“Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.”
- Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

October 6, 1847 a book titled “Jane Eyre” was first published in London.  Written under the pseudonym Curer Bell, this coming of age story was an immediate success.  It was such a success that the author was called to the publishing house to make herself known.  So it was that Charlotte Bronte was credited with her work.  A woman of all things!   Of course, this would never do for many critics.  Once they knew ”he” was definitely a she, the book could do no right.  All the same, Charlotte Bronte was greatly admired by many.  She created a powerful work of realism.  She managed to condemn some injustice, while seeming to embrace others.  In doing so, she proves we may hold prejudice unawares; and just because a prejudice holds us back, doesn’t mean it has to keep us down.

It’s banned book week, don’t you know.  Pop on over to the American Libary Association’s website and check out the list of classics that have been banned and/or challenged.  I dare say you’ll recognize many a book – including Charlotte’s Web, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Winnie-the-Pooh - villainous, honey-loving bear that he is.  And yet, not one mention of Robinson Crusoe - a book so boring, it has actually been known to cause ticks, outbursts of profanity, and other nervous disorders.  Why yes, I am still bitter, thanks for asking.

Guess it just goes to show, fault may be found with nearly any book.  Perhaps banning is not-so-good an idea, non?!  Perhaps we should opt for the valuing of great literature and teaching our children to think. I’m just sayin’ …

Oh, it’s a momentous day, my friends … a momentous day.  On this day, in 1937, J.R.R. Tolkien’s ”The Hobbit” was published.  What began as a scribble – “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit” – on a blank page, in a sea of student papers, went on to become one of the world’s best loved stories.  Of course, we owe our gratitude not only to the author, but those friends and acquaintences who encouraged, pushed, prodded and otherwise convinced him to publish.  C.S. Lewis being one.

So to all of you who support writerly-types, thank you!  You are every bit as important as the one who pens the tales.  You are the guardians, the champions of fine story-telling.  If it weren’t for the likes of you, we wouldn’t have the likes of this upon our bookshelves …

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.
Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole,
filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell,
nor yet a dry, bare sandy hole with nothing in it
to sit down on or to eat:
it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
It had a perfectly round door like a porthole,
painted green,
with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle.
The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel:
a very comfortable tunnel without smoke,
with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted,
provided with polished chairs.

-Excerpt, The Hobbit