In recognition of Banned Book Week, Penguin Books is featuring a special edition of their "Penguin Classics On The Air" with Nancy Pearl.
Nancy Pearl, librarian extraordinaire, is the author of the critically acclaimed BOOK LUST, BOOK CRUSH, and the just released BOOK LUST TO GO. In this episode of Penguin Classics On Air, Pearl focuses on several talking points—for example the difference between a banned and challenged book—and guides the listener through the process of how a book comes to be banned or challenged. Drawing from years of experience, Nancy also gives great insight to the invaluable relationship between a library and its community.
Also featured in this episode of Penguin Classics On Air is RICK WARTZMAN, author of OBSCENE IN THE EXTREME: the Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. Throughout his fascinating interview, Wartzman describes the crucial impact politics and reader climate have on why some books turn into scandals, paying particular attention to the nationwide uproar surrounding GRAPES OF WRATH and Gretchen Knief, the lone librarian who stood up against its banning and burning in the 1930s.
