Thursday, August 17, 2017

~ Week 8 ~

BANNED BOOKS & YOUR BOOKSHELF

  1. Looking through the banned books on the ALA website, I found multiple books that I have read in the past including: The Hunger Games, Thirteen Reasons Why, Brave New World, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Of Mice and Men. I read all but one of those books for school. Although I did not personally enjoy them, I had to read them for class and projects. Most of them I actually read in Middle School, then a few in High School. I read The Hunger Games and Thirteen Reasons Why for my enjoyment though. I like both books, but I do understand why they would both be on the banned list for violence and touchy subjects such as rape, killing others, and suicide.
  2. I think that limiting access to various books and other materials in public schools might be a good idea, but not for local libraries. At school, classes can force you to read these books as part of the curriculum. I do agree that some are too touchy and revealing for younger children, but High School students should be able to handle it. Middle schoolers are forced to read these books as well and that is outrageous to me. They are still young and innocent, not yet exposed to all of the realities of life. High schoolers, on the other hand, are more exposed and these books do provide meaningful lessons, so they should be able to read them. Local libraries should be able to hold these books because they are open to the public's choice. If one wants to read the book, they can. If one thinks it is too profane and raunchy, they don't have to. Restricting books in a library is like restricting movies from RedBox or Netflix, which clearly does not happen.
  3. Although I do not have much time to read, I do have some of my favorites still on my bookshelf. Those include sappy love stories that I can't get enough of or mystery books that keep me on the edge. Sarah Dessen is a romance writer and her stories always have caught my attention. Having her books would show that I am a sucker for a good love story, but who isn't? Next, I'll be admitting that I own every Nicholas Sparks movie ever as well! The mystery books include mostly Nancy Drew from when I was younger, but I enjoy the look of them on my bookshelf, and I haven't come to a time mentally to give them away. I think these mysterious books show I also like some excitement along with my romance!

MAGAZINES

  1. Subscribing to magazines seem pointless to me because anything I read in there, I could also just search into Google. With that being said, I have to admit that I have become sucked into a few "deals" where I receive a year's subscription to some magazine apparently for "free" (Although somehow I always end up with some sort of charge, how does that work?). Some magazines that I somehow signed myself up for is the Cosmopolitan magazine. Whenever I receive one in the mail, my first thought is, did I order this? I do always look through it anyways, just for the heck of it. Some things I enjoy reading about such as the latest trends and perfume samples and what not, but I mostly just scan through the pictures. Another one that interests me comes from my Dad's incidental subscription he somehow signed himself up for. It is an Off Road magazine with all the latest gadgets for trucks, dirt bikes, sand rails, jeeps, and so on. I enjoy reading this because we are a total desert family, so these types of products actually interest me. I usually scan through finding the coolest looking truck, then spend time looking at the different rims and packages to figure out how I can make my truck look just like that one! The other time I read magazines is, of course, the doctor's office. The waiting room is full of them, and I always go for the People magazine. I find the stories on all the actors and actresses so ridiculous, but they still intrigue me to read the "dirt" on all the latest breakups, scandals, and diets. My favorite thing about magazines in Doctor's offices is playing the finding game. Where my mom and I both choose a magazine, find one object within it, switch magazines, and race to find what the other person picked. This is probably the most exhilarating I become when it comes to magazines, besides that, they don't quite peak my interest.
  2. The advertising for the People and Cosmopolitan magazines are all going to be on the newest, best makeup products, perfumes, colognes for your man, underwear from Victoria Secret, diets to look just like celebrities, and more clothing from expensive stores. These advertisements are intelligent though because we as readers do fall for it. We think to ourselves, "if I buy that product or clothing item or start this weird diet, I will look just like that celebrity". They trick us into buying their products, but let's just say it works. The advertising in the Off Road magazine is more my type of advertising. The different sound packages offered, the new rims that will make your car look even better, different types of cleaners to have the shiniest car, and so on. Although, both types of advertising still pull us under to purchase these things to either make ourselves or our cars look better. Magazines are a great place for these advertisements overall because they do tempt people. As a consumer, I think it shows that we truly all want the same thing, to feel good about ourselves and our vehicles. It shows that we do fall for the media's tricks, but I don't see that stopping anytime soon!

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