There’s a new study (pdf, opens in new window) out this month that shows women believe more in paranormal than men.  Interesting, hmm?

I didn’t really have much to say about Banned Books Week, but I’ve seen some interesting posts around the blogosphere on the subject.  Here’s the first one I read. Sherrill Quinn has a few interesting things to say here and here.

Here’s a comment that I posted about the subject:

There’s a push at a local elementary school to remove Harry Potter from the libraries.  A preachers wife thinks they’d be bad for her kids because of the magical aspects.  Now, get this… she’s NEVER read the books and she freely admits to that. She’s basing her complaint on what other people have told her.

I agree.  This book wasn’t even required reading. But it was the most checked out book in the library! 

What do you think? Are there certain books that should be banned? I dare to guess that 99% of you will say no, simply because I think the people who do think some books should be banned aren’t the type who’d visit my blog.  But that’s just a guess.

I recently came across an interesting post from author Shanna Swendson and her views on Chick Lit. There are lots of opinions on chick lit right now. It seems some literary authors feel chick lit (and I’d dare to guess, fiction in general) isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. Obviously as a fiction author, I don’t agree. But there’s a view out there right now that Chick Lit is destroying American culture.

While I don’t really like getting into political issues and name calling etc, I’ve been reading various posts on the subject with some interest. I’m truly interested in others opinions on the matter.

And one thing that I picked up on in Shanna’s post was this: “If anything is hurting America, it’s the fact that people aren’t reading much.”

I couldn’t agree more. I think part of it is that people don’t know how to read (a literacy issue), some don’t have time to read (scheduling issues), some people don’t have an interest in reading (they have yet to find something they like to read), etc. There are dozens of reasons for it. I’m not sure I want to get into all that.

I might revisit this topic, but for now, what do you think? Don’t hold back I want your honest opinion. Why do you or don’t you like fiction? Would you rather read a literary work about heartbreak and suffering? Do you enjoy reading the newspaper? Would you rather just read a cereal box? All opinions welcome. Call me curious Madison today.
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