Found a way to get my hands on a copy of 'The Bluest Eye' after my school pulled it

I used to just check my school library or the big bookstore at the mall for books I wanted to read. That changed last fall when my high school in Florida quietly removed Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye' from the library shelves. I was halfway through it for a class project and suddenly couldn't finish. Instead of giving up, I asked my history teacher, who said to try looking at small, independent bookshops in nearby cities. I drove to a place in St. Petersburg called 'Haslam's' and they had two copies tucked in the back. The owner told me they make a point to stock titles that get challenged. Now I always check these smaller shops first when I hear about a book being banned, because they often have it when bigger chains don't want the hassle. What's the hardest book you've had to track down for a class?

3 comments

3 Comments

leoshah19d ago

Tracking down a book for class got me into a whole mess once. My professor assigned this obscure translation of an ancient play, and it was out of print everywhere. I ended up emailing a retired professor in another state who had a copy, and he mailed it to me for free. The whole hunt took weeks, but it made me realize how much stuff just falls through the cracks. It's cool that you found your book at a shop that makes a point to keep those titles around. Makes the search part of the story, you know?

matthewf6419d ago

Found mine through a library interloan system after months.

kai_bennett1d ago

My friend once called a monastery in Spain for a book.