Welcome to Litsy!

Banned Book Club, set in 1980s Korea, feels more relevant than ever. Do not normalise autocracy.

Making may way through this year‘s Oscar noms & found this documentary short in which kids are interviewed about how they‘ve been affected by their schools‘ book banning policies. Very moving, but take it with a grain of salt…the kids who were interviewed obviously had to have parental permission, and I think it‘s safe to assume that that wouldn‘t have been granted by parents who agree with these policies.
Still…worth a watch.

I love my local library‘s banned books table!! #fREADom

Books 138 and 139 of the year.

I meant to read this during #bannedbooksweek, but I‘m glad that I have read it! I enjoyed this GN about a literature student who gets to college in the early 80s and learns about what her government is keeping from its people. A good look into censorship, which of course is very relevant these days with the surge of book banning.

#bookspinbingo - free space

Pro tip: when you go to donate books, just drop off the box and leave. Do NOT go to the other entrance just to "take a peek". It defeats the purpose of purging.

Great read for Banned Books Week. This is my first Alaska Battle of the Books read for the year. It was quick with some major impact in the brief story. I also appreciated learning about the South Korean political struggles. I had no idea about any of the political violence and fascism so recently in their past. #Bannedbooksweek #alaskabatleofthebooks #battleofthebooks #graphicnovels #bannedbooks #teachersoflitsy

Excellent! I just picked it up tonight and love it. An Alaska HS Battle of the Books selection for the year. Also just in time for Banned Books week. I‘m reading F451 with my juniors and this book is getting me excited for my censorship lecture! #battleofthebooks #bannedbooks #Korea #GraphicNovel #teachersoflitsy

So glad Christine shared this info with me- I was wondering about a go fund me for this library. And love that Nora Roberts donated 50,000. Her bookstore in Boonsboro MD is small but fun- and about a half hour away. Link in case anyone wants to continue donating:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-patmos-library-for-2023

Loved this. Highly recommend it. Really glad I finally borrowed a copy.

Her Dad gives her money for books 💕

This topic came up with my librarians today.

📸 New York Times IG

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/books/book-ban-librarians.html

#AestheticallyMatched @Clwojick

Very well done. A graphic biography - interviews distilled into a narrative about a fictionalized character to protect identities of those involved. In the story a literature student in her first year of university in South Korea 1983 is invited to what she thinks is a sanctioned school activity, but turns out to be a banned book club meeting. The things she reads and people she become friends with lead her to become a revolutionary.👇🏼

Check out LiterALLy BOOKiSh (book club) on Facebook for details and sign-up. 💙
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1208628009497556/?ref=share

#bookreview #bookstagram #readingchallenge #2022readingchallenge #2022books #bookclub #bookgroup #bookdiscussion #readathon #readabook #bookish #booklife #bookishlifestyle #librarylife #libraryhaul #bookmail #favoritebooks #booktok #booktube #booksociety #bookworm #buddyread @LitsyEvents

As relevant today as it was over 30 years ago.

Another October #bookspin off the list to be replaced with a free spot.

Graphic novel about a girl who goes to college and learns about what her government and world are keeping from her. Historical fiction but very relevant.

The intensity of the black and white illustrations paired with the simple but effective language made for a great overall experience.

My subconscious in picking graphic novels really hit it outta the park for me. This one is a look into censorship and politics in South Korea in the 1980s. Friggin awesome!

New review: a timely graphic novel Banned Book Club https://thecomicbookteacher.com/2020/11/02/banned-book-club-review/ #vote #nowreading #bookreview #bookstagram #ComicBooks #GraphicNovels #graphicnovelreviews #nowreading

The author‘s true story of her political activism in South Korea, in 1983 when she was a first-year university student. The well-drawn cast of characters tugged at my heartstrings & their fervour in the face of oppression is inspiring. The final chapter, set in 2016, shows all of them gathered to protest another corrupt government but also aware of the gains that their efforts realized over the years. Manhwa-influenced #comics format.

It‘s 1983 and university students are using a traditional performance to protest South Korea‘s military regime. “That‘s why these dances were invented, to protest ancient Confucian noblemen.”

Hyun Sook: Did they take you in for questioning?
Yuni: That‘s what THEY called it.
Hyun Sook: Was it as violent as what happened to Hoon and Jihoo?
Yuni: When it comes to women, they inflict a different KIND of violence. The kind that doesn‘t heal. The kind you can‘t wear like a badge of honour. The kind I hope you never have to experience.

[The vulnerability of women in police custody … this passage made me so sad.]

Hyun Sook loved reading before joining the Banned Book Club, but she reads all the time after. #charactersreading

Never heard of Bookly, but thanks to y‘all I‘m trying it! Hopefully it helps me increase my reading frequency.

After reviving my blog I'm on a roll! Excited to did into this one! #comics #graphicnovels #tbr

My reading wrap up for the month of December. I read a lot of good books this month. My favorites were Banned Book Club, Ghoul, and The Hunger. I‘m looking forward to a great new year of reading.

I started college in 1982, one year before Kim Hyun Sook. Our college experiences were very different. On the other side of the world, she was working with fellow students to change her country. The narrative was interesting and fast paced. I finished the book in a little over an hour. There is so much I never knew about the political situation in South Korea. This book opened my eyes to a world so different from my own. I highly recommend it.

Here I am with my most recent read! This will be published from Iron Circus Comics in Feb 2020!

Raise your hand if you wish it were Banned Books Month rather than #BannedBooksWeek. I usually forget until halfway through the week. 🤦‍♀️

(Image courtesy of ALA, 2017 Banned Books Week)

4.5 🌟
Overall I really enjoyed this story and learned quite a bit. There are parts that are a bit confusing, but I think that is from taking a long and varied history and converting it to graphic novel form. I think this book isn‘t only interesting to read, but to discuss. I think it should appear on banned book lists, even if it itself has not been banned. It opens up a wider discussion on why people and governments police what others read.

Couldn't resist this eArc on Edelweiss! Set in 1983 South Korea, it's about the author's political awakening. It's both entertaining (her dad opens a steak restaurant and customers have no clue how to eat it) and educational (what I previously knew about South Korea was limited pretty much to the Seoul Olympics and my niece Kerry's obsession with BTS). Really enjoying it so far!