10 Banned Books You Should Read

 10 Banned Books You Should Read.

The year is 2022 and books are still causing enough outrage to make headlines, cause violence or be banned. For me, even though it is sad that this is still the case, it also shows how powerful books still are. I'm sure a lot of people are similar to me in that whenever they hear a book has been banned somewhere or caused mass outrage it immediately makes me want to read it. Furthermore, a lot of the 'controversial' novels I've read have also been some of the best writing that I've ever encountered. In fact, I'm sure that almost every novel I've ever loved could be considered controversial to some extent. One of my uni tutors used to say "nice writes white" which I think meant that if you only wrote about 'nice/safe' things then you wouldn't really have anything interesting to say. Imagine trying to write a novel that had no controversial themes, no characters with controversial traits and wouldn't upset anyone who read it. It would probably be awful or aimed at children under 6. Anyway, here are 10 books that have been banned at some point (8 were banned by actual governments) that I think are worth reading. 

#10 - For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (suppressed by Spanish authorities).

If you ever want to read classic literature that isn't remotely pretentious then you can't go wrong with Ernest Hemingway. He writes simple prose that is completely accessible to anyone whilst losing none of the grandiose of the moving and profound stories he portrays. 

#9 - Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence (banned for obscenity laws).

It's almost a shame that Lawrence is so famous for his gratuitous (for the time) sex scenes because what I think he is best at doing is portraying place. You really feel you can see, smell and hear all of the settings he creates, so much so that they stay with you once you have finished the book.

 

#8 - Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (banned for being obscene).

It's gross and disturbing but it is also one of the best examples of an unreliable narrator that I have ever read. You really feel as if you are hearing the thoughts of a highly disturbed and delusional individual.

#7 - The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (banned for unflattering portrayal). 

A long book that largely takes place during a long, difficult journey across the United States. You are rooting for the characters the whole way and, in a time of the cost of living crisis, it probably feels more relevant now than ever. 

#6 - The Autobiography of Malcolm X (banned for criticising white supremacy).

I always admire an autobiography where the author doesn't try to portray themselves as a perfect person. This autobiography feels brutally honest and tells the life story of an often misunderstood man.  

#5 - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (banned for using racist language).

Banning a staunchly anti-racist book set in the 30's for having 'racist language' is probably one of the stupidest things I've ever heard and this only happened in schools in America a few years ago. Anyway, it's one of those classic novels that lives up to every bit of hype and should be read by everyone.  

#4 - Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (banned for satirising Stalin).

A book that is still referenced constantly and for good reason. It was also the book that got me into 'serious' reading as a teenager and helped set my life on a better trajectory. 

#3 - Another Country by James Baldwin (banned for being indecent).

The first thing I thought when I read this book was how ahead of its time it was. It feels as if it could be written now and not feel at all aged. The fact that Australia banned it for being, 'continually smeared with indecent, offensive and dirty epithets and allusions' should be reason enough for you to want to read it.

#2 - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (banned for portraying promiscuous sex).

I've always viewed Brave New World as being an even more accurate dystopia than Nineteen Eighty-Four when compared to the world around me. Do you remember when people were bizarrely upset at Gordon Ramsey recently for choosing which lamb he wanted to eat because we've become so disconnected from where our food comes from that we can't handle someone being even remotely hands on with the meat they eat? That's the kind of thing that still makes me think of Brave New World on a regular basis. 

#1 - The Color Purple by Alice Walker (banned for too many reasons to list). 

This is the perfect book to be at number one. Partly because I consider it one of (if not the) greatest novels ever written and also because it addresses so many sensitive issues that have caused other books in this list to be banned at some point. It does this all with an incredibly strong narrative voice and a story that makes you think and feel more than most other books I've ever read.

Which other 'banned books' should people read?

My Pixar Tier List

 My Pixar Tier List.

I'm not the biggest Disney/Pixar fan on the planet. I don't go to the parks every year, wear Disney branded clothes or put a sticker of Tinkerbell with 'powered by pixie dust' on my car (maybe I should, it would look fabulous). However, Disney/Pixar was definitely a big part of my childhood and you would have to be the the most pretentious of film lovers (rahrahrah Eraserhead rahrahrah) to not admit that they have made some great films. Here is my personal tier list of Pixar films, maybe I'll do the Disney films one day. Just to warn you, my opinion on Finding Nemo might make you hate me and I haven't watched quite a few Pixar films such as Coco or Cars. 

Rank D (a bit shit):

Monsters University - I watched it and can't remember anything that happens so I'm guessing it wasn't great.

Rank C (below average):

Finding Nemo - I know most people love it but Ellen Degeneres' voice acting just really grates on me and I don't like any of the main characters. Definitely overrated in my opinion.

Brave - Beautifully animated but it just seemed really disjointed to me and the whole bear thing felt more random than purposeful. 

Rank B (good):

These films are all good but none of them had a profound effect on me. Solid all round. 

Rank A (great): 

Monsters Inc - Loads of really memorable characters and all the voice acting is spot on. Particularly the little girl Boo, I recommend looking up how they captured her voice because it's adorable.

Toy Story 3 - We all cried at that scene in the incinerator thing. Right?

Up - The first half of this film is some of the most perfect animated story telling I've ever seen. The second half of the film is a bit meh. 

Rank S (I love these!):

Toy Story - My favourite animated film of all time. We had the VHS when I was a kid and probably watched it about 300 times. 

Toy Story 2 - Almost as perfect as the first one and gives Woody a brilliant character arc. Also adds characters that feel almost as iconic as those introduced to us in the first film.

Inside Out - Such a clever idea for a film and one of those rare films that I feel all children would actually benefit from watching. All of the emotions are portrayed and voiced perfectly. 

Soul - One of those films that really stayed with me after I watched it. It's hard to watch this without reflecting on your own life/dreams/decisions and I know me and my wife ended up talking about all of those things for hours after we watched it.

Anyway, please let me know which films I got right/wrong in my rankings or which animated films are your favourites.

Good Things About 2021

 Good Things About 2021

2021 might seem a bad year; what with Covid, rising cost of EVERYTHING, an inept Tory government and, of course, the beloved Betty White not making it to 2022. However, as with any year, there are also plenty of positives to take from it. Here are just a few that I remembered/found in no particular order.

#10 - Vaccinations could lead to population immunity

Dr Anthony Fauci (President Biden's chief medical advisor) said we could reach a level of population immunity where the virus is no longer dominating peoples lives. 

 

#9 - Canada bans single use plastics

Canada is planning on completely banning the use of single use plastics in 2022. This could hopefully set a precedent for other countries to follow and another way that we can help the planet.

#8 - Four day work weeks

Anybody who has experienced excessive work loads will know the damage that working every evening and weekend can have on your mental and physical health. This is why the successful trials of a four day work week in Iceland and plans for other countries to also trial a four day work week could mean great things for workers around the world. 

#7 - Donald Trump is no longer president

Bad news for Trump supporters but fantastic news for everyone else and also for the planet.

#6 - Ghislaine Maxwell goes to prison

Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced and could spend the rest of her life in prison. This is a small amount of justice for the many victims who suffered at the hands of her, Epstein and possibly others. 

#5 - England played in a Euro Cup final

Long suffering England fans (me included) finally got to see their team play in the final of a major tournament. People would have seen this as a positive and not abused the players on social media...right? Well, some idiots did but most England fans (including every single England fan that I know personally) was incredibly proud to see a young, diverse team of England players take us further than most of us have seen in our lifetime.

#4 - Cop26

Cop26 might not have been perfect (just ask Greta) but it still saw many of the rich and powerful of the world make agreements to help slow climate change and hopefully keep 1.5 degrees alive. This included accelerating the move to electric vehicles which I would be even more excited about if I could afford a Tesla. 

#3 - Lockdown ended

And everyone has tried to remember the excuses they used to use to avoid going to that racist uncle's birthday party. You know, the one who hates Lewis Hamilton, gets triggered by anyone suggesting Brexit isn't going smoothly and has the 'grabby hands'. 

#2 - Malaria Vaccine

A Malaria vaccine, known as Mosquirix, became the only approved vaccine of its type. A disease that killed 627,000 people last year, imagine how many people could be saved! How much do you reckon the scientists who invented the Malaria vaccine resent the smugness of the scientists getting all the attention for inventing Covid vaccines at the moment?

#1 - Tampon Tax abolished

Women, quite obviously, require female sanitary products. The UK abolishing the 'tampon tax' means that they will now be able to access these completely necessary products cheaper and easier. A long overdue win for the women of this country. 

Thanks for reading my list, I know there are loads of things I missed out but feel free to point out any of the really important (or funny) ones that I missed. As for me, I had a great year that included marrying an amazing woman who makes my life better in every way, buying a beautiful house and getting a cat who does her best to destroy said house. However, I also had struggles, particularly with stress that caused me lots of anxiety and restless nights. Despite this, I am so grateful for 2021 and all the amazing people in it. Make sure you look back and celebrate your wins but also allow yourself to appreciate the strength it took to overcome your struggles. I hope that 2022 brings you pizza, decent Netflix series and the courage to share your Spotify end of year stats even if it means admitting Backstreet Boys were your most listened to artist. 

Dos/Windows 98 PC Games Tier List

 Dos/Windows 98 Games Tier List

The big, chunky, white computer that often sounded like aircraft about to take off and sat on a wooden table next to our kitchen was one of my favourite things in our house as a child. This is my tier list of games from that era that I made from this list of games I found online. Unfortunately, it's missing quite a few games that have a lot of nostalgia for such as Civilization II and Swat 2 but this is how I ranked the ones that were on it. 

Haven't played

Diablo and Diablo 2: My only memories of these games are of watching my older brother play them so I couldn't really rank them properly.

Low tier

Wacky Wheels: one of the main reasons I was jealous of kids who had Mario Kart.

Alone in the Dark: clunky.

Ecstatica: even clunkier.

Mid tier

Carmageddon and Carmageddon 2: spent hours on these as a child. The aesthetic was different from anything else I had played at the time but they don't hold up very well.

Sin: fairly average FPS.

Warcraft: not as good as the sequel.

Tomb Raider: I love certain aspects of this game but it has still never grasped me enough to actually complete it.

Commander Keen: this was the PC's answer to Super Mario but not quite as much fun. 

High tier

Woldenstein 3D: one of the first FPS games ever made. Really simple gameplay but lots of fun and you get to kill Hitler.

Doom and Doom 2: both very deserving of their iconic status. The second one is superior in my opinion.

Quake: superior to Doom in general atmosphere which is helped by the amazing soundtrack. 

Warcraft II: another game I spent hours on as a child and was much better at than when I tried to play it again a few years ago. Improves in most aspects over the original Warcraft. 

Dungeon Keeper: an amazing strategy game that managed to be dark and humorous at the same time. Potentially deserving of being in God tier. 

God tier:

Duke Nukem 3D: my personal favourite FPS game of all time. It was simple fun and managed to make fun of 80's and 90's action films whilst also playing a perfect homage to them.

Half Life: the first FPS game I remember playing that felt like it had a bit more depth in regards to storyline and strategy. Not quite as good as its sequel but still an amazing game in its own right.

Theme Hospital: a brilliant 'pick up and play' type game that I can still enjoy just as much today as when I was a child. To this day, I still see strategy games trying to emulate the same humour and atmosphere that Theme Hospital created.

Anyway, feel free to tell me how wrong I am or let me know what your own list would be. 

My Top 10 FPS games

My Top 10 FPS games

I was lucky enough to grow up in two golden eras of first person shooter games. The first was in the mid to late 90's when FPS games first became mainstream popular and the second was in the late noughties at university when EVERYONE was playing Call of Duty in filthy rooms full of empty lager cans and discarded copies of Nuts magazine. Here is my personal top 10 FPS games of all time (please note, it's probably very different to your top 10). 

#10 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - 2009 (Xbox 360).

This was the game that me and all my friends were playing when we were at university. It was incredibly polished but also had a pick up and play feel where a useless player (like me) could have just as much fun as a seasoned vet (like my housemates Ross and Haider). This is thought of as many as the best one in the series and I will always have a fond nostalgia for it due to the numerous hours spent playing this whilst pre drinking with my classic combo of a four pack of Red Stripe and a small bottle of Tesco Value Vodka (I feel sick just typing that) before going out and unsuccessfully talking to women in the wonderful nightlife of Northampton. 

#9 - Doom - 2016 (PS4).

A perfect reintroduction to a classic franchise. They got this game absolutely correct and managed to just avoid taking themselves too seriously. The pace of the game is mostly frantic but also has slower, eerier moments that manage to give the game that classic Doom feel. 

#8 - Wolfenstein 3D - 1992 (PC).

The game that started it all or, at least, the game that started the genre being the behemoth it became. When you compare to later FPS games it is...well, a bit crap. However, it was the first FPS game I ever played and I have many fond memories of putting the floppy disc into our DOS PC and killing a few Nazis. 

#7 - Killzone - 2004 (PS2).

The first Killzone is a bit of an underrated gem in my opinion. People with an Xbox had Halo and the rest of us with our PS2's had this. I really like the art style of it and the levels seemed mostly well designed. It managed to have a dark atmosphere without having any of the horror type elements that many other 'dark' FPS games relied on.

#6 - Doom II: Hell on Earth - 1994 (PC).

This took the original Doom and basically improved it on every front. The levels have more variation and gameplay requires a little more thought (although not much). There is a reason that Doom was so popular in the 90's and continues to be to this day and this game sums up all those reasons why. It's just good fun.

#5 - Quake - 1996 (PC).

I might write 'atmosphere' about 100 times in this blog post but this is yet another game that has tons of it. It was just a little bit better than the Doom games that preceded it and introduced us to more 3D graphics in an FPS game. It also has a NIN soundtrack that, whilst not being the type of music I enjoy, fits the game perfectly. 

#4 - Halo - 2001 (PC). 

Halo represented a huge jump in the polish of FPS games. It looked good, it was stylish and it just played beautifully. It also has one of my favourite arrays of weapons in the genre. It was probably the main reason a lot of people bought an Xbox (although I played it on PC) in the first place and helped introduce Microsoft to the games console market.

#3 - Unreal Tournament - 1999 (PC).

This game left such a big impression on so many people who played it in the late 90's and early noughties. Just a few months ago, I randomly started talking about it with a friend and we both instantly remembered the 'Facing Worlds' level and the hours we spent on that level alone firing at the opposite tower with rocket launchers, sniper rifles and the 'Redeemer'. To both have such an identical, specific memory despite never having played the game together and neither having played it for many years, it shows the impact that some of the perfect design in this game had on people. Or, more likely, maybe we're just really bloody sad.

#2 - Half Life 2 - 2004 (Xbox). 

For many years this was the 'thinking mans' FPS game. At least, that's what we liked to tell ourselves whilst we played this instead of studying for exams. It was one of the first games I played that had a genuinely intriguing story line and characters that seemed nuanced and you actually cared about. Coupled with the intelligent gameplay on offer, this is my second favourite FPS game of all time.

#1 - Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour - 2016 (PS4).

Duke Nukem 3D probably isn't the best FPS game of all time but it is definitely my favourite. I have so many memories of playing this on PC as a child, playing a second hand copy on my old Sega Saturn as a university student and then recently played the 'World Tour' version on my PS4. It has a brilliant style to it where it is basically a pastiche of cheesy action films of the 80's and 90's. It makes fun of the 'offensive' material it portrays by never pretending to be anything other than ludicrous, stupid and firmly tongue-in-cheek.

Anyway, which of your favourite FPS games did I miss out?

Social Media Memories.

Social Media Memories

I first discovered social media in around 2003 via a website called 'Face-pic'. Social media seemed a very different world back then. It was almost as if 'normal' people hadn't discovered it yet so it was full of weird and wonderful people with often bizarre pictures of themselves. I then moved onto Bebo, Myspace and, of course, the all powerful Facebook. Here are some are a few random memories have from the noughtie's era of social media.

#1 - Pokes were the ultimate flirting tactic. 

If a girl sent you a poke on Facebook it basically meant she wanted to marry you and have your babies. I joke but it did used to be a really common way of interacting with the opposite sex before completely fading into obscurity. Seriously, I remember people having full blown conversations about a someone poking them on Facebook. We were extremely romantic in 2007. 

#2 - Painstaking hours choosing the perfect Myspace song.

Myspace had a feature where you could set a song to start playing the moment someone went onto your page. Many people (including me, and you if you're honest with yourself) considered this an important first impression. You would have to choose a song that perfectly represented your personality and also started well because they might only spend a few seconds on your page. I showed everyone that I was highly unique by setting mine as 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. 

#3 - 'Chav' culture on Bebo.

Every form of social media feels like it has a certain audience. Instagram is for young people who want to post attractive pictures of themselves, Facebook is for slightly older people who want to keep in touch with family and Twitter is for narcissists. Bebo always seemed to be predominantly for the kind of teens who would write 'cant read lol' or 'hate books' under the favourite books section and the favourite films section was just endless repetitions of 'Green Street' and 'Football Factory'. From my own home town of Welshpool there was even a page created for the 'Welshpool Massive' complete with completely unironic boasts such as 'we don't ask for respect, we demand it' and 'death to Newtown' (a nearby town to Welshpool). 

#4 - Public feuds on Facebook.

Is it just me or did Facebook used to be a lot more interesting than it is now because people just didn't hide anything back then? I remember people publicly calling out other people on Facebook over things such as cheating, stealing, lying and many other issues you can no longer watch on Jeremy Kyle. This would result in incredibly long winded debates occurring via comments on the original post from all the people involved. The drama seems to have now been traded for baby photo's and mental health awareness which is much more wholesome. 

#5 - The 'Top Friends' hierarchy of Myspace. 

Myspace had a feature where you could list your top friends. I think it was six overall. Choosing your top friends seemed like an important decision and seeing whether you had made other peoples top friends list was an often depressing past time. It didn't stop there though, you also had to think of the order you were going to place your top friends in. This is what we worried about before global warming went more mainstream. 

Anyway, what have I missed? 

The Best Things About 2019.

The Best Things About 2019

It would be easy to write off 2019 as being a bad year, what with another 4 years of Tory government (this time with Boris at the helm) to look forward to, climate change bizarrely not being considered a priority by many world leaders and that sausage rolls song reminding me that LadBaby is still a thing. However, like any year, there have been many positives to 2019 as well. Here are a few of them (let me know what I missed out):

#1 - School climate strikes.

Back in September, millions of young people went on strike around the world to promote action on climate change. This is great for two reasons: firstly because it promotes climate change as an issue we should all agree on (after all, it is just science) and secondly because it shows that the next generation of adults are hopefully much more prepared to tackle this issue. 

#2 - EU bans single use plastics.

Again, on the theme of looking after the planet, the EU has agreed to ban single use plastics after 2021. It is not difficult to see the damage that single use plastics have on the environment (you literally only need to watch a David Attenborough documentary) so this is a great step in the right direction.

#3 - Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. 

Baby Archie became the first dual heritage person to be born into our royal family (please correct me if I'm wrong) which shows the royal family becoming just a little more representative of the diversity in our country. Also, most people just love a royal baby. 

#4 - Greta Thunberg. 

I think most people like her, some people seem to bloody hate her, but Greta has definitely helped raise the profile of climate change around the world.

#5 - Women's World Cup.

As far as I could tell, the Women's World Cup was promoted this year as being much more of a big deal than it ever has been in the past. This helps to not only promote the sport but is hopefully a push in the right direction for women eventually achieving equality in football and maybe even sport in general.

#6 - Children's lives being saved.

According to 'Beautiful News' many of the main healthcare issues that have killed children in the past are now heavily in decline. These include: respiratory diseases, diarrhea, measles, malaria, meningitis, tetanus and AID's. 

#7 - Black female beauty being celebrated.

Don't get me wrong, beauty pageants hardly seem to be a way of looking towards the future although I've never actually watched one so I might be wrong. However, in 2019, for the first time ever, five black women now hold the top pageant crowns. You only need to watch this video to see how much this can mean for other women. 

#8 - More trees.

Many organizations and governments are increasingly realising the importance of planting more trees to help protect the future of the planet. This includes he Arbor Day Foundation which has committed to planting 100 million trees in the hopes of removing 578,000 tons of chemical pollution from the air.

#9 - Humpback Whales return.

From there being just hundreds of Humpback Whales in the 80's, there are now over 25,000 of them. This is largely due to bans on whaling. 

#10 - Baby Yoda. 

Despite me knowing nothing about The Mandalorian, Baby Yoda seems to have made many people very happy. Plus, he has spawned some pretty good memes.

Have a great rest of the year and here's hoping for lots more positives to come in 2020.