardly cohesive or simple. Many use the term to describe a set of nations, religions, customs, peoples, andor histories that are often clumsily grouped together and is changing constantly. Because of the nuances involved, The Middle East and terms that are often used to help describe it are prone to equivocation and confusion. It is hard to sum up, but nevertheless the Middle East comes up in conversation constantly. Watch New The Illusionist Online on this page. Linguistically, its a problem. As any librarian worth his paper knows, quality of information is important, so when you dont understand something, learn We have books and digital resources galore to help understand the region referred to as The Middle East. We are also fortunate enough to have educational programs at the library sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities Council. Mohamed Defaa will help parse The Middle East in a presentation of the same name on Tuesday, September 2. The program description claims that this multimedia presentation by Mohamed Defaa provides an analytical framework to understand the histories, social identities, and cultures behind this complex concept of Middle East. His hope is that attendees will be better equipped to educate themselves and to understand the nuances of the concept. Mohamed will explain that the Middle East is not homogenous. Geographic areas in the region have surprisingly different cultures and religious beliefs. Islam, as Mohamed will describe, has four major branches with several more divisions within each branch. Islam, the religion, can be understood apart from Islamism, the political movement or several movements. Each of these qualifying factors exacerbates the need for precise description. Lumping all of these notions together as The Middle East is prone to stereotyping and misunderstanding. Mohamed Defaa is certified by the International Center for Educational and Cultural Consulting in Lyon, France. He has been an assistant professor of Communication and Cultural Expression at the University Hassan the Second in Casablanca, Morocco, and a college instructor in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Currently, he is a French and Arabic teacher at Merrimack High School, and an Arabic instructor at Southern New Hampshire University. I look forward to learning along with all of you who come outNews from the Libraryby Mark Thomas, September 1. Hey Mark, do you ever get tired of reading and writing about books all the time NOPE. Books is a massive descriptor, covering new and old, groundbreaking and clichd, light and heavy. There are so many books to read, but that is not the same thing as saying there are so many bananas to eat. It seems like there are books for everything I can imagine, and even better, many things I havent like Gork, the Teenage Dragon by Gabe Hudson read it. As long as my brain keeps thinking, Ill not get tired of books. We have some new ones at the library we always do. Some are familiar stories, and some are completely novel. Beatrice Trovato is The Scribe of Siena in Melodie Winowers new novel. Beatrice was a contemporary neurosurgeon with an appetite for linguistics and art, until she was mysteriously transported to 1. Siena, then a city state. Suspend your disbelief long enough to enjoy the vivid descriptions of the city whose success was abruptly halted by the spread of the Bubonic Plague. With plenty of romance, thrills, and period quirks, its worth it. The Address is another historical fiction by Fiona Davis. For readers who enjoy real estate and the history of homes, The Address addresses it thoroughly, telling two intertwining tales 1. Both stories wholly involve the Dakota apartment building in Manhattan, and the pace is swift enough the keep you from forgetting the stories in between chapters. A favorite of mine to come out recently is Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza. Janey Sweet is fond of sweets, but its bad business when the co founder of a skinny or die wedding dress company is seen eating them. She is forced to lose 3. The book is funny, with Janey making fun of the practices even as she wholehearted partakes. I think many people with a sense of humor will enjoy Fitness Junkie, but the exaggerations of it will be particularly enjoyable for those who have been occasionally tempted by the fit practice of the month. Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong also has humor at times, but it is sobering. After a bad breakup, Rachel expects to relax at her familys home during the holidays, only to find that her father, a raucous and intelligent figure, has Alzheimers disease. She spends time with them to help care for him. It is full time work managing his eccentricities, and over time she has to confront parts of him that she had buried. This is the kind of book where the helper ends up getting helped as much as the helped. Some recent big hitters Charlatans by Robin Cook, Seeing Red by Sandra Brown, I Know a Secret by Tess Gerritsen, Y is For Yesterday by Sue Grafton, The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand, Crime Scene by Jonathan Kellerman, The Store by James Patterson and Richard Di. Lallo, and Glass Houses by Louise Penny. If you find yourself tired of books, let us know. There are stacks of fascinating stories our there to hold your interest and we know where they are. Notes from the Libraryby Mark Thomas, September 7, 2. Tea, Earl Grey, hot.