To save you visiting the hellscape that is The Independent: those 3 words were “What the fuck?” Nothing really remarkable.
Could have fit that right in the headline without even increasing the number of words.
Thank you for your service.
These headlines here are becoming some google news clickbait titles.
Damn. He could have gone with, “Fuck Ron Desantis.”
“No. More. Cheeseburgers”
You mean “what the f***” right? You know it’s illegal to swear online and will have you face capital punishment
perfectly remarkable, i think.
i mean, its pretty obvious what the 3 words were just given the context of the title.
I snapped this at my local library last week.
The image is a flyer for a “Banned Books Club” (Bokklubb för förbjudna böcker) targeted at young people between the ages of 13 and 18 in Bromölla, Sweden. It invites readers to explore the topic of banned books, asking questions like “Which books are banned, where are they banned, and why?” The club aims to discuss these books during the fall and winter, and the first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 19, from 3 to 4 p.m. at the library (biblioteket).
The flyer has a “STOP” sign, a warning label at the bottom, and a bird illustration. It encourages participants to sign up via email and features logos for Kulturpunkten and Bromölla Municipality.
It’s just gobbledygook
jättemycketbra!
Every book report in high school where I could choose the author was a Stephen King novel and I turned out fine. And in Florida too. Class of 1991. 😁. BRD.
Back in the ‘80’s I had a high school English teacher that had us read his Night Shift short stories. The entire class loved it.
Night Shift is fantastic.
But, are you religious and support the right like it’s your job?
Not at all.
Welp, then according to their plan, you didn’t turn out fine, you’re the problem. Good for you though, I’m hoping your state turns it around quickly because I really want to live there. It’s beautiful and I love the weather there, I just can’t deal with the bullshit they’re doing.
It’s not cheap. I left in 2005 because the insurance cost kept doubling every year despite never having a claim and I was 30 miles inland. And the deductibles would increase too. t’s worse now. Just do your homework first.
You idiot!
I read The Stand and It before high school, and lots of other mature books with “inappropriate” material. It resulted in improved reading skills.
“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”
Love that book. There’s some sad sex in it and a very unsympathetic preacher, but overall pretty tame by King standards.
I absolutely loved the entire series. I miss Eddie and Susannah, and I want to reread it again now.
I’m just happy to find other people who read them. ❤️
I kennit sai
“Dancing the commala” has broken my pronunciation of Kamala Harris permanently
Everything after Wizard and Glass doesn’t exist.
Cut my teeth on King, but he ruined his magnum opus in his rush to complete when confronted by his own mortality. It has some good moments, there are interesting bones in the structure, but he ruined it in the last few books.
This opinion formed after reading the entire series twice, and the first 3-4 books many more times.
It makes me happiest to view it as an incomplete series.
I respect your view. A few weeks back I was complaining that I hated reading the Dune series. I enjoy the story and having read it, but I really hate reading it. Somebody told me they felt the same way but about the Dark Tower. Different strokes and all that, but I loved every moment of the whole series including how the tone changed after his accident.
See, I don’t know how many times I’ve read the Dune series. It’s probably my favorite series and rewards rereading. (Not counting the crap his son and Kevin Anderson put out.)
Different strokes for sure.
The sex in It was a but weird but 23?
Did you forget about the shit weasels in Dreamcatcher, the various instances of SA in Hearts in Atlantis, the forced abortion in the Gunslinger, insomnia, and so forth
you forgot the necrophilia in Under The Dome! ;)
Damn, I knew I was forgetting one. Lol
I could have done it in 2 words and I’m no great writer.
best i can do is 1 and yes it is “fuck”
I was hoping for “go fuck yourselves”
“What? You scared?”
I would also accept “Sucks to Suck” or “cool story, bro.”
I was hoping for an “Actual Cancel Culture”
“The skibidi toilet”
“I love you”
“Please and Thanks.”
I wonder how many bytes were spent sending these three words to my screen.
I started reading King in like the 4th grade. WTF is right
“I hate florida-nazis”
“Those sucked anyway!”
“Man who supports genocide says, what the fuck. More at 7”
Everythings genocide with you ppl. Get a clue and realize America is extremely pro Israel. You’re in the cast minority and nothing will change no matter how hard you demonize Democrats you’re just going to end up with trump who’ll be worse.
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To be fair, that’s pretty much every American. They’re all blood thirsty monsters. Just watch them come to tell me I’m a Nazi for not supporting a second holocaust lmfao
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Wide sweeping generalizations of an entire population is quite literally the problem.
Jawohl, mein Führer 🙄
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I’m American and the only thing I want to holocaust is these goddamn mosquitos.
I’m not for banning any books, but with that said, Stephen King has some very fucked up books, like the one where the 10-year-olds have a spontaneous orgy at the end of It.
Technically it was a train, and they were experiencing a transcendent connection across time with their older selves, in a deliberately unsettling and transgressive scene meant to evoke the rawness of adolescence being laid bare before the worst cosmic horror – an eldritch carrion-eater who feeds on destroying the souls of children – as a way of reclaiming strength from vulnerability. At any rate, depiction is not endorsement.
But yes, considering how many actual adults misinterpret and mischaracterize that scene, I don’t recommend that particular book to children – not because they’ll be damaged by it, but because they won’t have the wisdom of age to understand it.
This guy book reviews
I read IT in the 8th grade and I didn’t really get the whole “transgressive scene meant to evoke the rawness of adolescence being laid bare before the worst cosmic horror” part, but I did understand that they were doing it as a way to ‘ground’ themselves to reality. And as a 13 year old boy, I thought it was kinda hot.
I always read it more acting as a final severing of their childhood to protect against It as it preferred to eat children. Not to mention as a more substantial blood pact as part of the ritual of chud to become metaphorically one being in the cosmic fight
Yeah. It was horrible but literally “need to grow up fast” as a kind of pseudo protection from the demon that is pennywise.
The entire book is a series of horrors. Another story that hits just as hard but in a different way is Needful Things. Definitely an apt metaphor for how people can be cajoled and manipulated into doing heinous things.
It’s definitely messed up just like the old vampire in the body of a 13 year old in the Diaries of a Vampire series.
It’s fair to have an issue with it but what about all the other books?
I bet I can guess what they don’t like about them and that isn’t it
Technically, it was Stephen King being high out of his mind on cocaine and booze. He’ll be the first to admit it.
Did he write It during his cocaine years? I know Cujo, Tommyknockers, and Maximum Overdrive were
The real turning point in the non cocaine years is Dreamcatcher. And that was morphine.
Which really explains Dreamcatcher.
Definitely. I’ve even read about him talking about that specific scene in It in the context of his addictions.
Where can I subscribe to your blog?
The books shouldn’t be banned in high schools for sure. I could see the argument for middle schools, and the books should never see anyone under 12.
I turned out mostly ok and was reading King well before 12. There were quite a few things I didn’t understand yet but it didn’t make me want to go out and assault people or something
I’m more concerned about the unrestricted access. Kids often have the emotional and logical understanding to read these works, but the point of the library is to have easy and unblocked access to the material, which topics featured in King’s books are heavy and it should be up to the parents to guide and help them read. Over 12/13 the kids should be able to pick for themselves bar pornographic material like that one book everyone always argues over.
I’m on the other end of the fence on this one. Knowledge shouldn’t be withheld due to arbitrary lines. If the parents aren’t tuned into what their children are reading or if the kid feels they must hide away what they’re reading, it’s indicative of more serious issues than books.
I say this with a kid who’s just starting to learn their letters and not at a point of reading on their own yet. If they want to pick up Ulysses or the silmarillion, I’m not stopping them. I will warn them they’ve chosen books that are very advanced and they will have more questions than answers while reading.
The problem here is you chose two non-controverisal books that have harder themes but are still mostly pg. I would argue most parents editor give their 10yo the silmarillion, but i highly doubt many would give them Game of Thrones.
I chose notoriously difficult books to get through. I’d have the same opinion for ‘the joy of sects’ and ‘the joy of sex’
Difficult to get through does not equal appropriate for children. A kid can read a hard book, plenty do.
Based on arrests, valid allegations and mountains of evidence…this is the party that spends an awful lot of time *thinking of children". And not in a safe way
Bullshit, most of his work is fine for anyone able to read it. If you think there are exception, make those specific exceptions …. Although most of us will likely disagree
Just going off what google says are King’s top 10 works:
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The Shining - Violence, Mental Health, Psychosis
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The Green Mile - Good for most kids that can understand the concept of racism.
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Salem’s Lot - I have not read this one, but the internet says it’s gore heavy and horror filled.
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Carrie - Gore
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IT - Horror, Violence, and the sewer scene.
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Pet Semetsry - Considered to be King’s most disturbing book.
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Doctor Sleep- Shining sequel, still horror and violence.
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11/22/63 - Good
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The Stand - Violence, though better than the others.
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The Dead Zone - Probably good, thougj has mature themes.
If 7/8 of the top 10 King works are not good for children, and King is the world’s foremost horror writer, it is safe to assume many of his works are not good for a younger audience without guidance and supervision. Obviously Stephen King has novels and stories suitable for young children, and each book should be looked at on their own not as a collective.
Which are not acceptable for children? This thread posits 12 as a cutoff, and I probably read most or all of those, that had been written at the time, before I was 12. I’m not seeing the concern
Yeah, Salems Lot is a great horror story … but it’s really no different than most vampire stories (ok, not the romantic bs stories). Just better written. Do we ban all vampires for kids under 12?
Dead Zone was one of my favorites as a child. Where else can you have a story about superpowers that includes limits and consequences, and is more cynical about how the world would react?
I thought Carrie was especially good for middle schoolers, or mature elementary. It’s mostly about bullying and angst, with a bit of cathartic getting even. It’s very relevant to their lives, but in a fantasy setting.
If a 12 year old can get through Green Mile, more power to them. I didn’t encounter that until I was older, and it was quite a slog to get through. The message is important and it was well written, but very much the opposite of action.
Yeah, pet Semetary is pretty disturbing. A kid hoping for a light read about puppies and kittens is going to get a shock. That one’s going to cause nightmares …… but there’s also a message of grief and loss of a beloved pet that they may relate to
Exactly, they are heavy themes and should be read with parental guidance. Also I got the ages mixed up I thought 12 was 5th/6th grade, turns out it’s 7th. Should be closer to 10.
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Yea. There has to be some kind of balancing act. I don’t know what the right answer is. My wife is a teacher and we spar over this sometimes. I lean towards not banning but she claims the resources just aren’t there to vet and manage check-out. She concedes that if there were more resources and staff available then it wouldn’t be an issue.
This does bring up a good question though: Should access be
- Completely unrestricted?
- Somewhat restricted?
- Heavily moderated?
The last time I posed this question I got dogpiled on Lemmy but I feel like people are really not thinking through the consequences. And if you can’t, then you should really pause and think about it.
There are pros and cons for each stance. I just don’t think it’s that simple as many here want it to be.
Edit : to be clear, Im not pro-banning. I’m just musing online hoping to hear other perspectives. I’m not offended if you down vote, but I was hoping to hear more your opinion.
I sincerely think that access to books should never be restricted, I think even stuff like Mein Kampf should be available, just that for kids, there should be guidance to help digest it, both for Stephen King and Mein Kampf. So if you ask me, it should be completely unrestricted, but moderated, so if you check out Mein Kampf, you get a free mandatory lesson on the Holocaust.
I guess I got downvoted since one of those US dipshits did something stupid, and my opinion on it was more nuanced than “lol, idiot”.
The idea of this super moderated availability of books sounds super great when you write it out like that. But there aren’t even enough teachers around to teach the bare minimum. I don’t know how you imagine that would be manageable.
Side point. If Mein Kampf should be accessible, do you think so should all the hate speech and misinformation everyone tries to ban from social media ?
To your first point, I’m just saying that the problem politicians created by defunding education is not going to be solved by politicians banning books.
On the other thing, should it be available? Yes. Should it be blasted in your face at the expense of everything else without context? Hell no. Imagine if Fox News was only available with live fact-checking, it would not be nearly as effective.
I have a seven year old that reads at a fifth grade level (he was lucky he learned early). I can think of a miriad things worse than Mei kampf that I’m conflicted he should have access to. I’m all for unrestricted access, but what if he picks up a book with graphic depictions of rape? I don’t know that I want him confronting this at such a young age. What about kids with trauma?
These are just off the bat of my head. I can think of many more examples. That’s why when the unrestricted crowd comes in I sometimes scratch my head. Do you guys have children? It’s not so simple if you think about it for more than a few seconds. Again, I don’t have a right answer. I just wish people stopped and reflected a bit.
And yet librarians and teachers have handled this all along, much better than politicians are.
I honestly think it’s just a resource issue. If there are enough staffers and teachers around then there really should be a problem. The main counter my wife (a teacher) gave is that most school districts just don’t have the necessary staff to moderate/work with the kids.
