On the other hand, if they'd been more familiar with popular fiction of the '70s, they might have been more upset. I learned a lot from reading The Godfather when I was 13.

Harold Robbins, read when I was about that same age--definitely an eye-opener! Also around that same time, I picked up my older brother's copy of Lenny Bruce's widow's bio, which was extremely explicit in describing some parties she attended.

The only books I wouldn't want my kids to read would be ultraviolent books, or, say, "how to blow up your school". Do libraries just let kids borrow anything?

I had an English teacher in high school pick up my Silhouette Desire book off the top of my stack of books before class started. She then proceeded to open the book all the way up, bending the front cover to the back cover (arrrrgh!!!) and then read a random passage in a very mocking way. It really pissed me off to no end that she felt the need to mock my reading choice to the entire class, not to mention the way she mangled my book.

In the sixth grade, I was reading Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series. I think I was reading A Princess of Mars with a Frank Frazetta cover--naked, oiled Martian body and half-naked John Carter. The principal was making a round of our classroom one day. He stopped by my desk, spied the book and picked it up. I sucked in my breath and my cheeks turned flaming red. He perused the back of the novel, flipped through it, realized what it was and put it back on my desk--cover side down.

No words were spoken. But the librarian at our tiny, rural elementary school made sure I had access to most of the adult material in the library because she knew I could read it all.

My mother took away the first Sweet Valley High book when I was reading it in 6th grade, but I picked them back up in 7th grade where I had a locker I could hide things.

My grandmother, who was my driving force in reading, always bitched at me about the quality of books I read. The big one she always harped on me for was Rebecca. To this day, I've never read it.

I don't think I read any saucy books when I was a kid.

Well, I don't read saucy books now, so I guess that makes sense.

I don't think my parents ever commented on what I was reading, except my dad always wanted me to stop reading in the van on road trips and look out the window.

I haven't read Wuthering Heights but aren't you supposed to not model your relationships off it?

Heh. Every time I read it I can't understand why I love it so much given that everyone in it behaves reprehensibly.

No wait! I just remembered why I love it. I love the scene when the child's hand reaches through the window. Well that and the Kate Bush song.

Man, my mother read EVERYTHING. I think I picked up her copy of The Happy Hooker at age 12. Quality didn't matter so much. She read everything and assumed I would, too.

The only version of Wuthering Heights I'm familiar with is Monty Python's semaphore version.

I read that book *three times* when I was a kid, every other year or so, just to make sure I still hated it. Which I did.

Tying this in with the Santa discussion from the other day (was that in here or Bitches?), I found out he was pretend through reading, specifically a Southern Living at my grandparents when I was 8.

Do libraries just let kids borrow anything?

All in all, I think I'd rather my kid had the freedom to read whatever s/he wanted whether I knew about it or not. I'd also like to have a relationship with my children where they don't feel they have to hide books from me, but lord knows I didn't bring the Anne Rice porn I was reading in high school to the dinner table either.

I just remembered why I love it.

I love it because of the narrative structure. I dig that the story comes together from various people's accounts, and sometimes there are nested narratives, and it's just good times.