Comments on: Book Censorship: First it was Roald Dahl, now they’re after Ian Fleming…

By: R.L. Stine reveals that publishers are censoring books behind authors' backs - Hidden Gems Book Blog

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 12:06:04 +0000

[…] I wrote about how Ian Fleming Publications and Penguin Random House had both attempted to censor the words of […]

By: Ellen cassidy

Ellen cassidy — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 18:04:28 +0000

You nailed everything that’s wrong with this loony trend by pointing out in order to not offend black folks, the black folks would just be erased in the stories. I mean, I laughed out loud because it’s true. I am seriously not in a good headspace right now. Between this kind of censoring nonsense, Chat-bots moving in, and my books sitting in Amazon oblivion, I’m wondering if it might be time to move on.

By: helen yeomans

helen yeomans — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 17:26:15 +0000

If we ignore history we’re condemned to repeat it. Books from the past are wonderful windows on their societies and today’s readers can learn from that. By looking back at where we came from we can better chart a course ahead.

By: M.D. Ironz

M.D. Ironz — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 16:18:45 +0000

Censorship in any form is simply an effort to control how people think and consequently how they act. Those who espouse such restrictions always have their own agendas. Any offered rhetoric or justification aside,their bottom line will always be to control the thoughts and actions of others.

It is your right to think for yourself–never give that up.

By: Anne Lovett

Anne Lovett — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 15:52:37 +0000

Some children’s books have constantly been updated–think Nancy Drew, for instance. My daughter’s Nancy was much different from my Nancy. Some should be updated. I was horrified when I opened one of my old Bobbsey Twins books and read where the twins teased their (Black) cook for being fat. Out went the books. I don’t know if Bobbsey Twins books still exist today, but I suspect they’ve been updated with no to-do about it.

Those books were written by (then anonymous) authors for a publishing company, so there is no author legacy to uphold. This is where it gets tricky with Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming. I honestly don’t know what is best.

By: Jeanne Felfe

Jeanne Felfe — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 14:57:35 +0000

Changing existing books is a slippery slope because it’s someone else making a call as to what is or isn’t appropriate or what was or wasn’t a realistic depiction of the time and place in which a story took place.

I say leave them alone. The originals should remain as written. If publishers want to do something, they can add a disclaimer about a book representing the time and place.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 13:41:51 +0000

It makes sense to me that ‘original editions’ should still be pusblished, and also editions for sensitive readers… both with clear and appropriate labels.

This allows the company to make money on both editions and satisfy both types of readers.

I’d imagine that the ‘sensitive/modern’ editions will change every decade or so (as what is considered acceptable changes). So I suppose sensitive/modern issues will need to clearly label the year when it was published.

Book collectors might have fund collecting sensitive/modern issues that are superceded within months of being publised due to some new and trending sensitivity