Home » Posts tagged "Dracula" (Page 4)

Why Read The Classics?

Well, for one thing, they’re available. The Brevard County Library System in Florida pulled the erotic bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey from its shelves this week after determining that it didn’t meet the library system’s selection criteria. Library services director Cathy Schweinsberg said,

“Nobody asked us to take it off the shelves. But we bought some copies before we realized what it was. We looked at it, because it’s been called ‘mommy porn’ and ‘soft porn.’ We don’t collect porn.”

What I find most interesting about this is that the intrepid reporter covering the story (click here to see it) did a little browsing in the library catalog, and found a variety of well-known erotic titles, including The Complete Kama Sutra, Fanny Hill, Lolita, Tropic of Cancer, Lady Chatterly’s Lover, and Fear of Flying (if she ever leaves journalism, she could have a bright future as a readers advisory librarian). When the library director was asked why these titles, with content of a similar nature, were on the shelves, she said:

“I think because those other books were written years ago and became classics because of the quality of the writing… This is not a classic.”

(I wonder if they own Twilight?)

So if I want to check out erotica from the Brevard County Libraries, it has to be well-aged, and well-written. (I guess it’s a good thing that I don’t live in Brevard County). But this whole incident raises an interesting point. There are many who look down on the horror genre- on post 1974 horror in particular (to use Becky Siegel Spratford’s demarcation) and who wouldn’t dream of having those nasty covers, those possibly badly written books, anywhere nearby, because they’re not old enough and haven’t been canonized yet. And a lot of books ARE badly written and never will become classics. But people want them. They want that feeling. It’s not fair to dismiss the desires of your readers and users, whether those desires involve erotic Twilight fanfiction or ravening zombies.

If you happen to have a library that doesn’t have the horror fiction you are looking for, it doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. They are in disguise, lurking in the depths of the library- Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson… Jekyll and Hyde, Dorian Gray, Dracula, Victor Frankenstein. If you can’t find the latest, try out the early greats. And then harass your librarian to get you the new stuff while you read… the classics.

Teen Read Week is here!

It kinda sneaked up on me, but Teen Read Week is here! I love that there’s a time of year to celebrate teens reading and get them involved with books and materials of all kinds in brand new ways.

This year’s theme is Picture It. That can be interpreted in so many ways! The obvious connection is to point teens to great graphic novels, or to media tie-ins to favorite television shows, movies, and video games. Although we haven’t gone in that direction for teen tie-ins here yet, there are many of these specifically aimed at teens that might lead them to related books, with you as a guide.

There are a lot of oldies out there that you can give some new life to, as well. Dracula, Frankenstein, Edgar Allan Poe- there are so many connections there I can’t even list them. From Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (sorry, this list hasn’t been updated in awhile); from Jessica Abel’s fantastic graphic novel Life Sucks to the awesome iPad app Dracula: The Official Stoker Family Edition; from storyteller Syd Lieberman’s audio recording of The “Tell-Tale Heart” to Ray Bradbury’s “Usher II”… these are the things that (to paraphrase Dave Etter) create the pictures that storm inside our heads.

Whatever you decide to do or promote, have a great Teen Read Week!